Category Archives: Family stuff

family slack line

As many know I really like to whip out the old slackline when  there is nothing better to do.  For those who don’t know it is just a bit of tape between two trees that you put some tension on and try and walk along it, bit like tight rope walking – but less tight, and more emphasis on the slack, thus the name.

Lara is getting much better at it, and managed the first 6 steps along the line ( NEW RECORD!) , I was having an off day and was not up to much cop, but still fun and what i love about it is that you do have a really good work out swinging your arms all over the place trying to keep balance.

As is the way now – anything we do – Ellis wants to try it.  We were pretty impressed with her, she managed to put one foot in front of the other and walk along the line if we held her hands.  not bad for an 18 month-er!

Back to Gap

With the Sun from the last holiday fast becoming a distant memory we headed back to gap.  The three of us, the Burnett Clan and Rich went and played in gap.

We played with the kids in the Lac de Serre Poncon which was glorious this year and not as cold as last year

We took Ellis for walks in her backpack and saw lots of local animals and had picnics

And did some biking, was good with 4 of us biking as we could take it in turns playing with Ellis at the bottom in the park.  We all improved and found some nuts to go over some of the stuff we hadn’t in previous years.

Of course we spent the evenings playing cards, having BBQs and trying to drink France’s whole stock of Gin.  Was a lovely holiday and look forward to going back, rest of the pictures can be seen by clicking here

Tadeusz Family Holiday

We all went to Majorca and hired a big house with a pool for some much earn R&R in the sun.  We spent a lovely week on beaches around the pool, walking and eating and drinking the normal amounts for holiday periods.

Ellis loved the pool and learned how to fly a little – she also had her first experience of a beach holiday and loved the waves, playing in the sand and her daily ice lolly.

The rest of the pictures can be seen by clicking here

Glentress 7

Dave, Ellis and I pack up and headed south for the weekend to spend a weekend with a bunch of mates having fun and riding around a track for 7 hours. Unfortunately Rich couldn’t make it so Dave took his place  in the pairs with me and resigned from the solo category.  Dave and I were back racing together under a new team name and we both had a great time.  Ellis was an angel and slept for the first two hours and then was very happy entertaining/being entertained by everyone!

Friday night was the usual race prep. Dave and I ditched the curry this time and inhaled crisps and beer with the others while Ellis was zzzz in the wigwam. We didn’t go to bed too late as we were all tired after the drive.

Mucho coffee in the morning was required and a bacon roll from the Peel. Dave and I shared his new bike, Punchy the 29er which he has only had for about a week and I had never ridden.  I now want a new bike and have started hunting.

We all rode round in three sets of three and two sets of pairs. It was technically a pretty easy trail and involved lots of climbing which suited me well.  I think Dave and I clocked up over 3,000 metres of ascent and about 100km distance overall.

Martin, Richie and Donnie came 1st in the senior boys trios.

Russell, John and Ryan got 3rd in the senior boys trios.

Vic, Laura and Karina got 3rd in the senior girls trios.

Adam and Ben just missed out of the placings in the senior boys pairs.

And Dave and I came 3rd in the mixed pairs and 12th overall out of 100 pairs so we all did very well indeed and had a couple of well earned beers on Saturday evening.

As Ellis was such a star, allowing us to play on the Saturday, we took her to Edinburgh zoo on the Sunday. She is a little young to get really excited but she did like the meerkats (also our favourites), the penguins and the Leopard. It is a great zoo with lots of play parks and they do talks on the animals to give you a feel of what goes on in their worlds.  We will probably go again when she’s bigger as the biggest attraction for her was the slide!!!

Bathing Ellis

First off you have to get her to sit still long enough to wrestle her clothes off.  She them makes a sprint for the bath and tries to pull herself in.

It is at this point, without fail we have a little laugh to ourselves at her small bum and huge belly!

Once in she splashes around, throwing things in and out of the bath, trying to get any by standers soaked.  She is pretty good at having her hair washed and sits there and tolerates us pouring buckets of water over her head.

after 30 minutes she has had enough and makes it clear by trying to climb out.  She was lucky this time as Grandpops was here to play with her and dry her off.  Hope she continues to enjoy her baths.

Three families go away for the weekend

Euan’s relatives kindly let us go to their house in Boat of Garten for the weekend.  The Cartlidegs, Smiths and Burnetts all went en mass with children to spend the weekend in the Cairngorms.

On Saturday, we all departed on bicycle to go for a ride around Rothiemurcus forest with our children tucked up in the trailers being pulled by the dads.  It was Fin’s first time in a trailer and he took to it like Ellis and Sophie did…. he slept!  We rode for an hour until we found a great spot by a river and had a long lunch there.  The kids ran around (not Fin, give the poor wee fella a chance!!!) whilst we all had lunch.

Was a lovely spot and the weather was kind and warm to us, no midgies yet either – Superb stuff.  After lunch we carried on going and rode for about another hour

Once back to the start we found a coffee shop and sat and had some well earned cake, Lara and Scott went off for a further burn whilst we stayed and played with the kids. Once we had eaten our body weight in cake we all went back home.  Euan and I decided we would bath the girls and give the mums a bit of time to relax and have some wine.

Sophie and Ellis in the bath together is rather funny they both just splash each other and laugh.  Euan and I sat on the floor throwing things into the bath for them in which they would shortly re-eject them back out.  We both thought we were doing great until lainie came in and casually asked “ok, who shat in the bath”  Euan and i thought it was a joke until we sat up and looked in and one of them had!!!!!  We both jumped up and grabbed respective daughters out and inspected for and traces left on.  Won’t mention the culprit it would be nasty to name sophie as the bath pooper……

Little Fin, to young to really join in with have a bath with two nasty girls was happily lying on his belly making all sorts of weird and wonderful noises.  Never heard a baby make so many different noises.

He just lies there ” bbababab, grrrrrrrvum, bladddhaagagag, etc….”  he really is a little noise box.

Once all the kids were out for the count the adults sat around and ate dinner and enjoyed chopsing around the fire until it we were tired and all went to bed.

In the morning we all got up as and when respective children dictated with their screams.  The day had dawned another cracker and this time we decided we would go for a walk around Loch Eileen.  This time carrying the kids on our backs.

We walked around until we found another suitable spot to stop for lunch and again sat for ages playing with the kids.  The warm weather invited Scott and I to decide a swim in the Loch, so down to the smalls we went and in we went.  ‘Invigorating’ is how i would describe it.  We lasted all about 20 seconds before we couldn’t take it any more.  It was bloody freezing

I think we will have to wait a few more months until the Lochs are a bit warmer to think of swimming in them again.

A lovely weekend was spent and great to all get together and go away with the kids.  The rest of the pics can be seen by clicking here.

Trailer riding

We awoke to  massive hangovers after Ellis’s wild birthday party the day before 🙂  We woke up and looked out the window – sunny!  Bonus.  We had arranged to go for a bike ride with the Cartlidges along the Deeside way with the bambinos in the trailers.  Stupidly I played a game of  ‘paper , scissors, stone’ with Lara to see who would pull squeaker.  I never win that stupid game!

We rode from Peterculter to Crathes castle near Banchory.  The Deeside Way is an old converted railway line so a pretty smooth surface which soon had both Ellis and Sophie giving it the big ZZZZZZZZZZZs.

Part of my xmas present from Lara is a new rucksack that means I can carry my good camera with ease – so thought I had better get get on with it and try and get some nice pics of the families.  As always Ellis is a nosy little blighter and is always trying to fiddle with what you are playing with, so my setting where being destroyed by little fingers fiddling!

It was pretty cold and we did not hang around for long but the models where all obliging and there was not to much moaning

The girls loved playing in the leaves whilst Lainie threw leaves at them to try and make them smile.  Came out with mixed results with shadows all over the place.  I fancy going out again when it is a little warmer for the kids and have a proper go at family portraits.

A lovely ride with the girls singing as they went over bumps on the way home.  The last stretch was a long draggy up hill.  It makes for considerable work pulling the trailer up there. Lara pulled along side me on the way up and it was clear she wanted a race and fancied her chances.  We both slowly trying to be subtle sped up bit by bit to try and drop the other.  Near the top the cow just stood up and smiled at me and dropped me.  I had pulled her darling daughter for the last 25km and she goes and does that!!!!!  I am going to brush up on my paper scissors stones strategy so next time she can pull her!!!  Revenge will be sweet.

Squeaker is 1!

Well somewhere in between poo filled nappies, screaming nights, stair climbing, walking, waving to every stranger and eating her body weight in dried apricots – Ellis has made it to her first birthday!

We held a small party for her on Sunday where a few came around to share with Ellis her cake.  She was a little spoilt with all the presents she was given (thank you everyone for being so generous!)

She was pretty quick on the update on how to get into them and got excited as each new present was placed in front of her.

We have now found out she loves balloons and is not scared of them popping (braver than her Auntie Rachel…. ) Soon it was cake time.  She wasn’t really sure what to make of it.

But once the candle was blown out she worked out if was food and just attacked it with her grubby little mitts!  Once mum had cut it up she had her first proper taste of cake

Of course good old mum and Granny C had made her a lactose free cake and she could eat as much as she liked!

The rest of the day was spent playing with her new toys which she loved and by the end of it she was exhausted and went to bed early to sleep off the days excitement.  Thank you everyone.

For the rest of the pics click here

Long weekend in Surrey

I went down to visit the rellies in Surrey for a spot of wedding dress shopping (for soon to be wed little sister) and of course an opportunity for Ellis to spend some time with Granny C and Grumpsy and of course Aunty Natalilly.

We took a walk to the local pub on arrival into Chipstead and it was lovely to let Ellis run about while Papa and I knocked back an Old Speckled Hen or two and Ma and Natalie had a more delicate white wine spritzer!

Most of the next day was spent ogling wedding dresses in cambridge. Natalie couldn’t decide on the colour of a part of the dress so I got to try another version of the same one, purely to help out in her decision of course and not at all because I got excited in the shop and was desperate to try something on… Okay, a bit of both!

It was lovely to see Kerry and her bump which is getting bigger although she is beautiful and glamerous as ever. Sickening. We tried on some potential bridesmaid dresses but have not found the one(s) yet! Plenty of time for that.

Little Ellis loves the swings so Natalie and I took her for a visit by the hall where we went to playgroup (not far from the pub) and she had a lovely time on the swings and climbing frame, crawling through tunnels like Dougal!

We all then went off to the health club for some tennis and lunch and a bit of a swim. Ellis again had a lovely time in the pool and made me realise i will have to take her more frequently.

Sunday was time to come home again but nice to know that it would not be long before seeing them all again!!

Pics to follow!!

Welcome to the World Fin!

Delighted that at last Scott and Anna’s baby has decided to join us.  Anna did a sterling job and gave birth to a some what cute baby Finlay Alexander Burnett on Sunday morning. Excuse the dodgy phone pic, but it was all we had at hand.  He is a cute wee fella, although he does have a rather girly scream!   Well done you two and a huge congratulations.