Joshua's End of Season Rugby Presentation & Cup Final

A busy weekend for Joshua with his rugby. Saturday he had his BeeFest day which is a fun day where the annual presentations are made. All of the team were awarded with a medal and then special awards for Player player, Managers player and Player of the Season. The team have had a fantastic season finishing 3rd in the league and then making it to the cup final which was played today. Unfortunately they game up short in the cup final and were beater, but still an achievement to make it that far. Now it is a few weeks off before starting pre-season ready for starting U16's in the summer.

Holly enjoyed the BeeFest and played some Crazy Golf and some bean bag throwing. She also enjoyed some of the nice cakes which were available to buy. I managed to catch up with an old work colleague I bumped in to which was really nice. 

As we arrived at the BeeFest late we struggled to get a parking space and ended up in the overflow carpark on the field. The field was surprisingly dry given all the rain we have had except for one boggy area right be the exit. As we were leaving I was following some women in a Fiesta out of the field and as we approached the boggy bit we had plenty of momentum to get through. That was until she got through the mud and thought it would be a good idea to stop dead leaving me bogged down in the mud. We then spent 15 mins getting very muddy trying to push the car and wedge stuff under the tyres only to dig it in dipper. Finally a chap in a 4x4 BMW came along and with some old nylon rope we found under a tree we managed to get a tow out. In the time this all happened more cars were starting to get bogged down behind me. I bet it was chaos later in the day as there were still some 30-40 cars on the field!

Joshua receiving his end of year medal.

Shadowing over his coaches.

Joshua's team all waiting nervously in the club house to see who has won the awards.

Great first season at Billericay Bees for Joshua.

Joshua's medal for the 22/23 season.

All of Joshua's rugby coaches.

Once the presentation was out of the way Holly enjoyed some crazy golf.

How appropriate to have a snooker hole when the World Champs is currently on.

More crazy golf with Holly.

Joshua's Braces Update

So Joshua has been backwards and forwards to the dentist over the last few months getting the prep work done ahead of having braces fitted. I think he has had to have 2-3 teeth removed plus some caps and finally the lower braces were put in last week. He has been struggling with them a little bit and needing to take Ibeprofen due to the pain/discomfort, but hopefully it will ease off soon. He has also been finding eating difficult and has had to rely on soup and soft food for the last few days. He also has to rub some wax on the braces if they start rubbing against the side of his mouth or anything.  

Not sure when the top ones get done, but I doubt it will be too long before this is done.

 

Easter Half Term Bowling

During half time we went bowling as a family of 5 which might be the first time ever. If we have all gone as a 5 before, it was certainly a long time ago and I cannot remember. 

The 1st game started and Holly was still using the bumpers and the ramp whilst we all had no bumpers and obviously no ramp. After 2 or 3 rounds Holly was getting really frustrated with losing because the ramp was not appearing to send the ball along the path that she had lined up. So we encouraged her to try bowling without the ramp for the first time and she never looked back. In fact she went on to win the second game!!!!

Holly got frustrated with the ramp and decided to try bowling without it.

Just from watching us she soon picked up the technique.

I smashed everyone in the first game, but Holly won the second game.

Decent score of 100 on her second game to take the "W" beating me by 2.

Las Vegas Babysitting

So as mentioned on my previous blog, me and Tina just got back from a fabulous 5 nights away in Las Vegas to jointly celebrate our 50th birthdays and 25th wedding anniversary last year. But this break would not have been possible if it wasn't for Zoe and Nicky very kindly sharing the child care with looking after Holly and checking in that Joshua was ok from time to time. We are so grateful for this as it is no small undertaking to look after someone elses kids for nearly a week and Holly can be quite demanding at times. So a big thank you from us.

Whilst Holly missed us last week she also had a blast of a time with Zoe and Nicky, plus got to spend some time with her little cousin Rory-Paul. Zoe, Nick and Rory took Holly to Canvey island one day where it looks like she had a fab time on the rides and was then spoilt with a burger and some candy floss.

With Auntie Nicky, Holly managed to get in a girlie shopping trip where she spent her pocket money and also had £30 from us to go and buy me and Tina a birthday present. Apparently Holly did fantastic with her budget and managed her pocket money and present money very well. Nicky treated her and Josh to a McDonalds lunch which sounds like one of the rare occasions when Joshua surfaced from his bedroom during the week (he must have smelt the McD's as Nicky and Holly pulled up on the drive)!

Anyway I won't add much text to the pictures as I wasn't around. But as you can see Holly was very busy and looks like she had plenty of fun.

Holly and Rory sharing some quality time at breakfast whilst me and T headed to the airport.

Holly does love some candy floss.

Chowing down on a burger.

This colouring that Holly and Nicky started must have taken ages.

But they finished it.

And also got some maths work done.

Pop tart breakfast time for H.

Chilling on her IPAD with her new Stitch headphones which Nicky bought her.

Always smiling when a McDonalds lunch is involved.

And who is this that has surfaced from the 2nd floor at the smell of a McDonalds?

Holly's new Stitch headphones.

A girlie day out shopping and looks like Holly bought plenty with her money.

As usual Holly's pocket money was spent in Smiggle and Primark, her two favourite shops right now.

Brandon's Ski Trip to Jay Peak, Vermont

Brandon has just returned from his school ski trip to Jay Peak in Vermont, USA and whilst he was away me and Tina used the opportunity to have a joint Birthday / Anniversary trip to Las Vegas (something we have been talking about for many, many years). This timing was an ideal opportunity as Brandon was off hand, Joshua can pretty much look after himself and that really meant we only needed childcare for Holly which Nicky and Zoe kindly shared between them. 

This was the first time both of us had been away from the kids at the same time for more than one night and I have to say it was weird. The first day or so was fine, but then you start to miss them and want to share the experiences with them as we have for the last 15+ years. So as nice as the break was, I am not sure we will be rushing to have another holiday without the kiddies.

Brandon had a fantastic time skiing and seemed to really enjoy himself. Hopefully the independence of having to look after all his own luggage, clean his accommodation and manage his own money will make him less dependent on us and more independent himself. He came back from skiing injury free with nothing broken, so that is always a bonus. Fortunately Brandon also took my advice and took a few more pictures than what Joshua did last year, meaning I actually have something useful to post on the blog.

He returned around 11am on Sunday morning and when he stepped off the coach he looked like an absolute zombie. Apparently he had hardly slept on the night flight or the coach and the jet lag was written all over his face. When he got home we pretty much sent him straight up to bed and didn't really see much of him for a day and a half. In fact it is only today that he is finally getting back on GMT body clock.

Me and Tina used the opportunity to have a lovely birthday/anniversary celebration in Las Vegas.

Brandon capturing a sun rise in Jay Peak.

Some of the scenery enroute to Jay Peak.

More stunning scenery from Jay Peak, Vermont.

As he got closer to the resort there was signs of plenty of snow for the skiing.

The snow looks pretty decent and quite thick.

Another cracking photo by Brandon.

I absolutely love this pic which he sent me of him and 2 of his mates at the top of the mountain.

Brandon and Ethan who were also room mates on the trip.

Looks like they were having such fun up on the slopes.

A group photo of all of the Abacus crew from the 2023 ski trip.

The only negative was this rather controversial Crocs which Brandon bought on their final day during a shopping trip in Boston.