A visit to Gran & Opa's

We have just got back from a few days at Gran and Opa's in Yorkshire. It was really nice to see everyone and we got some good pics too!

Setting off at Earley station. Dr. Bear seems to be all geared up!

Meeting the neighbours. Just as we got to Gran's house, Kezia came face to face with this cat.

Strumming a few tunes!

In Knaresborough market square. We couldn't choose between these two pics, so we have posted them both.

Peepo! At the Market Cross

Trapped! Behind bars at Knaresborough Castle

Games time!

It was fun playing the fishing game with Auntie Matilda, and the action shot of the indoor skittles is great (Kezia insisted on having the skittles in a line!)

Having a go on Uncle Ollie's exercise bar - maybe Kezia is planning a career in the Royal Marines too!

We all went to Ripon on a double-decker bus!

On Friday we went to Ripon on the bus. It was FREEZING, so it wasn't great for mooching about, but we had a nice lunch and had a look in the cathedral. Love the newspaper headline too!

Snow! Again! (It snows every time we go to Knaresborough - well, the last twice anyway!)

More visitors

On Saturday, Opa's son Ben and his little boy Jacob came over from Sheffield for the afternoon. It was really good to see them. We hadn't met Jacob before, and it was the first time that Sarah & Kezia had met Ben. Good to see you, folks!

X marks the spot!

While Ben and Jacob were visiting, we all took turns at making pirates' treasure maps. Kezia & Matilda concentrated very hard on theirs!

Kezzie helping Ben & Jacob with their treasure map

Gran with Jacob (and CBeebies magazine!)

Time for a last chill-out with Auntie Matilda & a last story with Gran before the journey home

A shoulder ride from Opa

On the way back to the station to come home, Opa gave Kezia a shoulder ride. They even went a secret way that no-one else knew about! It was really nice to see everyone "up North"!

Great weekend catching up with cousins

We are just back from a busy, fun weekend seeing (Tristan's) cousin Gabe and family in Shropshire. The boys went to watch Villa v Fulham on Saturday afternoon, and then we spent the evening and Sunday morning catching up. Hadn't seen Gabe since 1994!! It was lovely to meet Gabe's girlfriend Cath and little girl Indy as well. Just ace to meet up after all this time. We'll have to make sure and not leave it so long next time!

Charlotte Beasley's 3rd birthday party

The last thing we did on this fun and busy weekend was to go to Charlotte's birthday party at Rivermead. Kezia could work off loads of being-cooped-up-on-a-train energy and she had a great time. The party had a huge bouncy castle and soft play area, which Kezzie absolutely loved. Then all the kids had party tea, and cake of course, which, judging by this photo, seemed to meet with Charlotte's approval!

A "Me & My Girl" trip out to Wokingham

I KNOW we put a lot of playground and cafe photos on this blog, and I KNOW that they can be a bit 'samey', but Kezia and I had such fun on our Daddy & Kezia trip out today that we really wanted to put these next few photos on. This coming weekend, we are visiting cousins and going to parties, so we will get some 'different' photos to post as well. Blimey, it's a social whirl!

Warming up in the cafe

Kezia is so grown up when we go to the cafe - (admittedly, she gets lots of practice) - she gets us a table while I am in the queue and gives me a thumbs up to show that she has found a spot. Today we went through her new CBeebies magazine, read stories, did stickers and colouring and studied lots of things through the plastic magnifying glass that came with it. It was ACE!

Wild, windy & wet Wokingham

Despite the drizzle and wild winds, we had great fun at the park. We had it all to ourselves.

Kezia loved this new climbing frame that they have put in since the last time we were here

Just as we were leaving the park, she found a HUGE stick, but I managed to persuade her that we couldn't take it with us!

Who says we need a dishwasher?

Kezia suddenly took it upon herself the other night to do the washing-up. We certainly weren't going to stop her. She actually did really well, though her tactic of filling the clean bowls and cups with cold water and putting them all over the kitchen worktops might need a bit of refining!.(2nd photo is all blurry but we still wanted to put it on.)

Happy Birthday Grandad!

We all went over for tea last Sunday to help Grandad celebrate his 65th birthday. It was great fun. We love the sheer concentration on Kezia's face while she is helping him open his present!