The Eve of Being Sweet 17 for Joshua

On the eve of our eldest turning 17 tomorrow he is a bit too grown up for balloons and banners etc, however I did find this rather amusing birthday say on Temu which I thought was appropriate for Josh! I think he is more excited about the prospect of being able to start to learn to drive as opposed to is actual birthday. I have booked tomorrow off of work and we are planning to head over to Upminster to let him drive Tina's car on that airfield facility they have over there. Should be fun, although I am not sure Tina is thrilled with him driving her Fiesta!

Holly's Year 6 PGL Trip

It has been a bit of a weird week this week as Holly has been away with her school on their Year 6 PGL trip in Suffolk. This must be the longest she has ever been away from us and the house is very quiet without her (in a bad way). 

We have received a few pictures from the school and it looks like she is having a fab time. Really looking forward to seeing our little baby arrive home tomorrow though as we have definitely missed her. Let's hope she is not too tired to celebrate her big brothers 17th birthday when she gets home!

Day 1 and it looks like Holly had settled in to her room.

Who ever thought giving her a gun was a good idea!!!!

This is more Holly. After all our paddle boarding she must have been a pro on the water.

Rugby Update - Injured Already

Joshua has had one league game and one friendly game since the new season started and he is already injured. Sunday was a friendly training game with three 20 minute games. During the 1st 20 mins Joshua had his left ankle stamped on and limped off after about 5 mins on the pitch. 

He then managed to get back on the pitch for the second 20 min game and with his first touch of the ball he ended up at the bottom of a ruck and took a kick/knee to the back which left him writhing around in pain and eventually coming off injured again.

So the 3rd 20 min game I got to watch all the other lads whilst Josh sat on the sidelines nursing himself with icepacks! Great start to the season. 

Joshua got to do a few line outs before coming off injured.

This was his move in the second 20 min game which ultimately led to the back injury.

One minute he is running with the ball...........

Next he is at the bottom of a pile and getting kicked in the back. Game over.

Brandon's 1st Paid Job - Football Refereeing

This Sunday Brandon started his first paid job as a Sunday League football referee. His first game to referee was an U8's game at Academy Soccer and he did a pretty good job. He let the football flow and only had one injury to deal with. Being a bit of an introvert he needs to be a little more assertive on the pitch, but that will come with time and experience. After refereeing for 20 mins each way he was paid £15 cash in hand, so better than minimum wage (I wish there was gigs like this available when I was his age instead of paper/milk rounds!). 

Really proud of Brandon for doing this as it is something we have being nagging Josh to do for ages. Ref two games on a Sunday and you get £30-50 in your pocket. Plus it looks really good on their CV as they can put this down as experience which pulls in some many skills such as communication, conflict management, leadership, assertiveness, decision making etc.etc.

It ended up being a very exhausting day for Brandon as it was an early start to do his refereeing gig and then back home for a quick bite to eat before heading over to Rayleigh for his own football match.

Brandon's first job refereeing mini soccer.

Then it was over to Rayleigh for his own football match.

Shielding a ball to win a throw in for the team.

Brandon on the ball and looking for a pass that is on.

Another action shot of Brandon.

Joshua's College Update

I am pleased to say that Joshua has settled in to Chelmsford College for Year 1 of his Electrical Installation Diploma really well. Considering the problems we had getting him to do school work, it is a very refreshing to see him self motivated and working hard.  I do not know whether it is because he has a general interest in the subject which helps with motivation or just because he realises this is now important as it is what he has chosen for a career. He often sends me pictures of his workshop exercises whilst at college and considering he is only 3 weeks in, they look good.

Joshua has adapted to being completely independent and using public transport to get the Chelmsford each week. On days when he is at college he is up at about 6:30am to get to the bus and on his longest day, Tuesday, he doesn't get home until gone 7. So very long days which are good because they are preparing him for working life, but bad in that they leave him exhausted and very tired. The cost for the bus doesn't seem too bad either and we are having to pay around £18 a week to cover the 3 days he is at college (Tues, Thur and Fri).

Overall I have to say I am very proud of how his college life has started and how much he seems to be enjoying it.

Some of Joshua's work from the workshop classes he has at college.

As he knows I am pretty good with electrical stuff he often sends me pictures to see what I think and if he has done it right.

Brandon's Last Ever School Picture

Brandon has now settled in to his final year at secondary school and that means lots of "lasts" coming like with Joshua last year. So the first last (that is a bit of an oxymoron), is Brandon's last ever school photo and amazingly he is almost smiling. This is just the proof print but we have ordered the picture and thus I will update once it arrive.

On Wednesday we had his progress evening to discuss his Year 10 end of year report and to put in place a few commitments from him to further progress from the mocks next month to his final GCSE's in about 7 months time. The 3 commitments he agreed to implement for his key three subjects of Maths, English and Science was :

1. Attend Monday evening math's interventions for extra tuition.

2. Complete an English Language story each week based on a previous paper question.

3. Complete a past Science paper each week.

Brandon's final school picture in Year 11 at Beauchamps High School.

New Dad-Cam

I have been a bit lazy on the blog lately and only really have two excuses. Firstly I have been super busy just with work, family, training and life in general. The secondly as you know the "Dad-cam" suffered a fatal death on holiday this year so I haven't had many pictures to upload. 

The good news is the second excuse can no longer be used as Tina came up trumps for our anniversary this year and bought me a brand new "Dad-cam". The kids are not best pleased as they were ecstatic on holiday when the old one died and they realised no more "smile for the camera" moments. The new "Dad-cam" pays homage to the old one in that it is still blue and can still go underwater to a depth of 15m (perfect for holiday!).

Old "Dad-cam" suffered a fatal death in Tunisia this year.

But the blog is back in business as Tina got me a a new "Dad-cam" for our anniversary this year.

Random Picks from the Summer Holidays

Today's post is just a few random pictures which I never got around to blogging about during the kids summer holidays.

Holly having a riding lesson on Brandon's girlfriend (Daisy's) horse.

Holly being sassy during a crazy gold loss to Brandon at Maldon.

Brandon out on the paddle boards at Papermill Lock.

Holly is getting very capable on the SUP now.

Holly and Brandon out paddle boarding whilst Josh and Tina walk on the river bank. Me taking a cold plunge.

Teaching Holly to SUP.

She is really getting the hang of paddle boarding now.

Looks like I will be able to let her go out on her own board soon.

Jut like that..............

Proof that it is possible to tire a Holly out.

Out on a bowling date with Mummy.

Holly enjoys bowling but does still use the side rails.

Where Holly won the 1st game.

And the 2nd game.

1st Day Back at School

And just like that the summer holidays are over. Last Wednesday Brandon and Holly both went back to school. Brandon starting his final year of Seniors and Holly starting her final year of Juniors. Joshua also had his induction day at Chelmsford College and starts full time this coming Tuesday. His college days will be Tuesday, Thursday and Friday for this academic year. 

Brandon and Holly with their new uniforms all ready for the new school year.

Joshua & Brandon's GCSE Results

On the 22nd of August Joshua and Brandon got to pick up their GSCE results. A really big day for Joshua as they were his end of school exams and will dictate the course he ultimately ends up taking at college. For Brandon it was his English Literature (which they complete in Year10) and his ICT BTEC.

Brandon done amazing as expected and got a Grade 7 (equivalent to an old A) for his English Literature and a Distinction in ICT. I think he scored something like 86/90 for the ICT so really couldn't have done much more. 

Joshua had a bit of a mixed bag of results which I guess was also kind of expected. He failed History and Spanish which was always a given. Then disappointingly he failed Science. He passed math's which we were all really pleased with and was one of the key passes he needed for college. He also passed his Construction and ICT. 

The major disappointment was he only got a 3 in English which was the other important subject he needed for his college course. Annoyingly he missed a 4 by just 6 or 7 marks so we are going to see if it is worth getting his paper remarked if the school think it might be upgraded to a 4.

So at the moment the really good news is Joshua has his place in college and will be starting Electrical Installation at Chelmsford College starting with his induction day tomorrow. As he didn't get math's and English he has had to start on Level 1 and he will have to re-sit English (unless we successfully get it upgraded with the review/re-mark we have requested. So those 6 or 7 marks have effectively cost him an extra year of further education. But looking on the positive side if he does the Level 1 first then that should put him in a very strong position when he does go on to do the Level 2.

So on to the next exciting chapter for Joshua.

Results day and surprisingly not many parents were there. I wanted to see first hand Joshua opening his envelope.

Joshua's results - good passes for ICT, Construction and Math's. Just missing out on his English.

Brandon's results - smashed it out of the park as usual.

Finally managed to collect Joshua's leavers fleece which we paid for about 6 months ago. His name is down towards the bottom of the 2.

Class of 2024, looks good in the black and white.

And he also got to collect his leavers book. No signatures collected as they all scribbled on each others shirts instead.

Joshua's class and teacher of 2024.

Layla's Scooter

Having not seen our Norfolk family since Bulgaria last summer we decided we best make an effort this summer holiday. The added bonus being that Min and Lea recently moved to Suffolk so we got the pleasure to stop by and see their new house on the way up to Norfolk.

Once we got to Norfolk we found out that Steve had bought Layla a little 50cc scooter to potter around on and this was fuel to the fire for Joshua. He has been asking for a scooter or moped for ages as a couple of his friends have them, but we have been dead against the idea and would prefer he waits until he passes his test and gets a car,

Anyway Joshua had a go on Layla's scooter just going up and down the road outside her house. It was pretty scary stuff seeing how he handled the scooter and certainly didn't install me with confidence to go out and buy him one. If he choses Chelmsford college then a scooter would make my life a lot easier, but I am just not sure I can bring myself to do it.

Holly tried on Layla's bike helmet and jacket but fortunately had no intentions of trying to ride it! 

Scary times as Joshua pelts up and down Auntie Chris's road on Layla's scooter.

Holly tried on the jacket and helmet but was not allowed anywhere near the scooter.

Tunisia - Day 10 End of the Holiday, End of "Dad-cam"

Our last full day of holiday before flying back home and we have had an absolutely amazing time in Tunisia. Despite the holiday being reduced from 14 nights to 10, I think it has been enough and we are ready to go home. I wouldn't complain at another day or so out here, but 14 nights probably would have been too much and thus 10 seems about right.

Anyway on our final day we really just made the most of our resort, enjoying the beach, the pool, the activities and of course food and drink in excess. Holly participated in her final body board challenge which was a battle against an opponent using two float noodles. Pretty brutal and Holly had a long battle against a young boy which ultimately ended in victory for her.

After dinner we took our final walk in to the harbour for some souvenirs and for Holly to go on a few more rides. In our 10 days in Tunisia we learnt that Tunisians are amazingly kind and friendly people and this was never more evident that our porter who had been so good to us all holiday that we got a family picture with him before flying home. We only met one local person who wasn't friendly and offended us and this was the owner of one of the shops down in the harbour. In fact he offended me so much that I took a picture of his stores and posted it on Facebook advising people to avoid at all costs.

Our holiday started badly with the initial flight/booking being cancelled due to Crowdstrike, however something even worse happened on the final day. Much to the kids delight my infamous and well travelled "Dad-cam" took on some water and died a fatal death. Despite many attempts to dry it out I could not bring it back to life and the best I could manage was to salvage our holiday pictures from the memory card. Absolutely gutted, my "Dad-cam" has served me well over the years, travelled thousands of miles, dived many seas and taken thousands and thousands of pictures of the kids. Now it is just a broken relic.

A last early morning dip in the sea for me at tomorrow we leave the resort at about 6am.

I love my cold plunge at hoe, but boy am I going to miss this treat every morning.

Just look at that water.

Is there a better way to start the day?

The others were missing out staying in bed.

Last morning of looking back at our hotel in crystal clear warm waters.

Whilst taking some pictures I noticed little fish on the sea bed that took a shine to nibbling my feet.

That's a brave fish!

Once the others got up we hit the pool and Holly did some snorkeling.

Then it was her epic body board noodle battle.

The little boy gets a clean strike on her head.

But Holly fights back.

They exchange blow for blow.

But eventually Holly winds up victorious.

And then goes straight back to her snorkeling.

She was snorkeling for little lose tiles that she found in the bottom of the pool.

This kept her occupied for ages.

Tina enjoying some time with the two boys.

Until Holly comes in and splashes them all.

Family picture with a large Tunisian flag.

The boys (notice my outfit which the boys kept saying was my Gypsy King set!).

The ladies.

Family picture with our amazing porter who was so friendly and helpful all holiday. Such a nice chap and always had a smile on his face despite working such long hours.

Final rides for Holly on a mini log flume down the harbour.

And if ever you visit Tunisia, avoid this shop at all costs due to the owner being extremely rude and pushy.

Our final night and I took some last minute pictures of the illuminated pool/hotel.

Highly recommend Barcelo Concorde Green Park.

All good things come to an end.

Farewell Tunisia. After a dodgy start, you've been good to us.