Slipping through my fingers ...

Well, the Big Day arrived this week. Kezia started Lower School!

And to be honest, I'm not sure how I feel about it. A very large part of me beams with pride at the sight of her in lovely uniform as she skips off into school with a happy smile on her face. Another part of me is quietly weeping that our four years together before school are now over. And an even smaller part of me has a internal tantrum every morning now that we have to get up to an alarm!

But in all seriousness the last 4 years with Kezia have been an absolute dream. I have made the absolute most of everything. I've been there for every single milestone she's achieved and I have loved every minute of it.

And I will be there for the ones to come too. This year I can look forward to seeing her in her first proper nativity play, her first real sports day and so much more. Already I am looking forward to October half term hols!

So, here she is. So grown up.

It was the summer of ...

... 2013.

ok, so that doesn't scan, but you get my meaning!

Let me share our summer adventures with you. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin.

Throughout the summer hols Kez and I have had some lovely summer adventures. About once a week we would spend the morning up the horse with Grum, then we'd have lunch out and take the dog for a walk around Wrest Park. We really made the most of our English Heritage tickets this year!

We also took Kez to History Live, which is a huge re-enactment and living history festival held at Kelmarsh Hall in Northamptonshire every July. We've been lots of times before but this time Kez was able to really join in too. We even took little Star, who coped very well with both the journey and the excitement of the day!

We had an amazing day out in London at the Pompeii Exhibition at The British Museum. Grum and Grandpa very kindly drove us down to London and whilst we were at the museum we took Kez in to see the Egyptian section. Well, she surprised us all immensely by immediately telling us that the sarcophagi were the boxes for the mummies! She knew all about them. I have a lot to thank Scooby Doo for!

And of course we had lots of lovely days meeting up with families at various events and days out. We've been to country and county fairs, swimming with aunts and cousins, lots of days out at old houses and Kez also spent 2 nights with her grandparents all on her own and went to Canons Ashby with them like a grown up girl! Times are moving on folks.

So, just before Kezia starts 'big school', here is a glimpse of some of the highlights of our Summer 2013 holiday.

Did someone shoot the bugler?

Well, hello everyone!

How are you all doing? We've been really busy since our last blog entry and have lots and lots to share with you all - but before I start off with all of that, I'm going to share what we did last Saturday.

Saturday was quite possibly one of our best days out EVER! Chance, Kez and I all travelled up to Chatsworth House in Derbyshire to go to their country fair.

 "Derbyshire?" I hear you cry "Isn't that 124 miles away from your house??"

Why, yes. Yes it is. It is a very long way away for a day trip but we had a special reason for going so far. This particular country fair had a special performance booked in - the King's Troop doing the musical drive and my amazing cousin, Bombardier Wyatt, was firing one of the guns. 

I have been dying to see Ruthie in action for years now but something has always got in the way of getting to an event. But not this time! Oh no. I was determined to get Kez and I there this time - even if I had to crawl on hot coals to make it happen!

We drove like bats out of hell in the Rangie and made the journey in just under 2 hours! Gold Star to Chance for that feat. We arrived just in time to dash to the RHA (Royal Horse Artillery) camp and give Ruthie some hugs and snogs before she had to dash off and get everything ready for the first performance. 

I was so darn excited waiting down on the front line for the troop to arrive. At one point, you could see them all stood waiting to come down the concourse into the main arena and that started to escalate my excitement! Then, blow my stars, if Ruth didn't march straight passed us! I was so surprised and excited and proud all at the same time, that all I could do was whoop really loudly and wave my hands in some sort of demented fashion under my chin! I was so close I could've reached out and pinched her bum! chuckle. 

And then it began and I thought I had died and gone to heaven. There is something truly majestic and incredibly patriotic about watching the drive. It makes you soar at the best of times, but when you can actually see someone in your family doing these amazing things it bowls you over completely. Pride doesn't really come close. 

After the first performance we met up with Ruthie again and she took us 'round the camp to see all the horses that were there that day. Ruthie has moved up the ranks in the troop and she is also one of the saddlers, which is totally amazing because it meant we got a really detailed little session on all the tack and stuff that the troop use. It was incredibly interesting - I think all civvies should have tack like that too! chuckle. Save a fortune on saddle fittings! Little interesting factoid here: Ruthie is already next inline to be Master Saddler in The Troop, which means that she will be then be the youngest Master Saddler they've ever had AND the first female. Which I think is pretty impressive. 

We learnt all about the different brandings on the horses; what they mean and what would happen if a horse fell 'during the war'. We had a fab time looking at the guns and Ruthie showed us how you fire them and what her job with it all involves. On Ruthie's gun there is a slight (!) scratch - which was put there by our very own Bombardier! Whoopsie Daisie! And they call us the Go-Lightlys ...

We bought Ruth an ice cream and watched some classic cars drive by before she had to go back into camp again to prepare for the second show. We said our goodbyes and snogged a lot, then Ruthie returned to camp and we set up for round 2! The second show was just as amazing as the first one. And when those horses and guns fly past you at full gallop at the end - oh my goodness. The ground actually shakes! Totally and utterly amazing. Never seen, heard or felt anything like it.

We weren't able to see our gal again before we toddled off back home so we yelled our love yous at the end of the show. Kez didn't want to leave Ruthie there on her own without Suzie or Harry. She would like Ruth and all her horses to come and live with us on a permanent basis and was very distressed when she realised that wasn't going to happen on many levels! Bless her. And so we started the 120-odd mile journey back home, with Kezia chatting non-stop about her day all the way home!

It was a lovely day. And we would definitely go to that country fair again. Next on our King's Troop viewing schedule is Windsor next year. where we will be able to see the full drive with 6 teams of horses, instead of 4. I can't wait!