Camping

We spent the weekend camping at the Rendlehsam forest Centre with our neighbours.

And apart from Hannah being the source of food for every mosquito in a 10 mile radius, everybody loved it.

Beth's Joke

Beth has a joke:

Knock Knock
Who's There?
Doctor
Doctor Who???

much laughter.... It's an old one but still funny.

Ross and the T-Rex

Ross and the T-Rex
Originally uploaded by BigBadJock.

Ross got a little close and personal with a model of a T-Rex head.

Natural History Museum

Dad and the kids
Originally uploaded by BigBadJock.

The day before Sandy and Ross had to fly home, we took all the kids to the NHM. I was slightly worried that they might find it a bit dry and boring, but they loved it, really really loved it, and didn't want to leave.

Ross Goes Rafting

Click to Play

All aboard

All aboard
Originally uploaded by BigBadJock.

My nephew Ross went along to a raft building course, and after much work, he and his crewmates finally take to the open water.

Ross's Volcano

Click to Play

Lovely come on it... brr

Lovely come on it... brr
Originally uploaded by BigBadJock.

And in last place...

And in last place...
Originally uploaded by BigBadJock.

look there was something wrong with the engine, that's why it was so slow... nothing to do with the weight of the driver, no definately not.

Stirling who?

Stirling who?
Originally uploaded by BigBadJock.

The Young Girl and the Sea

The Young Girl and the Sea
Originally uploaded by BigBadJock.

We took a day trip to Southend. Not quite swimming weather.

CatGirl on a wall

CatGirl on a wall
Originally uploaded by BigBadJock.

Tarzan boy

Tarzan boy
Originally uploaded by BigBadJock.

I am glad to see that the spirit of adventure lives on in small boys and hasn't been totally stamped out by Nintendo and the Sony PSP.

My nephew Ross

My nephew Ross
Originally uploaded by BigBadJock.

My brother Sandy and his son Ross are visiting for a week. Here's a picture of Ross I took at Stanstead when I picked them up on Monday night.

New York cab comes to Brentwood

New York cab comes to Brentwood
Originally uploaded by BigBadJock.

Beth, Heather and Ross on Shenfield common with a genuine American cab.

Sandy

Sandy
Originally uploaded by BigBadJock.

My little brother.

Old MacDonald's Farm

I took Beth and Heather to Old MacDonald's Farm yesterday. They really enjoyed it, especially feeding the animals, They have some deers there, a stag the spitting image of Bambi (with horns), and the girls fed by hand.

Fresh produce

Fresh produce
Originally uploaded by BigBadJock.

After a disappointing strawberry crop, we've had our first crop of broadbeans. This year we're growing strawberries, leeks, tomatoes, brussel sprouts. Next year we're planning on growing even more vegetables.

We're also on the waiting list for an allotment.

Bread Making

I do enjoy cooking, and on Monday I got the girls to help me make some bread, they loved the mixing of the dough, and kneading it. I let them make little mini loaves for themselves. They were amazed when we left it to raise, and how big it got.

We ended up with their two little loaves and three focciata loaves, and very nice they are too.

Speech Therapy

Because Beth had really bad ear infections, she had gromits fitted in June, and had her tonsils and adenoids removed. Since then we've been going to a speech therapist to help her improve her speech. She's doing well, and has been working hard on her 'snake sounds' s..moke etc. I can really hear the improvment.