Thoroughly exhausted.

So ten days since I last posted...seems more like a month!!!!

My birthday was the 15th and we had intended a walk and picnic along the canal somewhere in the sunshine that we had been promised...but we woke up to the most digusting, miserable looking day we have had for a long time. So we went off to the woods for a walk so that we would have shelter from the elements.
I had not really expected any presents on my birthday as we had only just bought Louis and my very expensive but well worth the money, walking boots, but I was pleasantly surprised with some gardening tools and gloves and two DVD's....The Waltons and Little House on the Prairie.
I loved those programmes so much as a child, dare I say teenager? Its just the whole family thing that I loved. Wooden houses in the countryside. All a bit twee I know, but I love them never the less!
So we sat down to watch the Waltons after lunch...yes, as a family!!!! and half way through the second episode, I realised that the sun was starting to show through!!! Jonathan and I were becoming increasingly fidgety so abandoned the living room for the kitchen and eventually spilled out in to the garden.

And a birthday cake made by Rob...it is supposed to be a sunshine. Aren't I lucky! Lemon sponge with lemon curd in the middle. Yummy!!

Rob and I eventually snuck (is that a word?!!) away for a walk along the canal in th esunshine with Will and Louis, and left Tom to cook tea for them. We even managed to go to a village pub for a meal afteer putting the younglings to bed, leaving the oldies to watch a film and puppy sit!!!


So wow! What a wonderful birthday!


And so I wonder then, why I have been have such a personally wobbly week?
Unsettled and feeling low inside.

We attempted to move our kitchen into the dining room and make the kitchen in to a boot/utility room, which is a fantastic idea in theory but in practice, with out th emoney to get the sink fitted and a downstairs shower room installed, it wasn't going to work just yet. It would be a good plan though. Keep the mud in one room, and maybe, just maybe, I wouldn't feel so stressed out by being indoors?!!
Hmmm. I'll let you work that one out.

On Saturday afternoon, following the failed room swop plan, and having put all the coat hooks back up in the cubby holes and put all the stuff back that we had moved....yes, we had actually dragged the fridge from the kitchen in to the dining room just to see what it would feel like!!!!!
we went off to the woods to camp. Tom had gone off on Friday evening for an Explorer camp (almost too old for Scouts now) so it was just the 5 of us and the dog!!! Two tents and all the paraphanalia found its way somehow into the car, and off we went!

We found a suitable bit behind some fir trees for cover, and put up the tents and lit a fire. We cheated slightly this time by doing the main bulk of the cooking on a stove, but it was all good fun. Sleeping wasn't quite how I envisaged it though. I expected the wee one and the puppy to be a nuisance, but the older two to talk and mess about for a bit before iving up and going to sleep exhausted.....no!!!!! Will went to bed about 8.30 and we sent the other two off about 9.....Louis went in with us about 10. Will slept pretty well, only waking up once, and LOuis was an absolute star!!!!!! But those two boys? They seemed to talk ALL night......everytime I woke up, which was very frequently, I can assure you, I could hear them....yak yak yak
Then there were the badger noises, fox barking and a few pheasants squarking....
And at about 5.30 there was a load of noise which initially conjured up images of a tribe of indians on horseback hurtling along the track, but which I later realised was probably the farmer moving his sheep...or feeding time. It was the wierd war cry/yodling noise that I couldn't place!!!!

We got up at 6 and had a cup of tea or two before packing everything up and heading off home, thoroughly exhausted!!!
''But we couldn't sleep'' was all they could manage to come up with!!!

Most people would have gone home to have a relaxing day at home after that, but no, not us!!!
Off to the Hunter Trials to watch the novice section....some really beautiful horses and ponies jumping cross country jumps, a few of which we knew and others that we had seen the year before, but much improved! Jon has hopes to take Bob next year..........

And then, Will, David and I stayed home while they went fishing!!!! Tom came home exhausted from camp and cycling the 12 miles home on someone else's bike!!!

So a restful day on Monday, you would think, wouldn't you...
Jonathan and I took Bob out on an 8 mile ride.....me on my bike. We were seeing how long it would take us to hack over to our friends place to use her outdoor school.
Then a walk along the canal in the afternoon when Rob got home from work.

Tuesday. Must be a day of rest I hear you cry?!
Nope. A family bike ride, Louis included, over to our friends outdoor school so Jonathan could do a few jumps in preparation for a lesson later on in the week!!!
Will went on the back of Rob's bike and Tom towed Louis in the bike trailer!!!
Well, we had to make the most of the sunshine didn't we? It was 10 miles in total, and Rob took the other boys to the park while Jon used the school. I was really proud of Jon because he has never done that before. He did some 20 metre circles and canter work before doing a few jumps. He and Bob seemed really relaxed and worked really well, despite the heat. And boy it was hot!!! We only stayed 20 minutes, but at least we proved we could do it.
I spent a bit of time in the veggie patch after that, planting the runner bean plants and erecting their wigwams.
Yesterday, we aired the trailer tent so that we could advertise it...washing the inner tents and wiping over the cover. It looks to have wintered well, and I am tempted to kep it, but we have no tow bar anymore and the boys need the space in the front garden.
Then we had a picnic tea along the canal, after dropping the car off at the garage for its MOT etc
A couple of photos follow of eggs that were laid yesterday...one blank quail egg and a very small, strange shaped hen's egg that had no yolk.




Off to cook some lunch now, and then taking Jonathan for his riding lesson. Some more photos to upload later of the veggie patch and the ducklings out in the sunshine!