August

August saw me donate my first unit of blood! I already knew my blood group is O Rh - but had never actually donated - it has been something I had thought about for some time but ever actually got round to doing. Really pleased I did! August, in general, was a very busy month! Summer holidays! Therefore days out, Sophie's 6th birthday, my cousin Jamie's wedding and a trip to Torquay amongst other things. Thinktank Ryan had been going on for ages about how much he had enjoyed his trip to the Thinktank and how much he would like to return! Sophie turns 6 Sophie had been waiting for the day for what seemed like ages for her birthday to arrive. She finally got her new bike! She celebrated by having a party at home and inviting friends to join her. We had a bouncy castle, which ALL of my children made the most of using, McDonalds and generally entertained themselves. Sophie's Yr1 teacher made her birthday cake - Thanks Mrs Smith! Torquay We spent the latter part of August in Torquay - we stayed at a Caravan Park whilst Colin's parents (and sister) stayed at a local B&B. We had a great time. Jamie & Laura's Wedding ...were married on Sunday 30th August (Amanda & Daniel's 1st Wedding Anniversary)at the Bromsgrove Hilton.

October

We are rapidly approaching the end of October..... as I sit here writing this we are also at the end of the Half term break. Tomorrow is Halloween but is also a time that we are celebrating the marriage of my dad and Helen - they actually got married on the 25th September in the Cayman Islands. A "reception" is being held at the Newton Park Hotel.
This week as I mentioned has been half term. Last night we were joined by Colin's niece, Natasha and her family, and Colin's parents... where we enjoyed pizza, curry and catching up!
Wednesday, Josh and I went with some of the other youth from our ward to visit the London Temple - the first time for them, and the first time in ages for me. We had a great day - the youth were able to go inside which was an added bonus. There is a visitor's centre there now, where they watched a movie. Didn't get back home until 8pm... the traffic was dreadful on the M25.
Last weekend Josh attended the Birmingham Stake Youth Convention - I was able to spend most of Saturday there. They participated in service projects, chair football, workshops and finished with a testimony meeting.