Geology Rocks!!

Amy and I have just joined a Geology class with the WEA which I'm very excited about. We had our first class today, which Amy behaved beautifully in. The following four weeks are going to consist of various field trips around the East Midlands. It's great to be learning again and getting interaction with other people who are also interested. I can't wait to get out into the field.

Woodcuts

For FHE we made woodcuts:

Amy the Geologist

Amy is following in her mother's footsteps, taking a great interest in rocks!

Any Geologist worth their salt can identify rocks by taste:

Amy is mobile

Since Amy has become mobile I've been finding her in increasingly uncomfortable positions when I go to check on her. The other night I was very confused when I found a little bottom sticking out where her head was supposed to be and her head hidden right under the covers!

Mummy's Little Helper

Amy just loves pulling all the washing out of the basket so I thought I'd put her skills to good use and get her to pull the washing out of the washing machine. She just loved it!

Epic Adventure

We been on quite a few hiking adventures this holiday, but this was truely an epic. We hiked a total of 16 miles which included 900 metres of elevation, so almost the equivalent of hiking Scarfell Pike (Englands highest mountain) from sea level, plus a lot of miles on top. Conditions were beautiful and we did a circular route from Hathersage train station to Hope train station. The lanscape was so varied throughout the hike. The hike started with a little visit to Little John's grave (as in Robin Hood's Little John) up onto Stanage Edge, along the whole length of it, across onto Derwent Edge over looking Ladybower Reservior, across Ladybower and up along the Roman Road to Win Hill and back down into Hope with views of Kinder and Edale. I just love the Dark Peak the landscape is fantastic!

Heman's taking us to the zoo tomorrow

We had a great day out at the zoo with Heman. The weather was fantastic and Amy was fascinated by the animals, espcially the ones that moved around a lot. I didn't really enjoy seeing the animals caged up and lots of the animals looked bored senseless. Despite all this Amy spent almost the last hour of the trip laughing hysterically at the gibbons swinging around their cages. Something about them just tickled her and she just couldn't stop laughing!!

Camping Adventure

The day after the 10km run we headed out into the hills for a camping expedition. We were all heavy laden with everything we needed for an over night trip. We started out in Bakewell and after a leisurely lunch finally hit the hills. We only really hiked a few miles down Lathkill Dale and up to Haddon Grove Farm Campsite. Things livened up a bit when Parag took an alternative route through Low Wood (the wood of death) on the opposite bank of the river. As you can see by Sneha's worried face Parag almost died on a few occasions. I was convinced he'd broken a leg when we saw his rollmat laden backpack with limbs flailing, tumble down the hill through the undergrowth. He survived to tell the tale, but Dan turned out worse off with a gash to the leg from a barbed wire fence trying to rescue Parag.




My main concern with camping was the worry that Amy wouldn't sleep all night in the tent. But how wrong we were. She slept snug and soundly all night despite the persistant rain and the sound of me rustling in the the survial bag because I was freezing to death in my inadequate sleeping bag.



Back on the road again. We only hiked as far as Youlgreave and met up with Heman for some light refreshment. Sneha and I dumped our bags and Dan carried Amy and we headed back to Bakewell.



I was quite impressed we survived. The funny thing is, we picked to camp at the beginning of the week as it was forcast to be warmest time. However, as I'm sure you all know the rest of the Easter week turned out to be glorious. We seemed to get the only rain of the week! Oh well, at least we know we can survive in adverse conditions!

Easter 10km Run

Dan on one of his many trips to Nottingham QMC noticed a poster advertising a 10km run at Wollaton Hall. So I signed up. I was really nervous about the race but luckily Rebecca who was staying for the weekend and Wez decided to join in. Phew. Anyway, we all completed the race with good times considering we'd never done one before. My main aim was just not to stop, which I managed and I completed the race in 1 hour 8 mins. I also didn't come last! So it's a start and I'm pleased with myself.
D

Great Grandma

Grandma has had to move into a nursing home, so on conference weekend we got the chance to check out her new place. Dan, Niki and I took Tom, Harry, Adam, Emma and Amy on a walk to the Hall. She has a lovely room with great views of the surrounding countryside. Amy had a great time with her cousins! Emma is so cute!

Banshee 200

The next of our hiking adventures was along the Derwent Valley Hertitage Trail from Belper. It wasn't so much of a hike but a saunter through the countryside in the beautiful weather. Parag and Sneha got to try out their new tent (Banshee 200) while Himan, Dan and I got to chill out in a field. Amy had the honour of having her nappy changed in their new abode.

Murphy Moo

Amy and I got the chance to go and visit Anna and Sam in Hinckley. We had a lovely afternoon over at Sam's house and Amy loved terrorising Murphy. Poor Murphy had a nasty accident and his leg is currently pinned while the bone heals. Amy didn't understand the concept of poorly dog, so hopefully he doesn't hold a grudge for next time we see him!

Hiking adventures begin

Our first hiking adventure was very wet! But the weather did not put us off hiking from Ashbourne to Dovedale and back. Fun was had by all despite the rain and cold. Parag, Sneha and Amy all got to try out their new wet gear. Amy was lucky enough to get her nappy changed in the car park attendants shed as there was no where else to get babies sorted out!

Food glorious food!

Amy absolutely loves her food, she's not so bad at feeding herself either!