Minion Army Celebration

We have had a bit of good news here in Kinouchiville. Jason has got a job :o)  He is Head of Multimedia for a company in Leeds. Unfortunately it means Jason living away from home during the week to save my money (in my Nana's caravan) until I can find a job in Yorkshire. We have only had 1 week of this so far (not even a full week just 4 days) but it was tough. Never mind...these are the things we must do.

To celebrate Jason's achievement though, I wanted to make him a treat. Jason likes the Minion's from the film Despicable Me so I set about making some Minion inspired cupcakes.....
 Here is the result...

I was quite pleased with the result :) Considering I tend to struggle with all things creative (no matter how much I enjoy it) I generally tend to fail miserably....however this time...I think I did alright :) YAY! A yummy way to celebrate :)

Just for Kids?

Yay! Spring has most definitely sprung! To kick off the season of Spring, Jason and I made good use of the copious amounts of Bank Holidays in April and headed off to a petting farm. It was a gloriously sunny day (double shock...1- it's England 2- It's a Bank holiday!) and we were stood in the queue waiting to buy our tickets. We were so excited...and so were the many many kids surrounding us in the queue. A guy in front talking to his wife whilst holding his little boy commented how shocking it was that they charged £1 more for adults than kids or that they charged for adults at all! After all, he argued "It's not like we come here for ourselves....It's for the kids!" Jason and I looked at each, at our imaginary children with us (or not) and wondered whether we should have offered to take someone else's kids out for the day to validate our day out.....hmmmmmm. Never mind...good start to the day....
We paid for our ticket (after being assured by the nice lady that it was for everyone...not just kids...I think she saw the big kid inside of us both) and hopped onto the tractor trailer and sat on a hay bail ready to be taken to the farm.

Soooo much fun!

 We fed baby pygmy goats (my all time fave little creatures) stroked little fluffy lambs, cuddled pygmy goats (again and again and again), made friends with little calves (one in particular took a fancy to me and would run over to me when I walked by), saw little piglets and little pygmy piglets :)

There were even birds of prey and all sorts. It was a fantastic day and I really didn't want to leave. Just as the day was coming to a close we saw a lovely little lamb being born.  How amazing that was! To see how mummy sheep was so protective and loving over her new little one and to see the lamb trying to to take its first little steps (but crashing face first into the floor so giving up and lying there to be fussed over instead)...it was just beautiful :)

Who said days out like this are just for kids... I had one of the best days ever and was completely childless... other than the child within me that is set free when I let go a little....as I think we all do!

Peak District Dreams

We have been to the Peak District and Derbyshire a few times now and every time I go I fall more and more in love with the area. This time was no different. With little larry lambs in every other field and surrounded by beautiful countryside and quaint little sleepy traditional villages it is everything I have ever dreamed of living in. For now it is just a dream....but who knows what the future holds....the very VERY far future :(

Well it was a lovely break away. We made a little visit to the town of Bakewell, home of the famous bakewell pudding and tart. It was a lovely little place where we picked up some fabulous bargains from the local market....luvly jubly! Just what bargain hunters like ourselves crave for!

A funny little moment was when we were walking in a random little field full of sheep in the little village where we were staying (in the middle of nowhere, too small even for a little village shop!). In the distance walking towards us was a young couple with a little baby. As they got closer I felt I recognised them....sure enough it was a friend from church that I spent time with at uni who had now moved away and got married! And here we were bumping into each other in the middle of nowhere! What are the chances! It was a lovely surprise :)

All in all it was a lovely mini break where the beautiful area cast more of it's magic upon us......

On the Hunt for Robin Hood!

For Jason's birthday this year we decided to embark on an adventure to hunt down Robin Hood and his merry men.

We mapped out key points in Sherwood Forest (which is ridiculously humongous by the way!) where Robin Hood is said to hang out. We started off at Thieves Wood where he and his merry men often plunder the riches of travelers. We then found Prince John's Palace (or what is left of it)...Robin was nowhere to be found. Next stop was The Main Sherwood Forest area (by Edwinstowe) where we saw Major Oak. Jason was so excited he wanted to break through the fences and give Major Oak a hug....despite the fact he is VERY old now....his branches are held up by steel beams. Not a good idea to break through to such a volatile old bean. He thankfully settled for a picture instead....phew!

The next leg of our journey of discovery was in Nottingham. Here we went for a tour around the galleries of Justice and toured around some very old (and shocking) prison cells and living quarters. Not nice I can tell you! None of this tv, playstations and goodness knows what else! You had to get friends/family to bring you food or else you didn't eat and there were 30 people to a cell of around 8x6 feet! Urgh! Things have certainly changed!

From there we decided a hefty meal was needed to recover from being locked in the stocks. Onwards to the oldest inn in England...Ye Old Jerusalem (Ad 1189!!!). We had a lovely feast with the company of a suit of armour and the resident ghosts :)

Just outside of Nottingham "castle" (theres not even ruins of a castle there now but they still charge entrance fees to see the "castle") we found Robin Hood!!! I decided to plonk myself right on his knee and have a good ol' chat to the guy behind the legend. He was charming!

Next was Jason's turn.....

Robin Hood didn't seem too keen on Jason! I guess Jason didn't understand that NO means NO when he persistently asked to join his Merry Men....better luck next time hubby!

We had a lovely weekend, explored a few random country roads t find some little hidden gems, visited friends who are greatly missed (we love you Meryl and Greg!) and stopped off for a compulsory midnight pot noodle (it had to be done....when you get the craving it needs to be fulfilled!).

It was a fab fun filled weekend with lots of little surprises along the way. Key ingredients of a fantastic weekend of discovery :)

Usher!!

Last weekend Jason and I fulfilled one of my lifelong dreams...We saw Usher in concert! Aaaaaaaaaaah!

As you can see we were both pretty excited to be there! Tinchy Stryder was the supporting act, which could have been worse, but it could also have been better  :)

After keeping us waiting for a whole hour after Tinchy Stryder had entertained us Usher FINALLY on stage. My did I scream.....years and years have I been waiting for this moment and finally it was here. YAY!!

He did an amazing show and was a true performer. We didn't want the show to end. Usher did a small tribute to Michael Jackson with black sparkly boots which pleased Jason....although I'm not sure what black sparkly boots has got to do with MJ to be honest. Hey ho....we will not question Usher :o) The songs he performed went right through his career and covered all my favourite tracks....that kept me happy. Usher kept EVERYONE happy by revealing (several times) his well formed abs hahahaha

Overall an amazing night. Jason experienced his first big concert as opposed to the small gigs he has been to in the past. He now has a glimpse into my world of concert fever :o)

Adventures!!!

Here at Kinouchiville, Jason and I had a little adventure at the weekend. We went indoor Skydiving and it was amazing!

This year I really want us to have lots of new experiences together and to make lots of wonderful memories. This was the first in the new year.

It was the craziest feeling in the world. I giggled the whole time (as can be seen by the photo below) whereas Jason took it a little more seriously....which paid off as he gained 1/2 a point more than me on the overall ability certificates we achieved. Jason was very pleased with this 1/2 point difference :o)

Jason now has the bug and wants to go again (and again and again). I can't say I would complain! Great fun and would recommend it to anyone. You get the experience of a skydive but it's cheaper and safer! What more could you ask for :o)

I can't wait for whatever waits for us next!

White Christmas

Well, after watching on the news the snow covering the North East, we finally got some for ourselves in Runcorn. It came down thick and fast and literally within minutes there was a white playground waiting to be played in.

This was Tallulah's first snow too, and as it happens, something magical happens in the snow...Tallulah appears in her true form!!!! Look......

A couple of weeks later we went up North to visit my family for Christmas and there was lots more snow to play with...PERFECT!!! After waking up one morning to find there had been a fresh snow fall I jumped up all excited, woke Jason up and went running down the stairs to jump into my wellies. I had to get out to the snow before the kids in the area woke up and pinched all the good snow! Dad, Jason and I got to work making one of the best snowmen I have ever made. He was huuuuuge! It took great skill to create...and ideas of pure ingenuity on how to put it together. Great fun :o)

To top it off, I got to meet little Zara Lilly, Rachel And Taylor's beautiful little bundle of joy. I fell in love with her the instant I saw her and am sooooo happy for my Rachy babes that she has a beautiful addition to her own little family. I'm even happier I go to meet her before she goes back to America to be with Daddy.

All in all, a lovely Christmas spent with the people that I love the most. PERFECT!