Mia's Baptism - 7th December 2013

We had been preparing for this day for a year, and all of a sudden it arrived! I remember looking at Mia the day she was blessed. I gazed at my perfect baby I reflected on the next occasion when I would see her in a white dress and how eight years seemed like an eternity away. Well, those years have passed quickly. In. January, after seeing her cousin Leyla get baptised, Mia decided she wanted to read the Book of Mormon and get baptised. This was quite the undertaking but she did it and said she prayed about it and felt that she wanted to be baptised.

Our friend Hannah Polland who is an amazing photographer took the photo for Mia's baptism invitation and programme. Thank you. Hannah, everyone loves it and my Mother in law has framed her copy. The night before, Jason and I frantically prepared the chapel and made all the arrangements. On the day, the font stopped working! Luckily Jason was able to fix this just in time. We were so touched by how many people came to support Mia, her teacher, school and church friends. It was a lovely service and we felt so blessed to have so many of the people we love share this special day with Mia.

The gorgeous Nikki Wilkes (Mia's idol) drove all the way from Surrey to see her and took some of these lovely photos.

Mia requested a three tier cake! The  Herriott family kindly lent us some decorations and the cake stand so that we could share some refreshments with Mia's guests.

Nanah and Grandpa hired an amazing venue for the Howlett contingent and after the baptism we had a family meal there with the Basfords too.

Look how perfect the table is for all those children!

There was even a games room. Much fun was had by both adults and children alike.

A rare photo of the Howlett Girls.

To top it off, Mia got to sleep over with her cousins. Thank you family and friends, Mia was overwhelmed by all the efforts that people went to to make her birthday special.

Fireworks - November 2013

Jason was given a bundle of fireworks, and as our garden is tiny, we asked our friends the Stevens, if we could let them off at theirs. They very kindly let us, and we made an evening of it, sharing food, friendship and fireworks!

Jason did a sterling job in setting the all off inspite of inclement weather conditions and it was so lovely to see the children's faces. They were thrilled to bits and we enjoyed hearing their "oohs and aaas" and seeing them jump up and down.

I I love how Ismay and Mia have their arms around Zak in this picture and I love the smile on Alex's face. Children are so amazing, I love to see the world through their eyes.

LDS General Conference weekend - October 2013

Ever since we moved to number 20 Swansmede, we have had a tradition of watching conference with friends. This October we invited the Stovall family, son of the missionaries who baptised Liz and Pete.

So we began with sloppy joes, we were feeding 11, so these seemed like the most feasible option, and the children all did very well.

We have a "conference jar" tradition, whereby we prepare labels citing various key words we anticipate will come up in conference and then assign one of these to various treats. It encourages the children to listen to the words (their attention span usually lasts 30 minutes!). This time, Mia asked to prepare the labels. She has worked very hard in school to improve her handwriting and has earned her pen licence, so I was confident that she would be able to do this beautifully.

The children listened carefully and managed about half an hour of attentiveness until all the treats were gone!  It was a great way to spend time with the Stovall family and it's always inspiring to hear the words of comfort our leaders provide.

Back to school

So the inevitable happened...September came around far too quickly and it was back to school for everyone. Mia starting in KS2 now as a year 3 with Miss Parkinson, Ismay in year 2 with Miss Taylor, and Eden with Mrs Ball in year 1. This year, Mummy gets to go to school with the children as she is doing a job share in year 5 with a class of 32! The biggest of her 10 year teaching career. 

I have also started my PhD in Education so we literally are all busy with our school work in the evenings. This time, Jason is the only one not studying in our family!

I have been doing my best to also ensure that I don't neglect the children so. Mia and I have been doing some sewing together.

The children and I have been doing some playing together! 

I am so proud of Eden, who has really made an effort to improve his handwriting. I just adore his little dimples. He can be such a cutie when he wants to be.

The girls love to role play and their favourite game is schools. I was a little shocked to see how well they have understood the way we teach and  the marking systems at school: I am sure they will be natural teachers. However, I really hope they choose other professions. As a third generation teacher, I entered the profession eyes wide open to the realities of the job, but the way this government is modeling our education system, I have just become so disillusioned with what I do. I love being with the children in my class, seeing them learn, but I often feel I spend far too much time jumping to a beauraucratic tune that often leaves me exhausted and fed up!  It takes the enjoyment out of a job I loved for so long.

Nevertheless, I am grateful for my education, I am grateful to have a job which enables me to spend time with my children and I am grateful that I was able to support our family whilst Jason was studying for the first ten years of our marriage. Truly we have been blessed and I feel gratitude to parents who impressed on me early on the importance of hard work and education in being self sufficient.

Camping - Summer 2013

Bank Holiday weekend in August is traditionally the most miserable weekend of the summer...in fact four years ago we spent a fun but wet weekend camping with the Colin and Karen and the children. However, we really wanted to spend time with Nana and Grandpa and the Howlett Jnrs, so we bit the bullet. Unfortunately, Elisabet had a car accident just before we went which led to us being given a tiny Yaris for the weekend. Thanks to Jason's incredible packing abilities we were able to fit all the essentials in the tiny boot.  We were sad to leave our table and chairs behind though! On arrival at the campsite, Elisabet and Jason assembled the tent whilst the children played and then the children helped "set up camp". Here are a selection of photos.

On Saturday morning, the Howlett Jnrs arrived, and we all went for breakfast in a nice little cafe with Nanah and Grandpa. All the children sat by the grandparents so that the parents got to eat dinner in peace which was rather lovely. The campsite, though rather basic, was set right by the beach so we had wonderful times playing together there. The beach was lovely and sandy, although the sea wasn't quite as hot as Spain! On Sunday we all got to go to Church together and spent the afternoon eating lunch with a breathtaking view of Snowdonia behind us. It was wonderful to be able to enjoy each other's company, to see the cousins playing together and to be reminded of the fact that we are a happy family who love each other dearly.

 

We nearly had a disaster packing on the way back! We thought we locked the keys in the car, but luckily managed to fit everything in and travel back in safety.

Trunk or Treat? - October 2013

This October half term was a little wet, however there were some sunny days and I took the children to the Tar tunnel, the park and Jungleland. Thursday was an at home day as we made preparations for the ward annual trunk or treat activity. So this year, I decided on a Superhero theme as Eden is into this so much.  So we began by creating Gotham City using some cardboard boxes from the garage. I couldn't find any paintbrushes so I decide sponges would work just as well.

Mia was very good at this.

Next, it was time to carve the pumpkin. The kids are always really enthusiastic at the start, but ultimately, I always end up gutting the thing!

Eden became quite attached to it, no whilst we were waiting for Daddy to come home (he'd been working away), the children and pumpkin watched a film.

Daddy came home and we literally had 5 minutes for him to get changed. He had to wear my superman shirt which was a little tight on him to say the least! I borrowed a costume and made so e cat ears.  

Here is the finished product. The children had great fun creating our boot and I am glad they have this tradition which our friend Sarah started 7 years ago. It's a safe way for them to enjoy Haloween and to see their Church friends.

Blists Hill - September 2013

I know I am biased, but I think my children have the best daddy in the world. He works so incredibly hard, both in his Church callings and in his work responsibilities. The children adore him, he always has time for them, and they literally scream "hello daddy" everyday when he comes in from work.

Today, I had to work and as the children weren't back at school yet, Jason took the day off and spent the day with them. He spoilt them rotten, taking them to Blists hill, giving them pocket money to go on the rides, and taking them on a pic nic. They were full of it when I got home., clearly delighted to have had a day of precious time with their daddy.

Grandad Basford's 70th Birthday Dinner - 15th Aug 2013

Grandad Basford reached the grand old age of 70, so we celebrated it with a meal at grandmaand granddad's   house. Mum Basford ordered a dessert from Emma Brownlow which looked most spectacular.

We enjoyed a delicious buffet in Grandma Basford's conservatory which is luckily big enough to accommodate us all (just)!!

The girls are getting so big now. Here are Mia, Sophie and Ismay enjoying being together.

 Happy Birthday Grandad. We love you.

Jolly Green Day at the Town Park - Sat 17th Aug 2013

One wet and rainy day we took the children to the town park for a free event called the "Jolly Green Day". The children enjoyed doing various crafts and even got to hold an owl.  Then the heavens really opened and we dashed home, tried off and snuggled up for a movie.

I love Ismay's face, laughing with Zak. She just loves looking after him.

Town Park fun

I love the fact that we live so close to the Town Park. It is literally on our doorstep, and the children enjoyed many a day here over the summer. They have renovated most of the play areas and have added a Splash pad, so on hot days, I packed a lunch, the children's swimming costumes and towels and we spent the day there. Jason also enjoyed taking the children with Richard Stevens on a Sunday afternoon to give the mummy's a break!

On this day, I thought it would be a nice idea to let the children bike/scooter there. Why????! Never, ever, ever again!!!! I needed up carrying wither a child/bike/scooter at various conjunctures which did nothing for my back pain!!

Here we are with the Pollands. The children love playing together, and I am always proud to see how nicely they all get along together.