Plan B is just as fun...

What with a cancelled Christmas and two cancelled Portugal trips, it had been 18 months since we had seen the Bucks Rookes. So with the orignial holiday postponed till 2022, the McRookes travelled to High Wycombe for stop one on our summer holiday Plan B. 

And what a lovely time we had! There was a plethora of National Trust properties explored (Hughendon, West Wycombe, Cliveden, Waddesdon), a wonderful day boating on the Thames, walks in Marlowe and Downley Woods, great food and of course great company! And it was that latter part that really made it for us. It was so lovely catching up with all the Bucks Rookes face to face; we even dragged Rooke Senior down for the day, and managed to catch up with one of my cousins and our good friend Sarah. A lot of chat and laughter all the way! Thank you so much to the Bucks Rookes for hosting us and letting us stay in your home. And particular thanks to Will for letting us intrude on his space and putting up with a second shadow in the form of Niomi for a few days!!

Oh and there was also the small matter of a trip to HPW. But I’ll need to save that for a post all of its own 😁.

All aboard!!

Videoclip: Unpacking

To view the videoclip click here

Dad with his boys

What a difference 8 years makes!!

The Magnum Posse

Best Friends 1

Best Friends 2

One of the many beautiful places - Hughendon

Quintessential English countryside

Sisters

Videoclip: Skater Boy

To view the videoclip click here

Meringue delight

The mischief makers

A rare shot of the two of us 😁💗

Oh yes - it was a lot of fun!!

Let the holiday season begin...

Just a few days after schools were out for summer and we were off. Holiday numero uno. It was a strange one this year; we recently worked out we had had seven Covid-cancelled holidays, and so to make up for it had booked ourselves left, right and centre during the summer holidays. And first up, the old favourite - North Berwick - courtesy of Chez Gurney.

To add in to our hotchpotch of holidays, there'd been a little booking confusion on this trip; the Gurneys having got a little confused on their own holiday dates, which meant we were all bundled together for the first half of the week. But as Niomi would say - "that doesn't matter" - and indeed it didn't, as all the girls just entertained each other; Tanya got some 'above and beyond' help from Layla on the Edinburgh flat; and I just got to sit around drinking beer with John. What could be better!

So the week passed blissfully with trips to various beaches (despite a bit of haar), Balgone Lakes, Gosford Estate, the Law, and Dalkeith Country Park. It even included TWO visits from the tooth fairy for Niomi (she kinda assisted in the tooth extractions by intense wobbling).

And post-Gurney departure in the second half we also became socialites extraodinaire - catching up with friends David and Lesley; Claudia and David; culminating in two overnighters - first with Colin, then with the Parkers. Phew! It was epic and awesome. We had a great time - leaving exhausted but full of wonderful memories.

Wow - the holiday season had truly begun in style - let's hope for as many beautiful memories with the next few holidays!

All the girls

Superheroes

The tooth fairy came twice!

Videoclip: You're never to old to learn ballet

You can watch the video here

Tree climbing was all the rage

But Niomi wasn't always sure

Bigfoot

Videoclip: City of Sand

You can watch the videoclip here

Big sisters are always there to help

Beachcomber

Ray of Sunshine

Topping out on the Law with the Parkers

Sunset on North Berwick

Daddy's Delight...

Sometimes you just can't help but be grateful and realise how truly lucky you are. Fathers Day (or weekend!) was one such time. I ran out of fingers and toes to count my blessings. I was truly spoiled.

First came a suprise hot tub for the week! Delivery guy arrived with the hire and I was fairly adamant it wasn't for us till he showed me the order...Wow! Father's weekend off to an awesome start. Then there was a first drink in forever with some friends to watch the England vs Scotland football - in a garden admittedly but it was a start back to normality. Then the visiting Gurney's appeared and surprised me, as T had arranged a secret SUP on the canal for me with John and Andrew (2 of my favourite folk). Admittedly it was more kneel down than stand up for me - it was my first time after all, and I didn't fancy a dip in the canal - but hey, awesome nonetheless. And then great food and great company all night long. And to top it off Father's Day itself came with a stunning run along the Antonine Wall, and beautiful handmade cards and presents from my 2 special girls.

I am truly blessed....😁😁😁

Hot tub action

Ready to SUP off

On the canal

Roamin' like a Roman

One of Daddy's delights...

And the other...

Breaking out…

And we were off! With restrictions eased, we seized the opportunity to visit some of those we’ve not seen for far too long. First up it was Banchory and a long weekend with Nana and Baba. And what a fun packed time we had: horse riding, walks, hill climbs, ice creams, cinema, playparks, sunshine, hide and seek – we even got our first time away from the kids since the pandemic began for a lovely walk and meal out. It was everything we wanted, needed and much, much more…a truly wonderful time. We came back hearts a-glow.

And with barely a pause to come down to earth we floated up again with a second marvellous weekend away to North Berwick for quality time with the Gurneys. More fun to be had here with a trip up the Law, the beach, great food, a glorious run and stunning river walk. The sun shone once more and our hearts equalled it in shining out. Phew... we were fully topped up with much love after months of missed contact. Just brilliant to break out and be with those dear once more. And hopefully there'll be much more of that to come over the summer.

Thank you all for hosting us….we’ll be repaying your most generous and warm hospitality in the coming weeks 😁💗.

The Four Horsemen

Back in the saddle

You can view the videoclip of Horse Riding here

Videoclip: Horse Riding

Slow Worms

Go on...do it!!

Time off!!

Meal out with a view

I never tire of the beauty of Deeside

Summiteer once again

Family

The lush fields of North Berwick

Lost legs on beach

New find of the River Tyne

Cousins

The Great Outdoors…

OK – so despite Covid giving us a lack of things to fill the diary with – it appears I haven’t been very good at keeping this blog going recently. Hmmm...note to self to try harder. My only excuse is that I appear to have been stuck in some sort of Covid time bubble, meaning time has passed without me realising it. It's been 3 months since last post??? There was 6 inches of snow on the ground then and Emily had a broken foot….Ho hum, onward and upward.

So, what’s been happening? Well like most people I guess things have been fairly restricted, but as ever we’ve been busy making the most of opportunities available. I’ve bought, dismantled and reassembled a second-hand greenhouse. I operated a record length taxi service to bring Grandad out of solitude to stay at Easter (this probably aided the sad departure of our beloved old Volvo – the first family car – which formed part of many a happy memory). And, despite Spring being slow to arrive, the last few weeks have definitely been all about rediscovering the Great Outdoors.

We’ve new local finds like Fin Glen, the Campsie foothills and Gadloch. Tanya and the girls took a dip in Fin Glen – I wasn’t brave enough. We’ve been camping in Angus, had multiple farm trips including a trek with alpacas, and even been tree climbing like we’ve never done before! All good for the soul – opening up outside and poking our slightly lockdown weary heads back out into the world. No more home schooling and plans are forming for the next few months. But we’re trying to have a few Covid-keeps, things that we've learnt on the journey of the pandemic. So we're going to try going a little more gently and mindfully, and not getting ourselves so booked up! Let's see how long it lasts...

Easter madness

Card sharks

The new greenhouse

Lunch au plein air

The water was bracing

Thanks for the memories!!

Feeding the kids

It was a long way down to the beach

Camping come rain or shine

NBF's

In her element!

Determination

Life in the treetops

Bless...

Too much hangin' around. No wonder the blog doesn't get written!