Laura’s Life

While over in Fife, we took a trip to Cairnie Fruit Farm (near Cupar) to have some fun outdoors.  The rest of the family did some “Pick Your Own” as well as larking about but the boys were too hyper about all the activities to give raspberries and strawberries a second glance.  For once.

Aidan and Orin thought the giant strawberry looked delicious:

The farm constructs a huge maze made out of corn - a maize maze - geddit!   They plant a new design each year and this year it was in the shape of a Pharaoh’s head.  Chris took Aidan and Orin in and, though they were gone for almost an hour, they had still only completed half of it.

Meanwhile, Leanne took Evan on the giant bouncy pillow thing.  He was not impressed:

Jordan and Rhys then had a go on some “barrel bugs” - modified barrels being pulled behind a quad bike.  Here they are in their Formula 1 goggles and positioned right at the back for maximum effect:

Jordan sitting on a tractor’s wheel:

Evan in the sand box:

Aidan and Orin - having emerged from the maze - then had a go on the barrel bugs.  I was not sure how Orin in particular would cope but they both absolutely loved it:

Logan spectating:

Evan had a shot on a tractor:

Aimee took Orin onto the bouncy pillow thing.  Aidan looks like he is about to do a bull charge right into them:

Logan in his buggy.  Just chillaxin:

Chris with all three boys on the bouncy pillow.  Everyone loved that thing and it was much safer than regular bouncy castles:

There was a “climbing frame” made out of hay bales, with tunnels, hidey-holes and a slide as well as towers to climb.  This is Orin approaching the summit (with Evan in the background):

Orin in one of the hay holes:

Rhys disapproving of me taking his photo:

Aaron:

Evan eating a blackcurrant bear biscuit:

Leanne:

Orin digging in the sand:

Aidan burying himself in sand:

Aidan trampolining:

Orin driving a tractor:

Orin inside a tractor tyre:

And, to close, a couple of random photos of Logan and Aimee:

When we went to visit the folks in Fife, my niece Susan and nephew David popped by to say hello with their kids.  That allowed me to meet my two Great-Nephews for the first time.  Being a Great-Aunt in triplicate makes me feel very old and creaky!

This is Caley, who is exactly 24 hours younger than Orin:

This is her little brother, Conli, who shares my birthday:

And this is Callum, who clearly did not want to be photographed!

It not being such a glorious day, we decided to take a tour of the Cadbury’s Factory at Bourneville, Birmingham.  Chris had high expectations of it being a theme park akin to something Willy Wonka would conjure up; I expected it to be a pretty dry factory tour with a few kid-friendly snippets here and there.  It was somewhere in the middle.  What we both agreed on was that it was over-priced for what it offered.  But the kids seemed to enjoy themselves, we did learn some interesting facts about manufacturing chocolate and the kids got chocolate thrust into their hands often enough to keep them happy and high.

Aidan with a Creme Egg car:

The boys got to make their own concoctions by mixing liquid chocolate with a variety of other sweeties:

Orin’s face after his taste-testing:

After we had taken all the tours, the kids played in the playground.  Jessica and Orin on the scramble net:

Jon climbing up high:

Orin at the bottom of the tube slide:

On the Monday, we all trooped off to Warwick Castle.  The castle was remarkably well-preserved for being over 800 years old and it was bustling with all sorts of fun and interesting activities.

The exterior walls of the castle:

The first thing we did was go to see the Trebouchet being fired.  The boys in particular loved this event.  Just before closing, they even launched a flaming ball.  I love this photo of Aidan and Orin watching the trebouchet together:

The trebouchet launching its boulder missile:

A view of one of the more recent sections of the castle:

Evan scrabbling about in the dirt waiting for the jousting tournament to begin:

The jousting was fantastic fun and the performances were very skillful and entertaining.  That was the highlight of the day as far as the boys were concerned:

Chris and I took Jon and Aidan to an exhibit called “Ghosts Alive!” in one of the towers.  It was pitch black inside and actors told the tale of a grisly murder that took place in the castle while suddenly leaping out of the darkness at us or growling in our ears.  Aidan and Jon had to be taken back out into the safety of daylight after the first minute but Chris and I enjoyed the spooky fun.

Then, after a spot of lunch, Chris and I took Aidan and Orin around part of the castle that told the story of the castle during the era of War of the Roses through interactive displays and animatronics.  Aidan even got to make a grote!

Aidan in one of the kitchens:

Chris doing a good job of looking more like a freaky model than the minstrel in the corner:

Of course, the boys had to buy some more weapons for their growing arsenal.  Aidan chose a bow and arrows and Orin and Evan chose a sword and shield:

Then Chris, Aidan and I went into an exhibit showing all the guests of a particular dinner party in 1898 getting ready in various rooms of the castle.  Aidan was flagging in his interest at that point but he did like the waxwork of the singer named “Clara Butt”!

Aidan in the stocks:

Evan absolutely shattered at the end of a long, hot and busy day:

After the wedding, Heather and Jim took Jess and Jon to their narrowboat.  We booked into a Travelodge nearby, though ultimately Aidan spent every night on board the boat.

These photos are of the boys arriving at “Noonie” for the first time and getting used to their life jackets:

The following day, Jim and Heather took us for a leisurely meander down the canal to Braunston and back.  Aidan helped to work the locks:

Aidan back on board:

Captain Jim:

Heather reading to Evan:

I never noticed before that I married a man whose ears glow like beacons:

Orin and Aidan exhausted from a day in the sun:

Apparently these iron bridges spanning the canal are quite famous.  I just liked the composition:

Jessica relaxing on the boat:

Huge mushrooms growing on a tree in Braunston:

A view of the church in Braunston:

Jon steering the boat:

“Hello, Sailor!”  Chris on board the boat:

Evan and Orin dressed up and ready to go to the wedding.  Don’t they look handsome and cute?

Tonbridge Castle.  The wedding ceremony took place in the top left hand turret of this gate house:

Aidan sitting on top of a cannon:

Chris and his two smallest boys:

Evan playing on the grass:

Evan on the cannon:

I did not get any decent photos of the actual ceremony.  This was because a) the lighting conditions were so dark that my flash could barely cope b) and even Photoshop could not adjust the lighting and fix the red eye on all photos and c) Evan was hanging out of a window for the majority of the actual wedding and I could not let him dangle just for the sake of a snap!

Ant and Ali arriving:

The ceremony beginning:

Evan dangling out of the window:

The new Mr and Mrs with Jessica and Jonathan:

Ant and Ali in the castle grounds:

Orin sipping “champagne”:

Ali with Heather:

Why have champagne on your wedding day when you can have radioactive mineral water from the Bikini Atoll instead?  Antony really did have Mountain Dew as his tipple of choice:

Jim and Ant:

John, as Father of the Bride, toasting the Happy Couple:

Antony gave all the kids foam swords so, of course, a rammy ensued:

Evan and Orin with their swords:

The new Mr and Mrs Platt:

Ali’s sister-in-law kindly offered to take a photo of Chris and I together, a rare opportunity.  Shame I look like a podgy rodent!

Jessica in her bridesmaid frock:

Confetti!

Aidan, Orin and Evan at the restaurant:

Jim and Heather in their garden:

Cutting the cake:

The day after we arrived in Tunbridge Wells, we all went ten pin bowling.  The boys enjoyed it but Orin in particular got a bit bored of doing the same thing over and over about half way through the game.  It was always going to be either Chris or Antony who won (the latter did) but Aidan got a pretty respectable score of 94 - far better than I could have achieved.

How cute are Orin’s tiny bowling shoes?

Aidan getting ready to bowl:

Watching the pins get knocked over:

Chris helping Orin to bowl:

Evan liked all the brightly coloured bowling balls:

After days of gloom, yesterday was sunny so - as early as possible - I packed the boys in the car and headed out for a walk.  We decided to go to Moine Mhor (which translates as “Great Moss”) because it is a flat, short, circular walk and I wanted to see if Evan could make it all the way around without being carried - which he almost did.

Of course, the boys had to take their skittles with them:

Close up of a foxglove:

I tried to get a good photo of all three boys on this bench, an impossible task:

Evan undressing as he walked:

Aidan insisted I take his photo beside this way marker because it was number five and he is, well, five:

Monkeys in a tree:

A view of the “Great Moss”.  It is a protected environment because it is a rare ecosystem.  But that did not stop Orin jumping in with both feet and having to be extracted - with a satisfying slurpy squelch sound - by me.  Tsk, tsk!

Orin having a rest in the sun:

We found a fat caterpillar:

Aidan and Evan inspecting the caterpillar:

Some kind of bog dwelling flower:

Evan trying to push his brothers off the boardwalk:

They loved running around on the boardwalk because it was springy and made clattering noises and also because they could pretend it was a set from Star Wars:

Aidan:

Evan being cheeky on a bench:

Climbing trees again:

Then we headed to Crinan, the beginning - or end, depending on your direction - of the Crinan Canal where it meets the sea.

Boats in the canal basin:

This is the best portrait I could get of Evan since he was attached to my back:

Aidan in front of one of the locks:

Aidan in front of an old red phone box and red post box:

I bought them a piece of cake each from the coffee shop - a startling £7 for three pieces of cake!  They did enjoy it though.

And some final shots of the canal:

The Fyne Art Club Summer Exhibition runs next week.  I have been helping organise this event all year so I have had plenty of notice and ample time in which to produce works of art.  Tomorrow is handing in day.  I finished my last drawing and got them all mounted literally two days ago.  Perhaps the rushed effect improves my drawing! 

Anyway, these are the four drawings I am submitting.  Yup, I have had a year to create my works of art and this was the best I could come up with.

Yesterday we went on a playdate excursion to the Sea Life Sanctuary (North of Oban).  We travelled as part of a convoy of four cars and it took almost an hour and a half to get there so it was quite an outing.  There were five adults, five pre-schoolers, two toddlers and four babies.  That required a lot of “people management”!

It was a grey and drizzly day but that did not seem to matter, especially since most of the exhibits were indoors.  We saw rays and sharks, lobsters, jellyfish and loads and loads of fish of every description.  Aidan’s favourite thing was the gigantic crab that marauded around one tank.  It was easily bigger than Evan when its legs and pincers were included in the measurement.  Orin loved the sharks and rays and I thought the seahorses were absolutely gorgeous.  Evan enjoyed watching the otter running around and swimming in his enclosure.  Aidan and Orin got to hold starfish and sea urchins at a touch pool demonstrations and we also saw some injured seals who were being nursed back to health, including a trio of baby seals who had been orphaned.  With their soulful eyes staring at me, I was quite tempted to adopt one.

I did not manage to take many photos (and those I did take were of questionable quality).  No flash photography was allowed in most of the exhibits (for obvious reasons) and the rain made it difficult to get outdoor shots but mostly I was just too busy herding children and looking at sea creatures to snap away.

The boys had a great time and slept all the way home in the car - which made bedtime interesting!

Some rays:

Orin watching the rays swimming -and hoping to tickle one’s nose!

Evan watching the sharks (no doubt getting inspiration):

Seals:

Otter:

Aidan and Orin playing on the outdoor assault course - very hazardous given how slippy and muddy everything was: