Happy Families

Our weekend was utterly wonderful - so much fun had by all. Lovely weather throughout, and good times playing with Rosie, babysitting her with Bob  so the other four could enjoy an evening out in Norwich. Saturday in Hunstanton all day, then the evening do, then 8 of us for Sunday lunch at Cornerstones. I feel so blessed. 
We did the SeaLife Centre with L,J&R in October [pictures here] so I won't bother to show lots of photos of this visit. BUT  I will mention that it is quite a costly day out if you pay full price. Should you plan to visit one of these Centres [there are 8 throughout the UK, including 2 in Norfolk, 1 in Dorset and 1 in Manchester] get yourself some sort of 2-for-1 vouchers first. There are loads of them out there- if you are in Norfolk, you will find them on the back of the carpark tickets at Wells Next The Sea, and other locations, there are often vouchers on Kelloggs cereal packets...

We were amused by the creatures names this time - "Sarcastic Fringehead" is a wonderful insult, isn't it!
Steph and Gaz looked at the penguins for longer than Rosie. She declared they smelt nasty. Yes, they are a but 'whiffy' - but as penguins have no sense of smell, they are not bothered.
There was a big feature on mermaids and pirates this time. With a bit of help from Auntie Steph, Rosie managed to find all the items on the 'treasure hunt' and won her mermaid badge, she took a fancy to the priate gear in the shop, so Auntie Steph treated her to a telescope.
I was incredibly brave and managed to keep a Madagascan Cockroach in my hands for a couple of minutes. He was huge!


We left the SeaLife Centre and strolled along the esplanade.
[Did you know that esplanade simply means a flattened area of ground?Nowadays used for 'the place by the sea where we walk for pleasure', in earlier times, it was 'the area flattened outside a fort, where cannons cpould be lined up to defend the citadel']
As predicted by the meteorologists, the sun came out... This chap was advertising a new bingo hall. I don't imagine many of the toddlers who claimed a free balloon are likely to visit his establishment though! Grandad Bob tied the second balloon to his rucksack [the first one having drifted out of Rosie's hands almost immediately she received it!]

Rosie posed for lots of pictures with her new telescope. If you ever meet my darling granddaughter, please  do not tell her the full story of model animals /PostmanPatVans/ FireEngines which you see along the seafront, or outside supermarkets. She thinks they are merely places to pose for pictures - she does not yet realise that if you put money in they may move or place longer tunes. We would like to keep this fact quiet just a little longer!

We enjoyed a proper fish'n'chip lunch [notice the red balloon behind Bob]

I have no photos of the evening, with Lucy and Josh. 

On Sunday, Bob and I went to church in Foulsham, then came back at 12.30. Marion was out with friends, so Adrian came over and eight of us crowded round the Cornerstones Dining Table for a proper Sunday Lunch. The roast lamb was lovely. Here are our guests. Everyone mucked in to help with food preparation/clear up - which is how it should be in a family, imho.

The only downside to the weekend was being bitten [on the back of my right calf] by something on Saturday evening in the brief time we were outside on The Terrace at Bawburgh . What started as a tiny red mark was the size of a 2p coin at bedtime, and fist sized at breakfast. I changed into loose trousers straight after church- and once all the family had left at 3pm, I checked again, and the redness was tea-plate sized, and spreading, and my leg was very painful and swollen. Off to A&E in Norwich to collect antibiotics. It is healing well now, but I am annoyed that I forgot to put on insect repellant. I did not take pictures! Unfortunately it meant Bob had to do all the 5 hour drive back and I couldn't take my turn at the wheel. 

That aside, the weekend was utterly brilliant. Our next big family event will be the Ruby Wedding Celebrations in August - but there is loads to do here in Dorset before then. I shall keep taking my Vitamin D pills...