Getting ready for summer

This morning I made the sort of no-nonsense, optimistic remark that I might usually hesitate to make lest fate might decide to make an ass of me. Hayley was hanging out of the bedroom window looking down into the garden where Lucy, Oliver and I were playing. I told her "I think this is going to be a great summer for us. One to remember."

And why shouldn't it be. We are getting married. We have our brown eyed boy and our blue eyed girl. Even the weather here is supposed to be good for a change. What is more, Oliver and Lucy are at ages where they are not only adorable in their own rights, but they are also very close in a way that will surely fade in years to come.

So it was with good cheer in my heart that I started this sunny Saturday. Hayley then surprised me by trying a new hair style which I think rather suits her.



We then dropped the kids with friends (of ours and theirs) while we took in a wedding fayre in Stockport for a few more ideas and maybe a band. (Yes, we still haven't got one.) It turned out to be a bit small but that meant we had time for a Subway and (for me) even a swift half in a pub to catch a few minutes of the footy.

We picked up the kids who promptly fell asleep. When they woke we all went to the park, Hayley and Lucy by buggy while Oliver and I went by bike-plus-tagalong. I had planned to take Oliver for a ride further afield but he knew so many children at the park that we ended up staying their the whole of the rest of the afternoon.

Memorable moments included Oliver and his friend Jess taking me by the hands and running me round the playground as they were "rescuing me", though Jess several times said she was "taking me to the vets". Later, Oliver and a nursery friend chased round the playground "getting baddies". This included approaching a group of four, aged around 14, one boy from whom Oliver pointed out as the "baddy", much to the amusement of the boy's friends. I did have to take an interest at this point, as Oliver was waving a stick dangerously if inadvertently close to them as he expounded his views. I also spent a fair amount of time being leapt on, first by Oliver and Jess, then by Oliver and Alberto. However, most memorable was probably the moment when Jess and Oliver were "rescuing" me from a tree, by each pulling on one of my legs as I sat astride a branch. Just the memory makes my eyes water a little!

Meanwhile. Lucy insisted on going up the slide as well as down it.



On coming home Oliver took an interest in my Camelbak hydration pack (or "bladder" as we straightforwardly call them in these parts). To my surprise he immediately got the knack of biting the valve to release water flow and simultaneously sucking to drink.



Later, Lucy also took an interest. Much to my surprise she also managed to master the technique.



At bedtime Oliver asked whether he could replace his customary sippy cup that he keeps in his bed with a Camelbak. Sadly I had to decline his request.

But they both went to bed happy and if you throw in the fact that Hayley made a delicious vegetarian Jalfrezi this evening, plus a whole lot of laughter along the way, then you have a pretty terrific day. May the coming summer see many many more.