No place like home

Even though we love being on holiday, there's also nothing quite like coming home to your own bed. Our journey home from France was quite the adventure, with sickness,  failed toll barriers and various aches and pains that prevented driving from both adults at various stages of the journey.

Nevertheless, we lived to tell the tale and on the whole, we were really impressed by the good behaviour of the children during a 13 hour car journey.

When we got home, we were amazed to find them full of beans. When we awoke in the morning, we found that they had been up since the crack of dawn, equipping their rooms with "passwords".  So funny, especially the irony of the sign Mia attached to her door!

I had washing and housework to catch up on so I suggested they rediscover their toys. I love watching them all play together. I know people thought I was crazy when Eden was born and I had a 2 1/2 year old and an 18 month old (and I still get raised eyebrows when am asked for their ages and I say 8, 7 and 6) but I think it's marvellous how close they all are. Although they inevitably fight, they are also really patient with each other and love to play together. I love "spying" on their play and listening in on their games. I am proud of their capacity to play independently now, and of how they use their imaginations. In these photos they were playing spies who were looking after a robot queen.

Whilst we were away, the garden had begun to bear forth it's fruit.....we found yellow tomatoes, peas, and mange tout, and picked them all to use with dinner. We decided to set the table prettily and eat outside so we invited Grandma and and Grandad over as well for a catchup.

The children asked for a day at home on Friday so we decided to invite the Daniels children and as I had been sorting and cleaning the kitchen cupboards and had found loads of ingredients I didn't realise we had, we hosted our own version of GBBO.  These were the rules: I selected some ingredients and utensils and placed them on the table. The children then had to make up their own dessert without weighing scales or recipes. Faith was really good with the younger children, and it was lovely to see her natural talent shining through. Even the boys got involved and were very creative.

I was talking to Mummy about this the other day....since when did I turn into my Grandpa and pass this onto my kids? Grandpa Leo Fenton was the first of our family to attend University, attending art college in Bristol in the 50's. He loved collecting things and repurposing them. He was the ultimate "upcycler" and his house was a veritable treasure trove. I remember handling a whole range of shells from his. Navy days in Cylon (or Shri- Lanka) as it is known as today. Rummaging though his many sheds to find things he collected and watching him build outbuildings with literally anything he could lay his hands on. He was a very talented man and as head of Art at Oldbury Wells in Bridgnorth for many years,  I wonder how many other people got to benefit from the skills he had.

So as consequence, I too am always collecting things and judging by the big box of "things" seen in this first picture here with Iz, so are my children.  Ismay found a canvas in the craft box and asked for some glue and shells that we collected on holiday. I was amazed to see her come up with this concept on her own. My contribution was the writing at the bottom.

I love how the heart is more akin to the anatomically correct version and not the ones we see portrayed on an everyday basis. All my children amaze me with their abilities.