Holiday time has arrived...(and so has Spring!)

Some photos from earlier today. It's the Easter holidays, and it's time to relax for a couple of weeks!





This photo is of some blossom on one of our Cherry Blossom trees in the front garden.

Summary only...

5 years old today!

Never mind Jack Sparrow, here we have Sandy Sparrow...


Above and below, Sandy with his Scooby Doo birthday cake.



Mid afternoon, and it's all been too much for Olivia...


Another of the cake.


Yes, Olivia wanted to get in on the act too!

At 2am on the morning of the 27th March 2002, Anna and I left our house to drive the 40 miles to the Borders General Hospital in Melrose, where Anna was due to give birth to our first child. When we arrived, we thought Anna was in an advanced state of labour, but the doctors there told us to relax, walk around and take it easy. As night became day, we were encouraged to walk around the grounds of the hospital, where we admired the lovely daffodils that were blooming all around. It was a beautiful day, and for several reasons! Our baby boy didn't arrive until we had done quite a bit more walking- not till 8.12pm to be exact, when he made his entrance, to the sound of the Bee Gees singing in the background of the labour ward!

Today, five years later, our Sandy reached a milestone.

He had a lovely day today, opening his presents this morning, heading off to nursery, then onto his Enjoyaball class, before coming home to enjoy the company of my mum and dad, and his many friends out in the street, where he played with his pirate's outfit on. This evening, he tucked into his birthday cake (a Scooby Doo special) before collapsing exhausted into bed at 7.45pm.... a little earlier than his entrance, five years previously!

Summary only...

Looking back over the past few days...

The weekend came and went, and it was a busy one after all!

On Friday evening, a very large crowd witnessed the first speedway meeting of the season at Armadale, when the Monarchs defeated Glasgow by one point in a meeting that was disappointing in that it didn't reach a full conclusion. After 12 heats out of 15, a big crash in ht 13 meant a long delay, and with two riders off to hospital, the meeting was abandoned. A shame.

On Saturday I took Sandy down to Eyemouth for his first swimming lesson there. He was great in the water, and did everything his instructor told him to. He seemed to really enjoy it all! This will be the routine each Saturday morning from now on. We then dashed up to Edinburgh, where Olivia and I went shopping while Sandy and Anna went to Sandy's Russian lesson.


My brother Keith, with my mum and dad.


At Sandy's party, above and below.


Olivia, cleaning those teeth before bed...

Today, Sandy had his 5th birthday party at Brewers Fayre in Edinburgh. Fifteen of his pals joined him for an hour of play, followed by a buffet and a cake. Most of the guests had their faces painted, and everyone seemed to have a good time there. Sandy came away with loads of great presents. Olivia also had a good time, and my mum and dad, along with Keith also came along.

Summary only...

A busy few days coming up...

Tomorrow sees the start of the speedway season, and it will be my 31st year supporting the Edinburgh Monarchs. As usual, I am looking forward to it, and as usual, I have been checking the weather forecasts carefully to ensure that things will run smoothly. Rain is the enemy of speedway. Years ago, it could rain all day and meetings would still have a chance of being run; riders just got on with things. Nowadays though, it seems a heavy shower for an hour in the run up to a match will see the whole thing cancelled. Very frustrating for me, as I travel 50 miles through to Armadale to support my team. There have been quite a few 100 mile round trips for nothing in recent years! Anyway, tomorrow's forecast seems good, with little prospect of any rain, so we should be safe!

On Saturday morning, we're off to Eyemouth for Sandy's first swimming lesson. Following that, we'll have to rush back to Edinburgh, again for Sandy to get to the Russian school in time for his lesson there at 12 noon!

Then on Sunday, it'll be back up to Edinburgh, this time for Sandy's birthday party. He'll be five years old next week, and is certainly looking forward to his party.

Summary only...

Some changes in the weather...

Can you believe it? On Friday afternoon we took a few pictures in the garden, which was looking nice and spring-like. It was windy, but pretty mild.
Then today, Saturday, I thought I'd better get on with cutting the grass for the first time this year, as it was beginning to look a bit wild. No sooner had I finished, the wind whipped up even more than yesterday, and I decided to watch the forecast for the next few days on the TV. What a shock! Storm force winds are heading our way tomorrow (feels like they're here already!) and apparently we are going to have a return to winter, with snow possible later tomorrow and almost definitely on Monday!
What next?

This photo of our cat, Hamish, was taken today, Sunday. Although it was only 5C outside, with a very cold wind howling around, we were all relaxing at 10.30am in the consevatory, where the temperature had rocketed to 26C, thanks only to the sun overhead! What a great part of the house...

Summary only...

Sandy's compassion...

This evening, at the dinner table, Sandy mentioned that he has to take £1 in to the nursery tomorrow and wear his red nose. He told me that,

"It's to help the children in Africa, as they don't have much. My £1 will go to help them get food or clothes..."

I thought that was very thoughtful of him.

Earlier, with Anna on the way back from nursery, he had apparently kissed a tree. When Anna asked him why he did that, he replied,

"Because trees give us oxygen, which is important for life.."

That boy thinks deeply, it would appear!

Summary only...

On the bikes...

Today was a windy day. Despite that, it was mild, with the temperature reaching 13C this afternoon. We decided to go for a cycle and headed off to a nearby park where Sandy and Olivia had some fun on the swings and the other things there. Then we headed off into the woods, where we found some wild daffodils growing and flowering beautifully.
Back home, Olivia and I sat in the conservatory for a while, where it was really warm. Olivia is very attached to her little push around buggy at the moment, and loves pushing it all round the house!

Summary only...

Olivia in the park...

Taken a couple of days ago by Anna.

Summary only...

A sunny Saturday & Hamish the Wise...

Some photos from today. Olivia and Sandy were playing in the house this morning and I went around snapping. I haven't taken pictures of Hamish, our cat, for a long time, so today I took a few. Anna likes to refer to him as "Hamish the Wise!"








This afternoon, Olivia was in the car, no doubt imagining herself driving. Dream on! Only 15 and a half years to wait, my dear!

Summary only...

Olivia playing...

Ah yes, she does love to play!

These three photos were taken using our "new" Cybershot P73 camera, like the older Sony we had until last October, when it was accidentally dropped. Since then, we've been using a Sony Cybershot W30, but both Anna and I think the P73 takes better pictures.

Summary only...