Catching up

Jason and I had our 15th wedding anniversary on Wednesday. Since we met at the beach in Texas we decided to spend the day at the beach here. The contrast between South Padre in the Gulf of Mexico and Whitstable on the North Sea is quite marked, to say the least! We did have a lovely day out though. It was wet, cold and windy so we bundled up and drove to the East Quay Restaurant for fish and chips before walking along the pebble beach, collecting shells and chucking stones in the water. Afterwards we went for a walk in the seaside village, stopping for coffee and huge slices of chocolate cake. Both children fell asleep in the car on the way home which gave me and Jason a chance to talk about the last fifteen years together and the next fifteen ahead.

This week we've started the back-to-school processs. Yesterday I took the children to Bluewater to get uniforms for Toby. This year he wants a blazer and tie. He looks so cute in them and spent a very long time admiring himself in the changing room mirrors. I can't wait to take photos on his first day back.

Both children also needed new clothes since they've had growth spurts. I dressed them recently and Rosie's top barely covered her tummy and Toby's jeans were high-waters. So, two pairs of jeans each and various tops & trousers plus sweaters for Toby and skirts and dresses for Rosie. I'm very lucky that Elizabeth passed on some of Mary Catherine's clothes so Rosie already has lots of lovely sweaters and jackets this year. Rosie needed shoes too and I was amazed to see that she'd grown a size and a half. I bought her new sandals just two months ago. Good lord, these children are expensive.

Toby has one more week off before starting Year 1 and we've filled it was visits with friends and days out. We're going to go see the play of The Gruffalo's Child on Thursday which should be fun. On Friday Toby has an appointment for an ECG and a chest X-ray to check on his heart, which I'm sure is fine, but it means that we'll be in Farnborough all day.

School starts on Tuesday 4 September and we're all looking forward to autumn and getting back into our routine. I've missed seeing Marija at Costa in the mornings. It feels like we'll soon be wrapping up, drinking hot chocolate and thinking about Halloween, Bonfire Night, Thanksgiving and Christmas.