A Lot of Not a Lot!

If you want to see our family holiday pictures hop on over to here; www.tmfh.me.uk/blog/familyholiday. I'll blog it all wordily sometime soon, but we have Paul's parent here for a few days as of tomorrow, so it's not likely to happen until they've gone.

It's taken me all last week to work through the gazillion pictures, so the children have kept themselves busy. The last two days they've been doing a bit of quilling and other than that just a whole lot of playing (inside and out). I'm not feeling guilty ~ when was the last time we had a summer like this?!!

(left)TP    (right)Minnie + Lilo & DD)

(left)Taz     (right)TP

I bought them a french skipping set ~ they love it!

I also bought Cat's Cradle, which Minnie is now obsessed with, and a book of Marbles games, which hasn't arrived yet. Do you get the idea that I want them to spend some time away from screens this summer?!!

Chip has done a fair bit of this too (catching up)!

and a good deal of this...

My little mud magnet! He always looks dirty and unkept ~ but they say dirty hands are a sign you had fun, and he is assisted in his mud-fun by the plentiful supply of mole-hills that we have in our garden!!

Farewell Silver Bus

Just before we went on holiday we said goodbye to our Silver Tourneo ~ she had served us faithfully for four years and the girls gave her a fond send off ~ the kind that loved guests get when they leave.

And that same day we said 'Hello' to our shiny new-to-us 12 seater ~ welcome to the family! We hope you'll be happy here :D

Suggestions for the number plate acronym...

• My Journey ~ Very Full (of) Hamptons!
• Merciful Jesus 06 (which is, of course, the month we got her) Very Faithfully Heard!

Summer School

I love it when at last the days warm up and 'school' gets to move outside ~ and in reality becomes a whole lot less 'schooly' :D. The days are longer, and everything is more 'stretchy' and relaxed.
Here's a glimpse of a day or so this week ~ the rest was pretty much on a theme!

Creative Play

Bob the Builder comes to school!

Sewing (making a sock monkey for Paul's birthday) ~ 

her first entirely hand sewn toy ~ no help from me :D

Army-face!

I.T. ;-)

Art ~ DD decided to draw his bike on the yard (which was just to his right).

Nature Study

Social Interaction!!

So there you have it ~ 'school' chez FrogAcademy in the sunshine!

BTW ~ was pointed towards this great link this week ~ take a look :D FREE is always good!! It's already helping me brush up on my VERY rusty Spanish & TP has signed up for Italian :D

Happy 6th Birthday Stitch!

After a weekend camping Off The Path, the following morning we celebrated Stitch's 6th birthday.

It hardly seems a minute since my little imp was born, 

but here he is ~ 6 already!

In so many ways he's all big

And in so many other ways he's still so little.

My little big boy ~ that's what 6 makes you!

Off The Path Party 2013

It's that time of year again...

Off The Path Spring/Summer Party time...

This year Bugs stayed home alone ~ he had another party to attend.

It was great to meet up with everyone again

and the weather was unusually amazing!

We even got our tent pitched in an hour between showers the day we arrived,

and by evening the skies were clear

and they stayed that way all weekend!

The children and adults alike enjoyed having so much time in the garden

lapping up the sun

chatting, laughing,

sewing, playing

water fighting,

pinata making & destroying,

climbing

Riding

singing & strumming

All that and plenty of eating the plentiful array of delicious food! 

Thank-you J&J for another fantastic party :D 

In Other News...

Chip has taken to painting a lot just lately (that and endlessly doing puzzles)

On this day we started out with sponge painting,

but it rapidly warped into finger painting

and then generally making a 'lovely' mess!

There is a reason so many of my children went to playgroup!!

We've had a few warmer days ~ not many, just a few



And one of these days Bugs decided to give DD some tennis tips.



He turned out to be pretty quick off the mark!



How did I come to have such sporty boys? ;D