Gosh, can't believe it's already the 15th of December - I keep thinking I have lots of time to write this Christmas round-up as it's not being sent through the post, but even allowing for that, I really ought to get my act together, I suppose.
Some of you may have been following along with the family blog all year long, in which case, you might not want to read this (so you have my permission to skip this post, LOL). But for those who want to revisit, or those who only pop in once or twice a year, here's a little of what we've been up to this year!
After a quick look at last year's letter, I guess the place to start is with our little friends - we got our gerbils just before Christmas last year - this broccoli eater above is Ozzie, who is black with white feet and tail; there is also Gerry, who is tan and Billy, who is mostly black. They have been really successful pets, as it happens - I recommend them highly. They are very clean, don't smell much, need little in the way of cage cleaning and are not nocturnal (which hamsters are) so they are awake some during the day, so kids can interact with them... And they are really cute. Great fun to watch them dig and make tunnels everywhere.
In February, Alex turned 5 and went to a load of parties for 5 year old friends. He's nearly 6 now, and is in Year 1 in school, and is reading up a storm and doing lots of other great stuff. He's a huge chatterbox (never stops talking except while asleep - hopefully he'll learn to control it a bit in school or it will get him into trouble) and as you can see, very cute and charming. Just saw him today in the Christmas play at school - didn't take my camera - he played a very cute snowman. And did it very well.
Here are the kids dyeing eggs at Easter-time in March - and although that was a fairly normal exercise, the snow (ok, not very much, admittedly) that we had to go with the other Easter activities was a lot less normal. And as if that wasn't weird enough, we had snow AGAIN in the spring, even more of it the second time! The kids were excited of course, though I think they'd really rather have it this time of year - not likely we'll see a white Christmas here, though, even if it does get plenty cold enough sometimes.
Shortly after the snow, we had a day at the beach (ok, it wasn't really beach weather, but we were down near the coast so it was too good an opportunity to miss - and it was plenty warm enough to be outside hanging out, even if it wasn't wading weather) - lots of photos from that outing, which started with a trip to Yesterday's World - a kind of past-times museum - over here.
The Spring Holiday had some other excursions, including a trip to Grandma Lucy's, a visit to town and a trip to Richmond Park - just the usual, really. As it happens, that was the last trip to Grandma Lucy's that we've taken as a family as she got shingles a bit later in the year and finds the idea of all of us visiting a bit overwhelming (not surprisingly). Geoff went up in the summer on his own for a weekend, and he and Sarah are going to go up for a weekend over Christmas. She's getting better, but it's a slow recovery.
Some of you may have been following along with the family blog all year long, in which case, you might not want to read this (so you have my permission to skip this post, LOL). But for those who want to revisit, or those who only pop in once or twice a year, here's a little of what we've been up to this year!
After a quick look at last year's letter, I guess the place to start is with our little friends - we got our gerbils just before Christmas last year - this broccoli eater above is Ozzie, who is black with white feet and tail; there is also Gerry, who is tan and Billy, who is mostly black. They have been really successful pets, as it happens - I recommend them highly. They are very clean, don't smell much, need little in the way of cage cleaning and are not nocturnal (which hamsters are) so they are awake some during the day, so kids can interact with them... And they are really cute. Great fun to watch them dig and make tunnels everywhere.
In February, Alex turned 5 and went to a load of parties for 5 year old friends. He's nearly 6 now, and is in Year 1 in school, and is reading up a storm and doing lots of other great stuff. He's a huge chatterbox (never stops talking except while asleep - hopefully he'll learn to control it a bit in school or it will get him into trouble) and as you can see, very cute and charming. Just saw him today in the Christmas play at school - didn't take my camera - he played a very cute snowman. And did it very well.
Here are the kids dyeing eggs at Easter-time in March - and although that was a fairly normal exercise, the snow (ok, not very much, admittedly) that we had to go with the other Easter activities was a lot less normal. And as if that wasn't weird enough, we had snow AGAIN in the spring, even more of it the second time! The kids were excited of course, though I think they'd really rather have it this time of year - not likely we'll see a white Christmas here, though, even if it does get plenty cold enough sometimes.
Shortly after the snow, we had a day at the beach (ok, it wasn't really beach weather, but we were down near the coast so it was too good an opportunity to miss - and it was plenty warm enough to be outside hanging out, even if it wasn't wading weather) - lots of photos from that outing, which started with a trip to Yesterday's World - a kind of past-times museum - over here.
The Spring Holiday had some other excursions, including a trip to Grandma Lucy's, a visit to town and a trip to Richmond Park - just the usual, really. As it happens, that was the last trip to Grandma Lucy's that we've taken as a family as she got shingles a bit later in the year and finds the idea of all of us visiting a bit overwhelming (not surprisingly). Geoff went up in the summer on his own for a weekend, and he and Sarah are going to go up for a weekend over Christmas. She's getting better, but it's a slow recovery.
In May, we took a trip to visit our friends in Ireland - loads of pics from the visit are over here on flickr - and here - and here - it was a nice visit - they always are - their girls and our girls get on well (mine like to take care of the little ones) and Alex loves his girlfriend Aine.
June and July passed much as normal - Alex lost his first tooth and another school year finished. And the big event of those months, our friends (& neighbours) Lana, Rod, Thalia & Keir moved to India. For a few years only, but still - what a big move! Rod had a great job opportunity (CEO of a company that does television production outsourcing) and didn't want to miss the chance. They seem to be bearing up well - Lana writes a very amusing (to those of us who aren't having to live it, at least!) blog about their experiences, over here.
We had a nice August, despite terrible weather, with lots of trips out and about - Oxford, Leeds Castle (which is in Kent, not Leeds), London Zoo, Claremont Gardens and much more. We also had time for both the girls to attend tennis camp, Alex to have a trip to Horton Farm with a friend, and even to grow some tomatoes.
September brought us back to school - Sarah is in Year 6 - the last year of primary school - Olivia in Year 4 and Alex in Year 1. Autumn also brought birthdays for both the girls - 11 and 9 respectively. Amazing, I know. We also spent a little time looking at secondary schools for Sarah - not too many, because although in theory you can apply anywhere you like, it seemed pointless to look at schools we had no chance of getting into. Most of the schools here allocate places based on geography, witha few setting selective entrance exams (like magnet schools in the US). Sarah has sat the exam for our local selective school, which is called Nonsuch Highschool for Girls - if she gets into that school, she'll go there. Otherwise, she'll go to our local comprehensive high school, which is a co-ed school, and is about 10 minutes walk from the house. (Nonsuch is a bit further - she'd have to go by bus.) We don't find out until March where she'll be given a place, but as we actually liked the local school (Raynes Park HS) a lot, we aren't that worried.
My mother also visited us in September - as usual, we had a lovely time - a bit hectic, but fun. Autumn also brought birthdays for both the grownups in the house - and both big ones! We had a dinner party with old friends to celebrate Geoff's 50th in October and a party with local friends and their kids in November for my 40th.
Between those landmark birthdays, we had our friends Cathi and Dave (and their two girls) come to stay - they wanted to take the girls to Disneyland Paris for a few days, so sandwiched that with a visit to London to see us. This coincided with Hallowe'en, as well as the October half term. The kids all had a great time (mine being slightly jealous about Disneyland - but only slightly, I think) - and the adults, too.
Shortly after their visit, Cathi and I had another visit together - this one virtually, via messenger on the computer - on Tuesday night, November 4th. And early Wednesday morning, our time. I only managed to stay up until 3am my time, but it was fairly clear by then where we were all going - and thank goodness for that. I shan't go on and on about it, as I know some people have other politics than mine, but I was very happy. Still am.
And I guess that brings us back to this time of year, really - the run up to Christmas. Always a busy time, usually a fun one. I seem to be losing my voice, so hopefully I'm not coming down with anything serious. It would be a shame not to be able to sing at Christmas - even if it's only around the house. The kids have a few more days of school (they finish Friday at 1.30) and then that's it until January...
Those are the specifics of the year - in general, it was a fairly uneventful year, full of simple family things, visits to and from friends, birthdays, and so on. Geoff's job is much the same, though my work (such as it is) has changed a bit - I'm no longer childminding, though I've started to work at lunchtime at school (official title: SMSA - School Meal Supervistory Assisstant or some such; unofficial title: dinner lady) and have been doing some cover in the nursery as a teaching assistant (i.e. helper).
And really, that's about it. We hope you have all had a great year - some of you I've heard about already, others I hope still to hear from. As usual, the best way to keep up with us, should you be interested in doing so - is via this very blog. It's not updated daily, sometimes not even weekly, but I do try to get something posted at least a few times a month. And usually with pictures. I also have a flickr account, where lots of photos go - it's here.
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