March Madness

March began with a very exciting weekend for the Basfords.  Mia and Ismay were going to London with Mummy and Daddy and Eden were going to Uncle Colin's for some boy time and a sleepover.  I asked permission from the headmaster to pick the girls up from school at lunchtime and I surprised the girls by having a portable DVD player in the car. (Jason and I had been meaning to purchase one for a couple of years, but never had the funds to do it.  I happened to be shopping in Sainsbury's a couple of weeks before and saw it reduced to £24 so snapped it up) They squealed with excitement, and were even more chuffed when they got to borrow Mummy's special headphones to listen with.  The drive to London was very peaceful for me, and we managed to avoid the traffic.

We were going to stay with Helen, my friend from my school days who had recently purchased a house in Notting Hill.  The Sat Nav did very well at guiding us and we arrived without incident.  The girls were really pleased to see Helen, who last saw them when they were toddlers, Mia was particularly pleased that her coat matched Helen's.

Once we had unpacked to car, we began our adventure.  We took the bus first of all.

We then went to the Hummingbird bakery in Notting Hill for a cupcake and drink, the girls got to choose what they wanted and felt very grown up.

After that, we wandered around the market and then went home to a delicious meal that Helen made.  The girls were delighted with the cosy fire at Helen's lovely house.

Mia was very pleased that the guest bed was the exact same bed that she has at home.  All three of us slept in it and it was very comfy.  In the morning, Helen prepared the traditional Davies breakfast of toast with lots of lovely jams and even mini cereals (just like Christmas morning!) We all felt very spoilt by Helen's lovely hospitality.

The girls played dress up whilst Helen and I prepared a picnic and the bags for a trip around London.  Ismay loved all the pretty scarves that Helen had and wore as many as she could at the same time!

Of course we had to have some refreshment at the Museum, so we purchased some drinks in the cafe and ate our packed lunch.

Before we left the Museum, the girls wanted to go to the theatre section and have a go at dressing up.

We posed by some famous landmarks, the traditional phone box, Buckingham Palace and the Mall.

We walked all the way from the Palace up to Nelson's column.  The girls had been given £5 pocket money by a very kind Aunty Karen and were very keen to spend it.  I took them to a Sounveir shop just off the mall whereupon they purchased some knickknacks emblazoned with "I love London"!  They even got some chnage!

Next it was time to head to the West End to see the musical Mamma Mia.  I had wanted to take the girls to see a more child friendly film such as the Lion King, but all the tickets cost upwards of £90.  We have played Abba songs quite a lot to the kids and have of course always sung Mamma Mia to Mia since she was a baby so I thought that it would be nice for them to see the show with the songs.  We arrived at the West End early, so we stopped for a hot chocolate.  Mia rang Daddy to fill him in on all our adventures.

Mamma Mia takes place at the Novello Theatre, here are the girls waiting to go to our seats.  The seats were so steep.  We were sat right at the very top on the last row.  The girls loved the songs and the colours and danced and sang during the three song encore.  All those who were sat around them found them very cute.

Once we had finished, we made our way back to Helen's for a final meal before heading home.

Meanwhile, Eden was having a marvellous time with his boy cousins, Daddy and Uncle Colin.  They spent the weekend playing with computer games, eating treats and going to Macdonalds.

The following day, we invited our friends over for a traditional roast dinner (they were planning on moving so this was a farewell meal, but were subsequently able to stay in Telford as Adam got offered more opportunities at his work), Colin and the children also joined us as Karen was away for the weekend.  We enjoyed lots of good food and laughter.

Ismay was invited to play at her cousin Sophie's in Shrewsbury so we decided to take Mia and Eden to Attingham park.  We wandered around the grounds, but it was very cold so quickly made our way to the house.

It was lovely to have Nanah and Grandpa come and stay on 9th and 10th for Mothers day.  The children got me some chocolate and sweets and Jason prepared a roast so that I could have a rest. Grandpa helped by entertaining the children.  It was so nice to not have to cook dinner, and he did a really good job.

Telford had more snow in March! On Friday 22nd, we woke up to around 10 inches of snow.  Getting to school was tricky, getting to Church even more so!  A space had to be dug out for us in the car park on Sunday and on the way back from Church we got stuck going up our hill.  It took me 40 minutes to dig a way to the top in order for us to park safely. (Jason had to go to Congleton)

Our Easter festivities began on Good Friday (29th).  We began by cutting branches from the laburnam bush and placing them in a vase.

Next we wrote on egg shaped decorations the things we were grateful to the Saviour for.

We then had an egg and spoon race. Ismay came first!

We also decorated a mini tree with egg decorations.

Next it was time to prepare lunch.  We started the tradition of eating fish last year, to teach the children about the days leading up to the Saviour's death.  First, I cut a fillet into small pieces.  Then I cut three slices of puff pastry for the children to place their fish into.

Next, the pastry is formed into fish shapes and then sealed and decorated with egg wash before being placed into the oven.

Whilst the fish as cooking, Daddy and the children prepared the Easter bunting ready to decorate the rest of the house.

The fish were soon ready to be eaten, and we enjoyed a lunch together.  We talked about Good Friday and watched a clip from LDS.org.  The children were very moved at the Saviour's bravery in the face of his accusers.

On Saturday morning, I ran the 5K in Telford Town Park.  The children wanted to watch me do it and came to cheer me on.  They were there at the start and then Jason took me to the park and then they came to cheer me on at the finish line.  Eden, kept trying to run beside me, but he nearly tripped me up in the final few meters, so I had to tell him to go and stand by Daddy!

On Saturday, I let the children make Easter baskets.  Eden had done this with his class, so I let him tell us what ingredients we needed and to help the girls get the instructions in the right order.

They all took it in turns to mix the crispies with the chocolate and to place it into the cases.

During the evening, I prepared a traditional Easter meal of roast lamb and we invited Grandma and Grandad Basford over to join us.  I made a lemon Easter cake for dessert and the children enjoyed eating their nests that they had made.  Before the children went to bed we read scriptures together and then watched another video about the Saviour's Resurrection.

On Sunday morning, the clocks went forward, and whilst I was really pleased that Eden had made it through till 7:30, I was slightly disappointed when I remembered that it was really 6:30!  Once the girls had woken up  the children were then allowed downstairs to see if the Easter bunny had been and indeed he had!!  The Easter bunny had help from friends and grandparents and the children were very spoilt.  The also had mini cereals for breakfast as a treat.  We talked about the importance of the ressurection over breakfast.

We asked the children to choose nice outfits to wear for Church today and they did.  The girls and I decided to wear our hair the same way and we chose flower clips to match our outfits.

After Church, we went to Aunty Mel and Uncle Andrew's for an Easter egg hunt.  Jason and Eden wore matching outfits and looked very handsome.

The children enjoyed spending time with their cousins and looking for eggs.  Whilst we wish all our family lived nearby, we acknowledge with gratitude that at least we have some family close to us and that our children have the oppourtunity to grow up with some of their cousins.  Jason and I were talking the other day and were expressing our gratitude for our health, family and life.  We are richly blessed.