Pepper Pig Weekend

Who doesn't love Pepper Pig ??

Emmie does.  We were looking after Emmie this weekend so we decided it would be fun to have a Pepper Pig weekend.

To start off the adventure Emmie made these cute cupcakes, with only a little help from Grandad.

The look on Emmie's face said it all when she saw Peppa pig, all six foot high!!

and George

We had a great fun day at Peppa Pig World, Paulton's Park in the New Forest.  We thought the whole place was simply fantastic and very well presented.  This Christmas tree was enormous.

It's really bright and colourful and there are songs playing and recordings  of all the characters, it really does feel quite magical and is great for young children.

Emmie had an amazing time on the rides.

                                                                     Windy Castle

                                           Grandpa Pig's Little Train

                                            Daddy Pig's Car Ride

This was her favourite ride so we had to do it more than once and Nanna and Grandad had to sit in the back.

We also did Peppa's Big Balloon Ride, Grandpa Pig's Boat Trip and Miss Rabbit's Helicopter Flight.
Miss Rabbit's Helicopter loads and unloads very slowly, because of the seat belts, so there was a long queue for this but Emmie was very patient.

Unfortunately, Emmie was just too short for George's Dinosaur Adventure.  Will have to return when she is 900mm but before she is 1 metre because entry is free for children under 1 metre.

It was a cold but sunny day and in typical English fashion we had a picnic.  Emmie enjoyed her Peppa Pig Cupcake and so did we.

Another of Emmie's favourites was Peppa Pig's House.

                                            Waiting for entry to the 4D Cinema at the end of the day.

and then, after a lovely ride home through Lyndhurst to see the Christmas Lights, bed in Peppa Pig's Big Bed.

Peppa Pig World loved by all......

Caroline's Baby Sprinkle

Tis the season for a beautiful bouncing baby.

Last weekend I co-hosted with Gemma and Tina a baby sprinkle for mummy-to-be Caroline.
Sprinkle because she did not want to be showered with gifts just the company of her friends.

It was lovely having all the girls and family together, those who have children talking about their brood and those who haven't wondering when/if they want to start.  It was a day to show our support.  Everyone at the shower showed Caroline that she had the love and support of everybody there.  Caroline is truly blessed with extremely kind, supportive and thoughtful friends and family.

There was a Christmas theme and Gemma did an excellent job of decorating.  So cute!

Of course, I had to make a nappy cake (instructions on a previous blog).  This time we played a game, guess how many nappies in the cake.  Lisa won with a guess of 72.  Spot on.

Gemma's adorable and delicious Christmas cup cakes.

Emmie helping with the Wishing Tree.  All the guests shared their advice and wishes for Mummy and Baby by writing their message on a bauble and then hanging it on the Tree.

We also had a Nappy Raffle.  As every new Mother knows, nappies are the one thing you can't have enough of so thank you to everyone for bringing so many packets of nappies.  We then entered the names in a Raffle and Hannah won.

We also played the Old Wives' Tales Trivia (again details on previous blog) and once again the Old Wives' predicted Caroline will have a Baby Girl.  We will see.

All the Guests completed a Baby Stats Card as follows:-

Baby's Date of Birth
Baby's Time of Birth
Baby's Weight
Baby's Length
Baby's Hair Colour
and finally Baby's Name.                    

Winner to be announced.

Aunty Tina predicted:-

9th January, at 4.15 p.m. 7lb 9oz 48 cm  dark brown hair - William Philip

so is the Winner.

Correct answer

8th January at 7.25 p.m.  7lb 5 oz  48 cm  black hair  James William.

Well done Tina.

May God Bless your new baby Caroline.

Emmeline and Chloe visit Father Christmas

Emmeline and Chloe were magically transport to Father Christmas' artic homeland:-

Oh, my goodness! Friends celebrating 140 years.

To celebrate a 65th birthday and a 75th birthday is extra special.

Sue and Mike very kindly invited us to join their birthday celebrations at Keis Chinese in Runfold.

It was a fantastic day and may you both have an incredible year.

The birthday girl with her daughter Melissa

and son-in-law Steve

Happy days

The birthday boy Mike

More wine?

Izzy using her chopsticks!

And more wine!

Melissa's excellent cappucino cake.

Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you,

Happy Birthday dear Sue and Mike.

Happy Birthday to you.

Romantic Anniversary in St. Lucia

How wonderful to be able to spend our 37th wedding anniversary in St. Lucia.
The island, with it's natural beauty, seems to have been made for romantics.

We stayed at Rendezvous, set on St. Lucia's largest beach, surrounded by lush botanical gardens where the air was scented with the blooms of orchids, oleander, hibiscus and other exotic flowers.  Situated on the north west tip of the Island Rendezvous is a resort just for couples, where we enjoyed pure relaxation and genuine St. Lucian hospitality.

Our room had a wonderful view of the Caribbean sea.

No television in our room but there is always the internet cabana.

St. Lucia is a super slow island with not that much going on which is a wonderful quality to have in a destination if you're looking for maximum relaxation and minimal obligation to "do touristy things".  However, for active types there's almost every imaginable activity from yoga and aqua fit to scuba diving and sailing.

We did escape on the Dive boat to The Pitons.  They are St. Lucia's most famous landmarks and quite rightly so!  The towering twin volcanoes of Gros Piton and Petit Piton majestically rise 600 ft from the blue waters of the Caribbean Sea.  The area is not only a UNESCO designated World Heritage Site, the clear waters are also part of a Marine Reserve, protecting the reef that thrives just off the beach.  It is FAB U LOUS for snorkelling and diving.

Whilst Phil was diving "Jacques Consteau" was my snorkelling guide.  He made it so enjoyable, telling me the names of all the fish and pointing out where I should be looking.

Phil went diving every day but I was more than happy to have spent an hour or so reading in a lounger.

especially when the crabs are sooooooooooo large!

Plenty of wildlife for me to watch on the beach.

We also had a wonderful view of the Wedding Gazebo from our balcony.  I loved watching the weddings at 4 p.m. each day with a glass of bubbles in my hand.

The Champagne Bar stays open until the last reveller calls it a night - Not us!

Dinner by candlelight at the Terrace Restaurant was very enjoyable.  A different theme every night - this was the Caribbean evening.

And after dinner calypso rhythms and reggae tunes added a definite element of excitement to the balmy evening.

Romantic vibes on our 37th wedding anniversary.  From breakfast to bedtime it was the perfect day.
Thank you Phil.

Sunset on our anniversary - with a romantic stroll to the Lighthouse then a walk home back along the beach to a waiting glass of chilled champagne.  (28 other guests did come with us but it made it more of a celebration - all congratulating us and asking for advice on how to stay happy after 37 years!)

and a wonderful surprise from the children on our return to our room.

Thank you - we are so lucky.

Surrendering to the Caribbean's deliciously slow pace of life, rum punch in hand, of course.  Actually he had already drunk it!!!!!!!