A right royal occasion...

We eagerly awaited the big day here in our home. TV's & radio's were on in every room. We do love a party! A wedding is always a magical occasion, but a prince and his bride - extra special!

This is how I watched - via the internet as I worked. Jason watched downstairs and couldn't pull himself away from the action.

We loved it all the Abbey, the music, the dresses. What a special day it's been. There's been special kind of atmosphere, an excitement in the air, and certainly a coming together of community with a shared feeling of pride in our country.

Later we celebrated with our neighbours as they held a street party.

The boys LOVED playing football.

Delicious cupcakes - nope, I didn't make them.

How our street looked.

Nathaniel enjoyed his piece of cake.

And Tayler couldn't resist the ham sandwiches.

Easter looked a lot like this...

It's been hanging on our door for over a month, in anticipation of the Easter holidays.

Our holiday started with fun at our local green. The boys enjoyed a great time playing Frisbee and hide and seek in the woods.

Nathaniel shows his skill at picture taking ...

Cricket celebrations from Jarom - where did that ball go to?

Playing guitar in the sunshine...

Nathaniel getting his groove on.

Oh, how he loves his Uncle Timmy ...

Easter Sunday, and the traditional Easter basket goodies. Lego. Hotwheels. Tech Deck. Enough said.

After just a few hours, we were reduced to a few M&M's and a tiny bit of wrapped up chocolate.

Easter Monday, and the Baby Momma's (Auntie Katy & Auntie Chessy) amongst us fancied the cool & shade of the local woods. (We wished there were bathrooms too!)

The boys loved the activities in the woods. Extreme swinging.

Den building.

More swinging - which brought on the most extreme fit of giggling I've ever heard from my boy.

There's nothing like the feeling of a swing.

Ashley not to be beaten by the boys got in on the action too. Bursting bubbles was her favourite activity of the day!

But she also tried her hand at climbing. Go for it girly!

More Easter egg hunting. But I think by Monday evening the little ones were all chocolated out!

I loved their 'follow my leader' approach to the whole event.

A word of warning - chocolate bunnies don't tend to do well in heat! This one became a little mutated - but my older boys thought it was hilarious!

The end of another successful holiday. We ticked off a lot of activities on our 'to do' lists. But now it's back to school. For all of three days - before the next four day weekend! And that one is stacking up to be a right royal celebration!

A birthday party invitation...

Our sweet niece turned 4 last week. My, how the time flies, has it really been 4 years? I guess there's the candles on the cake to prove it. It seems like just yesterday that she was born, such an anticipated baby. We were all so full of joy. Jason raced to the hospital to see this little one on her first day, how proud he was of his little sister and her new baby. And here we are four years later and that little baby has grown into the most beautiful little girl. Confident and fun loving, she is a loyal and caring friend. What a joy it is to have her in our family!

Nathaniel was privileged to receive an invitation to the sweetest girly party ever. Bouncy castles & bubble machines, pass the parcel & musical bumps, a castle cake fit for a princess, and the yummiest selection of party food ever seen. Nathaniel needless to say had a wonderful time. With camera in hand I had the pleasure of documenting the fun - what better gift to give then the gift of pictures. Priceless memories to be treasured for years to come. Happy 4th Birthday Sweet girlie, we all love you very much!

We made a chocolate cake...

Nathaniel loves to bake. And of course loves licking the spoon, but please forgive the licking of the knife - I know, I know! This afternoon we gave a new recipe a go and throughly enjoyed ourselves dancing to the tunes on the radio and eating the remaining frosting.

Not so happy with having pictures taken...

But always a poser ...

Licking the last of the frosting, wherever it happens to be ...

This boy is trouble...

This little boy is fast becoming a real handful and no amount of discipline seams to work on him. Anyway, how do you discipline a two year old? We've tried the 'naughty step' - he literally jumps straight off it. We withhold treats - he whines and whines until you can distract him enough to take his mind off of the treat. We send him to his room - he jumps on the bed and plays with his favourite things. We point our finger and tell him he has done something very naughty - he puts his hands on his hips and 'growls' back. All of his reactions to our poor attempts at a telling off involve a smile and a giggle, he honestly sees life as one big fantastic game. What do we do?

In my heart I hear the word - Patience. Just be patient with him. I know that I need to be firm, not laugh myself in the middle of a 'telling-off' moment and be consistent. Let him know when he has behaved badly, and help him to recognise his mistakes. 'Sorry' is an incredible important word in our home, and I won't settle for anything less then a full and proper apology, even from my two year old. It's just incredibly hard to do when this boys is so stinkin' cute.

Late night crafting...

I love bunting. I have made several lots over the last few years. I'm not perfect at sewing, but I can just about do the job. Last week my sister had her baby shower and I thought it would be nice to make some bunting to decorate. It couldn't be simpler. Sew two triangular pieces of fabric together back to back along two sides, then trim the edges and turn the right way round. Attach each flag along a length of bias binding or ribbon, then sew. Easy. Just don't leave it right to the last minute like I did, sewing like a crazy woman into the night.

'T' Days...

Have I talked about 'T' days before? We have a slight gaming addiction here in our home. The Mac's, ipad, the DS's and the Wii, my boys are obsessed. I had tried for many years to bring this under control and create happy balanced children. My boys do love to read, Jarom loves stake boarding, his scooter and football; and Tayler loves to swim. But after Jarom developed a mild form of epilepsy which was induced by light (especially the light emitted by games consoles), we knew we needed to make some changes as a family. So we have made a few family rules, that we find really help.

Firstly we half the manufacturers game playing time - if they say an hour, we say half an hour. Secondly you must have a break from gaming for an equivalent period of time - if you've played for half and hour take a half hour break before playing any more games/or watching TV. Thirdly, if you've been watching a game over another's shoulder, that's classed as playing, and you'll need a break before playing yourself. Finally we have 'T' days (Tuesday's and Thursdays) where we take a break from TV and games consoles.

We've been doing this for a year now, and although we're not always perfect, it is making a difference. My boys are learning there is more to life then games. And Jarom has been symptom free for over a year and has been discharged by his doctor. So hooray for 'T' Days! Do you have anything that you finds brings balance to your life?

Pretty things...

Spring seems to have come so quickly this year, there are so many new blossoms, flowers and leaves. It's a wonderful sight and it makes me happy.

Nathaniel picked these pretty flowers from Nanny's garden, he was so excited to bring them home to give me.

I bought these because they reminded me of mum.

This is my Camellia bush in the front garden. I've never done anything with it and each year it grows a little more and produces the most beautiful flowers - I love that.

We went for a short walk yesterday to our local high street and saw so many beautiful blossom trees. They seem to be the tree of choice Weston-super-Mare. I loved the delicate pink of this tree, the blossoms were just bursting from it.

Our plan for the Easter Holidays...

Fail to plan and you plan to fail! We often find that the holidays go so quickly that we get to the end of them and wonder were the time went and what we managed to accomplish. Last Summer I made a list of activities and we managed to do almost all of them. We had such a great holiday, spent very little, and really enjoyed each day we spent together. The Easter Break this year feels like such a long time - 2 weeks & a day, then an extra day at the end of that week (the royal wedding), and another bank holiday tagged on for good measure - whoop-dee-doo!

So this is our plan. Will we fit it all in? I'm not sure. But we're going to give it a good try!

Baby Shower...

My beautiful sister is having a baby - in just 3 weeks! I'm so excited for her, and for Timmy her husband. They're going to be the most amazing parents. Yesterday evening we held a baby shower for her. It was definitely a 'we' hosted event because so many friends and family members contributed to making a really fun evening - all in honour of the celebration of the arrival of little baby Maysie!

I bought Tulips to remind us of Mummy, they were one of her favourite flowers, and when I see them I think of her. I edited and printed baby pictures of Mummy (Kate) and Daddy (Tim) as a gift for Maysie. I thought they would be fun additions to her nursery.

My other genius idea, (I'm actually amazed that I came up with it all by myself, I'm not that clever), was to have friends near & far offer little bits of advice to Kate. These were written down for her to read and I will be transferring into a beautiful baby book combining photos of Maysie, journal pages for Kate & Tim & these beautiful heart felt pieces of advice. I can't wait to put this little project together. I just have to wait for our little bundle of joy to get here.

Little nibbles, everyone contributed, how kind! (I made the bunting).

Crazy baby shower game anticipation!

Guess the chocolate in the nappy poo-poo game - don't ask - it's completely gross! (But alot of fun!)

Beautiful gifts, everyone was so very kind, Kate felt completely overwhelmed.

My favourite gift was from Kate's very best friend Cheryl. She made Kate cupcakes. These were absolute cupcake perfection. I have serious cupcake admiration, I admire anyone who can create beautiful things. And these were not only beautiful, but very yummy! Perfection.

Close up! Aren't they adorable - I just love the edible tiny footprint confetti. Amazing!

It was a really fun baby shower evening, and we are all now eagerly anticipating the arrival of baby Maysie.

Budding Picasso!

Nathaniel's first experience with paint. What do you think?

I loved watching him enjoy the experience. The look of enjoyment and concentration on his face were priceless. He wanted to try every colour and print with every stamp. He loved getting messy, and thought that printing with his hands was incredible. How wonderful it was to enjoy this first time moment so much together.

With so much to do here at home, it's almost understandable that Nathaniel has never experienced paint before today. But that makes me feel a little sad.

The solution to my problem - my friend Debbie invited us to her mother & toddler 'Messy Play' workshop. It's the perfect environment for Nathaniel to play, be creative and get throughly messy, and I don't have to worry about the tidy-up! We'll definitely be making this part of our regular weekly routine!

School Easter Projects...

I was so excited to receive a text message from school to say that my boy's would be having their annual Easter display yesterday afternoon. I thought 'How wonderful - a parade of hats, bags, Easter gardens & baskets, I can't wait!' I love celebrations! I arrived at school to find the children tucked away in their classrooms busying themselves with work and our projects, and tables displaying items the boys had made. I must admit I was a little disappointed - where were the parades, and the hats? Hump. Never mind, the boys had put a lot of effort into their Easter creations and I thought they were lovely.

Jarom's Easter bag - the one with the pipe cleaner writing - I thought it was a nice touch!

Tayler's Easter basket is harder to spot. I couldn't even find it myself, hence it's not the focus of this picture. The clue is in the fact it has no handle (he just didn't get round to adding that), and it's in the very far left of the picture, the one with the silver egg - very space age!

More about conference...

We had such a lovely experience listening to General Conference over the weekend, and I encouraged everyone to record their favourite quotes and special inspirations, which we shared together last night in family home evening.

There are still so many talks we haven't listened to, I've been getting up early and listening to the ones I missed. I've enjoyed this new morning routine, and hope to continue with it for a few months, until next conference in October.

So what were our highlights?

Jason enjoyed Priesthood session, and with Jarom fast approaching becoming a Deacon in the Priesthood, felt particularly impressed to work on his preparation.

Jarom noted that many talks mentioned missionary work. He recorded the question 'Will this buy me bread?' from President Uchtdorf's talk, in relation to the church's welfare programme and the blessings of the gospel. That was a really strong theme from conference. I also really enjoyed this talk.

Tayler loved the music, and particularly enjoyed the hymn 'Have I done any good in the world today'. I think we all felt inspired by that too. It was sung so beautifully.

As well as enjoying conference, Dad noted that the movie the church made Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration, was now available to view online. It is the first time the church has shared a full-length film on the internet, and I was able to sit and watch it. I was so touched by the carefully crafted acting and story telling, which I believe is a very realistic portrayal of real life events. It explains so beautifully the importance of modern prophets, the purpose of temples and the eternal nature of family relationships. I've also been able to share a link to the movie here on my blog. So sit back and enjoy - it's a long one, so get comfy, an I suggest a box of tissues at the ready might be a good idea, it's a weepy! I think we'll have a movie night soon as a family, and watch this together, the boys and Jason haven't seen it yet. Enjoy!

What an amazing mother's day weekend...

This weekend was so fantastic, not only was it mothers day on Sunday and I enjoyed an extra helping of love from my boys, but it was also General Conference and I got to enjoy listening to some fantastically uplifting and inspiring words from our church leaders. A truly amazing weekend.

These were the cards I received from my boys. They had put so much love and thought into them.

Mother's day breakfast! It's a tradition in our family, and I love it. Jarom later confessed that what looked like a lovely drink of orange juice was actually made up of Nathaniel's unfinished leftovers! Nice!

My mother's day gift - a herb garden for my window ledge.

Mother's day smile!

Jarom cooking my mother's day lunch - Butternut Squash Risotto - my favourite!

Everyone enjoying conference. I particularly love how Nathaniel got himself comfy in the bean bag. He loved his conference worksheets & clipboard, it kept him entertained for all of 5 minutes!