Home again

The homeward trip was very eventful. We had an overnight stop at Singapore - lovely swim, dinner then tried to sleep. We had a very comfortable family room and eventually all fell asleep - just after first wake up call. I extended the room but not the wake up call and then we all fell asleep and woke up an hour before our flat was due to leave with our stuff strewn all over the room. We managed to sprint to the other end of the airport with the kids in tow in pyjamas pulling their little wheelie trollies. Not the relaxing start to the last leg thatwe had hoped for but we were very refreshed for the flight.

And so back to Bristol

and some fun and games at the Dormans

Moyagoney Road Formula One

A wet Sunday afternoon and 7 kids to entertain. Fortunately Noel has sheds and garages full of stuff perfect for turning cardboard boxes into cars complete with steering wheels, exhaust pipes and speedometers. We set up a race track round the house and the kids tired themselves out for hours. Of course it wasn't long until the dads got involved too.

Fun on the farm

Ethan loved helping my cousins with the landscaping around mum's house. Cousin Andrew is in the digger. Ethan as you can see if directing operations.

Portglenone Forest

Portglenone, the nearest village to where mum lives, boasts a very pretty forest. It runs alongside the River Bann. The river is busy with lots of water-skiing and wake-boarders. We took the Nana and Gramps for a walk and Ethan showed off his archery skilss with his home made bow and arrow courtesy of Noel.

Glenariff Forest Park

I discovered some great parts of northern ireland that I hadn't been to before. Glenariff Forest Park was one. We went for a walk there on 12th July which was probably one of the busiest days to go anywhere in NI as it is a public holiday. We managed to avoid the marches and had a beautiful walk through the forest. The Mull of Kintyre in Scotland could be seen just across the water.

The big pile of mud

A big feature at mum's house was the big pile of mud. Ethan was often to be found on top of the big pile of mud first thing in the morning. Gradually throughout our stay it was moved to the greenhouse and to mum's new veggie patches.

Immy the racer

We had a great afternoon hanging out at Portstewart strand which has a fabulous playground. Both Immy and Ethan loved the racing cars but it was interesting watching their different personalities. Ethan was slow and steady and got faster on each of his 5 attempts. Immy on the other hand barely let Ian finish the "just press this pedal..." before she was off and overtaking some of the bigger kids. Granpa Price got the photos of ethan but here is little immy doing her circuits.

Some photos at last - going back a bit!

On the plane to Singapore.


And in the taxi from Heathrow to Oxford.