TeamChallis: Week 69 - Woo's birthday

Am a bit behind in publishing this after a busy couple of weeks and weekends, so am already struggling to remember, and it all seems quite long ago!

Monday was a super rainy day, warm but torrential. Decided to go with shorts, waterproof boots and my super Berghaus waterproof for the walk to school. It was perfect, but I did get a youth asking me why I was wearing shorts 😄. Thing is that the legs dry quicker than any trousers!

An alternative option for Bunnykins to wear to her yr6 leavers party had arrived along with a sequined bomber jacket off ebay. I thought she looked fantastic and most importantly - she was really happy with it. Topped off with some box-fresh trainers, the outfit was ready for the following Monday.

It dried up by the afternoon and Kevan now has a shed in his garden that is more of a bar / hang out place, so Ukers was on. I nipped by Ben's first to help him assemble a planter that had arrived for his jasmin.

We had a great practice and have now got a set list that suits the 3 of us playing alone. Sadly at the moment neither Geoff or Naomi can join us given their own or family members health situations. We do miss them. It means though that we can choose some different songs for now that suit our dynamic. Ben is a great singer, but without Naomi, - Kevan and I need to step up more into vocal lead roles. Also, we three are the most confident musicians, so can go for more complex arrangements. Finally, mine and Kevan's music taste is quite similar, and we have a bit more freedom to explore that as we aren't really planning for care home gigs at the moment.

The set list we are working on is:

All you need is love (the Beatles)
Higher & Higher (Jackie Wilson)
In these shoes (Kirsty Macoll)
The Chain (Fleetwood Mac)
Harvest Moon (Neil Young)
Somebody to Love (Queen)
500 miles (the Proclaimers)
Hit the road Jack (Ray Charles)

Plus a few extras of: Norwegian Wood, Everybody Needs Somebody, and some other classics from the previous set like Jambalaya.

I love how The Chain, for example, actually uses all three of us playing: me to provide a basic strum to the chords, Kevan on that bass line, then Ben riffing over the top of it. Similarly we sing different parts in harmony and overlaid over each other. Somebody to love is a complex song, and as yet I don't think we have got it perfect all the way through once! It still sounds great every time though.

Tuesday was Woo's birthday. She had finished school, but still got up early so she could have a "special breakfast" with us all as is traditional.

Woo is always so lovely at receiving presents, she really takes time to appreciate each one and is always touched and glad by the messages and smallest of details.

She loved the card from Bunnykins...

There were lots of great presents, including some surfer gear...

and loads of books that she had asked for.

Bunnykins had brought home her school report. I always well up at how hard my girls work. This report was no exception. I am so proud of her.

I hadn't made much of a plan for Woo's birthday. I wasn't really sure what to do, but a few days before we had come up with the idea that she would go into town on the bus and meet her friends. I would give her some money for lunch and for going shopping with to find herself something for her birthday. I fussed around her plenty for her getting ready to go.

So Bunnykins went off to school, and Mark and I worked for the day. Woo was home just in time for the takeaway tea I had ordered.

With caterpillar cake....

She'd had a brilliant time in town and was really funny and full of beans showing us her gifts from her friends and purchases..."I spent my money wisely!!" she squeaked as she pulled out a pen with wobbly beads on the end 😂😂😂

She had bought some really nice things including a hoodie (of course), some jewelry, a t-shirt and a super soft (and oversized) flannel shirt. Which she is modelling here the following day as another one of Granny's presents arrived in the post (a lovely surfer print).

On Wednesday after school, Woo came with me to take Bunnykins to netball. We had fun comparing our eye colour and identified that we think Woo has central heterochromia

And that I possibly have sectoral heterochromia... though maybe not! Anyway, it was quite fun taking pictures of each other's eyeballs!

On Thursday, Bunnykins came home with some exciting news. Well she wanted to keep it secret, but wouldn't you know it...Roo found a shiny badge and put it on and went parading around the house with it...

Roo Roo! It's not yours!

I'm super proud of Bunnykins getting her Prefect badge. She has worked so hard and behaves so well at school. She set her sights on getting the badge and she made it. 🏆

Ben was around for ukulele in the evening. It was a beautiful evening to sit out. There was also an opportunity to take a photo of his eyeball (I do enjoy the word "eyeball" 😂). No heterochromia here, but he does have very brown eyes which isn't a colour we're so familiar with in our family.

I have no idea why I took this photo...not sure Woo knows either...

Friday was a warm day, the start of a predicted heatwave.

I wanted a picture of Bunnykins with her prefect badge...

I had taken the afternoon off as there was a yr 6 leavers performance. It was a talent show. Bunnykins had written a murder mystery which she then directed and stared in as the headmistress (Mrs Helium) along with 8 of her friends.

It was really lovely. I was just so glad we got to mark it somehow, even if it wasn't the normal assembly and whole year production. The kids had made some food for us and we got to mill about and chat with other parents - some of who I've not seen in well over a year.

My super girl...

The PTFA had organised for an ice cream van. All the classes were going out at different slots to visit it and they let the visitors have an ice cream too.

We came home and got a few things set up in the garden. Then had a chill out for a while.

The Dicksons came over for a combined birthday BBQ. It had been Woo's birthday in the week. C's birthday was the following day and Hannah's was in the following week.

We opened presents and had snacks and drinks followed by BBQ.

Then as it got a bit cooler we went to the fire pit to toast marshmellows and make smores.

It was really nice how much space we had in the different parts of the garden to hang out all together.

We had cake (another caterpillar cake) but Woo had also made individual chocolate cakes so that the 3 birthday people could blow out a candle each (in a covid secure way)...

Sadly the wind did the job before we had finished singing!

Saturday morning was the start of another scorcher.

I had a long lazy breakfast, just enjoying the ambience and the garden

I then got suited up to get my chairs painted.

We have some old plastic garden furniture that is still in good nic if a little discolored. Thing is it looks grubby. But they are handy to have around - they stack in the corner and we had used them on Friday for example.

I had bought some plastic primer spray and some colours of spray paint. First the primer need to go on...

Meanwhile Woo was collecting Blackcurrants.

(hard to see the difference!)

(Woo had made me a ukulele eraser - using a craft kit she had 😍)

Then she got on with helping Mark make jam

On Sunday morning we were up early to get to Wales to go to Llandegfedd reservoir. You can pay for a self launch session which allowed us to have a play on our stand up paddle boards.

We got ourselves ready

Then met up with Marian who had arrived with Andy and the twins plus their canoe. Marian had her phone in a waterproof case so took some great pictures.

It was hot in wetsuits, but the reservoir was super cold, so it was nice to occasionally chuck oneself in and get cooled down. Then the suit stayed cool for a good while which was nice.

Everyone did great with using the boards and we all had a great time.