Hurley Home Blog

Masked ball

2010-12-24T22:01:00.000Z

Uncle Tim, Auntie Abby, Chloe and Anya came to Cardiff for Christmas, so it's been great fun partying with them.

The Christmas Eve Masked Ball looks like it was a hit!

Hundreds & Thousands (& Millions)

2010-12-18T21:58:00.000Z

We were decorating Christmas tree gingerbread biscuits today, and the children got a bit carried away with the Hundreds & Thousands.

Yes, Will has got them stuck to his runny nose. I think I'll leave these ones for the kids to eat...

And we certainly weren't expecting this...

2010-12-17T21:43:00.000Z

After the taster of snow a couple of weeks ago, it came back again this week - with a vengeance.

We woke up, and it was deep...

...and it got deeper...

...and deeper!

That's proper snow!

Tattoo artist or graffiti artist?

2010-12-05T21:39:00.000Z

Will walked down the stairs with a guilty look on his face, and a felt pen in his hands...

Having already experienced the artistic qualities of a pen-covered wall in the past, we prepared for the worst and asked Will where he had been drawing.

He showed us...

The Promise of Christmas

2010-12-04T22:24:00.000Z

Hannah was lucky enough to take part in a children's choir this year, and perform in St. David's Hall. Lots of rehearsals, two full performances, and a very late night, but they all sounded amazing. Just the thing to put you in the mood for Christmas.

If you're looking for Hannah, she's third from the left, in the front row.

We weren't expecting that...

2010-11-27T21:30:00.006Z

Almost from nowhere, white fluffy flakes began to fall from the sky yesterday, which got the children away from the TV and outside into the garden.

And, by today, there was even enough snow for a family snowball fight and a (small) snowman.

Is it dark out?

2010-11-07T21:24:00.000Z

Will was taking extra precautions tonight to ensure that he wasn't blinded by any bright fireworks...

Scary bikers

2010-11-06T21:20:00.004Z

We took the bikes to Llandaff Fields today, to give the children (and parents!) an opportunity for exercise and fresh air. We probably should have warned people that we were coming, as both Thomas and Will are on their "swerve crazily from side to side as you cycle" stage!

We managed to get as far as the play equipment without hospitalising anyone, though!

I am a music man...

2010-10-17T21:03:00.000+01:00

Tom's piano lessons are going well, but (like most boys) the hard part is encouraging him to practice at home.

Here is proof that he does do some practice!

This is what fingers were made for...

2010-10-17T21:00:00.000+01:00

Forest Fawr

2010-09-18T20:53:00.002+01:00

One of our favourite woodland walks is in the woods above Castle Coch - the fairytale trail at Forest Fawr.

There's cauldrons, spiders, dragons, wizards and treasure chests to discover...

...and some magnificent views at the journey's end.

Look out teachers!

2010-09-13T20:28:00.003+01:00

Will started big school today, so we're expecting a lot of teacher retirements by the end of the year!

Our local primary school has now opened a nursery, so Will is attending every afternoon. He was raring to go today!

If the teachers only knew what was coming...

Tim and Cindy's third wedding

2010-09-11T20:48:00.003+01:00

Tim and Cindy held their third wedding today at Thornhill Church (it's a long story!)

The bride and groom looked gorgeous...

...and Hannah, Thomas and Will loved the barn dance party afterwards! Tom, particularly, was an incredibly enthusiastic dancer. I'd like to say he gets it from his Dad, but that would just be a blatant lie!

Monkeys at Monknash

2010-09-04T20:41:00.006+01:00

We tried to make the most of the late summer sun today, and drove off to the seaside. We were originally planning to find Nash Point and visit the lighthouse there, but took a few wrong turnings in the car and ended up at the beautiful Monk Nash.

There was a lovely walk down to the seaside, along country lanes and wooded paths...

And when we reached the sea, we were greeted to some fantastic views, including a pod of dolphins who were jumping out of the water just beyond camera view.

What a whitewash

2010-08-30T09:54:00.001+01:00

We decided to give our outside cupboard a new coat of paint, and chose to replace the brown with white, hopefully to match our new front door which is coming soon...

Don't let the photo fool you, though. Ruth did most of the painting - Andy and Hannah only posed for the photo!

Variety show

2010-08-25T13:43:00.001+01:00

Of course, no visit from Chloe and Anya would be complete without...

...lots of cutting and sticking...

...lots of building and playing...

...and, a show extravaganza!

Park life

2010-08-24T13:38:00.002+01:00

A trip to Cefn Onn park this afternoon was an opportunity for rest...

...exercise...

...and blackberries.

The plague

2010-08-22T13:34:00.001+01:00

Uncle Tim, Auntie Abby, Chloe and Anya came to Cardiff to visit for a few days. As usual, the children loved getting together with their cousins.

Unfortunately, it seems that they brought some dreadful Norfolk illness with them, as the children ended up covered in spots (and worse)!

Will's second 3rd birthday

2010-08-20T13:29:00.001+01:00

After having his birthday cut damply short yesterday, Will woke up today to open more birthday presents and have another party!

Hannah and Thomas very kindly helped Will play with his toys.

And there was another birthday cake, covered in Will's favourite fruit - strawberries - which we all helped him eat!

Rain stops play

2010-08-19T13:18:00.010+01:00

The rain kept falling and falling and falling for Will's birthday today, which meant that we all had to cram into our tent to stay dry. The only time that we ventured outside was to go out for a birthday meal of fish & chips in Port Eynon - and we were absolutely soaked just getting from the car to the chippie!

When we got back from our meal, we realised that our poor tent was soaking - the rain was coming in through the roof, up through the ground-sheet, and sideways through the walls! And, as we wished goodbye to our party guests, we began to realise that just down the M4 was a nice, warm, dry house, with warm, cosy beds, just waiting to be used, while we were heading for a damp, sleepless night here in Gower.

So, we made the executive decision of chucking everything into the car, pulling down the tent and throwing it straight into the skip at the campsite (it was time to get a new tent!), and driving straight home two days early.

It was sad to cut the holiday short, but we were sure we'd made the right decision when we got into our comfy beds that night!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Will

2010-08-19T13:16:00.002+01:00

Will was lucky enough to celebrate his 3rd birthday while we were on holiday in Gower. Nanny and Grumpy, Auntie Jan, James, Bethan and Rebekah also made the trip down the M4 to come and visit us for the day in our cosy tent.

It's safe to say that Will enjoyed his birthday, even if it rained and rained and rained and rained...

Spiderchildren

2010-08-18T13:11:00.004+01:00

The weather in Gower began to change, with plenty of rain coming in, so we avoided the beach today and instead went swimming in Swansea. Hannah and Thomas also had a go of the climbing wall at the sports centre there - next stop Mount Everest!

Magical mystery tour

2010-08-17T13:05:00.006+01:00

The beaches near the campsite were lovely, but today we went for a mystery walk to try to find a secret beach.

The walk was beautiful - through hayfields...

...between rocky hills, full of interesting caves to explore...

...and gorgeous views down to the sea.

And, we made it to a beach that we could almost call 'our own' as there was hardly anyone around - a great chance to explore the rock pools and caves.

Zonked

2010-08-16T13:00:00.000+01:00

All this fresh air when you're camping means that Thomas can sleep anywhere - even in the gap between two air-beds!

On the beach

2010-08-15T11:35:00.001+01:00

The beginning of our holiday started off really warm and sunny - hot enough to head for the beach and do a bit of sand-castle building, posing on the beach, and body-boarding.

I deliberately left out the photographs of Andy body-boarding, as Greenpeace may well have sent a party to Gower to try to rescue the beached white whale in the photos!