The sun

We have missed the sun this year.  It has proved elusive for some months now, as England has been gripped with Siberian weather for far longer than we are accustomed to, but now in late April, it is finally here and we have been enjoying every minute of its glorious brightness and intoxicating warmth. 

Bye bye greenhouse...

 ...hello garden!  Today feels like a huge milestone in the garden, as we say goodbye to one of our greenhouses.  Brian and Marita came to dismantle greenhouse number one, and it was shipped over to their place this evening where it will now reside, hopefully producing lots of yummy food.

 James and Jenny had a great time playing with Amelia, Ava and Emma.  They all had their toenails painted, but James went the extra mile, wearing Emma's Hawaiian garland round his head and clip-on earings all day.  In years to come he'll look back with pride at photos like this. 

Bodiam Birthday

Today's visit to Bodiam was in celebration of Grandpa's birthday, so happy birthday Grandpa and thank you for having a birthday on such a gloriously sunny day. 

Our boys, now known as Rufty and Tufty on account of their unruly mops, ran on ahead to explore the castle.

 The girls, now known as Ann and Georgina, looked after Maisie aka "Timmy the dog" and went off in search of adventures.

As we reached the very top of the castle battlements, the children pelted us with arrows.  Luckily we escaped unharmed and went on to enjoy a bit of brass rubbing before heading home to a lovely supper of turkey pie and birthday cake.

Arctic Easter 2013

After what has been offically recorded as the coldest Easter on record, we braved the arctic winds and paid a vist to Batemans, former home of Rudyard Kipling.  Despite the cold, the sun was a welcome site after a long, long absence. 

We were joined by the lovely Lizzy and Graeme who came to stay with us at Sunnyside for a few days.  We sheltered from the wind and snow in Bedgebury, an enormous woodland playground with the most amazing monster rope swings which kept the kids amused for hours (er.. and the big kids!)

Glorious spring!

Tardy blogging means this isn't actually a scene from today but from 12th March, however the weather hasn't warmed up much since this was taken as the jet stream has once again been knocked off course and we are engulfed in Siberian weather.