August is nearly over and we’re slowly going into Autumn mode. The last weekend of the Summer gave us quite a lot of sun, which we definitely enjoyed! We worked hard, getting the car ready for sale…
Cleaning and buffing the car...
Getting some of the spoils from the allotment… (unfortunately the tomatoes are all destroyed, they had potato blight, sniff sniff…)
Are these carrots trying to tell us something? Yes!!! DIG DEEPER!!!
Dodging witches at the Medieval Experience in town…
It's not easy being green...
And waiting in line for the make-up stand:
Hannah the Dream Fairy
Truly exhausting…
Sam sleeping on the patio
And after walking into the room, crouches down and sleeps on... How sweet is that...
Today Sam and Amy went to see little Levina, Amy’s cousin’s second baby, who was born just over 4 weeks ago. What a little cutie!!! Sam was very impressed with big sister Tara, who celebrated her 3rd birthday 2 days ago and was wearing her birthday hat, made by the teacher in Kindergarten. Sam was very jealous of the hat, but then again, she had more interesting things as well, like a pram and a doll to push around the room… The two of them played like little darlings, while the momsies chatted away about diapers, poo, pee, and giving birth. Yup, the usual… Good thing the big boys weren’t there, haha…
Here’s the little ‘uns in action…
And also on the menu, home-made rosehip jam. The hips are on the stove, softening away, just as an experiment. There were so many at the roadside we decided to pick a small bag’s worth and make some jam. It is a messy job though… After deseeding about half, we decided to just let the rest cook to mush and then strain. We’ll see if it works!
Our baby boy is no more *sniff* He’s all growed-up now… *sniff*
Since last weekend, Sam has been ‘practising’ sleeping in his big bed, because he was getting out of his cot and then couldn’t get back in anymore, resulting in a lot of antics and screaming in his room *lol*.
It took a few ‘Supernanny’ sessions (i.e. sitting in the room, at the door, on the landing and putting him back into bed whenever he would get out), some screaming, and a few hours of Amy reading upstairs on the landing keeping an eye on things, but he’s got the hang of it now. He’s only torn one tiny strip of wallpaper off the walls, but is now quite well-behaved. And that deserves a present: his own brand-new big-boy duvet cover!
Here’s Hannah and Sam (reluctantly) showing it off:
Happy sleeping big man!
Sam is also nearly out of his diapers. As soon as he’s used to the bed, we’ll try and see if he can go dry at night as wel…
We would be soooo fat! Today was cleaning up day in the allotment. It had been a while, because of busy days, rainy evenings and other excuses… but, it now actually looks like a garden!
When Amy got there, one of the other gardeners had some bad news. Our neighbour had a terrible bike accident and unfortunately went into a coma and died. We wonder who will be looking after his lovely garden!
We had quite a good loot today, a box full of beetroots, loads of string beans, a few courgettes (one humongous one) and an arm full of rhubarb. Lots more is growing and thriving, good to see that we’re not the only ones making an effort (I mean, good to see the garden is pulling its weight). And, as we’ve now figured out this gallery function on the site (haha…), another gallery with photos!!!
Last Tuesday, Hannahs bestest friend Hester staid with us for a day, and because the weather looked nice, we decided to go to Nienoord, a family park with loads of swings, slides and lots more! We had a great day out. The girls (slides!!!!) and Sam (trains!!!!!) had a super day, and we were totally beat when we got home. Some photos and videos…
Sun, sun, terrible showers, sun, sun, more showers and more sun. That was the week here. We have been living outside mostly, and are now retiring back indoors, now the weather is turning more cloudy. In the meantime, we’ve cleaned out the upstairs rooms, and the house looks half decent again. Boy, 4 people can make a big mess!
Steve and the kids went out to play a lot, while Amy was working. No rest for the wicked… Holidays are great, but they do mess up your deadlines. So, to give Amy’s head some peace, Steve, Hannah and Sam went out on ‘adventures’… They are trying to visit all the playgrounds in Leeuwarden by the end of the year!
On the hottest day of last week, Thursday, we had planned another visit to Harlingen. There was a fair on, and we just wanted to get away and enjoy our time with the kids again! More beach, too!
We went by train this time, super relaxed, I tell you! It brings you straight to the centre of town, the terminus is at the city harbour where the ferries leave for the islands. Sam was very impressed with the train. And so were we, the Arriva trains are cool, very clean and with a huuuuuge toilet. Hannah went twice, to make sure she hadn’t made it up Sam looking out of the window at Leeuwarden station.
In Harlingen, we surprised Hannah with a pony ride. She loved it!
And here she tells you what we did that day on the beach:
Last Saturday, Simone, Gerrit and Jente paid a return visit. They were on holiday in Friesland and came round to see us. The two boys are great together, big eejits…
Sunday we played about in the park and visited Hanneke, who’s back from her holidays in France. She and two friends visited Taize and surrounding area. It was very impressive…
Bike is all fixed now, the front seat has now been moved to Steves bike, so that we both can take the little critter out. Hannah is now cycling everywhere herself, such a star!
And for those who are interested!!! We are looking for hat knitters! The regional theatre group Tryater is performing an epic spectacle this winter, and for this extravaganza, they need winter hats. Of course, Amy’s SnB group is already brainstorming, but here’s the article for those who want to read (or hear) more about it…: Omrop Fryslan
Good thing the big boys weren’t there, haha…
