Ballet Open Day

Today was the once a year event where we Mums & Dad's get to watch our children dance during their normal lesson (so we cna see all they are learning). I love this event. FOr us today though it was a marathon as Paul was not here, having driven my Mum back down to Portsmouth yestaerday with all her stuff (she is moving back home now she has retired). This meant that we all had to get there on the bus. It's easy enough with all but one walking now and easy access buses mean no collapsing of the buggy anyway, but the bus-stop is a 20 minute walk away + 5 minutes the other end to ballet, so we had to be out in good time - especially as the buses only go one an hour!! Then we have a total time of 1hr 45 minutes of ballet to watch - taking us right up to lunchtime, so I arranged to have lunch with R&R (A's best friend and her Mum - who is my good friend), but by the time P was dancing Paul had arrived (he did it in 3 hours straight!!) and so he joined us and we all went for lunch together - and I didn't have to catch the bus home :D The only thing that bugged me a little (but not enough to make me not go home with everyone else in the car) was that I had been looking forward to the opportunity to have a mosey around town - I haven't been into town at all since we moved :( We just about had time to order a book for JIH and measure JAH's feet (up 2 sizes in 6 months!!) and by him a pair of shoes, whizz into Home Bargain and buy some vinyl-y beanbags for the creche at church (and one for us) + the fastest look round ever because the car-park time was running out and Paul had taken the kids back to the car already. That was it - shopping time over :(

Back home to upload the million and one photos I took - and see that I won 8th Place in the IheartFaces competition this week (YEAH!!!!) - and get the kids some tea. Paul was pretty exhausted after his 400 mile round trip in two days (plus helping Mum pack, load the van and unload into her house : apparently the van & top-box was choka-blok, so much so that Paul only had just enough rear view vision - how much can one person keep in one room??) , but he need to go and get some food for a few days too - poor man!

I'm not going to post the photos tonight because I'm running them through noiseware - a nasty consequence of only having a bridge camera instead of a proper DSLR - it doesn't cope too well indoors without my bumping up the ISO higher than it confortably takes good pictures without them all being grainy/spotty/noisy. Anyway, when I've done that I'm going to bed, as it is gone 1am already and I have to be up reasonably early (and us all out the house by 9.15 tomorrow), so I best get some sleep tonight!! Check back tomorrow for photos - or take a look at my 365 to see the best ones :D