More holiday stuff :)

AS we had such good weather when we were away it seemed a bit daft to pile in the car and go out >Holly's main 'to do' was build sandcastles so on the Wednesday morning we went to the beach:) Needless to say the paddling also led to wet shorts so we did a quick walk back to the chalet for a shower and clothes change before going for lunch.

We went down to the beach each evening as the tide was low and waited for the sunset,It also went a lot colder on this evening so Holly and I were a bit shivery by the time we got home!

A few days away :)

This week the girls and I went away with my mum & dad for a few days:) Geoff's back is not up to him going far so we hadn't made any plans for a holiday this year,so this was a real treat :) We went to Cromer in Norfolk and a lovely time :)We stayed in a fairly small chalet but we all survived,though we didn't get much sleep! Summer finally arrived in time for our trio and the first two days were gorgeous :) The third day started off a bit hazy but had brightened up by the afternoon.
On our first day we took a boat trip out to Blakeney Point to see the seals on the beach which was fab :)

There were lots of seals ,all laying in different positions ! Not surprisingly I caught the sun a bit on this day!
We then made our way back to Cromer and found a lovely cafe for lunch which we liked so much we went back to for the next two days!
I have so many photos that I think I will have to do a few smaller blog posts rather than one huge one!
A couple of other photos from the first evening when the girls and I went off in search of the beach :)

End of an era!

I think there a few possible titles for this blog post ! Yesterday was Holly's final day at Junior school and as I now have no children there it really is the end of an era :( I have been going to the school since 2000 when Em started at nursery there so it will feel strange for a while not'needing' to go there! I won't get away completely though as it's only ten minutes walk away and mum and dad live almost opposite it!
Yesterday morning Geoff and I went to watch the year 6 leavers assembly.They had done a performance the night before which my mum,dad and Em went to see.I had so many lovely comments on what a beautiful singing voice Holly has ,before I got to see her I was a bit overwhelmed! She sang a solo at the beginning of a 'You've got a friend' and yes, I cried through the whole song!
It's tradition that the leavers get their shirts signed and Holly also took an autograph book with her :) The message from her teacher this year is so lovely and really special :) On the way to school we gave the lollipop man his present,a pair of Kermit socks ,as he wears jazzy socks and shows them off to the kids each day!Sadly it was raining first thing so I didn't really get any decent photos of Holly before we left home,but we did get some with her friends before school sorted,and a load more once they finished at 2pm.
She has gone from this

to this

We are so so proud of both her and Em :)

We celebrated the end of term with tea at McDonalds...and a trip to John Lewis to try on the bits of new school uniform that I still need to order! Well it was a lot quieter than it will be in a couple of weeks!

Em also came home from school with the news that she will be a leading Prefect from September,another proud mum & dad moment!

The final countdown....

The last week of term is finally upon us and I am still a bag of mixed emotions!Holly's induction day at her new school went really well and at the open evening I couldn't help but think how nice it would be not to have back to junior school again!
On Friday night she had her school leaving party.In Em's day this was a simple trip to the the local roller rink,with the teachers going along too.This year however it was a party at a local golf club complete with red carpet entrance,disco,buffet and as the letter quoted 'non-alcoholic' drinks....well they are only 11 and 10 years old so I wasn't expecting alcohol! I really did have my doubts about the whole thing being a little OTT for year 6 children but it wasn't as bad as I had imagined :) We found Holly a lovely dress a couple of weeks ago,and matched it up with a very cool pair of Primark trainers complete with some Vans laces that Holly bought a couple of years ago in Florida :) Em was in charge of hair styling and did a fab job :)Holly flatly refused to wear make up which is fine by me as she doesn't need it anyway :)Although we were forecast rain it stayed dry so we had a little photo session :)Photo overload ahead!

This weekend I have got lots of little jobs done around the house :) Yesterday Holly and I cleared off the bookshelves in the living room and packed away all her old faves to go up in the loft. My shelves are now empty of Charlie & Lola and Kipper (you can see how long we've been putting it off!)It does mean though that we have been able to put out my Grandpa's old Corona typewriter though which I've wanted to do for ages :)We also sorted out all the hair pony's and clips and have a huge bag to get rid of.I also went shopping and got myself a couple of nice tops in the sale :)Today as the weather has actually been fairly decent I have cut the hedges,mowed the back garden and strimmed the front garden.
I also ventured up into the loft,I place I hate going due to the huge cobwebs (and the fact that I think I may fall through the ceiling!)! I cleared a few bits out,re-discovered some old treasures (more on them soon!) and put a lot of the kids stuff away.
Well that was a bit of an essay! I am off to bed to prepare myself for what will probably be an emotional week!

It's becoming real...

Tomorrow Holly has her induction day at her new senior school where she starts in September.I'm feeling a little cheated this time round to be honest...! When Em left junior school I felt really emotional.With Holly though I will feel a huge sense of relief to a certain extent and that makes me feel a bit sad :( Year 6 girls can be a strange breed and Holly has learnt the hard way how to tell who your true friends are.However,she can leave with her head held high knowing she was never involved in the bitchiness and trouble making ,which makes me feel very proud :)

I'm sure she will be fine tomorrow,she has packed her bag (her school map,tissues and a pencil case!)and will be going in with two friends.We then go back in the evening to buy uniform,meet the teachers and listen to the headteachers talk.And no doubt after I have kissed Holly goodnight and watched her sleeping,I will have a good cry!

Our turn...

...for the torch! Today was the day the Olympic Torch relay came through Welwyn Garden City :) The weather did not look great and typically it poured with rain just as we left the house and again just as the relay was due to go past us. WE weren't sure how early to start waiting so we got to our spaces about an hour before it was due.We live about 5 minutes away from part of the route which was also likely to be the quieter part too as it is beyond the main town centre.

It all seemed to be over very quickly but I'm glad we went,at least the girls can say they were there! :)

Stop the clock....

...time is whizzing by too fast! In my head it's not long since I last blogged but in reality it's a month - oops!
Summer seems to be giving us a wide berth this year so far,I'm glad I haven't gone mad investing in anew summer wardrobe as most days I'm in jeans and boots still!For each rare day of sun we seem to get a week of rain in return,the slugs and snails have eaten my bean plants and the garden is full of weeds and over grown hedges...oh hang on ,no change there!
So now I need to try and remember what we've been up to...
Two weekends ago I had the best weekend in ages and apart from the train fare it was free :) There is a huge event run in Trafalgar Square called West End Live,run over two days,and this year every musical currently showing in West End performed live :) It was the first time we have been but I am definitely going again! As Em had stage school on the Saturday morning she decided against going that day as she also had a final exam on the Monday too.But as Wicked were on on Saturday I went and took Holly with me :) We managed to get fairly near the front after a very early start and long time queuing, where we stayed for about an hour.We then moved as Holly couldn't really see much . The whole day was so good ,highlights being Wicked,Rock Of Ages and seeing one of the War horse puppets :) Plus the weather was lovely all day:)

I could go on about it so much,but I still have Sunday to cover too! On Sunday I took Em and her friend :) This was an even earlier start and even longer queue as they wanted to get a near to the front as possible...our early rise and the lessons I learned from the previous day meant that they were right up by the barriers! I took the more sedate option and sat at the top of the steps where I had a perfect view of the stage and a more importantly a seat for the day :)
Some more photos :)

The weather wasn't quite so good this day and I ended up with a both soaked bum and...sunburn!!
I think the highlight of Em's day though was meeting her theatre idol Louise Dearman who we saw at the Olivier awards and Wicked at a meet and greet session :)
Ok so this post looks huge already so I will finish it now and be back soon!