The Weekend Picture No.12

Waiting for the Olympic Road Racers 

Olympic fever is sweeping this household.We watched the torch procession when it came to Surrey, the lovely wife and I stayed up until 1am to see the conclusion of the Opening Ceremony and we braved the rain and the wind on Box Hill this morning and afternoon to watch the Women's Road Race.

You can tell they're growing up ...When Dad isn't always right!

Taken from Centre Parcs website

Being the Dad of a small person can be very good for one's ego. I spoke last week about my promotion to DIY demigod in little Dubmeister's eyes. He loved to mimic me and work alongside his guru as he sought to learn from the master. You can revisit that post here.

The second reason why the fatherhood of the very young does wonders for one's ego is that in our preschooler's eyes we are never wrong.

The Weekend Picture No.11

The 2012 Logo in toast crusts

I love my kids. They have many great qualities. But they are not perfect (an unusual thing for a parent blogger to say I know). One of their most annoying habits is their aversion to crusts. Every morning we have a mountain of crusts cluttering our kitchen table.

This morning, in a spirit of sporting endeavour, I decided to turn their food waste to good use and recreate the London 2012 logo through the medium of discarded crusts.

I hope it gets you in the mood.

Speak soon.
JH

The Summer is/might be coming

Sandcastles at West Wittering Beach

I don't want to say this too loudly in case it annoys the weather gods or tempts fate to kick sand in our faces like a naughty boy at the seaside, but I think that the summer is/ might be coming.

Ever since Sunday when I posted a shocking photograph I had taken of a blue sky it has not rained really that much and in fact 2 days since the weekend have been completely dry.

So here are my THREE reasons for saying the summer is/ might be coming.

1. I have been to the beach

On Tuesday I joined E's class on a trip to West Wittering beach in Sussex. 90 hot and sweaty minutes on a coach were followed by 3 hours building sandcastle, digging holes, eating ice cream and getting sand in our knickers. There was no rain. It was a proper summer's day.

2. The weather forecasters have started smiling 

Throughout May and June the TV weather forecasters looked permanently uneasy - as if the weather was their fault. Those nervous looks have been replaced by confident Colgate endorsed smiles as they swagger across their weather maps.

3. We bought ice cream yesterday and they were too soft!

The signs of spring are good shoppers, particularly when they have been bribed. Yesterday, the bribe was not a nice hot cup of soup but an ice cream. The ice creams were too soft. They were not botulism inducingly runny but the chocolate casing chipped off and shattered on the floor and the ice cream inside went just a little too quickly. But still, WE WERE EATING ICE CREAM AND IT DIDN'T FEEL WEIRD!

So that's why I think the summer is/might be coming.

What do you think? Am I being hopelessly optimistic or might the summer be coming where you are too?

Speak soon
JH

This post is part of a Bloghop celebrating the good things in life entitled "Reasons to be Cheerful." In these times of austerity there is no better investment than to spread a little happiness. Let us know what has cheered you up this week and harvest yet more good feeling by dipping into some (or all) of the blogs listed below. Keep smiling!

You can tell they're growing up when ... helping means helping.

Dad and little Dubmeister painting Baby M's room - 2002

When the Dubmeister was little there was nothing he liked more than helping his Dad construct or paint stuff. At the first sight of a set of tools he would roll his sleeves up, run up the stairs and return clutching his bright yellow JCB stickered tool box complete with saw, hammer and spanner.

He would then dive into the task, insist on doing whatever I was doing, make funny little noises and engage in builder type small talk.

They were special times. I particularly loved the deep respect he had for my DIY skills.