Sheffield was never somewhere I wanted to visit as I always thought of it as a very industrial dusty city. However, when we went there to stay with some friends for the weekend over the summer I realised I was wrong!
After quite a pleasant drive to Sheffield across Snake Pass (which the boys thought was the best & most amazing thing ever!) we arrived at Derek & Jo's house with the car jam packed with all the paraphernalia that tends to accompany a family of six! We were all a little excited & full of anticipation as to what the weekend may hold. We had never gone to stay over night as a family with anyone before & certainly not with people we didn't really know! Lee worked with Derek for many years & after several conversations about this thing & that Derek invited us to stay with them & meet his family & visit their church.
We spent Saturday afternoon walking in the countryside surrounding Derek & Jo's house...
.....feeding the ducks.....
....which Timmy & Luke thought was fantastic!
Luke spent quite some time talking to the ducks & trying to feed them by hand. You can see the delight on his face as he looks at the birds.
Timmy also loved the ducks & tried to feed them by hand but he didn't have as much tenacity as Luke! He decided to throw his bread out to the little ducklings instead.
Luke's patience paid off eventually & he did indeed manage to hand feed the ducks! He was over the moon!
There were some gorgeous lillies floating on the water too. Jordan said he had never realised that lilly pads & flowers were really real! We were all a little disapointed not to see any frogs sitting on them though. :o)
There was a super play area too. The kids had a fabulous time playing on giant mushrooms, huge slides & new climbing frames. I enjoyed a rare sit down & a chat with Jo on the park bench with a cuppa from the cafe! I do like meeting new people & finding out their stories.
Jordan loves to push AJ around in her pram like a rally driver! Derek & Jo bought everyone ice creams & then we headed back for tea. The boys loved sleeping in someone else's bedroom. Jordan loved all the trophies that Derek's son had in his room. It really was quite an adventure!
On Sunday we went to Derek & Jo's church,
All Saints. It was great! It was a very large Anglican church with a modern interior & a worship band & lots of creativity in the service. I loved the giant rainbow picture that was set out for the kids to make together at the beginning of the service & so did the children! Jo did the sermon for the service so it was good to hear her speak. It was also great to make connections with one of the vicars & to experience a different way to 'do' church. Jo cooked us a wonderful Sunday lunch which we all thoroughly enjoyed. Luke was really rather taken with the 'cutie roast potatoes'. I HAD to take a picture of it before he ate it! The kids had a great time playing with Derek in the garden after lunch. He really did have so much energy & enthusiasm with the boys! Jordan loved it because he found someone willing to play as much football as he wanted with! The journey home flew by like a dream & we arrived back home tired but happy. Perhaps this is the start of a new chapter in the Davies Tribe book, who knows?
Sheffield was never somewhere I wanted to visit as I always thought of it as a very industrial dusty city. However, when we went there to stay with some friends for the weekend over the summer I realised I was wrong!
After quite a pleasant drive to Sheffield across Snake Pass (which the boys thought was the best & most amazing thing ever!) we arrived at Derek & Jo's house with the car jam packed with all the paraphernalia that tends to accompany a family of six! We were all a little excited & full of anticipation as to what the weekend may hold. We had never gone to stay over night as a family with anyone before & certainly not with people we didn't really know! Lee worked with Derek for many years & after several conversations about this thing & that Derek invited us to stay with them & meet his family & visit their church.
We spent Saturday afternoon walking in the countryside surrounding Derek & Jo's house...
.....feeding the ducks.....
....which Timmy & Luke thought was fantastic!
Luke spent quite some time talking to the ducks & trying to feed them by hand. You can see the delight on his face as he looks at the birds.
Timmy also loved the ducks & tried to feed them by hand but he didn't have as much tenacity as Luke! He decided to throw his bread out to the little ducklings instead.
Luke's patience paid off eventually & he did indeed manage to hand feed the ducks! He was over the moon!
There were some gorgeous lillies floating on the water too. Jordan said he had never realised that lilly pads & flowers were really real! We were all a little disapointed not to see any frogs sitting on them though. :o)
There was a super play area too. The kids had a fabulous time playing on giant mushrooms, huge slides & new climbing frames. I enjoyed a rare sit down & a chat with Jo on the park bench with a cuppa from the cafe! I do like meeting new people & finding out their stories.
Jordan loves to push AJ around in her pram like a rally driver! Derek & Jo bought everyone ice creams & then we headed back for tea. The boys loved sleeping in someone else's bedroom. Jordan loved all the trophies that Derek's son had in his room. It really was quite an adventure!
On Sunday we went to Derek & Jo's church, All Saints. It was great! It was a very large Anglican church with a modern interior & a worship band & lots of creativity in the service. I loved the giant rainbow picture that was set out for the kids to make together at the beginning of the service & so did the children! Jo did the sermon for the service so it was good to hear her speak. It was also great to make connections with one of the vicars & to experience a different way to 'do' church. Jo cooked us a wonderful Sunday lunch which we all thoroughly enjoyed. Luke was really rather taken with the 'cutie roast potatoes'. I HAD to take a picture of it before he ate it! The kids had a great time playing with Derek in the garden after lunch. He really did have so much energy & enthusiasm with the boys! Jordan loved it because he found someone willing to play as much football as he wanted with! The journey home flew by like a dream & we arrived back home tired but happy. Perhaps this is the start of a new chapter in the Davies Tribe book, who knows?
5 comments:
Wow! What an adventure! How brave your hosts were to have the whole tribe too! Welcome back, Emily, we've missed your bloggings; this one is excellent!
Love DaddyO xxxxxx
They are lovely photos and what a super couple Derek and Jo are! Did it remind you of our hostelling days at Lockerbrook high up in the peaks? It's a beautiful country we live in! I thought the church's website was really, really good too. Glad you are back on line.
Mum xx
Welcome back Em,well you made up for those missed blogs with a super duper one,i guess there is a beautiful place somewhere in every town you just got to get out there & find it,soo glad you had a brill time.Marie x x
Yes it did Mum!! I forgot we drove past the turning sign posted Lockerbrook & went over Derwent water too. Lovely memories!
Thanks for all your comments folks! Much appreciated as always! :o)
Is that Forge Damn park? I grew up going there regularly :) Take the kids there sometimes now when we visit :)
Where did u find the sheep??
Love Heather xx
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