walk and chips

We went on a fantastic "child friendly" walk from Hathersage station to Grindleford Cafe. We met a very friendly horse that nobody wanted to say goodbye to. We got a bit lost and ended up climbing through ferns as tall as us. At the cafe, we were met by grumpy hosts, but we still enjoyed our chips! Here are the kids, at the end of the day.

Autumn news

This Autumn has been a very busy time in the French household. At Halloween, we decided to celebrate American style and dress up as superheros! Caleb was Buzz Lightyear and Isaac was Mr Incredible, and lots of fun was had travelling around the community giving out sweets, and candles to our neighbours. We had a bit of trouble keeping our smiley face pumpkin lit though...

In November, Isaac finally got over his fear of sparklers, and we enjoyed ourselves at our friends Tom and Katy's house. There were about 30 children, running around the garden, brandishing lit sparklers...by some small miracle, no-one was injured and we settled down to enjoy the longest ever running fireworks spectacle. At one point, the neighbours joined in, with a competing fireworks display...It was all very male. At one point, the women amongst us questioned whether the men might ignite themselves and fire each other into the air.. testosterone has such a lot to answer for!

The eye at night

On my birthday, we celebrated the wedding in London of our friends Drew and Anna. It was a fantastic day. One of the most creative and inspiring wedding services I've ever been to (and I've been to a few.) It was brilliant taking the boys to London, and we rounded off a great day by taking the boys on the eye. You can't see any of the sights in the picture, but still great to mark the occasion with a picture of my wild-eyed sweaty boys up far too late and loving it.

Bouncing boys, and cats...

So the boys got a trampoline for their birthdays, which I think I am enjoying at least as much as them. Caleb has had some good hair moments on it, and has also shown us his plans to rock the world. A fab moment today when Caleb and I were sitting at the dining table. I noticed that the trampoline was occupied by a feline visitor, no doubt one of the many who enjoy the thoughtful provision of our lawn as their own "restroom" on a daily basis. I said "Caleb, there's a cat on the trampoline." Without looking up, he replied "is it bouncing?" 'Nuff said.

All dressed up and nowhere to go

Yes, I'm being vain, but I went to the hairdressers the other day and had seriously the best hair day of my life. It made me realise how much more pleasant would be with my own full time hairdresser. Anyway, the next morning it was unrecognisable, but my hair had its day.

More old news!

Y'know it's really not that I don't want to tell you all stuff, it's just that the blog has been taking about 20 minutes to upload each photo! Well, it's now 11.20pm on a Saturday night. X factor and Strictly Come Dancing are finished - Robinsons, you don't know what you're missing, and I'm free to drift where the blogging wind takes me! So, over the summer the boys had birthdays. Isaac was 7, and celebrated by playing football ( so really for him, it probably felt like a normal day...) He received a Frank Lampard shirt and a Man U kit (I know...don't blame the parents is all I can say.) Two days later, Caleb was 5. He had a picnic and treasure hunt party at Whirlow Park, which was fantastic. Clynt did his full all out party experience, complete with gazebo and we bashed the begeezers out of a treasure chest pinata. Oh, and I slaved over a guitar shaped cake, and felt like a truly virtuous goddess-like mother, and then ate it and felt like a pig. A good time was had by all, and now my boys are so grown up...

Summer madness

This summer was a bit of a crazy time for us all. We had our kitchen "done". This will hopefully provide a resolution to the unfortunate rat problem...which can only be a good thing, however, after a week of New Wine and a week of Center Parcs, we came home and eagerly opened the kitchen door, to find just joists...and a big hole. We spent the remainder of the summer holiday enjoying the hospitality of the Moxons, like, ALL THE TIME. Now, in still sunny October, we have a kitchen!! And here it is...

Calebism updates

Calebisms are the only accurate way to describe our youngest son's turn of phrase; Last week's no.1: (at school) "My name is Caleb French, I am from the French family and I can speak french: Un, deux, trois, cattle, sank." This week, he is "star of the week", (complete with register collection priviledges), and that particular quote has made it onto his list of star qualities. here he is, roller skating in his pyjamas. The photo doesn't really do the moment justice...

Clement weather!

Yay, summer is here!
We are pretending we live somewhere else, and have bought a pool. I recommend sending the kids to school and spending the morning floating on a lilo. If you close your eyes you could be anywhere...

Happy Campers!

With the prospect of new wine looming large, we decided to become a real Christian family, and bought a 1980's trailer tent. In order to test out it's (and ours) true strength, we sensibly decided to pitch it in a field, on a cliff, on a peninsula in Wales...After a 3 night extreme wind endurance marathon (and that wasn't just Clynt - groan), we found ourselves in a wonderful hostel, with a DVD player and TV in the room. The whole family slept a full 12 hours. Here am I toughing it out under canvas.

And so it was time to return to England. We had a fantastic time, and everybody was a bit sad to say goodbye to the land of Drive-thru Starbucks, Target and the remote-control garage. When we got home, we had to buy the Wiggles and Veggie-Tales Silly Songs on DVD to soften the blow. Here is Caleb looking wistfully out of the window at Phoenix airport...

Will be back next year for a beach holiday!

Last but not least, whilst in beautiful Sedona, Clynt took it upon himself to throw himself headlong into a natural pool of water which had just melted from the snow on the Rocky mountains. Yes, it was cold. He also took the boys down slide rock, a naturally occurring slide which propels you through (icy cold) fast waters. Caleb cried to be allowed to have a go, and cried when he had had a go...

We also loved the mad backdrop at California Land... very Truman Show

At Disneyland, Caleb enjoyed meeting Buzz Lightyear (but I think Buzz enjoyed meeting him more). Caleb took it as an opportunity to show Buzz his finest disco moves. This took a while.

There was a lot of rain, but we took this on the chin with the fortitude that only the English can muster. With the stiff upper lip firmly engaged we went on all the rides and queued for none. (The Americans had gone home). The children squelched along, looking confused as their parents sang and danced in the rain...

We really enjoyed seeing the Kellys. Skye is gorgeous (even if she does look like her father!), and it was fab to see the Mallons, Breens and Saxtons. We enjoyed a sunny afternoon of spa- lazing and water bomb fighting thanks to the Mallons hospitality. Isaac learned to swim. It was a task he accomplished in the style of his father, taking a running belly-flop into the pool and hoping he would be able to make it to the other side. (He did)

It was great to see the lovely Robinsons.

Seeing Caleb and Daisy run towards each other at the airport was definitely a highlight. It was brilliant to see that they were not daunted by the massive distance between them, and could just get on with being mates. Here they are together looking cute.

Fab holiday!

Have not posted for so long that I couldn't actually find my own blog! I want to say that we have JUST returned from an amazing holiday to the states, but it was nearly 3 weeks ago now. What a fab time though. There were so many firsts...
First flight for all of the kids, first time overseas for them, Isaac's first time swimming, first encounter with a fridge with ice dispenser (No water in the UK now meets Caleb's strict temperature standards), first time in a car with DVD player (may not be the last....), first visit to Dennys, first experience of a US hospital (we hope it is the last), and of course, first encounter with the Grand Canyon (Nearly met Matt's expectations), and Disneyland!!!

What an amazing time!

Another recent(ish) thing was the Church Army partners retreat. I am not usually the retreating kind, but a weekend of chilling with all my meals cooked for me and the washing up done couldn't be ignored. The weekend was at Whirlow Grange in Sheffield, and one of the highs was the beautiful chapel (With the warmest ever underfloor heating), and the most fantastic sculpture of a woman with her newborn baby. I was transfixed and had to take pictures. Hope they communicate here...
The weather says snow tonight in Sheffield. Clynt would not leave Sheffield today in case it came early.

What I want to be when I grow up...

Here are some pictures from our trip to the Fire station in Bradford with Katy and Joe. The boys were so wide-eyed. Afterwards, there was some serious hero worship going on. (It's not every day that these small boys get to hang out with a real fireman). Since then, Isaac has had his first overnight school trip, on a farm. He was very impressed with himself, but described the necessary tasks of re-packing his bag and helping to cook the tea as "The hardest day of my life." We go to Phoenix in a fortnight, and can't wait to see everyone. There is lots of internet shopping for summery clothes going on in our family at the moment. Actually, its just me, but I'm doing more than enough for us all... The Magic Kingdom awaits!!

New years resolution no.1: The children will become helpful around the house

Thought I should also include a picture of the fabulous Moxons - where would we be without them at the end of the road?? Seeing everybody's blogs, it is amazing to see how connected we all are, whether in Sheffield, Phoenix, New Zealand etc. Well, here they are anyway, with our beautiful god-daughter who had her dedication this weekend. She is the don of clapping and dancing with a shoulder shimmy.

Caleb is now a schoolboy, which is why I have the time to blog. Here he is looking cute in his uniform. He thinks that school is a great game, and hasn't realised that there might be work involved. So far, he has learned a 5 minute rap rendition of the Goldilocks and the three bears, and has found a following of Y6 girls he can go to for hugs.

Caleb says that this is me holding him and Isaac. I loved it so much that I had to scan it!

Caleb got a nice quiet present this Christmas

See the look of concentration??

After complaints from Phoenix of "Is that all?" I am sending more parent-gloat pictures. Isaac is now bored of conventional sledging, as has decided to learn to snowboard.

More snowy pictures to make those in Phoenix jealous!

Isaac doing a fab leap at Longshaw