Visit to the sunshine state

We arrived safely in Florida on our latest visit to Belinda and Lily. It was a good flight and as always Virgin Atlantic fed us well on the flight. we were tired but managed to stay awake a while, even walking to the local park with Belinda and Lily to stretch our legs.

As we arrived on a Tuesday Belinda and Lily were both out all week so we were able to just potter around and enjoy the sunshine. Next week Lily is going to come home from school at lunch time as she only has lessons in the mornings and the rest of the day is activities and after school care. Marley and Guinness kept us company during the day until everyone came home.

It has been unusually hot for the time of year and the temperature has been up to 87F. They keep telling us there is going to be a cold snap and that the temperature will drop to the low 70's, which is of course still warm enough for us. The pool is really good for cooling down.

On Saturday I went to get my hair cut and we ate lunch out. In the early evening we walked along the Waterfront and engaged in some people watching. It was a beautiful warm evening with just the right amount of breeze.

Brothers

We are really happy that our grandson, Jayden is now living with his dad and the rest of the family. It has been a difficult time for them all but everyone is happy that the decision has been made. Lawrence and Tracy have welcomed him into their home and Thierry loves his brother. The boys are in the same school year so we are watching with interest how that works out. Thierry loves shool but Jayden's previous experiences of school have not been good so we are all keeping our fingers crossed that he will love it at Heron Cross Primary School

7 randon facts about us

Sue (Lily's other grandma) has tagged me with this survey. Below are the rules of the game.

~Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.~Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog, we all want to know them.~Tag random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.~Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. I was born in London, England and Arthur was born in Kingston, Jamaica.
2. We have now been married for 36 years.
3. We enjoy watching sports programmes, crime fiction and sentimental films .. Hallmark is our favourite channel.
4. I love using my laptop, have started scrapbooking and love looking at old photos.
5. We enjoy spending time with our grandchildren.
6. We have two dogs, Lady and Buster.
7. We hope to move to a bungalow some time this year.

I have tagged

Carol

Memories

I have been busy creating the memory book of my parent's lives and although it has been slow going I have really enjoyed the challenge. This week I have reorganised the pages and tried to do more journaling so that people's comments, recollections and the details are not lost. I took these photographs of one of my mother's treasured possessions which I have been looking after for her.




This Easter egg was bought for my mother by my father in 1945, a few months before they were married. It is a hollow egg made of sugar paste with small sugar paste flowers and what appear to be card figures and animals inside. It was bought using ration coupons at a sweet shop called Horwitz, in Dalston, East London. The original cellophane has now crumbled away so I have had to wrap it in cling film and there is some discouloration of the icing but it is remarkable for a 62 year old Easter egg.

All the time I am working on this project I am wondering what memories people will have of us and what possessions they will considered worth keeping. I have also started planning future scrapbooks, organising photos and looking out for suitable papers and embellishments. I have decided to start on at least one of these now instead of waiting until I have finished my parent's book. The small bedroom is beginning to take on the look of a craft room and I spend a lot of time trawling the online craft stores for bargains.

Fun activities

When Lily was last visiting we discovered a good place to take children to use up their energy. Gambado in Milton Keynes is a fantastic safe play venue for under 8s and certainly on our list of places to take the grandchildren when they are visiting. Its a good venue for adults to relax and chat whilst the children play and of course a good place for people watching.

Today we took Thierry and although it was busy being half term nearly two hours of activity now has him sitting quietly and ready for a nap.

There is a big soft climbing area with slides, tunnels and ball ponds, a dodgem car track and a carousel. Thierry's favourite thing was the trampolines.

I can't wait for our next visit there, although just watching

tires us out these days.

Cousins

We have just had a great two weeks with Belinda and Lily staying with us. One of our favourite things is seeing our grandchildren playing together. Lily enjoyed meeting Chisato and together they romped in the garden with Grandad, helping him clear the leaves, chasing each other and playing on the slide. Then we spent a few days staying in Stoke on Trent so that Lily and Thierry could renew their friendship. They are so close they are like twins, we hope they will remain so as they grow up. It was a shame they couldn't all be together during this visit ... we are looking forward to being able to arrange that one day...