Half-Term

I forgot how much I like roller coasters!



Thorpe Park was a lot of fun; I didn't have terribly high expectations so I was pleasantly surprised. It is so cool to have all three kids able to ride the scary coasters - this is the first year Sophie's been tall enough to ride anything she wants. I'm glad none of them are the sort of wimps I was as a child!




So Saturday was a really great family day out. We were all happy - and the sun even shone! (Though it was cold; there was ice on all the lakes around Thorpe Park).

Sunday - not so much. I was in a temper for most of the day because Bobby went flying ("but Ann, it's my last proper weekend before I go to India! I won't be able to fly for two months!") while I and my sullen conscript army of helpers cleaned. I like the end result - beautiful clean kitchen cupboards, scrubbed floor, sparkly fridge - though I chose - and am still choosing - to ignore the oven. Too scary. Even as I write, it is exerting a brooding presence over the rest of my clean kitchen. I do not plan to open it any time soon. Sort of like Dirk Gently's fridge.

I got over my rage eventually - Bobby grovelled, and I tired of sulking and slamming stuff around - and we had a nice evening.

And yesterday was the first day of half-term. Whooo! I got one chore done - picked up my last year's PGCE folder from horrible Crawley - which slotted in quite nicely, as I was taking Sophie and some friends to see a movie in creepy-Crawley anyway. While they were watching, Ems and I went shopping, and she chose a prom dress. She is so lucky, whatever she tries on looks fabulous on her. She went for a long dress; it makes her look very adult. My baby! The shopping was fun; we found tons of inexpensive goodies.

Poor Steve, though, was wrestling with an essay when we got home, and was consequently in the sort of mood I was in on Sunday. Not long now before he's done with exams, thank goodness...

Today I am going to do some marking, then go to the doctor's for my travel vaccinations (in case I get to go to India for a while too), and then in the evening Bobs and I are going out for a not-Valentines-day dinner and movie. We're seeing Summer Hours... hope it's good! While we're out Emily will be at a concert in Camden; we have to pick her up "at twelve. Or one ... I'm not sure when it will finish ..." Good thing we love her.