Published on 21 September 2006
in Pictures.
This is a photo taken earlier today of Hannah and Lauren’s easels in our dining room:
(You can see a bigger version here.)
The girls doodle on their easels after most meals but as you can see the central theme doesn’t vary much.
I wonder if anyone can answer the following questions:
(a) Which is Hannah’s easel and which is Lauren’s?
(b) Where are the three pictures of me? (Warning: this one’s tricky.)
(c) How many weddings are depicted?
(d) How many women can you count with long hair?
(e) How many high-heeled shoes?
I only know the answers to a, b and c. I’ll take your word on d and e. 
(Flickr users can also leave notes and comments here.)
We found ourselves at the back of a very long queue at the ice cream kiosk today, so the girls started running a relay to the front to report back on the flavours available. The full list they assembled was as follows:
- Vanilla
- Dutch Chocolate
- Real Strawberry
- Mint Choc Chip
- Raspberry Ripple
- Double-Lick Vanilla
This caused no small amount of excitement in our section of the queue. What scrumptious Wonka-like invention was this “double-lick vanilla”? Was double-lick technology also available on other flavours? We began to scrutinise passing ice creams for a clue as to what double-licking might entail.
Sadly, when we reached the front we realised that what was actually on offer was diabetic vanilla. After that our ice creams tasted strangely disappointing.
Hannah and Lauren have always liked singing and dancing, and Hannah in particular always has a tune in her head and a wiggle in her step. It has been noted that she will sing whilst brushing her teeth and usually eats with at least one foot on the floor so she can tap out a rhythm.
The other night they were late to bed and I was having to use Strict Dad Mode to achieve the desired result. I gave Hannah a kiss and a cuddle then told her to go straight to sleep. She nodded and snuggled down. But as soon as I turned round to Lauren’s bed a muffled singing noise struck up behind me.
I spun back round to see Hannah with both hands clamped over her mouth. “I’m sorry Daddy!” she pleaded. “I’m trying to stop singing but I just can’t!”
Anyone who’s seen The Sound of Music will realise you’d have to be a Mother Superior with a heart of stone to try and separate a girl from her singing, so I dropped the Strict Dad act and left her to it. Ten minutes later they were both fast asleep.
Published on 7 September 2006
in Pictures.
I know, I know, the blog goes dead for ages and then you get three in one day. Still, I just wanted to share this lovely photo from today, taken during a brief break from the serious business of learning to ride bikes.
Family and friends will already be aware of Silvery, the frog who has taken up residence in our greenhouse. That’s a picture of Silvery on the right, taken by Nicola.
I don’t know what’s so special about our greenhouse all of a sudden but Silvery has recently been joined by two more frogs, not to mention four newts who all now live under one of the growbags. Hannah and Lauren took on the job of naming this amphibious army and were not daunted by the task. So, we now have:
Frogs: Silvery, Goldy and Rainbow
Newts: Emma, Gemma, Ella and Cinderella