Easter Road Trip

School broke up last Thursday, so on Good Friday we packed up the car and the children and made our way to south Wales to visit with our friends for the weekend. We love driving over the bridge into Wales.

Our friends live close to my sister Amy, so we got to spend the weekend with her too, and see sweet Isobel:

The children made Easter nest treats:

And I indulged in a chocolate bunny:

On Monday we said our goodbyes and drove on to Windsor to go to Legoland. Nanny Miles came with us (it was her Christmas present for the children) and it turned out to be the coldest day ever to be outside. (Maybe not, but it felt like it!) We braved the elements and had a great time, Noah and Ethan especially loved the Star Wars display:

We did a little gold panning:

There were lots of fun rides to go on:

The children loved the mini Lego scenes, especially the London one:

On Tuesday we went into Windsor itself to see the castle. The queen was in residence (Rosie kept asking if we could visit her!) and the Royal Standard was flying:

We were just in time to see the Changing of the Guards at the palace. It happens a couple of times a day; when the guards change shifts the traffic is stopped and the new guards march up the streets from their barracks with a band leading the way:

This happens every day, come rain or shine! I caught a little video of the guards returning to their barracks after the changeover:

I love our silly traditions. I also love old cobbled streets, I think they give a place character...

...as does crooked old houses:

I really enjoy walking around old churches; the wooden carvings, vaulted ceilings, tiles on the floor and stained glass windows are just gorgeous.

After a trip to the museum and a little window shopping, we drove back west to Bristol to finish off our trip by taking Ben and Ethan with us to see Imagine Dragons while Nanny Miles looked after Rosie and Noah. James' brother Dave met us there too, so it was nice to catch up with him. As it was the first standing gig for the boys it was quite a new experience for them, and they loved it.

The band were really energetic, you can't help but get sucked in by the energy of the music and lose yourself for an hour and a half. Ethan didn't complain about my singing in his ear all night, so I can't have been too bad!

The band handed out the printed set lists at the end of the show and Ben and Ethan were thrilled to be given one each, it was kind of them to single out the young fans and make sure they had a keepsake from the night. It was a great way to end our trip.

Family

This weekend we spent Sunday in South Wales; first stop was Brynmawr and Merthyr Tydfil for the blessings of our newest nephews on James' side of the family, Sidney and Seth.

It was so lovely to finally see the boys and have a cwtch! It seems I haven't lost my touch with babies either, they both found me sufficiently soft and squishy enough to have a good sleep on me.

On our way home, we stopped in to see my sister, who could resist a visit with this gorgeous baby?:

I love being an aunt, all the fun without the commitment!

I Love Where I Live

My smile lines recently:

Blossoms arriving on the trees:

Walking along the coastline:

Stone hearts on the beach:

The Shaldon ferry:

Carved wooden seats:

Sweet poems on benches:

Hide and seek in the trees:

Piggy backs:

Peacocks:

Woods:

Green door in a garden wall:

Devon has my heart.

Smile Lines

Noah: 'Why do they have to spoil a song with a rap? (Sigh.) They're doing two raps, what's wrong with them?'

Rosie: 'Ben, you look awesome. I think it's your hair. Yes, if you had hair like Ethan and Noah's you wouldn't look so awesome. You have great hair!'

Ben: 'Noah said I was a freak.'
Me: 'Well, you are a little bit!'
Ben: 'You're not supposed to say that!'
Ethan: 'She's your mum, she can say what she likes...even if it is child cruelty!'
(Sarcasm is our love language.)

In Search Of Snow

Most of the UK has been covered in snow this weekend, but not Newton Abbot! On Saturday we decided to go to the snow, and a ten minute drive to Dartmoor found us revelling in the white stuff. The famous Dartmoor mist was also upon us so it was truly a white wonderland! Ben took the wheels off his skateboard and found some hills to slide down:

Rosie was cold and her face looked mostly like this:

The moors are so pretty when it snows:

Noah:

Have you ever had a snowy love heart made for you? Well, I have thanks to Ethan:

Getting Back To 'Normal'

I can't believe Christmas has come and gone so quickly, and that we're all back to school and work already! We had a lovely, relaxing Christmas break, the photos are a little late thanks to blogger having issues with uploading pictures. I've found a way around the problem so enjoy a little catch up:

I've been thinking about all the things we've done this last year and I thought I'd round up my memories, starting with 'Events of 2012':

- My niece Lilly, born 29th February.
- Me and Jay reunited after four years apart. (Missing her too much again now!)
- Another niece Isobel, born 2nd May.
- Ben completed the Ten Tors 35 Miles challenge.
- We loved watching the London Olympics, and it was fun to see how London dressed herself up for it.
- Noah was baptised!

Here are my six favourite Instagrams of 2012:

The photos were taken in Cardiff, Dartmoor, Kingsteignton, Portland, Dawlish, and Dartmoor again. It made me chuckle that they were all pictures of the great outdoors!

Concerts of 2012:

- Coldplay
- Katie Herzig
- The Killers
- Butterfly Boucher (with Katie Herzig)
- Ben Howard
- Imagine Dragons

Thank you 2012, you weren't always great, but we had a lot of fun regardless!

Christmas Mug Shots

It's that time of year again where I make the children stand close to each other and try to make them smile and look at me, all at the same time. Honestly, the things they have to endure so that I can send some photos to family. I compared the 2011 picture with this years photo (same fake tree!) and realised just how big my children got:

I'm slightly concerned that Ben won't ever stop growing, he is fourteen and a half and is five foot ten inches! Can you believe there is only seventeen months between him and Ethan? I also noticed that Rosie's hair grew at a ridiculous rate over the year, and my little man Noah isn't so little any more.

 

Well, now that I've got my nostalgia out of the way, let me wish you a very merry Christmas from the Miles family!

Walking The Coast

I spent a couple of days last week walking along the coast and on Sunday afternoon we took the children out to finish it off at the Dawlish part. There's a stream that runs through the town and joins the sea:

The famous black swans live on the stream:

There's a train track that runs alongside the beach, and the children enjoyed walking under the platform, especially when the trains rumbled by:

There is a jetty or two to wander down while trying to avoid being splashed by the waves...

...and lots of pretty rowing boats...

...and rows of beach huts:

I love where I live:

Brentor

Yesterday we went on another walk to the moors (we are making the most of this lovely weather!). This time we visited Brentor to go see the church that was built in 1130.

The climb up:

If there is a bench you HAVE to sit on it! (Ben was out with friends so didn't make the walk.) Most pictures of Rosie end up with this crazy pose:

The steps leading up to the church:

It was so windy up here, but the views were amazing. I can't wait to come up here when it's covered in snow!

The church was open and it was so tiny inside. It was gorgeously simple and had a very peaceful feeling:

I love stained glass windows:

I'd go to church here every week if I could, just so I could walk out to this view:

Isn't Noah just scrummy?

 

He also takes a good photo on my phone!: