Bonkers part 2

Here are a few of the 'less artsy' pictures I took on Sunday.

I love Nathaniel's pose - that's his 'ready, steady, go' pose - and then he's off at lightning speed to cause trouble somewhere! Isn't the bandstand great? I took some photographs for a friend here a few weeks ago, I'll be posting pictures on my photography blog soon.

Nathaniel does not look impressed with Daddy planting a big one on Jarom. I'm sure Jarom is pretty mortified too - he's 'too big for it now, and ow Dad, not in public!'

I love this shot of Tayler, he was just loving all the conkers he found, nice!

A big pile on. The boys thought I was nuts getting them to do this. It actually doesn't make for a great picture, but the boys got to have fun and squish Jase in the process - great!

Photo sessions with mum have never been so good!

Bonkers for conkers!

Last week it was blackberries and this week it's conkers. I love this time of year.

Yesterday's Sunday walk to us to Ashcombe Park. We discovered a whole new side to it too, a quieter, more picturesque side. Isn't it pretty? Jason was worried we may have missed all the good conkers this year, so we chose to go to our local park to check out if there were any left.

We discovered a few lone trees at the bottom of the park that no one had bothered with, and with them found the biggest horde of conkers my boys had ever seen (Jason included). They went crazy for them. They gathered the biggest pile they could and then carted them all home. We had a lot of fun taking pictures and making special creations out of out new found treasures. I post more pictures tomorrow, but for now I'll leave you with the serene park scenes.

This week I have been ... Visiting Teaching ...

This week I have spent some time with my friends visiting teaching. I am so grateful for this programme in the church, it's so great to get together and just talk. I have been so super busy over the last few weeks, I really had to struggle to find the time, but it was definitely just what I needed, to spend time with people I really love and admire.

So the message to teach to each other this month was about our responsibility to teach the rising generation. It was a good message. I have pondered it and thought about what I shared, and feel disappointed that my heart wasn't in it. So I'm doing a 'do-over' and sharing my thoughts with you.

I switched on my computer this morning to find a talk Jason had been reading by Elder Robert D. Hales, he had been using it to prepare his training lesson for the church youth leaders this evening. I thought I would read it through for my early morning study this morning. I was impressed with something he said in relation to teaching our children -

"There is no substitute for seeing the gospel lived in our daily lives. The stripling warriors did not have to wonder what their parents believed. They said, “We do not doubt our mothers knew it” (see Alma 56:47–48). Do our children know what we know?"

This is the message I wanted to share whilst visiting teaching. It reminded me of a recent church message that I really enjoyed watching, hope you enjoy it too.

Autumn is in the air...

We all love the Autumn season in our home. We love the cosy feeling of evenings together, celebrating Jarom's birthday, Halloween treats, Christmas just around the corner and blackberry picking. Ummm blackberry picking. We went up to our favourite spot on Sand Point to collect berries again this weekend and gathered a good crop. Nanny has said she will make them into a crumble for us, yummy, she makes the best crumbles. How wonderful it feels to go on a walk and harvest the scummiest treat, for free. I love the free bit. My weekly shopping budget is taking a huge hammering at the moment, I just don't seem to have enough money to feed my 5 hungry men, so free food sounds great to me.

My challenge to you is to go blackberry picking too, enjoy the sweetness of free food. Leave a comment if you do, and let me know what delicious yumminess you make with your berries.

Who knew brushing your teeth could be so much fun?

He does look like he's having fun doesn't he. On this particular morning he really was. He was singing and dancing and loving brushing this teeth. Usually it's a different story...

He's grumpy and yells like I'm attempting to torture him. I have to pin him down and scrub quickly so that I make the most of what little time we have before he makes himself really upset. He likes the taste of the toothpaste which is good, I guess, but he just wants to suck it off the brush, so again, I have to make a quick dash attempt to clean as many little teeth as possible before he sucks all the toothpaste away. This is not good dental hygiene. Lets hope all the brushing is worth it because tomorrow Nathaniel has his first trip to ... the dentist.

What have we been up to over the last week?

You've probably been wondering where we've been. Sorry about the lack of blogging. We've been extra busy this week.

Nathaniel has been - playing, enjoying spending time with his grandpa, watching cbbies, and playing in the garden (when it hasn't been raining).

Tayler has been - enjoying being back at school, playing with his friend and going round for dinner, swimming at his swimming lesson.

Jarom has - gone off to Kilve, bet he's having the time of his life!

I have been investing a lot of time and energy in the usual motherly duties and also putting in extra time establishing my photography business. I am now officially registered, insured and just about ready to go. Click on the link to my business blog site if you'd like to see what I've been up to.

Jason has been wonderful this week - going to work, making all the lunches in the morning, proof reading all my contracts and price lists, going to church meetings etc.

And why, after all that, have I posted a picture of my son picking his nose? No other reason but the fact I thought it was funny and light hearted, and we all need that after such a busy week.

Pictures at sunset

Our last few days before heading back to school have been really busy. We've crammed in the activities right to the very last minute. On Tuesday my Auntie (My Dad's Sister) came to visit from Bournemouth, and we had a lovely few days together. We took the boys to Puxton Park on Wednesday and in the evening headed down to the beach to snap a few pictures.

It was nice treat for Tayler staying up a little later to enjoy his last night of freedom before school.

Jarom chose to stay home and discuss Birthday presents with Grandpa and uncle Tim. These are my first pictures using evening sunlight. I'm not overly impressed myself, not sure what all the fuss is about really. The look of these pictures has been really key this season. I guess Tayler's face says it all. I much prefer beautifully defused woodland light - umm, lovely! Anyway, it was nice being out in the evening with the camera in hand.

So my boys are back at school, and they gave their first day back experience 8 out of 10. Not bad! I'm really pleased that they had such a good time. Let's just hope it lasts.