Cheerio Lincoln

Moving day in Lincoln. Everything ran smoothly and the sun shined for us. It was a long day and we didn't get the second load shifted as soon as we hoped, but we got Bobbie in bed in Nottingham not long after her usual bed time.

Dad and Amy finishing up the first load.

Last time in the house for Amy.

Bye, bye. First load and Amy off to Thurlby.

Ready to go.

Bye, bye, for Bobbie.

Bobbie and I got the train back to Nottingham as there wasn't room for everyone in the van. I felt very nostalgic walking away from our house down Bailgate and Steep Hill for the last time. I really am going to miss the charm of this special little area and all the happy memories we have here.

I was back a couple of days later with Lucy to help clean the last remaining bits in the house. I wouldn't have been able to do it without her she was such a fantastic help. 

Den

Amy has been ever so good in the run up to the move. She has been keen to pack boxes for me but as you can imagine having a three year old pack boxes isn't much help at all. She's been finding other creative ways to entertain herself while I'm busy.

Harmony Lincs

I popped along to hear the old boys sing for the last time before the move. I found them out in a courtyard singing their hearts out. It was lovely to have the freedom (Rebecca at home looking after kiddies) to enjoy the evening with everyone and exchange stories. Dan is really going to miss everyone at Harmony Lincs, they've all been so welcoming.

Picnic time

We got a moment between packing to fit in a picnic with Kate and Anne and their kids. The weather was gorgeous and we spent a lovely few hours enjoying the sunshine, good food and very good company.

Hannah and Bobbie

Tomato fiend.

It was great to have Rebecca over for a few days, the girls had a great time and it was a massive help to have an extra pair of hands.

Patrick and Jeanie

I love our neighbours garden throughout the year it has been full of colour and interest. Patrick and Jeanie are in their 80's but you wouldn't tell, they are just bursting with life and always busy with something or another. I've loved having them as neighbours. We put the world to rights over the garden fence and Jeanie taught me so much about the local area and the history of our house. Patrick an I also had an affinity as he was born and bred in West Bridgford just like me and was born just a few streets from where my brother is currently living.

Chatting to Jeanie over the fence.

Frairy party time

Amy tucking in at the Friary Christmas Party. Lots of fun, games and dancing had by all.

Lazing on a sunny afternoon

When we get time and the sun is shining this is what we like to do:

I was hoping Bobbie wouldn't manage to get mobile before we moved from Lincoln, but alas she managed to start shuffling about days before we were due to move. We were pretty lucky really because she was walking the next month!

Enjoying her grub... Bobbie loves food and yes she does manage to get a lot in.

Bye bye Lincoln lovelies

We have so many new lovely friends from our year in Lincoln we are going to miss them all.

Karen and Will are absolute super stars.

Iris Lowman never failed to make me smile. I love all her wonderful stories about what she and John used to get up to in the old days.

Ang at strut. I think we must have been their most regular customers. We went in most days and usually bought something, there were just too many bargains and it was far too close... I could see it from my bedroom window.

The Araujo's. Going to miss these guys tonnes, this is the night when I popped out the restaurant to settle Bobbie and saw Gok Wan.... no idea what he was doing in Lincoln.

Sunny Sunday's

This is what I loved about living a stones throw from the Cathedral, having an inspirational playground on our doorstep and the time to just take it all in.

In Search of a New Home

I just thought I'd share a few images of some of the properties we looked at while searching for a new home in Nottingham. Throughout the whole process I felt quite calm and not unduly worried that we would have to move in the next couple of weeks. In an unexpected turn of events and a phone call from Switzerland, we've ended up back in the house I grew up in. My parents were asked to serve for our church on the Preston Temple Presidency and in that capacity have to live on site (up in Chorley) for the next three years, leaving their property vacant. That certainly cleared up the housing question.... Thanks mum and dad for lending us your house, we much prefer it to living in any of these places!

This one would have been especially fun with a push chair.

Amy's First Day At Playschool

I think the picture says it all.

Stanage Edge

The forecast was terrible but we decided to brave the weather and venture into the dark peak for a spot of camping. I wasn't too sure how camping using public transport was going to work out with two little ones. As you can see we were pretty loaded up, but I think we did really well considering we had all our food with us and even managed two fold out camping armchairs. 

Eating fish and chips on the train with all our gear.

Getting set up.

Luckily we packed plenty of spare clothes for the girls, Amy had only been in the camp site a few minutes before getting this muddy.

Evening stroll up to Stanage Edge.

The forecast ended up being alright for the first full day so we headed out for a little hike.

Enjoying the countryside.

Amy loved the mud, it motivated her to keep walking to find the next muddy puddles.

She was really good at scrambling across the rocks.

We were so pleased with Amy, she managed the whole 6 mile hike without needing to be carried.

Very pleased to see Little John's grave in Hathersage. Disney's Robin Hood is one of her very favourites.

A view with North Lees Hall in the background (next to our camp site). The Hall inspired Charlotte Bronte to write about Thornfield in Jane Eyre.

Enjoying the grass.

Not enjoying the grass so much.

It absolutely chucked it down the next day and I didn't end up leaving the tent till the afternoon.

Amy and Dan were more brave, they went for a walk in the storm,

It cleared up on the way into town though and we had a nice pub lunch.

View out towards Castleton.

Happy Bob just before bed.

Just before it got dark I had the chance to run up Stanage Edge. It was a gorgeous evening and I had the place almost to myself.

I had to pick my way off the edge down the only path I could find which had turned into a river.

 

We had a lovely time on our last day. We went for a swim at Hathersage open air pool. It was pretty warm considering it was outside and it was absolutely gorgeous to be surrounded by hills and to be in the sunshine. The girls loved it! On the train into Sheffield Amy was entertained by a man performing magic tricks for her with a pound coin. He was a local and told us lots of his family history surrounding the area. He treated Amy to the pound as we got off the train. Amy was given a second pound by another stranger on the next train to Lincoln to spend on sweets! I don't know how she does it but people seem to like giving Amy money!!