Fun with Friends!

On Monday 23rd April, Nathaniel and I went over to Liverpool to visit my best friend of 20 years Sarah. I also got to see her gorgeous son (my godson) HarryJack (2yrs) and her soon to be husband Ste! It was great to see them again and Sarah and I talked about her and Ste's wedding! Its so exciting! I'm going to be one of the Bridesmaids with her twin sister Danielle and her friend Liz. They're getting married next February in Shrewsbury. We went to the shop where her wedding dress is and wow... it's fabulous! Very sparkley, very stunning, very Sarah! Before we came home, we went to see Danielle, John and their daughter Molly, which was really nice. They all live in Fazakerley where we used to live. It was strange driving past my old primary school and St Paul's church and Vicarage again - but kind of nice too!

On Thursday 26th, Nathaniel and I went to stay at Pete and Lorraine's. We babysat for them whilst they went to see a show. On the Friday, Lorraine and I had a lovely mums and babes day, which included a swim at the Marriot Hotel (courtesy of Lorraine's membership) and an unforgettable tapas lunch!

Then, on Friday 27th, Kev, Nathaniel and I went with Lynsey, Jay, their son (my other godson) Matthew and their dog Carrie to Orton for the weekend. Mum and dad were away in Spain so we'd bagged the opportunity! We had a lovely weekend together celebrating Lyds' birthday. On Saturday, we visited Windermere, had a picnic in the park and then the boys (bar Nathaniel!) hired a rowing boat out on the Lake. We also had a lovely walk in Borrowdale before heading back to the house, getting ready and going down to the George Hotel for a meal together. The Sunday was spent chilling out for the girls, whilst Kev and Jay fitted some dimmer switches on a couple of lights for mum and dad. Then I sent them all out to Orton playground whilst I did a tidy up before we left for home! Discussions are already in place for us all having a holiday in Fresh Springs, Ireland together next year sometime... can't wait!

Birthday Treats!

Well for my 28th birthday, and 1st one as a mum, I was spoilt rotten!!!

Firstly, Simon and Lisa came for a visit the Friday before so we had a great catch up with them both before they headed over to Shropshire to see Pete, Lorraine, Benjamin and the bump! It was really good to see them both and for them to see Nathaniel again - they had last seen him at Benjamin's baptism in December, 4 months earlier!!! Obviously they noted some changes in that time!

Then, on the Saturday evening, the week before my birthday, Kev and I went to Sefton Park to watch the Moscow (all human!) State Circus. Kev had seen them advertised whilst he was working in Liverpool and knew I'd love to go... he was right! We had a great evening together whilst Bill and Noreen looked after Nathaniel for us. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to use flash photography as it could prove to be hazardous for the performers so apologies for the lack of quality in the following non-flash photo but check out the acrobat's one-handed balance! Believe me when I say that is tame for the performances we saw!

Next in my birthday treat line-up came a trip to the theatre with Lorraine, dad and mum courtesy of Pete and Lorraine. We saw Twopence to Cross The Mersey at the Empire. It was a really enjoyable evening and reminded Lorraine and I how nice it had been when we used to visit the theatre together more regularly - maybe we'll manage not too sporadic visits again one day?!...

On Saturday 21st, Annette and Dave kindly agreed to have Nathaniel overnight so that we could let our hair down! Lynsey, Jay, Bree and Gary came over and we all got a takeaway before going out to Frodsham for a night on the town! We had a great time and had the bonus of a lie-in the next morning!!!

After picking up Nathaniel who'd been as good as gold for Annette and Dave, we went out for a lovely birthday lunch with Kev's cousins Larina and Joanne, their sons and Laz's boyf before going home to enjoy the DVD (Little Miss Sunshine) that Si and Lis had given me.

I had an abundance of cards from friends and family, lots of flowers and some other lovely gifts!

Like last year, this was definitely a birthday to remember! Last year I was pregnant and somewhere between Margaret River and Perth in Western Australia with my amazing husband. Very different but very special too!