Bah humbug...

Is it possible to be bah humbug in the summer? Ah,but we're not having a summer ,are we?! With the exception of yesterday, fortunately for Anna & Peter! Yesterday afternoon we slowly made our way over to the Bowkis' residence.I say slowly because we were lucky to get there as the car was playing up :( At one point we were doing 30mph...trying to get up an incline on the motorway,not good! So sadly ,we stayed long enough to mingle a bit ,grab a burger and a brownie (or two!) and then head for home again,not fancying the prospect of breaking down on the M1 :( I didn't even get my camera out,so fingers crossed Anna's got some nice ones :) Car will booked into the garage asap...

This is my Pencil Lines layout for this week :) Love how black & white can make such a difference to a photo :) I love this photo but it has a really weird blue tinge to it in colour as it was taken early evening in the shade.

I used
Bazzill Kraft
Pink Paislee paper
Pink Paislee chipboard letters
MLS tiny aplhas
Pink Paislee brads & stickers
Prima crystal swirls
Tim Holtz tag
Angel Kiss flowers
Kaisercraft pearls
Polar Press rub on
MM clip

Romans,muffins and....rain :(

On Wednesday the girls went to the Verulamium museum with my Mum & Dad ,in St Albans :) They got chance to dress up in Roman style clothes ,and Holly made mosaic mask .Luckily,my mum took her camera :) They also had a picnic but they look frozen in those photos!

In the afternoon we made peanut butter & Chocolate cheekies,though they look just like muffins ...Despite putting the right amount of peanut butter in, they don't really taste that peanut-ty though :( Don't think we'll be rushing to make them again !

Yesterday afternoon it rained...and whilst it did the girls played at spies!

This morning we went into town and almost as soon as we got home ...yep it rained.I'm getting a little bit fed up with it now!So whilst it poured this afternoon,the girls had their nails painted in preparation for tomorrow...

Tomorrow we are off to the Bowkis' family bash late afternoon :) Holly and Izzy have spent ages on the phone to each other (who do they get that from?!) making face painting arrangements :) They also have some Hello Kitty tattoos to put on people for a small charge...all in the aid of charity of course! Holly was quick to name MS as her charity,Anna you've taught her well :) So keep your fingers and toes crossed that it doesn't rain tomorrow...please!

Good old English summer....

Oh yes...we have rain! Not really a huge surprise but it's so depressing! I want to sit out in the garden or be out getting some fresh air. There was a brief 5 minutes when the sun came out in the afternoon so we hopped on our bikes and went round a couple of blocks! The girls are still enjoying themselves ,despite the lack of being outdoors.This morning Holly decided to dry Em's hair for her and in return Em 'styled' Holly's hair ,adding loads of clips :) This afternoon they decided they wanted to do some painting.So while they did that I thought I'd try and tidy/sort the kitchen shelves where I keep my scrapping tote,tools and general 'stuff''.Oh my word...I must stop buying mini photo albums and books with a view to filling them /altering them !! It got to the point where I really couldn't be botthered putting it away,but I did as well as chucking out a few bits that have been hanging around for years.I'm now left with a tidy tote shelf and a basket full of stuff that I need to out away/find a proper home for.I'm getting there slowly though!


For some reason,Holly decided she wanted to make jelly during the holidays...not sure why! So yesterday I dug out the big Mickey Mouse silicone mould and we made the jelly. These moulds are not the easiest to use ...they bend!Anyway,we tipped it out onto the back of the chopping board..and here is our orange Mickey :) It looks quite small in the photo,but really it wasn't!

There were also a few beans ready for picking today so Holly went out to get them...in the rain :( Not sure how many more we'll get as the black fly seem to be munching most of the flowers :( The girls enjoyed them with their tea anyway :)

Schools out :)

Well it's been out since Friday but I haven't got round to blogging before now! (Stop nagging me Mrs Bowkis!)Anybody else having problems with Virgin Media? Our internet keeps slowing down to snails pace,after a while you just give up waiting for the pages to load!
So what's been going on....erm, summer seems to have done a runner,can we have the all day sunshine back please?! The washings been in and out so much today it doesn't know whether it's coming or going...
Em had a fab day in London and loved the London Eye :) Just a shame she tripped over coming out of the school car park on her way home and completely mashed her knee :(
Holly and I cycled down to the library so she could join the reading challenge, and she came home with two Roald Dahl books :)
Both girls finished early on Friday .Holly came home with a swimming certificate and a Golden Book award ,whilst Em got a certificate & badge for 100% attendance and a citizenship award for good behaviour :)
I am so looking forward to not having to make any packed lunches for six weeks! We're not going away anywhere but have a few days out planned hopefully for later in the holidays :) Just keeping our fingers crossed for some decent weather so that the pool gets some use and we go out on the bikes :)
This is my Pencil Lines layout this week :) We were sponsored by Upsy Daisy papers :)




All papers are by Upsy Daisy
Pink Paislee chipboard letters
Tim Holtz tag
Queen & Co felt
Kaisercraft pearls
MLS mini alphas

Catching up

..with a couple of things Em has been up to :) Last week saw the end of the Food Club she has been attending,run by sixth formers and meant to encourage them to try cooking more healthily.She came home with a folder of the recipes they have used.each page complete with a photo of her beaming next to a plate of whatever she had made! When another pupil commented on the fact that she was smiling in all her photos her reply was 'I'm a seasoned professional...my Mum's a scrapbooker...' !! She also won a Muffin recipe book as her team won the end of term quiz.I can see it coming in handy...!

Em also came home with a present for me,something she has been working on in Technology.She made me a lovely wooden pencil case,completely with an engraved pig! (I had to choose from a selection of designs!) I just need to find somewhere safe to keep it now :) Today she came home with another lovely wooden box compete with fitting lid, engraved with her name ,which she has made in her Technology sessions the last two days.I think she enjoys woodwork!)At least that's what it was called when I went to school!

Today I went over to visit Anna again as she's still off work :( We admired some very lovely scrapbook stash,and ate posh crisps and cherrries (not forgettting our tradition of chocolate croissnats for a late breakfast!)

Tomorrow Em is on her London trip and Holly wants us to cycle up to the library after school so that she can sign up for this years reading challenge :)

Ooops, nearly forgot,yesterday was Holly's sports day .Despite a heavy shower it went ahead apart from the final event (the relay).I risked being reprimanded by sneaking a photo of Holly...or at least I tried ,it's not eay to pretend you're not taking photos without them being out of focus!

Winding down

So this is it,the last week of another school year...hard to believe that Em has just about finished her first year at secondary school already!This week she has Enrichment week, where she gets to do workshops,courses and go on days out!On Wednesday she is off to the London Eye and the Science Museum :)
Tomorrow (weather permitting) is Holly's Sports Day.Though having just checked the weather report it looks like a no go!
Today we decided to delve into Em's savings account and invest in a new bike for her.Her old one is about the size of Holly's so far too small for her really! Can't believe how expensive some bikes are though! We've told Em this one will have to last her til she's in University!Anyway, we went out for a ride this afternoon though I think she regretted choosing a route with a hill in it!Hopefully we'll get out for lots of rides over the holidays :)

The girls have also been enjoying the pool and have spent the last two afternnons in it!Mad..it's not even been that warm!

This is my Pencil Lines layout for this week.
I used
Pink Paislee paper
October Afternoon papers
Prima Say It In crytals coloured green with a Sharpie pen
October Afternoon journsalling sticker
Baic Grey buttons
AC Puffy thickers

The Nando's van

Just a quick post as I need my bed!Nando's were at the Fun in the Park day we went to on Sunday and had this van behind their stand...love it!!

It rained

...a lot!! And I got absolutely soaked..twice! How come it always does it at around 3.15 too, just as school finishes?! Methinks we have cursed summer now by finally putting our pool up...!
Today I went to see as Anna ss she's still signed off work.We just sat on the sofa ,watched a film and ate lunch :)
Holly came home with lots of her school work today, including the moving monster she made...not quite sure where we'll be putting it,it's not small!
I'm off to bed as I can hardly keep my eyes open!

Country Dancing,Chico and a BBQ!

We have had a busy weekend here :)
Yesterday we went to Hatfield House for the Herts Folk Dance festival as Holly's school were taking part.It started off really sunny and hot but thankfully cooled down and rained a little.It was a really lovely day :) We all took picnics and sat on our blankets watching them doing country dancing and maypole dancing:) They learnt new dances,did ones they alreday knew, and danced with the other groups.At the end,one of the organisers asked one of Holly's teachers how she got them all to smile so much...it's probably because they all do it just for fun rather than being competititve about it like some of the schools/groups there!


We then went food shopping before coming home and putting the pool up:)

Today Geoff was working so the girls and I went down to the lakes where there was charity Fun in The Park Day.We got there early-ish as it was suppoosed to be opened by Chico from the X Factor a couple of years back.I don't know if that happened as it was pretty quiet there but we saw him talking to one of the sound guys so the girls went over and got his autograph and posed for a photo! We didn't see him again after that ,although he was due on stage at some point later in the day.There was loads going on,and the weather was beautiful.There were Butlins Red Coats there with Butlins characters,hence lots more photos!,as well as craft stalls,live bands, etc. We came home about 2.30 as Geoff was om his way home from work and the girls wanted to go in the pool once he'd sorted the chemicals etc! We finished the day off with a bbq - yum :)I worked my food off by cycling round both the lakes once the girls had gone to bed ..polishing my halo!!

This is my Pencil Lines layout this week.We were sponsored and got to use gorgeous 3ndypapir papers :) Loved these, and didn't want to cut them up!I also used
AC Puffy thickers
Kaisercraft Pearls
Basic Grey buttons
MM tiny alphas

Melting

It's been a bit hot hasn't it?! I know ,I know, can't please anyone .It's either too hot or too cold! Though to be honest I haven't found it that bad til the last few days when it's been so stuffy too.And the main problem is having to do stuff...if I had nothing to do and no where to go it would be great!

Poor Em had to spend yesterday at the local sports centre as part of National Sports week.To say she came home hot and thirsty would be an understatement!

Haven't much else to share other than this photo of the butterfly bush in the back garden which has just started flowering.This one is a real triffid having sprung up from no where a couple of years back.We also have another ,which is my fave as it is a deep purple colour but that hasn't flowered yet.

I'm still going out on the bike every evening :) It struck me last night though...it was gorgeous out there at about 8pm,warm but not too hot, a cool breeze...and I saw hardly anyone else the whole time I was out .Bit sad really as we're lucky enough to live somewhere quite 'pretty' and green.

Oh well, better go and do some boring housework I guess!