These Heavenly Hours

 
This afternoon we visited what can only be described as one of the most romantic and idyllic spots on Earth. The gardens at Stourhead House are described in the brochure as one of the most beautiful landscaped gardens in the world, and I have to admit I am always a little sceptical of such grand claims to fame. However, I can assure you that they completely lived up to this claim. Grandma was our expert tour guide for the afternoon, and Noah was kept happy with just enough birdlife along the way to keep his attention.



We also spotted a tree that looked just like the Whomping Willow from Harry Potter, don't you think!



Poor Noah took a bit of a tumble on the way round and has a decent graze to his elbow to show for it. He barely cried, although he did remind us from time to time for the rest of the day ‘Noah booboo ow’.



I must admit we went a little snap happy with the camera but it was hard not to when the setting was so magnificent, and I promise that these are only a small selection of the huge number we actually took!




Though we as mere humans cannot even begin to imagine how infinitely more brilliant and amazing heaven will be, there were times in the gardens today where I, for one, felt like we had caught just the slightest glimpse of what life could be like in that heavenly realm.

Short trips and bluebell walks

Whilst we have had a fabulous time galivanting around the countryside, it is also lovely to be back amongst the peace and quiet of Grandma's garden after a few hectic days away catching up with dear family and friends.

On Friday we went up to Wales and the catch-cry of 'Ann-Mree' got more and more frequent the closer we got to their house. Whilst the big boys went out to the pub for a quick pint, the girls and the little boys enjoyed some bathtime fun. Then the adults enjoyed a tasty curry from the local curry house and then a spot of ten-pin bowling on the Wii. I was pleasantly surprised to beat Mark and Ann-Marie on my first ever go on it!
 
We had a lazy Saturday morning in anticipation of the big P.A.R.T.Y on Saturday afternoon. Jack went to his party dressed as one of the Power Rangers (don’t ask me which one!) complete with sword to boot. It was a chaotic but fun two hours with bouncy castles, kids galore and even a Dr. Who birthday cake complete with very blue icing (which made for some interesting nappy changes for Noah the next day!). By all accounts, a very successful and enjoyable party all round!
After a relaxing Saturday night in (which us adults needed), we hit the road early on Sunday to get back to Somerset to catch up with my dear friend Rachel and her partner Nev who had very kindly driven up from Southampton to catch up with us for lunch. It was about 8 years ago that I first met Rachel when we worked together at the infamous Archer McGrath recruitment company in London. So much time has passes since those days but it is lovely to know we can still get together and enjoy each other’s company after all this time!
Monday morning, we were off again, this time to Reading but with a short detour to Staines on the way (Ali G country) to see the gorgeous Claire, who cooked us a lovely brunch which was most needed after the 2-hour journey. After a brief but delightful hour or so, we then headed to Reading to see more dear friends, this time Mark and Mary-Ann who were both in our bridal party. We enjoyed a relaxed afternoon around their home, Noah had his first experience of being a policeman, and we took a quick trip to the nearest park, where Noah was determined to stick a daisy in his ear (not quite understanding the point the ‘over the ear’ look).
 
After eating like kings with Mary-Ann’s 3-course meal, we spent the evening catching up on all the news. What has been so wonderful this time as per other times is how easily we can pick up on the friendships even though two years has past since we last spent time together, which is of course a sign of true friendship, and just how friendships should be!


Tuesday morning, we headed back to Somerset but with a mini detour so that Noah could take his first ever real train journey (3 stops to Yeovil). He appeared to enjoy it, but seemed to be just as excited about seeing 2 goats near Yeovil station whilst we waited for Daddy to catch us up in the car! Later in the afternoon, we joined Grandma & Grandad in a scenic and stunning sojourn through ‘Ladies Walk’ complete with a sea of pretty purple bluebells, and more animals than we could throw Grandad’s stick at. We even saw 2 alpacas (or ‘makkas’ as Noah called them) just for you Nana and Poppa!


Later in the day (which was an extremely warm one) we let Noah have some nappy off time while helping Daddy wash Grandma’s car!

Dee-lytful Lyme & other lovely adventures

Well we have had a truly smashing (to coin a Grandad expression) week so far.

Monday we travelled an hour to Beer (on the Devon Coast) to go to Pecorama which has a model rail exhibition and miniature ride-on railway. It is set high up on a hill above the picturesque fishing village, and we spent a lovely couple of hours viewing all the model railways, relaxing with a Devon cream tea/coffee before embarking on a ride on the miniature train.


 
Noah was most fascinated by the little statues of moles they had dotted around the track with their heads poking out from the grass. We would have stayed a lot longer and enjoyed a walk around the many gardens but alas, the rain that had been threatening all day sent us suddenly scurrying back to the car and onto Ottery St. Mary Garden Nursery for a spot of lunch indoors.

The nursery is quite possibly the largest I have ever seen, it has a restaurant which seats over 250 and they are currently renovating it to make it twice the size! It has an amazing array of homewares, outdoor furniture, plants, clothes and just about anything else you could imagine!

Tuesday we made the best use of another grey day to go on what has become a regular pilgrimage to Clark's Village in Street, enjoying a look around the outlet centre and doing a spot of shopping at Next, Marks & Spencers and GAP. Noah was most intrigued by a rather fierce looking mechanical gorilla in a travel agency window which was right next to a witch stirring a cauldron (bless him, he kept calling it 'pirate....ooo...aaaa' and we were happy to let him continue with that thought!) and kept wanting to go past to have 'another look'.

Yesterday was another rainy day, and so this time we hit the shops in Yeovil, also catching up with a few of Mark's mum & dad's friends whilst in town. Later in the afternoon, Noah enjoyed playing up to the mirror whilst drinking his fluffy and helping Daddy make Marissa's special icecream recipe so we could share it with Grandma & Grandad.

 
Today was yet another day of heavy showers, occasional hail and thunder so I went back to town for a couple of hour's blissful solo shopping time (my turn today and Mark's turn tomorrow!). Then this afternoon we went down to one of our very favourite spots on the planet, Lyme Regis. Lyme underwent a major revamp two years ago. Last time we visited it was a massive construction zone as they were bringing in boatloads of sand and pebbles to make the beachfront much larger and more accessible. It has made an already picturesque spot even more so, and we managed to escape all the massive deluges we had been experiencing inland all day and had an altogether pleasant and sunny walk firstly along the cobb (sea wall) and then along the new promenade. Noah has recently taken to insisting on pushing his own stroller rather than being pushed in it, and whilst we're all for getting him used to walking everywhere from an early age, he can be a bit of a loose cannon with it diving off in all directions, so it is a matter of keeping one's eye on him at all times!






On the way back, the closer we got to home, the blacker the sky got, and just outside of Stoke-sub-Hamdon we saw the most amazing rainbow. It was a complete rainbow which is a rarity to see in itself, but the colours were also so vivid against the dark background of the sky behind it, it was a real treat to see it and a lovely way to end the perfect afternoon.

One of the greatest joys for us on this trip is seeing Noah so affectionate with Grandma & Grandad. It really is so special for us to see him going to them for cuddles and kisses completely under his own steam. He has also been asking after 'Ammree' and 'Jack' all week, and we keep telling him that 'yes we're going to see them on Friday' (tomorrow). So we're off to Wales for 2 nights, during which time we get to celebrate Jack's 5th birthday party with 30-something other five-year olds. That will be an experience I am sure!

The last few nights as Noah has been drinking his bottle of milk before bed, we've been running through the things we've done during the day, and it so cute hearing Noah make associations, today I talked about the boats we had seen at Lyme, to which he added 'and ducks' (as you can see from the picture of the boat further above with ducks sleeping in it). When I mentioned the rainbow, he replied 'yeah....rainbow up high'. His speech and vocabulary seem to be growing at an astounding pace, before we came away he was putting 2-3 words together like 'big plane', but now we're getting whole phrases like 'Please Mummy more toast Noah' and 'I want train now' (before we rode on the train at Pecorama on Monday). I had only taught him the word 'now' on Saturday as in 'Yes Noah...we're going home to see Grandad now' and so was amazed when he used it himself in completely the right context only two days later. Being a parent really is a rewarding and amazing journey each and every day.