Summer Holiday

Hi, well I am back at work again now after having a good two weeks holiday, although the weather wasn’t particularly good, and it went way to quickly!

We didn’t manage to get to the beach which was a shame and only had a couple of BBQ’s on the last weekend of the holiday, but we did manage to do quite a few things, which was great.  The first week we mostly did a lot of painting as we needed to lighten the hallway up as it was way too dark in there, especially during the darker days.  So we painted it all a light sandy colour and I think it looks a lot better now.

Also during the first week, we went off and visited a few places in Devon.  We managed to go to Barnstaple, Braunton, Saunton Sands, Croyde and Illfracombe in North Devon all on the same day.  It was very tiring but highly enjoyable!  The weather stayed good for most of the day, up until about 4pm when we were leaving Braunton.  We had a good look around the places we stopped at.  Barnstaple was like a normal town (like Plymouth really) with nothing out of the ordinary apart from having to walk across a bridge to get from the car park to the town centre!?!  We had never been to Barnstaple before so it was something new anyway.  Braunton was a very small village made up mostly of restaurants and Surf shops.  Nothing much there at all, so we didn’t stay long.  I had been there once before, over 10 years ago and it didn’t look at all like I remembered it.  We then drove past Saunton Sands and stopped on the cliff to have a look down at the Surfers and the rain that was coming in from the sea.  Then we went on through Croyde and made our way to Illfracombe.  By this time it was absolutely pouring down, which was a major shame.  Even so, we parked up in Illfracombe, but Ben in his pram with the rain jacket on and went for a walk.  It was quite quiet there and lots of shops had closed, I guess because of the weather, but we had a good walk from the car park (which was on the cliffs) through the resort-like area and ended up at the harbour.  We did have a nose in some shops on the way and bought some lovely fudge, and finally had fish and chips back at the car.  Unfortunately, the fish was horrible, which was a shame.

Later on in the week we went out to Tavistock for a look around and Ben had a go on the swings, and the weather was good after a heavy shower to start with.

The following weekend we went to Polperro as we had never had a proper look around their before.  I had been there once before for a meeting for work, but Kelly and Ben had never been.  There wasn’t really much to look at but we had a nice walk through the town and out to the harbour.  We then met up with Mum, Darren, Marina, Robbie and Myra at Smugglers Rest at Talland Bay for a meal.  There was also a band playing and they were great, and so was the food as usual.  I had a lovely mixed grill which completely filled me up!  Luckily the weather was pretty good for a change, so we all had a good time, especially Ben who had several people we didn’t know wave him goodbye after he was stood on the table dancing. 😉

During the second week of my holiday, we didn’t really go anywhere at all.  Just lazed about at home.  We did go down to my Grandpa’s house in St Columb Major with my Mum for the day, and took Ben to the park and had fish and chips for dinner.  It was a very nice day, but went very quickly!

So all in all, the holiday was very nice but went too quickly as usual and I didn’t really want to go back to work to be honest! ;0)

Bantham with Ben

During the last fine weather we had (which was a few weeks ago now!) we took Ben to the beach for the first time (properly, not just for a walk) and he seemed to enjoy it.  He did find the sea a little cold but was ok until he fell in!  He then had a go on my bodyboard and was enjoying that until, again, he decided to roll off into the cold water.  Let’s just say there was a bit of crying involved! ;0) We had bought a tent for him to stay in to keep the sun off him and it was great, he even fell asleep in it for his afternoon nap.  We were a little surprised at this as it is usually a struggle to make him sleep anywhere but at home.

Kelly and I enjoyed the day at Bantham Bay as well, as we hadn’t been to the beach for over 2 years (2 years ago the Summer was terrible, and last year she was heavily pregnant) so it was great to finally feel the sand between your toes on a hot day (even though it was a bit drizzly and cold to start with!).

I went on my bodyboard for the first time in years and enjoyed it a lot, even though I was struggling to catch any waves.  I don’t think it was me though, as others seemed to be struggling as well!  The water was cold when I first got in (no wetsuit) but I aclimatised to it after a few minutes, and had some fun.  Looking forward to doing it again, although my ankle did ache a bit after all the paddling.

To end the day we had a BBQ at home which was very nice, and a few cans were downed as well! ;0)

Here are a few photos from the beach. Enjoy!

What have I/we been up to???

Well…I haven’t posted anything on here for a few months so I thought I would give everyone an update on what has been going on!  And the answer…..not much at all really 😉

Since Christmas we have been coming to terms with looking after Ben, which we love really, even though he needs attention all the time.  He is now 8 months old and is a proper little man! He can sit up on his own, clap his hands, and is generally a very happy chappy.  We just can’t believe it has been 8 month since he was born. Shocking!

Apart from that we have decided that we must live in a different world (Plymouth) as when the WHOLE country was battling with the Snow in early February, we had a light sprinkling, and that was that!  Only 15-20 minutes up the road from Plymouth, there was heavy snow, and if you travelled about 35 minutes up the A38, you would have been caught in a severe blizzard that caused the road to be shut, and many people to abandon their vehicles for a small parish hall for the night.  Amazing.  I love the snow and would have loved a decent covering, but it wasn’t to be yet again.  It is very strange as even as far South West as Penzance (which theoretically should have less chance than Plymouth to get snow) had bucket loads of it.  What a crazy place this is!

We have also had probably the earliest BBQ party in family history, with it being held on Easter Saturday.  It turned out a fantastic choice as it was the hottest day so far of the year, almost a Summers day.  We had a great time and ate and drank too much!  And then had a good laugh on our newly bought Nintendo Wii.  Good fun was had all round!

28th Birthday

Its official….im nearly 30! Only 2 years to go now.

On the 17th I celebrated my birthday and had a really nice day.  I got stacks of presents including DVD’s, books, a CD and an external hard drive for my computer.  We were up early that day anyway because of Ben’s sleeping pattern, even though I had the day off work.  Bit of a shame that we couldn’t have had a lie in but it couldn’t be helped.

Once I had opened my presents and cards we decided to go out for lunch and take Ben out for the first time properly in the car. So, after about two hours of getting ourselves ready, we finally ventured out to get a couple of pasties from Plympton and then on up to Cadover Bridge on Dartmoor.  Ben was fine in the car when it was moving, but he cried when it stopped, so Kelly had to stay in the car and feed him his bottle whilst I popped out to get the pasties. 😉

He was great though when we got to Cadover Bridge in that he was fast asleep, so we were able to eat our lunch in peace.  We even managed to get him outside as well, although he was fast asleep so didn’t really take anything in, which was a bit of a shame.  It was a nice day as well!

In the evening, Mum, Tony, Darren and Marina came over for tea and Tony paid for an Indian takeaway for us all, which was lovely!  Could eat it now! 😉

So I had a great day on my birthday, and am now looking forward to Christmas! hahaha

The Birth of Ben

As you are probably all aware by now, well, those who are family and who read my other blog (http://babyblog.sgtworld.com) will know that I am now a proud Dad to a little boy called ‘Ben.’  He was born on the 1st October at 19:09 and weighed in at 7lb 4oz, with blue eyes and dark hair.  He is very cute indeed.

To see pictures of him, go over to the Babyblog.  The link can be found above and in the blog menu on the right. 😉