Whistle Stop Tour

Lucy and her little family have been and gone, the Island working its magic once again. We had some amazing adventures together and made some wonderful discoveries. Whilst the weather was a bit of a mixed bag it didn't stop us getting out and about.  They caught the first ferry out of Stornoway yesterday and have arrived back to their home in Hartlepool safe and sound, if a little weary.

For this post I thought I would give you a whistle stop tour of our recent trip visiting family and then hopefully normal services will resume.  It is my intention to catch up with you all over the next few days and can only apologise for my absence.  Your patience and continued support are greatly appreciated.  My prayers are certainly with all of those that have been affected by Hurricane Harvey.

Our whistle stop tour begins and ends with visits to Lucy in Hartlepool, although the photos are actually showing our day trip to Newcastle.  We had to get a picture of the sewing machines.  We parked in a park and ride area on the outskirts and caught the metro into the city.  We certainly crammed a lot into one day, shopping in a wonderful shopping centre and undercover as the weather was atrocious.  The Disney store was a must and then onto a walk to the Natural History Museum, passing some stunning monuments and a lovely old church on our way.

The university bringing back some wonderful memories of our visits to Newcastle when Lucy was reading Maths there, where she met James and the rest is History.

We had some amazing adventures together cramming in so much.  The Hartlepool Marina was a joy to walk around and a stop at the ice-cream parlour a must.

We certainly had fun throwing pennies into the monkey and choosing our favourite boat, even planning our little trips away together.  There was of course a little crafting done together, this time we became fashion designers and designed and made our own handbags.

All too soon our visit was over and off we went to visit my dear Mum and Dad, we enjoyed spending quality time together and planning our outings once they have moved.  The housing market is slow in their area at the moment but there has been a little interest so we are hopeful they will be with us soon.

We did have a stroll around a car boot sale with Mum and managed to pick up a few items that were on the shopping list, saving us money so a great bonus.  Our next stop on this Whistle stop tour was our visit to Amie in Ampthill, helping with childcare as her regular childminder was taking a holiday.  It was a joy to help out, we were so surprised how much Honey had grown and how independent she is becoming.  Already she is feeding herself and has quite the vocabulary.  Bertie is such a good big brother and loves to play alongside her most of the time unless Lego is involved, that is a completely different story...  We managed to cram a lot into a week, despite the rain.  Milton Keynes shopping centre had been converted to a beach for the Summer so we did have some fun there.

Bertie did manage a hole in one a few times, a budding golfer in the making.  Whilst Honey enjoyed Granny's makeup bag...

...a little too much.  We had a great day out at a local bird of prey activity centre, Herrings Green Farm.  There is something for everyone a great place to visit if you are in the area including over 200 birds of prey on display.  As well as flying displays which we all enjoyed, although Honey seemed to take more interest in the farm animals.  However, that could be that she was allowed to roam a little more freely.

Tyre clambering and horseriding was a highlight for Bertie.

We also had a trip to Bedford where we enjoyed painting some pottery, which included cake of course.  A trip to Tring where we had a busy morning around the Natural History Museum.

We had an amazing morning at Hitchin Lavender in Herfordshire.  It was a beautiful sunny day so it was a joy wandering along the rows of lavender cutting stems and filling our bags as we went.  Once again coffee and cake was enjoyed along with a stroll up and down the rows of sunflowers.  Another great day out.  All too soon it was time to say our goodbyes and drive to Norwich where we had another great few days with Victoria and her little family.  Another car boot sale was enjoyed.  Victoria and I had a few hours strolling along the many rows on our own whilst the boys had fun in the garden.  Once again I managed to secure a few bargains, a great bonus and lovely to spend some quality time with Victoria.  We had a wonderful visit to an indoor play centre, perfect for both the boys with activities for all ages.

The boys are certainly budding builders in the making and had great fun designing and indeed building a summer house for Granny.

The tractors were fun, there was a lot of laughter as Granny pushed them around the circuit.  

There was even a farm, so a great day out.  We were amazed by the extensive vocabulary of Hector who in just a few short weeks is now talking in sentences, albeit small ones.  

  The weather had greatly improved so there was fun with the sand and water table in the garden and lots of fun visiting the park.

All too soon out trip was over and we were heading back to our Island paradise in great need of rest and recuperation.  Our weary bones reflecting the amazing time we had with our daughters and their little families.  We are blessed with six amazing Grandchildren each one bringing us so much joy.  Life is good and we have so much to be thankful for.

See you soon.