More well than not!

It's been a lovely couple of weeks, very chilled. 

We took my mum to Rushmere Country Park.  She hadn't been before, and liked it as much as I'd hoped.  The kids were really happy to be back, as it's been a while since our last visit.  We did our usual circular walk, starting at the big slide, past the fairy doors, giant chair, spider and elf seats.  

Swimming and parkour the next day, getting to both feels like a victory at the moment!

The Into Film Festival is on, and we had tickets to see The Jungle Book at Milton Keynes. Almost all of the Aylesbury tickets got booked up straight away, but we loved the MK Odeon! The film was in 3D, and we got to sit in the really posh big seats at the back.  The film was great, we all really enjoyed it.  Another bonus was bumping into some friends, so we sat together.

Rob and the kids went to stay with his parents at the weekend.  Rob, Fred and his dad went to watch Port Vale win at home.  Fred made a vlog!

Betsy looked dreadful when she got back.  No appetite, really pale.  No surprise that she was ill during the night.  Again. Sigh.  She was off for a few days, so we missed TVAP, swimming and a meet up in the woods.

Once she felt less awful, Betsy spent a lot of time drawing.  She did this excellent picture of big cats (plus a tabby).  And she's been doing great copies of Pokemon picture from google images.

Meanwhile, Meg became a cat, and communicated her needs through the medium of drawing.

She wanted water.

She wanted her iPad.

She wanted to sit on my lap.

Meg and I often walk to the shop to pick up bits and bobs, and we've really been enjoying those moments.  We chat about the water (it's still and flat, or it's choppy and wavy, or it's sparkling with sunlight diamonds).  We say hi to the swans and the ducks.  

Fred and Rob went to see Steve Backshall at the theatre on Wednesday evening.  I think Fred felt he'd outgrown his Deadly 60 days, but they both came back sparkling and enthusiastic! Steve was very interesting and entertaining, and they loved it.

On Thursday Betsy was more or less back to herself, though still needing more sleep than usual.  She was up for an activity in the afternoon, and the girls had fun decorating fairy cakes. Sprinkle overload!

We braved the crowds and went to town for the Christmas lights switch on.  We missed most of the fireworks by standing in entirely the wrong bit of the square, but the atmosphere was fun and the lights pretty.

Jarvis came over for a few hours on Saturday, which was great.  His dad took Betsy and Meg swimming with them later, with Fred choosing to stay home.  Fred has been playing lots of Roblox games recently - Mining Madness, Miners Heaven, Apocolypse Rising, Limited Universe, Ultimate Driving, Dinosaur Simulator, Tix Factory Tycoon, Murder Mystery 2, Roblox Day Z, Prison Life 2.0.  Some of them he play with Betsy and Meg, some of them he plays with online friends, and some alone. 

The weather is colder, and the fire has been on a lot.  Rosie the cat approves.

In the woods

Our friend Zoe hosted her regular woodland afternoon today.  She has a fantastic set up.  The woods behind her house belong to a farmer, who is happy for her to use the land (so long as the trees are not damaged).  She's put up a shelter, and her dad made a brick fire pit.
Freddie got to indulge in some of his favourite activities - fire lighting and tending, digging in the ground, playing with friends.

I tried to make popcorn on the fire, making a parcel out of foil.  Big fail - the foil melted!  I think I'll go to google and see how to do it, and try next time.

We successfully cooked sausages on sticks and boiled water for tea, so the fire earned its keep.

Betsy and Meg played in the shelter, and the garden.  Betsy played a lot with Zoe's youngest, and loved the big game of hide and seek later when two more families arrived.

It was lovely, sitting around the fire chatting while the kids played.  

Reconnecting

We saw friends from our home ed group for the first time in weeks today.  We've not been at the group since before easter - either we've been unwell, or the kids haven't wanted to go.  
One of the families hosted a woodland afternoon at her house.  Her garden backs on to some farm land, and the farmer lets her walk the dog and play as long as they don't damage any of the trees.
It's a lovely spot.  The field next door has resting race horses, and they are friendly enough for then kids to get close to.

Meg loved the freedom to explore the area.  It was full of nettles, but somehow she avoided getting stung.

Betsy enjoyed making lots of treasure hunts in the sandpit, complete with an x to mark the spot.  The treasure was a big stone, and she asked me to find it over and over!

Freddie spotted a mayfly on the grass.  I've never seen one before, it was beautiful.

The afternoon culminated in the kids making a fire in the garden.  Freddie loved this.  We all had such a wonderful afternoon, it was so lovely to see our friends again.

Warmth

We spent the day inside, by the fire.  We made things, and played.

I made bread, and had some homemade bread and homemade jam.  Yum!

Dinner was chickpea and vegetable curry, all creamy coconut warming goodness.  

Something else made me feel all warm and happy today.  My 365 Project book arrived!  I love it.  I made it through blurb and am really pleased with how it's turned out.

Truly a day of warm things, on a cold cold February Friday.