Moshi Birthday!

And then they were nine years old! We have two very excited boys in our house today. They are over the moon with their presents & the Moshi Monsters cake that I made them. It's lovely to see them so happy. :0)

Dotty Spotty!

The kids went to school wearing spots in aid of Children in Need. It's the first time they've done something at school to raise money for Pudsey so they were quite excited! It turns out boys don't wear spotty clothes so the school secretary brought 1,200 dotty stickers in to decorate the clothes of any children who were spotless, in return for 50p! Jordan put his on his jumper while the twins decided to decorate their faces! What a laugh! The school raised £222 from cake sales & spotty clothes fees. Jordan enjoyed helping to sell the cakes at break time too. Great work!

Robin Hood! Robin Hood! Running Through The Glen!

Today Jordan & I took part in the Robin Hood Adventure Challenge Races in Sherwood Pines Forest.

Jordan did the Little John 2k fun run with a large mix of children of all ages. The start was a little crazy so none of us saw him go past us after the klaxon sounded which was a little worrying! But my tactic to shout 'Go Jordi!' worked because he heard me & it spurred him on.

Not long after the race had started the first children began to head back up the trail to the finish line! They were fast!! And Jordan was there with them! I lost count of how many went past us but Jordi may well have been in the top ten finishers, but was certainly well within the top twenty. A fantastic effort!

Our training runs have paid off! Jordan even got a finishers medal to go with the t shirt he received at the finish line. He is very proud of himself, as are we!

And then it was my turn to run! The start was also a little crazy as the 5k race and the 10k race all began together. Some of the Evil Sheriff Duathlon competitors were still finishing in the same space were about to start in too! I've never run in a race before, well not since I was a kid & ran in the Stevenage Fun Run that is! It's very different from competing in a triathlon. It was quite an amazing experience running along side hundreds of other people all with the same purpose, focused, silent except for the thudding of feet upon sand & the sound of controlled breathing, surrounded by beautiful forest scenery. It was a very hilly race but I finished with a personal best time of 35 minutes. I crossed the finished line with my usual Cheshire Cat grin! The announcer, who welcomes the finishers by name as they cross the line, said over the PA system 'Here's Emily! She's always smiling! She's a lovely lady!' I asked Lee if they said something about everyone who finished. He said 'No, just about you!' Nice eh?    

I was very pleased with my race prize- this lovely red t shirt to match Jordan's! All in all, we had a really great day out together, despite Lee being poorly. It was good to be out in the forest in the winter sunshine. Sherwood Pines is full of amazing hideouts & adventure play areas for children so I know we will definitely be going back there again!

PS The man who won the 10k race finished a few minutes before I crossed the line! He ran 5k in 16 minutes! Wow!

Shoe Box!

It's that time of year again when we fill a shoebox with soap, toothpaste, stationary & other exciting gifts! It's something I always look forward to doing each year. Not sure AJ was as enthusiastic to give away the neon plastic recorder, cuddly teddy bear & the shiny butterfly stickers we bought for the parcel! It's all part of learning & growing I guess. And a little girl somewhere will be delighted with her gifts. :0)