Soldier School and a Den in the Woods

Our local library is one of our favourite places.  Over the summer it's holding all sorts of activities and we are booked into a whole bunch of them!

Star Wars and popcorn.

Cars and Power Rangers

Panda Girl helped out on a friend's shopping expedition and was rewarded with ice cream.  Yay!

We spent a great day catching up with friends from the Caribbean.

And there was reading.  Lots of reading.

My Dad's Birthday was this week.  His grave is blossoming with beautiful flowers and I added a vase full from my garden.  Happy Heavenly Birthday, Daddy :)

We all spent a fun afternoon at two 40th Birthday Parties one after the other at the same venue...

...meaning this little man spent SEVEN hours on the bouncy castle....

...and the girls got to hang out a make loom bands with their friends.

Yesterday the children attended Soldier School at a nearby stately home.  They practised rifle drill, spent HOURS on the assault courses and checked out the nurses' station which had some incredible artefacts from WW1.

Washing out the bin for Mummy.  Good boy.

Hot, sunny afternoons are for playing in the woods with friends :)

An Evening on the Lake, Hatfield House and Building Fort Magnificent!

Ballet Girl and Monkey Girl went rowing with the Sea Cadets and Panda Girl and The Boy skipped bedtime to spend an evening at the lake watching them.  Having Royal Marine Sergeant Papa for your Papa can sometimes mean that even when you are too little to be a Sea Cadet you can still have a go on the powerboat.  Proud Mummy watched from the shore as her whole family rowed or power-boated around the lake :)

We spent a day at Hatfield House in the Adventure Playground and 25 acre Farm that is part of the estate.  It was hot and brilliant!

And we also spent a fantastic day at my sister's house building a box and tyre fort in the paddock.

Preparing for battle.

Ammunition for castle defence / attack.

ATTACK!

Defending the castle from invasion.

...and relax :)

Friends for lunch.

Cookies and Regattas

With a sunny spell due we set up the paddling pool and a cafe in the garden.

The 30C heat gave way to thunderstorms and Papa spent time with two frightened daughters showing them the wonders of lightening and the magical sky it illuminates in the dark.

Ballet Girl packed her bags for the weekend and went on the Eastern Area Combined Regatta where she was coxswain for the District Junior Rowing Team.  Clever girl!

While their big sister was out on the lakes, these three performed in a gymnastics display with their respective gym classes.  Mummy and Papa had a proud week end!

Panda Girl had her Grade One Tap Dancing exam this week.

Panda Girl planted potatoes in the spring and we dug them up yesterday for lunch!

And Monkey Girl made delicious cocoa shortbread cookies this morning.  Yum!