2011 so far!

Seeing as I've just started this blog a brief update from this year would be a good starting post:

A visit to the Brothertons to meet Saul

I went to visit Jasmin and Stewart shortly after my nephew, Saul Albert Brotherton, was born. Here's Jasmin with Saul, he was so little but very sweet!

He spent a lot of the time asleep as newborns should, but, like his cousin Oscar, I was surprised at how interested in what was going on around him.

A day trip to Nunney

Here's Oscar getting ready for the cold weather, he's in his super hat his grandad got him in Canada. I was trying to tell him that his boots aren't gloves but somehow that didn't get through and he thought this was hilarious.

So this is Nunney castle, I like the way they've kept it from falling into disrepair but not rebuilt it. It's a really nice place and we went for a lovely walk afterwards.

Winter walks brrrr....

There's a lot of fantastic places to walk around Somerset but you have to be prepared for the worst; fortunately we just got the rain cover for Oscar's carrier as during this walk along the top of Cheddar Gorge we were lashed with cold rain as it bucketed down with strong winds.

Oscar Hi-jinx

Oscar loves to stack and doesn't just stick to stacking cups and blocks, he makes impossible towers for anything he can get his hands on.

You've got to dress up properly if you're going on the swings in the rain.

Wells

The nearest city is Wells, the population is smaller that should be for a city but it's a cathedral city.

Brean beach

Our nearest beach is Brean, you can't really get to the sea due to the large expanse of beach which, due to the wet sands, has areas of quick sand on the way to the water.  We went there with George who loved running around on the beach.

Charlton Viaduct

Just down the road from us the old viaduct from the disused railway route, there are a number of fields where we can take Oscar and George for a nice run about.

Stourhead

We recently went to Stourhead to look at the gardens, it's such a beautiful place and plan to go a number of times through the seasons.

Oscar's career options

Librarian?

Beautician?

Weymouth

Another nearby beach is Weymouth, it's more of a traditional seaside than Brean with sandy beaches and gentle tides.  This was Oscar's first play on the beach with a bucket and spade, although he thought he'd been given an oversized spoon.

Oscar visits the Brothertons

Oscar and I went to seen Aunty Jasmin, Uncle Stewart and Cousin Saul at their home in Sydenham. We had a lovely time (apart from the train journeys...)

Oscar's a bit more of a handful thank little Saul

He's such a lovely smily little boy and has grown so fast, you wouldn't think he was only born in January!

Here's Grandma with kids and grandkids

Oscar was very interested in Saul and fortunately very gentle too!

Home improvements

We did a bit of decorating in doors but have decided to concentrate on the garden, it had horrible fencing which blocked the view of the house so we pulled it down and painted the door red. I've been building a shed from the old fences to keep garden tools and bicycles and once it's finished will pop some pictures up of that too.

I'm driving

Oscar has decided that he would rather push his buggy or trike rather than sit in it. This does make going for a walk take about ten times as long as expected though...

Badminton Horse Trials

We went to the Badminton horse trials and took Oscar and George, Oscar really liked all the "arses"; he even got to pet one.  George was very well behaved.

George was pretty tired from all the excitement and enjoyed a rest in the cool grass and I got to take a picture of him staying still for a change.

There was very fat huntsman who was trotting around who made me giggle every time I saw him...

I managed to catch one of the horses in mid jump

Here's Oscar patting a police arse, he didn't want to go and got a little upset when we took him away.

Bucket head

Bristol zoo

Oscar really liked the seals although he kept calling them ducks, you can see Oscar and Nicky on the right.

I'm an idiot...

Sarsen trail

We took part in the Sarsen trail, it's a trail from Avebury to Stonehenge.  We did the shortest distance (7 miles from Avebury to All Cannings) as I had Oscar in a backpack and Nicky had George on a lead.  We're thinking about entering the marathon next year and running the whole distance.

Oscar really liked the biplane that flew overhead a few times

We were pretty tired by the end but all in such a good mood as had a lovely time.