outdoors

blackberry fun

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blackberry-landscapeJust in case I haven’t mentioned it before, I love where we live. I love that this view is a 5 minute walk from my house in one direction, and 5 minutes in the opposite direction we have a gorgeous sea view.

Both country & coast. I love it. We are so blessed to have found ourselves settling here.

Yesterday we headed to this little clearing just down the road because it is simply overflowing with blackberries at the moment. Also we had some unexpected sunshine that coincided with a little play date we had arranged.

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I remember loving blackberry picking as a child so I was hopeful my little Miss and her friends would enjoy it too. We had a very quick lesson on what was ready for picking and what was not… and they were off!

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They did brilliantly, for only being 2 and 4 years old I was so impressed. Very clever girls! Naturally around 50% of what was picked went straight into little tummies instead of their boxes, but who can blame them!

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After we had picked (eaten) enough it was time to play. This involved making use of the little woodland area in the best way we could… a Gruffalo hunt of course! With it being one of Emma’s favourite books, between Vince and myself we can recite the entire story from memory. So off we went for a walk… through the deep, dark woods….

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The girls (and Vince) took it in turns to be the gruffalo and much growling, running, shrieking and laughing ensued… and fun was had by all!

This was followed by games of hide & seek, rolling down the hill (still including Vince, I didn’t think he was going to stop before the brambles!) and a little more berry picking. I am so glad I have such a fun husband!

Then it was time for a little sit down and little more blackberry eating before heading home again.

blackberry-trioIt was such a gorgeous morning, fresh air, fruit, friends and fun!

Naomi x2

 

 

 

 

collecting leaves

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This afternoon I found myself at home with Emma but with no ideas for entertainment. Vince was working late and Emma was tetchy and I think a bit bored of the games/toys/activities we have at home (to be honest so am I… I need to work on a better/new rotation) to the point of asking to do nothing but watch DVDs…..

I have no problem with Emma watching a little kids tv here and there or the odd Disney film but there is a line to be drawn.

So in line with my current yearning for autumn to hurry up and be here already(!!!) I shoe-horned my reluctant little Miss out of the door for some time with nature. Emma required a better reason than to just be walking so we settled on collecting leaves for a potential arty crafty session tomorrow afternoon.

It was unexpectedly sunny after a night of heavy rain and felt fresh with a nice breeze… perhaps autumn is on its way!

For a change I also remembered to pick up my camera on the way out!

So off we set with a little bag very specifically designated for the gathering of leaves… and woe betide me should I try to put anything else in there!

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We had much fun looking at every tiny thing, naming everything we saw and I enjoyed listening to Emma chatting away telling me all about everything we were doing. I love how chatty she is now and her speech has come so far in the last few months, although I realise while I understand her most of the time she is still quite often incomprehensible to other people!

leaf-walk-cricketWe spotted all sorts of little critters which were interesting but I was always told to “leave alone now mummy”, we never get too close for comfort!
In the end we were far more impressed by the leaves the same size as her head!

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“Ooooooh BIG one!”

Such a lovely afternoon out and about…. I’ll try to pop back in with whatever we do with our collection next week 🙂

Side note:: Can someone please tell me when my baby became so grown up?! :'(

Hope you are having a lovely weekend!

Naomi x2

 

Five Fact Friday

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1. Hi all! I am introducing a new weekly feature over here today! One of my favourite blogs – One Lovely Life (which I have been reading for somewhere in the region of 6 years!) has a feature every Friday called…

You guessed it… ‘Five Fact Fridays’! This week I thought I would join in too.

The basic premise is 5 random, happy, good or new things that occur over the last week – with photos (only a few phone snaps today I’m afraid) that may or may not have anything to do with the ‘facts’. FUN!

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2. Little legs cope with stair cases better than hills – Or at least our little lady’s little legs do…. or even her feelings towards stair cases are to totally love them, which means we get much further than just tackling the steady incline of the West Hill. Our little miss independent pretty much insists on walking everywhere these days and the mere mention of a pushchair is enough to trigger a LOUD meltdown, and with no longer owning a car… well our journeys are slow… But since Vince discovered a variety of stepped ‘shortcuts’ it has vastly improved! Also I love place names, they fascinate me.

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3. I love how little eyes are drawn to little things – I love spotting things to point out to Emma when we are out walking and I love it more when she spots tiny things – quite often ‘bugs’ – to show me. She is also fascinated by every stone she has ever laid eyes on and does her best to fit every single one she sees into her pockets – and mine.

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4. I love Thursday mornings – I am so grateful to have found such a wonderful church community for myself and our little family. On Thursday mornings I attend a small bible study group of mums while our babies and toddlers are cared for in a creche run by other church members. I feel so blessed to have the friendship and fellowship, advice and support of these wonderful women. I also feel blessed that Emma loves her time playing with the other children and that it is the one time in the week that both Emma and I leave the house and Vince gets some space to do his own thing!

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5. Our summer hols are here! – Vince has one shift left to do tomorrow evening and then 8 days off! Even better – by a perk of scheduling he has most of the following week off too! Looking forward to more beach trips, taking Emma to the zoo and whatever else takes our fancy 🙂

Have a lovely weekend friends!

Naomi x2