Snow, snow, snow

Matt and Tom sledging

On Thursday it snowed.  On Friday it snowed.  Not too much here in Ingleton, but a couple of miles up the Hawes road it was thick.  We went for a trial sledge on Friday evening after school which ended in tears because the snow was hitting his face!  On Saturday morning the snow was still there and Tom said he wanted to go sledging again so we headed back to the Old Hill Inn again.  There were a few people there when we arrived including Kiera from Tom's class which helped.  We joined in and before too long Tom was enjoying himself on the sledge whizzing down the mountain side.  Matt and I also got plenty of turns on the sledge.

Tom going over the jump sledging (not sure how he stayed on it?!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwbD6SRH3Es

We spent 2 hours whizzing up and down the slopes and then headed back to Ingleton in search of lunch (soup at Inglesport).  We then headed to Ulverston for a walk up to the lighthouse there.  The further West we went the lighter the covering of snow, until there was nothing at all.  In Ulverston it was hailing.  We thought Tom wouldn't want to walk up to the lighthouse in this weather, but he was a true soldier and made it up to the top without a hint of complaint.  It was a good view.  We descended, had tea and a bun in Booths, a look around Mountain Warehouse and then headed to a good pub we know for dinner.

On Hoad Hill

Sunday morning, Tom wanted to go sledging again - so we headed back and once again had lots of fun, although Tom kept bailing out of the sledge on purpose each time he went by himself?  Oh hum. We met up with the Bickerstaffs there and somehow ended up in the Station Inn for lunch and a pint.  We had an easy afternoon of homework, baths and dinner of pancakes.

Matt sledging: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo-OckhZFkU

Matt crashing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFTqP3rymns

Visitor from Japan

Junko, Dr Yellow and Tom

On Tuesday, we had a Japanese visitor come to stay.  Junko is the daughter of the lady who used to rent the top floor of Pat and Bob's place in Ealing.  She came over for a visit last year and stayed with Pat and Bob, this time she requested a visit to see us, so she got the train to Oxenholme and Matt picked her up in our BRAND NEW CAR - yes we said goodbye to the Lancer and bought a new Civic - Honda had the best deals on and this time Matt was able to control himself and went for gadgets rather than performance.  I had a Civic with Baxter Storey so we know the car well - it was very reliable then so we hope it will be again now.

They arrived whilst I was at school picking up Tom.  She and Tom bonded immediately (she's Japanese isn't she and he likes everything and anyone who is Japanese).  I made a proper traditional English roast - introduced her to Yorkshire Puddings and parsnips.  It all went down well.  She was very easy to talk to - her English was very good, but her manner made her easy company which is always good.

On Wednesday we took Junko out for the day.  We were going to take her to Hawes, but it had snowed overnight (typical as our new car is 2 wheel drive - the Lancer was 4wd!)  The road was icy and covered in snow so we decided it was safer to head elsewhere.  We drove to Settle for a look around and then Grassington for lunch and a shop.  We weren't sure how many shops would be open but we were quite lucky, although Junko didn't find anything she was interested in.  Not to worry she saw lots of Yorkshire countryside - very very different to Japanese scenery.

We got back just in time to pick up Tom.  Then after a play, we headed to Casterton - Tom went swimming whilst Matt and Junko went to the pub.  Tom and I caught up with them after swimming, we had a meal and then came back home.

On Thursday, Matt took Junko to Hawes, then Sedburgh before returning her to Oxenholme.  Apparently she had a great time in Hawes, buying a £210 Barber jacket, several oven gloves, a flat cap for her brother and some cheese (of course)  It was a happy day for Hawes!

Anyway, it was lovely to have her: happy, easy company.  We hope she comes back to visit again.

Center Parcs

Last Friday we took the car to school and picked up Tom.  We were off to Center Parcs - there is one near Penrith, just an hour's drive from here.  I did some research last year and found that in January a visit is £100 cheaper than any other time of the year, so I booked us in as everyone had told us how good it is.

Timber Lodge

We drove up the M6 in the howling wind and rain, fully laden with bikes on the back of the car, (you can't drive once you are settled into Center Parcs, you cycle or walk everywhere.  We stopped off at Tebay Services to buy some food - we picked up some good looking burgers, bacon, haggis and chicken fillets and then headed onwards.  We got there in good time and had to queue for about 30 mins to get checked in.  We then had to find our lodge in the pitch dark (very few street lights) and got a little bit stressed (something to do with having to go the wrong way up a one way street to get to it in order to avoid having to do a massive circuit of the campus again).  Anyhow, we found it and unloaded.  We booked the cheapest lodge and were expecting to be located right on the periphery of the village as we didn't pay any extra to be near the centre, but as it was 5 minutes walk from the centre, so we did ok (I had a look when we got back, we should have paid an extra £50 to be located where we were - just goes to show it pays not to pay if you know what I mean).  The lodge is very comfortable: 2 bed rooms, open plan kitchen, dining room and lounge.  Everything you need is provided (towels etc), even has a bike stand at the front and a patio and bbq at the back.

View of the Village Centre

Although we arrived in the pitch black and it was raining, we decided on arrival to have a walk around to find our bearings, so we studied a map and went in a rather round about way to the village centre.  This is a huge, huge building which houses the huge tropical swimming pool area, a good selection of shops, including a supermarket and cafes, a bar, a bowling alley etc etc.  It was much bigger than I expected.

Strawberry Tom with a Strawberry Cocktail

We ended up in the bar and had a celebratory holiday drink.  Tom chose a strawberry cocktail whilst we went for the boring usual pints.  We then headed home to cook our burgers and put the boy to bed, it was almost 9pm by the time he was under the covers, but then we are on holiday!

Inside the oasis

Waterslides - Tom loved these

We didn't sleep too well in the night - something to do with howling wind and noisy sheets.  Yes noisy sheets - every time we moved we would wake up because the sheets would crinkle and crack.  The duvet was also very very thick meaning we were very very hot.  Oh hum, never mind, time to do some proper exploring.  We knew the swimming pool opened at 10am so we had a lazy breakfast and then got our stuff together and waked to the pool.  It was big, very big.  They provide swim vests free of charge for children, we put one on Tom which gave both him and us added confidence in the water.  We started off in the children's pool where Tom showed himself to be willing to try new things, and went down the two slides.  Ah ha, we then moved into the main pool, did some swimming, found a waterfall, swam under the waterfall, then found some adult slides.  Tom wanted a go, and he went down by himself and didn't cry when he went under water.  We did them again and again.  We then found some flumes (curly tubes).  He was just about tall enough to have a go, so we climbed the stairs and to our surprise he had a go (he had to go by himself) and he shot out the bottom with a smile on his face and asked to do them again.  Wow, wow, wow!

The next thing we discovered was the wave machine which was active every half hour.  We went to the main pool and Tom spent a happy 15 minutes jumping into the waves.  He was under the water, knocked off his feet, eyes and mouth full of water, and only a smile on his face.  He LOVED it.

Last we discovered the rapids - a section of fast moving water where you float and you are whizzed along around a circle.  Tom thought it was great, when we were spat out the end, I would have to grab him and fight the current to get him to go around again, it became quite a game where he would try to get away and I would have to swim hard to catch him.  Yet another swimming activity he LOVED.

We spent over 2 hours swimming, sliding, floating, jumping in waves and generally having a great time.  The pool did start to get very very busy and our stomachs began to rumble, so we decided to call it a day and go in search for lunch.  We ended up in a pancake house and had savoury pancakes all round - well deserved I would say.

We then went back to the lodge and then decided to go for a bike ride.  We couldn't have timed it any worse as literally 2 minutes after setting off on the bikes, snow came down.  It came down quite thick.  Tom had a melt down, he didn't like the feel of it on his cheeks, his melt down meant he wouldn't move, which of course just made it worse!  In the end he managed to pull himself together and carried on towards the Sports Plaza after another melt down we eventually rode up and headed inside.  We headed straight to the bar which had a soft play area.  Tom hasn't been to a soft play area for a long while and he loved it.  In fact we didn't see him for over an hour and it was only a small one.  In this time the weather had cleared and the sun was out, melting the snow.  The Sports Plaza was another massive building.  In it is nearly every indoor sport you can think of: badminton, tennis, squash, tennis, archery, climbing wall, etc etc.  They have a massive sports itinerary - both indoors and outdoors, all of which are pretty expensive - you could easily spend £100's without realising it.  However, we had resolved not to do any of the extra activities this time, just swimming and cycling - both of which are free. Once we were all dry and recovered we headed back on our bikes to the lodge for an early tea, and then we went back to the swimming pool for another session when we found another pool - the outdoor pool.  It was heated but you had to run across very cold flagstones in the cold to get to it.  We were brave.

Tom went to bed very tired, so tired that he fell out of bed and didn't wake up.  We heard a big crash and then 'ouch'.  We went into his room to find him sitting cross legged on the floor.  We put him back in bed and when we told him about it in the morning he didn't believe us!

Sunday morning we did pretty much the same: so were in the oasis when it opened at 10 and played and played and played.  Tom wanted to do everything again and again and again.  There was no stopping him, he loved it.  At the end we asked him what he liked the best and he said the flumes.  There was one ride he couldn't do - the Canyon which was an open air flume (he as 5cm too short) and he can't wait to come back to have a go at that. We were there for 2.5 hours until our stomachs told us it was time to leave. We found lunch in an American diner type place where we had nachos, chicken wings and sweet potato chips.

Wet, soggy Matt

Wet, soggy Tom

We then went back to the lodge and decided to go on a proper ride around the village.  It was still raining (it hadn't stopped all weekend) but it wasn't too bad and Tom said he wanted to do it.  It didn't stop raining, but we had fun.  There were lots of wooden owls on the roads so we spotted them, and enjoyed being outside.  We decided to try out the village pub.  We were quite soggy by the time we got there, so we derobed and put all our gear on radiators.  There was another soft play area in the pub, so Tom disappeared off and we relaxed and had a drink.

Our evening was spent at the Indian restaurant in the village.  We had pre-booked this, hoping to go on Friday evening on arrival, but it wasn't open on the Friday?!  It was ok, but quite overpriced.  In fact all eating out here is very over priced.

Thumbs up for Center Parcs

We stayed Sunday night but were up at 6.30 on Monday morning to go and collect the car and pack it, attach the bikes and hit the M6 back.  It was wild weather: very strong winds and rain, so strong that the wind actually lifted one of the bikes off the bike carrier and we had to stop on the hard shoulder and put it back on again.  Great fun in the lashing rain with trucks shooting past us at 60mph spraying us as they went.  We certainly weren't going to fall asleep at the wheel!  We had to stop 2 more times to check the bikes - it really was horrible, horrible weather.

We arrived back in Ingleton with 15 minutes to spare before school, so we parked at the house and walked Tom down.

It was a great weekend. We didn't get to explore the whole place, mainly because the weather was atrocious, there were loads of outdoor play areas, walks in the forest etc etc that we didn't even contemplate.

Hints for next time:

+ Take more food to cover lunches in the lodge - eating out is very expensive.
+ Get to the pool as it opens (10am) then again at tea time (5pm) it is less busy then.
+ Take our own sheets - the sheets they use are noisy - we (Matt and I) really didn't sleep well at all.
+ Take torches
+ Don't need shampoo, conditioner, soap etc

Is Paddington Bear scary?

On Saturday we decided to treat Tom by taking him to the cinema to watch Paddington.  Instead of going to the modern Vue in Lancaster we decided to go to the cinema in Skipton.  This gave us a chance to look round Skipton, believe it or not since we moved up here we haven't been.  We were pleasantly surprised, it is a nice place.  The high street is full of independent shops not chain stores, meaning window browsing was interesting.  I even found a fully stocked cake craft shop which was a bonus - just wish I knew what I was running out of - oh hum!  There were lots of interesting looking tea rooms and pubs with interesting names such as The Woolly Sheep.  We stopped in one for soup and a scone and then carried on around the town.  The town has a shopping mall - which is in a converted mill building and has been done very sympathetically - plus once again it didn't have any chain stores.

We found the cinema - it was a really old, traditional cinema - complete with dress circle which of course Tom wanted to sit in but it was already full and downstairs was empty, plus the screen was quite a way away from the upstairs seats.

We settled down and awaited the start, it took a while as we had to watch loads of trailers and then there was an interval for ice creams etc before the main presentation, just like in 'the olden days'.  Paddington Bear then started.  It didn't go well.  It started off with Paddington in Darkest Peru with his aunt and uncle, there was an earthquake, his house collapsed and his uncle didn't make it.  We had tears.  It took a while for him to get over it.  Then he wouldn't look at the screen and he refused to laugh at the funny bits (there were loads of funny bits!).  He said he needed the toilet, I took him, he cried in the toilet.  I tried to explain to him it would be fine, he wasn't so sure.  We went back in, he cried 2 more times!  He was the only child in a full cinema to cry at all.  I wouldn't say it was a success or that he enjoyed it - he really is a sensitive soul.  I enjoyed it, Matt enjoyed it, we liked the cinema, we'll be back but will have to find a even more child friendly show!

Boys' day out

Boys day out today. I asked Tom what he would like to do and, perhaps unsurprisingly, he said he would like to have a train ride to Leeds. That suited me just fine, but this time we decided to get the train from Wennington rather than Ribblehead as the times worked out better that way.

At Wennington

After procuring an enormous baguette from Seasons Bakery, we parked at the station (a pretty Hornby-like affair) and prayed that the train would turn up. It did, bang on time, and to make things better it wasn't a "rubbish train" (Pacer), and even featured 21st century technology, such as heating and toilets.
It's an extremely pleasant ride along this line towards Skipton, and we saw two herds of Highland cattle and the field of Herdwick sheep, both among our favourite animals. The train really filled up beyond Skipton, but we arrived at Leeds exactly on time, under a cloudless blue sky. We'd already eaten our lunch on the train, so it was time to watch a few trains at Leeds station - one of the busiest in the country.

On the platform next to ours was a High Speed Train bound for London. Tom raced up the platform to have a look at the cab, and luckily for us, an exceptionally friendly driver arrived within a couple of minutes and invited us into the cab. I don't think Tom could quite believe he was allowed to do this, but in we went, where he was allowed to turn the key to start the engines, switch the headlights on, have a look in the (extremely noisy) engine compartment and even log the driver in on his iPad for the journey to London.

In the cab!

I strongly suspect that in this health and safety-obsessed age, train drivers aren't allowed to let five-year-old boys loose on the controls of a 125 mph, but these few minutes absolutely made Tom's day, and we were both extremely grateful to him. Absolutely smashing bloke.
After this, we (I) needed to get a bit of shopping done, so I had to drag Tom around a fairly busy shopping centre running a few errands, but he didn't complain once, and I did intersperse the boring shops with short interludes in The Entertainer, The Lego Store etc., which seemed to meet with his approval.

We had Japanese style tea and a bun to rest our weary feet, after which we headed back to the station to watch a few more trains before heading back to the Dales. It got very cold very quickly once the sun had gone down, but Tom, being the worrier that he is, insisted that we wait by the Morecambe train a good 30 minutes before it was due to leave. This meant that we (a) couldn't see the variety of other interesting trains coming and going through the station and (b) got very cold, but he wouldn't be persuaded to go up to the end of the platform.

Driver Tom

Sadly, the train home was a "rubbish train", which was already packed to bursting point before it left Leeds. However, most of these got off at the larger towns en route (Shipley, Keighley, Skipton etc.), and by the time we left the main line near Settle, they were probably only about a dozen people left on the train. Needless to say, no one else got off at Wennington, where I asked the driver if that stretch of line was always so bumpy that it felt as if you are on a kangaroo rather than a train. Apparently so.

Tom with William Wilberforce

Tom was an absolute star again today - I can't remember a cross word between us. As Nik mentioned in an earlier post, he's an absolute delight when he's on good form like this. A really lovely day out.

Oh yes, tea tonight was three Japanese bentos that we bought at Wasabi in Leeds and managed to get all the way home without succumbing to temptation. I think Mummy was quite pleased.

New Year

Wednesday didn't dawn very nice and it didn't get any better.  We were entertaining this evening so Tom and I went to Asda to get in some wine (the only thing we were lacking).  I then decided to find the other retail park in Kendal - this has foxed me for quite a while.  I found it - it was drab and dreary!  I was hoping to find somewhere to eat, but all I could find was the cafe in Morrisons.  We went in and had to wait an hour for some disgusting slop, even Tom complained that he didn't like it, can't say I blame him.  We will put that one down to experience and won't go again.

We did, however, get some bargains in the shops, mainly Christmas decorations and cards for next year.  We didn't bother looking around Morrisons, it was such a bad experience.

Rachael, Isabella, Tom and Graham

Not to worry we had the evening to look forward to.  Rachael, Graham and Isabella arrived around 7.30.  Isabella was immediately at home and she and Tom played beautifully together for the whole evening.  In fact we hardly saw them, meaning we had proper adult conversation.  

Old married couple?

Tom and Isabella set up a disco in Tom's room, played hide and seek, played with Tom's toys, pretended to be Father Christmas and delivered toys to all the children of the world and so on.  It was a good evening, much fun was had, especially for Tom and Isabella.  They didn't have any problem at all staying up until midnight.  Then I got involved in a tickle fest with them both meaning they didn't leave until almost 1am.  

It was a good, fun night.

So even though Tom was down on sleep by quite a way last night, he got up at the usual time.  Oh well, we had expected that!  Today, we had decided would be a good day to go to Manchester - the roads and shops should be empty.  It worked, they were!  We first went to Go Outdoors, the huge outdoor store with a camping showroom which Tom loves.  I finally managed to get a new fleece and a gortex jacket which I've been searching out for quite a while, so was happy.

Dim sum in Manchester

Next stop was a visit to Glamorous Restaurant.  This has now become compulsory for a visit to Manchester.  It is the Chinese restaurant above Wing Yip.  It is very very Chinese.  No sweet and sour  pork balls or lemon chicken here.  In fact no menu as such here.  You choose your food from trolleys being pushed up and down the restaurant - they have menus on the trollies but they are written in very dodgy English so it is a bit of a lottery as to what you think you are getting and what you actually get.   This is where the Chinese come to eat, we were very much in the minority - think there was only another all white table in the whole restaurant and Tom was certainly the only non Chinese child there.  The restaurant is huge, but when we arrived it was full - we had to wait, but luckily not too long.  Then we started getting dishes from the trollies. Once again I'm not sure what we had but it was all good and we were all happy.  Tom was on great form, matching what we ate 1 for 1, he must have been ready to explode!

Tom and Ozzie

We reluctantly dragged ourselves away when we couldn't physically eat any more and headed to Wing Yip to get some more Asian groceries in, then we headed back home.  It was a grey day so we were glad to have found something fun to do.

Day at the zoo

Good looking bird

Jude and Craig headed off back home on Tuesday morning, so Tom and I decided to go to Dalton Zoo for a visit (currently £1 donation entrance at the moment).  The zoo has expanded considerably since our last visit so we had lots to see and do.  First stop was the tigers - but they were being shy and we didn't see them.  Then the lions, but once again they were being shy.  We then found the snow leopards, they, luckily weren't being shy and were moving around meaning we got a great view of them.  We then headed to see the giraffes - my favourite, but they were inside their houses meaning that I couldn't take any photos.

We saw the wolves being fed and stopped quite a while to watch the pack work together to eat their dinner.


We had lunch before heading out again, this time to see the birds, and then on the little train (of course - we can't possibly visit without a trip on the train) and then to see the big cats again.  We got a glimpse of the tiger but just a glimpse - he snorted and jumped up at us which made us jump.  We then headed to see the jaguar, and found to our surprise that they had cubs and the cubs were out playing.

Very good looking jaguar

Wolves eating their lunch

Jaguar and cub

We stayed quite a while watching them - they were delightful, playful and very very cute.  I would have stayed all day watching them, but Tom dragged me on to see the snow leopards again and the lions.  This time we saw some lionesses who were coming out of their house and then going back inside again with a roar.  Tom really wanted to see the big chap but it wasn't to be, he was either shy, grumpy or not allowed outside.

We did another lap of the zoo to see our favourite animals again by now it was getting dark, the the zoo was about to close so we got ourselves a drink and then headed home.

Snow leopard

Tom on an elephant

Today was a magical day, the fact we were at the zoo and it wasn't too crowded helped, but it was Tom that made it magical.  He was absolutely delightful: great company, sweet, caring, talkative, considerate, everything you would want from him.  Sometimes I don't want him to grow anymore as I think he is just great how he is.  I'm not looking forward to when he doesn't want cuddles, doesn't want to go on day trips with me.  I hope it will be a while yet...

Visit by Auntie Jude and Craig

With Jude and Craig

We weren't down for too long though on Monday as Auntie Jude and Craig arrived before lunch for a quick visit - hurray!  As usual, Craig was straight down on the floor, helping Tom with his new Lego kit, and they made a very fine-looking fire engine in no time.  They arrived in time for lunch so I got out the leftovers (i.e. cheese, pork pie etc etc - all my favourites).  After lunch we headed out to Austwick to do the Oxenber Woods walk - this is a favourite of ours, it includes a small hill which gives a great view of farm land and a stream.  What isn't there to like?  The weather wasn't as good as previous days but it was kind to us in that it cleared just as we got to the view.

Scrawny neck

We were hoping to have a drink afterwards at the Game Cock, but it was closed until 5pm and it was 3pm.  Bum.  Oh well, we went to the (very posh) New Inn in Clapham instead, then came home and had a Japanese beef stew, which seemed to go down well with everyone.  We had a quiet evening in, watching a documentary about Barry Sheene.

It's Christmas!!!!!!!!!

Wow, what a week we've had, we have had a lovely time, just hope I can remember what we have been up to.

So, on Monday Granma and Pop Pop arrived after a non eventful 2 day trip up.  They came with a car full of things, mainly presents for Tom, what a lucky boy and plenty of Christmas cheer.  It was good to finally see them up here, they liked the house and (hopefully) felt at home pretty quickly.  Mum was looking good, her knee has got a bit better since the steroid injection, it has reduced in swelling a bit and she is definitely a lot more mobile, being able to negotiate our stairs OK, which was one big worry taken care of.

Tom, Jack and Seth

Jack the bright Elf

We didn't do anything on Monday (they didn't arrive until late-ish afternoon), however, we were visited by the Bickerstaffs almost 10 minutes after they arrived, which meant we were in chaos for a little while, but good chaos.  Jack came dressed in real working lights - I loved it, something to think about for next year?  We had an earlyish tea of roast jammy ham and then I headed off for my boxercise whilst Mum and Dad fell asleep on the sofa.

Tuesday dawned a miserable, grey, raining day.  I gave Mum and Dad some options for the day, one of which was the Wensleydale Creamery.  Dad's eyes lit up at this, so off we went.  We were very lucky as they were making cheese, so we paid to go into the museum and viewing gallery.  Tom was happy enough watching Wallace and Gromit videos whilst we looked around the museum trying to work out how the milk knows how to become Wensleydale and not cheddar etc, and then we went in the viewing gallery.  They certainly weren't making Wensleydale today as the cheese they were making was bright orange (so either Red Leicester or Gloucester).  However, they were in full production mode so were were able to see a tank full of milk, a tank full of 'porridge' a tank with the curds draining, another with the curds cut into blocks and another where salt was added to the blocks and then the blocks fed through a 'chipper' and the 'chips' then packed into molds.  We spent a good amount of time watching with interest - it was compulsive viewing but then we are all cheese nerds.  We were able to drag ourselves away with the promise of a visit to the cheese tasting room (Dad's eyes almost came out of their sockets) - we did our usual round, Tom of course studied every plate carefully to make sure he got the biggest chunk of cheese for each flavour.  We were lucky in that there was a member staff on hand to ask questions, Dad was in his element and quizzed him.  By now it was quite late and we were in need of a cheesy lunch (plus it was pouring down and very very windy so there was no way we were going anywhere else).  So, Yorkshire Rarebit for me, soup and cheese for Dad, cheese on toast for Mum and macaroni cheese for Tom.  We were all very happy campers.  By the time we left we had spent the best part of 3 hours on site.  I think we could say the day was a success!

All ready for Father Christmas

Wednesday, Christmas Eve, it was still grey, but not windy and only a little bit of rain.  Tom woke up crying in the night, he was sad because Father Christmas hadn't been, he had got his dates mixed up, bless him.  Dad and Matt decided to do the waterfalls walk, whilst Mum, Tom and I went swimming at Stacksteads.  I think Mum enjoyed it there as did Tom as we spent over an hour and a half in the water.  Mum doing various physio exercises and some swimming.  Tom swimming with armbands and his woggle and after some persuasion some widths without any aids (think he did 5 altogether).  I even managed to get Mum into the jacuzzi where we stayed for a good 20 minutes.  In the end we were all looking quite wrinkled and getting hungry so we got out and headed to Country Harvest for lunch.  We have never been to the cafe there before - not sure why?  Anyway we had good nosh.  Lots of people were going for the full Christmas Dinner but Mum decided on soup, I had a goats' cheese baguette and Tom a jacket potato with cheese and beans (was a kid's portion but he was served a whole potato!).  We then dropped in at the Wheatsheaf on the way home for a drink as Dad and Matt were rehydrating there after their walk and then home.  Not much of note happened afterwards, except Tom sorted out his plate for Father Christmas: a mince pie, a carrot and a dram of Glenlivet.  Then to bed, Tom went to bed quite well considering he was very excited about tomorrow.  

Lego workshop

Beef ready to be shown the oven

Thursday, Xmas Day - hurray!  We thought Tom might be up early, but no, it was 8.30 before he stirred.  He came into our room saying - Father Christmas has been and went to get his present and stocking.  He unpacked his stocking with us and then went in to see Granma and Pop Pop to unwrap his present - an Eddie Stobart Coach - the good man must have been listening to him and thought him a good boy.  We got up and had a posh breakfast of scrambled eggs and smoked salmon and then I prepared Christmas dinner whilst the others got themselves ready and Tom and his grandparents played with his stocking presents.  This included a Lego kit which transforms from a steam engine to a rocket to a carriage.  Tom got his Pop Pop working on this immediately - all three models had to be made, so Pop Pop put on his glasses and was supervised whilst doing it.

Hot Wheels!

Once the roast was in the oven and everything else under control, we ventured into the lounge for present opening time.  Tom had an enormous load of presents, they just kept coming and kept coming  - Matt kept a list (thankfully) but all I can say is how very generous everyone has been to him and a huge thank you for your generosity.  Special thanks have to go to the Smyths in Australia as once again they out did themselves and bought the biggest present ever.  Obviously they stayed with us this year and were introduced to Bruder vehicles.  Martin obviously kept note of this as he sent Tom a HUGE breakdown truck to him via Amazon - it was almost as big as him and an instant hit.  In fact, I think we could have stopped Christmas then and he wouldn't have been disappointed!  Anyway I think it took him a good hour or so to open them all.

Hot Wheels and Army Onesie = Happy Boy

Thank you for all of our presents too, we were chuffed with all of them.  The house of course turned into a huge tip and Tom was keen to play with everything straight away.  We had got him some Hot Wheels and he was very keen for it to be put together and wanted to help.  Of course his idea of helping and Matt's idea of helping were two different things.  Luckily Granma and Pop Pop came to the rescue, they wanted some fresh air and as I explained to Tom, they don't know the village very well, so he needed to go with them to make sure they didn't get lost and also so he could explain where everything is.  He agreed it was a good idea, so he went, proudly wearing his new hiking boots (thanks Grannie and Grandpa) and his new thick welly socks (thanks Granma and Pop Pop) whilst we cleared the lounge, Matt fought over the Hot Wheels and I sorted out the veggies etc.  Granma and Pop Pop came home after their guided tour just in time for a Skype with Grannie and Grandpa.  Dinner was then ready just after 3 (oh and for future reference for cooking roast beef - check out December 2012 and take off about half an hour).

A huge present - thank you Martin

We then spent the rest of the day eating.  A huge dinner - roast beef and all the trimmings, followed by Christmas pudding and then tea of cheese (what else could it possibly be?!)  We all went to bed happy.


Friday wasn't a particularly lovely day.  We gave Granma and Pop Pop a list of places to go and they chose a walk out to the Ribblehead Viaduct.  Although it wasn't particularly lovely, it wasn't windy and it wasn't cold so the walk was as pleasant as it could be under dark grey clouds and drizzle.  Mum made it under the viaduct and to the farm but then a big cattle grid spelt the end of the walk - too much to expect with a dodgy knee, so we headed back.  We went further than I expected and was impressed with Mum's ability, she did much better than I expected which opened up other possibilities for other walks later in the week.  We returned home and had 'Christmas Day Soup' - i.e. all the vegetables left over from yesterday blitzed up into a thick soup using the ham broth.  We were all feeling fortified after lunch and Matt was curious to see what sales Daleswear had on so decided to take a walk down.  Mum and Dad said they would like to come too, so we all headed down to find it was closed.  Oh hum, we went to the pub instead for a drink and then headed back home.  We had a traditional Boxing Day dinner with cold cuts (Mum and Dad devoured the cold beef!) including a huge pork pie from the butchers (become a bit of a tradition now), before having a sleepy night on the sofas.

Three on a boat

Gorgeous Scenery

Saturday it dawned sunny with a blue sky and snow on the mountains - hurray!  We decided it was a good day to go to Lakeside for a day on the Windermere boats.  The drive over to the lake was gorgeous with the snow capped mountains glowing in the morning sun.  We arrived to find the lake completely still and not a breath of wind - perfect boating conditions in fact the conditions were so good that we all decided to sit outside and we all stayed outside for the whole trip.  It was truly beautiful, everyone was in a good mood and Tom was happy in his Grandparents company taking in everything as if it was his first trip.  We all came off with a good feeling and hungry bellies - staying warm had made us hungry so we headed off to Auntie Val's Tea Rooms for some hot food.

Missing his pub date!

We then split up to walk around town before heading back to Lakeside.  Unfortunately it rained just as we got on the boat, so this time we were all inside but it didn't really matter, the scenery made up for it and we were once again all happy by the time we got to Lakeside.  This evening we went out for dinner at The Game Cock in Austwick thinking Mum and Dad would like some Yorkshire French food.  It went down well - Dad managed to order the biggest thing on the menu and ate it all!  Tom ate off our plates so managed to have some rabbit, venison, cassoulet and tartiflette and ate it all - what a gannet and how many children his age would eat rabbit and venison without questioning it?  What a good boy.  He did miss his dinner date though - normally when we go to the Game Cock we meet up with Rachael, Graham and more importantly Isabella, but she was busy entertaining some others and couldn't make it.  Oh hum, it meant we got home earlier.

At Malham Cove

Sunday was another lovely day and as Mum was doing so well with her walking we decided to take them to Malham for the walk to Malham Cove.  The walk is a little bumpy but is paved so no rocks to trip her up etc.  It was a cold day, the snow was still on the hills (thicker than yesterday) and the roads covered in thick frost.  It was a good job our car is 4x4 as otherwise I'm not sure we would have made it.  The road to Settle was fine, but then we took a minor road up over the hills and down into Malham Valley - the scenery looked amazing - deep blue sky over snowy hills, I'm not sure it could have looked any more scenic.  We came across a very proud herd of Highland Cattle on the way one of which was perched up the top of the hills looking down on his herd.  Others were down by the road, all looked magnificent - it's

Helping Pop pop

Hairy friend

their element isn't it: Highland cows in the snow.  Matt drove very carefully over the hills (we only skidded once) and we made it in one piece.  I was a little concerned that Malham would be iced over and the trip a waste of time as there was no way I would let Mum or Dad walk in the ice, but luckily the valley was deep enough that there wasn't any snow or ice - phew! We parked on the road and then headed to the path.  Of course this time I noticed every little hill - the path was steeper than I remembered, but Mum did a stirling job and walked fine without complaint to the cove at the end.  We then found ourselves a nice rock to sit on in the sun (we actually got hot waiting) whilst the boys climbed up to the limestone pavement above.  The boys weren't too long, having enjoyed the view from the top and not slipping over on the ice (phew).  We then walked back the same way and headed to the Lister Arms for a well earned lunch and drink.  We then drove back over the icy roads to Settle and then home.  In the evening Matt and I had a date out at the new whisky bar that has just opened up in the village.  Very nice too, we didn't get back home until 11pm.

Goodbye hug with Granma

Goodbye hug with Pop Pop

So Monday came and we had to say goodbye to Granma and Pop Pop.  It came round too soon.  We had a really good time with them and we hope they enjoyed it too.  I was very sad to see them go as was Tom, we didn't have any strained atmospheres, no bad words, it was a week of harmony and we all reconnected very well, it's the longest amount of time we have spent with each other for a while and it went really well.  We all hope we see them back here again sometime soon.  Thanks for a great Christmas x.