A Jelly Baby Eating Squirrel!?!

This weekend we had the opportunity to celebrate a very special 

at home with the wests family members 8th birthday!

(Although his actual birthday is on Monday.)

Harrison put lots and lots of thought into what he would like to do to mark this occasion.

After trips to theme parks had been suggested and promptly ruled out

he eventually came up with camping.

This sounded awful when suggested as earlier in the week a number of us had the flu.

However we planned to camp anyway and made the arrangements.

By Friday morning everyone was feeling a little more human and able to camp!!

On Wednesday we realised we didn't have a tent anywhere near big enough to hold all of us...

So the rush was on to find the perfect tent,

(there is no point spending money on a rubbish one)

that could be delivered no later than 10am Friday.

Thankfully we managed it,

we found a perfect 4 bedroom, 

1 living room, 

10 person tent which could arrive by 10am Friday!!

So the camp was on!

We decided as we were only camping for one night we shouldn't go too far...

There is a fabulous park in Lincoln and it has a campsite attached to it too...

The site was picked!

We packed everything up and off we went.

When we arrived and put up the tent we turned around and saw one of our views...

 

We were being overlooked by a big block of flats!

Although this was a little worrying we finished putting the tent up and went for a walk...

We then met The Squirrel...

He looked like a nice Squirrel...

Like he wouldn't hurt a fly...

(Though we had been warned by the warden a Squirrel had bitten someone earlier that day!)

This one looked nice and friendly....

David was casually eating his Jelly Babies...

Minding his own business...

When SNATCH!!!

 

Off went the Squirrel with the Jelly Baby!!!

So it was indeed a Baby eating Squirrel if not a man eating Squirrel!

(Oliver found this surprisingly funny considering he was the closest thing to a baby the Squirrel would have left after eating the Jelly version!)

We were greeted by many more Squirrels upon our intrepid adventure.

After all the excitement we came across a log in an area lit just so,

so of course I made everyone sit and have portraits taken.

They are going to find their way into our hallway just as soon as I have finished editing them...

But here is one or two as a taster...

(compressed for web, so looks a little bitty)

While taking these photos 

(Which there are loads more... better ones!)

We got harassed by our little friends again...

Oliver decided to face him down...

and not just to sit back and become the next meal!

 

Guess who won....

OK so with father's day coming up we decided to take a nice piccy for Grandads to say Happy Father's Day with.....

Oh actually that one won't make it into this post...

Coming soon to a post near here!!

(Tomorrow!)

Went had some fun in the play park...

 David keeps forgetting he is 30.....something... and well isn't invincible any more!

 

This is him after trying to jump on the swing while it was....

well, swinging!

So funny....... sure it hurt but, you have to laugh.

Duppy David!

We had a midnight feast (at about 9pm),

and late night walks..

Where Toads,

Rabbits,

Geese

and Moths were spotted.

Such fun!

I can't wait for our next camping adventure...

We will be on bikes by then so that's a whole lot more mischief we can achieve!

I Heart Faces - Bright and Vivid

This weeks theme at I Heart Faces is Bright and Vivid.

This can be illustrated in either the colours of the photo 

or

the personality of the subject.

One picture jumped out to me for this subject...

 

This is my daughter, 

she is probably the brightest and bubbliest person I know...

We edited this photo together, 

Having alot of fun along the way...

I love her eyes in this shot...

and she loves that Meerkat!!

I love that my daughters personality is clear to see from this photo..

But I love even more that she helped create it!!

Thanks for looking!!

If you liked this then you will LOVE all the other entries...

Click the button above to take a look!

Such hard work...

This week we had to go to Glasgow, Scotland for a few work meetings...

But it wasn't all work and no play!!

On the way during our 6 hour journey we stopped off at the Lake District.

This is probably the most beautiful part of England!

We love the Lakes so much,

In fact David keeps trying to persuade me we should move out there.

If it wasn't for the steep roads I would seriously consider it.

 

We have visited the Lake District more times than I can remember,

Yet every time we go I am amazed to find something new...

A new place to explore...

A new mountain to climb...

A new waterfall to enjoy...

 

If you have to make a long journey there is nothing better than enjoying a rest stop here...

 

This also gave us the perfect setting to get a nice couples portrait!

 

Thankfully there was a nice big rock I could rest my beautiful camera on to take this...

Though as this was in the stream it was a little nerve wrecking!

It was a good little trek to get to the waterfall but worth it...

I was able to snap this little gem on the way!

 

Which I can't wait to get printed on metalic photo paper!!

(It's going to look amazing!)

Ok so we then continued our journey to Scotland...

When we got there we were greeted by a angry looking sky...

 

Though it wasn't all doom and gloom..

Paisley is incredibly beautiful....

 

This is the view from the Motorway!

Certainly not a boring drive!!

And to add to the fun of the journey once you get toward Glasgow...

The airport is so close to the city and motorway that you can practically reach out and touch the airplanes!

 

We stayed at

Gleddoch House Hotel and Golf Club

Which had amazing views...

 

One of the evenings after a busy day of meetings...

we enjoyed a evening meal....

followed by a film....

 

(the cinema in sceneic suroundings - moments after we went into the cinema it poured with seriously heavy rain, completely out of the blue!)

And then we went back to the hotel and indulged...

In the Steam Room...

and the Sauna....

and the Swimming Pool...

Before taking a walk on the Golf Course...

 

Where as you can see we enjoyed...

A Hot Chocolate...

With Marshmallows...

And Oreos!!!

 

And enjoyed more amazing scenes...

 

It was such a lovely treat!

Even though we were there for work it was wonderful to have a few memory making moments together!

We have to say a big Thank you to the fabulous families who looked after our little angels..

Making it possible for us to not just do our work...

But also spend some time together!

THANK YOU!!!!!

On the way home we encountered the Appleby Fair...

Which was basically ALOT of traveller caravans making their way home after the fair...

Down a very main road...

In horse drawn caravans!!

 

There were queues several miles long behind this carraige!

Thankfully we didn't encounter any on our side of the road!!!!

Although I HATE travelling long distances 

(Anyone who has travelled with me short distances knows I am a rubbish passenger!)

I really enjoyed this trip.

I can't wait to make more fabulous memories with my sweetheart in the weeks, months and years to come!

There is no one I would rather experience the world with than you David!!!

I Heart Faces - From a Distance

This weeks challenge at I Heart Faces is From a Distance.

As a couple we have had a rare opportunity to have a couple of days away with no children

(Those of you who don't know us we have 6 children)

Granted it was for work,
(I am between meetings as I type)
however it has given us some free time to explore the world around us.

We went for a walk in Ullswater in the Lake District (England)

It was just so beautiful, 

So I decided it was fitting to have this weeks photo be taken from our adventures...

While we are distant from our beautiful children and missing them very much.

So here it is...

Thanks for looking!

Happy Birthday Little Harrison!!

Today Micah was invited to his best friends Birthday party

They made Crocodile teddies!!

Everyone had a fabulous time, even me...

I was privileged to be able photograph the goings on!

Here are the first few edits from today.....

There are loads more to come in the next few days.

So, so, so many more to work on, love it!

Thanks for a fabulous day Harrison!!

Date night 4 - Hot Cookie Dough and Ice Cream

Tonight while watching Britain's Got Talent we decided to make it a bit of a date.

So off I went into the kitchen to whip up a yummy treat to enjoy while being.....

Entertained?!

The winning snack choice today in our house was Hot Cookie Dough with Ice Cream!!!

So here is how I made it..... so easy!

Ingredients

200g Wholemeal plain Flour

140g white plain flour

(you can use all wholemeal or all white flour depending on taste)

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp salt

175g unsalted butter

175g Soft Brown Sugar

175g Golden Caster Sugar

1 tsp  Pure Vanilla Extract

2 Eggs

150g milk chocolate - I use Green and Black's

150g  85% Dark chocolate - again I love Green and Black's

Ice Cream

1. Place the butter, golden caster sugar and brown sugar into a mixing bowl and cream until it is light and fluffy
2. Now add the vanilla extract and the eggs and mix well
3. Add the flour (white flour should be sifted), salt and baking soda and mix until the dough is smooth
4. Break up the chocolate into pieces just larger than chocolate chips and fold into the mixture using a wooden spatula
5. Place the cookie dough into a oven proof dish and press out with your fingers so it is even throughout the dish, no more than 1cm thick
6. Place in a pre-heated oven for 10 minutes at 180C
7. Do not allow the cookie to brown or harden!
8. Allow to sit for 5 minutes (dough will be extremely hot!) 
9. Serve with a generous scoop of your favorite ice cream
10. Enjoy!

Quail and Lemon Scotch Eggs

I went shopping in Waitrose last week,

Oh how I love Waitrose and all the fabulously unusual food they stock.

While there I picked up a pack of 12 Quail eggs.

They stock cooked (£2.61 on offer, usually £3.49) Quail eggs 

They also stocked uncooked Quail eggs (£2.29 per pack).

So with something as special as Quail eggs you can't just boil them or make tiny little fried eggs...

well you can but seems like a bit of a waste of something so delicate and lovely.

So that begs the question what else can you do with them?

I decided to make some sweet little scotch eggs!

So here is my recipe....

Ingredients

• 12 Quail Eggs
• 375g Sausage Meat
• 1 Lemon, zest and juice
• 10g Finely chopped Coriander
• 1/2 tsp Ground Sea Salt
• 1/4 - 1/2 tsp Cracked Pepper
• 2 Eggs, beaten
• 50g Flour
• 100g Olive bread crumbs (or plain if preferred)

1. Place the Quail eggs into a pan and cover with water, place on heat until the eggs are hard boiled.
2. While the eggs are cooling prepare the sausage meat. Place the meat into a bowl along with the chopped coriander, sea salt, cracked pepper, lemon zest and juice and mix well.
3. Separate the Sausage meat mixture into 12 even balls
4. Flatten out each of the balls of sausage meat and place the Quail egg in the middle and push the meat around the egg and then roll in your hand until the egg is completely covered and is shaped smooth and round.
5. Place the flour, beaten eggs and bread crumbs into separate bowls
6. Dip each covered Quail egg into the flour bowl and lighten cover with the flour
7. Then dip each of the flour coated eggs into the beaten egg and then immediately roll in the bread crumbs ensuring they are well covered
8. Roll in your hands again to ensure the bread crumbs are adhered well
9. Place on a baking tray with a trivet to allow the fat to dip off
10. Place in a oven heated to 190C for about 20 minutes
11. Alternatively you can cook them in a deep fat fryer, however this will significantly increase the fat content!

Obviously these can be made using Chicken eggs too or any type of egg you want..... 

even a Ostrich egg if you please!!

I hope you give these a go, they really are sooooo easy and extremely yummy!!

Rhubarb and Apple Crumble

Rhubarb and Apple Crumble

Ingredients

(filling)

• 2 Apples
• 5 Rhubarb
• 1 Orange, zest & juice
• 1 Lime, zest & juice
• Fresh Ginger- to taste
• 150g Soft Brown Sugar
• 2 tsp Mixed Spice

(topping)

• 75g Butter
• 75g Soft Brown Sugar
• 75g Wholemeal flour

1. Cut up the Rhubarb and Apples, into bite size pieces
2. Place the fruit into a saucepan and add the sugar and mixed spice
3. Zest and juice the orange and lime and place both into the saucepan
4. Chop and crush the ginger and also add this to the saucepan
5. Heat the mixture, stirring regularly, until the sugar has melted and the fruit is soft
6. Place the filling mixture into a oven proof dish
7. Preheat the oven to 200C
8. Mix up all the topping ingredients in a bowl rubbing between your fingertips until they become breadcrumbs
9. Place the topping crumbs over the filling in the dish
10. Place in the oven for approx 25 minutes.
11. Serve with Ice cream or Custard

I hope you enjoy this recipe, we certainly did!

There is ALWAYS something to smile about!

No matter how bad your day is...

No matter how many things have gone wrong....

No matter how sad you feel....

No matter how desperate you are...

Remember if a Melon can find something to smile about...

You can too!!

 

Life is fab!!!

(and so are YOU!!)