We've had a wonderful week!  Last Monday we attended the Nidderdale Show that we'd been helping Peter prepare.  It was a fantastic day and the girls behaved very well considering how tired they were!!  Sadly the weather we enjoyed on the Sunday and the Tuesday after the show didn't bless us on the actual day but regardless people enjoyed it and turned up!!  I was kicked and then stood on by a Highland Cow which was very, very painful to say the least but I was brave (it's amazing how "brave" you become when you've two little faces looking worryingly at you!!).

 

On Tuesday morning, I dropped the girls off at Playgroup and headed back to the showground to help with the clear-up operation.  It's amazing really that it takes a week for all the preparations, marquee erection, electrical cable installation, pens etc yet only a day to remove virtually every trace of the show and allow the sheep to once again graze!!

 

I picked up the girls, we enjoyed lunch and got busy packing our holdalls for our few days away with Peter in Scotland - I cannot express how much I was looking forward to the trip!!  We left the house a little later than expected but enjoyed a pleasant drive Northward to Ayr where we spent our first night.  I can recommend Premier TravelInn for anyone travelling with young children - they not only put up but actually made up with blankets a travelcot for Martha and the sofabed for Lauren.  It's amazing how much space you have when you don't need to bring along travel cots and bedding!!  My only improvement for when we do it again (I gave this advice to my sister but stupidly forgot to apply it to myself!), is to pack daily (well 24hr) packs in carrier bags so we only need to talk a couple of small bags in at each location.  It's hard work carrying heavy holdalls whilst trying to make sure your children aren't getting trapped in doors or running away!!  One other advantage about staying in Premier Travel Inns is that each room is virtually the same, the first night away, the girls were very excitable in the "new" room however come the third night they seemed to have become used to the layout and the novelty wore off meaning we got better and better sleep each night.

 

After Peter did his work in Ayr, we drove further NorthEast towards Perth, Stirling and St Andrews.  After his jobs, we took a break to visit the beautiful beach overlooking RAF Leuchars airstrip where not only did we take in the most stunningly sandy beach but also were thrilled to see numerous fighter jets take off and train!  We're so used to seeing them flying so fast over our house that it was great to see them at lower speed.

 

Whilst Peter did his work, the girls and I ventured around the various shopping centres and precincts.  I tried to purchase some boots for Martha and nice shoes for Lauren.  I took them to Clarks to get their feet measured and Lauren was hFappy when she was allowed to get her feet measured on the "big girl" machine!!  They are now size 10G and 6F.  I couldn't justify the cost of the boots in Clarks for Martha and unfortunately, as I seemed to encounter throughout the trip, I struggled to find any shoes to fit Lauren that weren't school shoes, trainers, boots or party shoes.  Sadly, Lauren didn't get her much needed sensible, but not school shoes but Martha is now sporting a lovely pair of boots from Barretts for the relatively cheap price of £18 - compared to Clarks £36!

 

 

The highlights of the trip has to have been seeing my sister Laura and her boyfriend for dinner one night and the next morning, my elder sister, Jan and my lovely nieces.  It feels like such a long time since I've seen and really spent time with them - I knew I missed them all but don't think I realised how much until I saw them!

Jan and I had a very happy trip to Lidl - I LOVE that shop and can't wait until the one near me opens!!  Jan very kindly bought me some spring bulbs and a french manicure kit that I can't wait to plant, I've picked out the perfect places!!  Thank you Jan!!  I was disappointed to come home a bit earlier than I expected but was so glad that we were there and better still that the trip wasn't (or didn't seem to be) as tortuous as Peter anticipated, hopefully leading the way for future and more regular trips!!

 

Yesterday I attended the penultimate session of "Getting your child ready for school".  I am really enjoying the sessions and will be sad at next weeks, however they have been fantastic at showing me a) how much the schooling system has changed and b) how I can really help Lauren with this bonus year at home we have.  She is really keen to learn to read her books herself at bedtime, and whilst I know that I will be very unlikely to achieve this, I can at least start to get her used to the language used to teach at school and hopefully give her a headstart if she wishes.