Family together...

Today we were having Kaye, Ellie, Andy and Jack here for lunch.  We appreciate the difficulty in sticking to any sort of schedule with a two year old in tow so we were planning a 'picky' lunch which could be prepared at any time.

They managed to find their way directly to the house first time, now we have long standing friends who managed to come a different way every time taking in all the surrounding villages into the bargain.

Three of the cats beat a hasty retreat on the arrival of a very excitable Jack but Charlie wasn't bothered adopting the view that this small child might just drop something edible so it was in his best interests to keep within scoffing distance!  We ate outside under the gazebo with Jack putting away some beans on toast with some loukaniko on the side, orange cake and water melon!

My niece lives near Hull so she and her family are made of strong stuff being 'Northerners' so went into the pool, I had been in earlier in the morning - the temperature has now dropped below my comfort zone but it wasn't too bad and I expect the feeling to come back to my legs in a couple of days' time. 

Jack did go in with my sister but realised the error of his ways and refused to go back in when the rest of the family had assembled in the sub zero temperatures ready to play with him.  Fortunately my niece remembered to check the state of his swim nappy before we had an unfortunate incident with some organic matter!!!!  Now that would have really upset John who prides himself in keeping a very clean and algae free pool.

Jack struck up a friendship with both John and Charlie, at one point the three of them were sitting on the decking playing with the Thomas the Tank Engine play mat and pieces.

We are showing our ages now as we no longer recognise all the rolling stock and even less their names - who on earth thought of calling one Whiff??????

Jack was busy educating John and Charlie and was a bit miffed that Charlie seemed unable or unwilling to identify the engines - he was lucky that Charlie didn't mistake them for food otherwise they might have disappeared never to be found again.

Jack was well taken by Great Uncle John (you have to shriek the John bit in a high pitched squeaky voice now) and John did attempt to try and get Jack to have a little nap after lunch but they just ended up playing around on my newly made up guest bed!

Jack is not a sleeper and there was just too much going on for him to settle for anything more than a few minutes.  He was having a whale of a time and loved sitting in the steamer with Charlie sitting in the other steamer watching what was going on.

At one point we had put a cushion in the sun on the decking in the hopes that Jack might just lay his head down and grab forty winks but he didn't and so Charlie took the opportunity to sit on the cushion.  Jack was miffed so we put a second cushion down and Jack then tried to persuade Charlie to move by telling him 'not that one' and then pointing to the other cushion - Charlie wasn't impressed but bless the both of them they were gentle with one another.

The family left in time for me to shoot down to Polis to get in my belly dancing lesson with Sally (Di's neighbour) - I missed last week so it was good to get back in the swing.