Royal Wedding Day

We watched the Royal Wedding along with millions (billions?) of others and I have to say I was proud of all the ceremonial stuff and felt quite moved when they exchanged their marriage vows. I think I am alone, though, in being a bit disappointed in her dress. I felt it was a little old-fashioned and I expected something more modern. However, it wasn't as creased as Diana's dress when she emerged from the car - I remember being really shocked at that!

After we saw them kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace Keith and I made a start on the garden. We strimmed the front verge which was full of dandelion weeds and sadly, got rid of three plants that were just not doing anything. I won't put anything else in to replace them and I hope that the mass of Hypericum will spread backwards and sidewards to fill the spaces they left. We worked for about two hours and it was pleasantly warm in the sunshine. There was not much going on around the estate so nobody else had planned any street parties!

Thursday 28 April - Catching up!

Today was catch up day for both Keith and me. The holiday now seems a bit of a distant memory and I think it's about time we were planning the next one!

Keith did the food shopping today and whilst out bought a new lawnmower and a barbecue. We didn't barbecue at all last year and I really missed the lovely smell of food grilling outside. When he got home he mowed the lawn and it looks so much better now. Yesterday evening we had a stroll around, the garden and I was delighted to see my baby vines had survived the winter and were in leaf. There'll be a Chateau Janie yet!

At work mum and I finished the year end payroll and submitted everything to Revenue and Customs so that's that little job completed. Autoglass came to replace my windscreen so that's another chore sorted. Before we went on holiday my car was playing up with two warning signs appearing on the dashboard, but they've suddenly stopped, which is a relief. I didn't fancy a huge mechanic's bill!

It's the middle of the week!

I must admit I'm a bit confused as to what day it is at the moment. Last night, Keith went to the pub to meet his mate so it seemed like it was a Monday (plus it was my first day back at work). So today should have felt like Tuesday, but it didn't as mum and dad took a much needed break and Keith came into work with me, as he does every Wednesday. However, I called mum this morning to tell her that some parcels had arrived for dad for his model planes and perhaps he'd like them before he went to the club this afternoon?

"He's not going today," she said. "It's Wednesday, not Thursday."

"Oh yes," I replied, "so it is."

What day is it, then? To me it felt very much like Thursday as I didn't do the wages - Friday, as we all know, is a Bank Holiday, because...well, we all know why. Don't get me wrong, I wish them well, but why couldn't they have arranged this wedding in late June or early July so all the Bank Holidays were spaced out evenly? It's such a long time between May and August and then we have nothing, absolutely nothing until Christmas! Pah!

Will I be watching on Friday? I'm not sure. I would like to see the actual wedding ceremony as they stand at the altar and say their vows, but I'm not sure I have the stamina for the build-up and the endless discussions afterwards. I have too much to do at home (the lawn is crying out for some attention) and I really think my time would be better used doing things in the house. The planned street party in our neighbourhood has not happened, mainly because our mother village has put on loads of things so there's no way we can compete, plus if the weather is a bit iffy, as we've been warned, we'd look a bit silly standing out in the rain and pretending that everything is great!

Down to earth with a bump!

This morning, after 10 hours sleep, I felt a lot better! The children went off to school very reluctantly and I caught a lift into work with mum and dad as one of Keith's tyres on his car was almost flat and he needed my car to get to the shops. They had told me yesterday that the warm and sunny weather had meant we'd had one of our worst Easters ever, business-wise, but that we'd managed to rent out the gym space to a local business for storage, which had helped a little bit.

As today was a training day for some children we were quite busy and the weather turned overcast and bloomin' chilly! I had to wear my fleece when we went over to the bank! Brrrr!!

Now we are back and removed from our wonderful holiday bubble, we have a long list of things we have to do. The windscreen on my car has a long crack in it which needs to be fixed (I suspect it was a faulty windscreen in the first place as it was replaced only a few months ago) and it's due for an MOT soon. The payroll at work needs updating and we have to complete the end of year returns which I'd forgotten all about! The garden resembles a jungle and we need a new lawnmower so that will have to be sorted out at the weekend. Plus, I vowed that when I returned from holiday I would start to use my Fridays off to decorate...hmmm!

Do I wish I was still in Florida? You bet I do!

Monday 25 April - Wiped out!

Well, we finally arrived home on Monday morning, just 24 hours and 50 minutes later than scheduled! Sunday was a long slog waiting around at the airport (Sanford is a lot smaller than Orlando) but the flight seemed a lot shorter than going out and I did manage to sleep for a bit.

Birmingham airport was deserted and Dad was waiting for us in Arrivals. I offered to drive home and promptly missed the turn-off for the M6 so we had a bit of a diversion via Hinckley. I seem to remember doing this after a Florida holiday before, when we ended up in central London, so it must be a jet-lag thing. And talking of jet-lag, yesterday we were all completely wiped out. When we arrived home I felt fine and unpacked all the cases but at about 10am I felt a bit sleepy and that was it...

Mum and Dad had invited us around for a meal which was a good thing as we had nothing in the house at all for dinner. We went around to see them at 2pm and had a lovely lunch sitting outside in the garden as the weather was still gorgeous.

Back home Keith and I kept napping and I couldn't seem to keep my eyes open! We sat down to watch some of the programmes we'd recorded and at 9pm I fell asleep sitting up on the sofa so I think it was time to call it a day and go to bed. Mikey had fallen asleep in our bed and was totally confused, bless him, when I woke him up to get him into his own bed. I don't even remember my head hitting the pillow!

I think we really are going home now!

I've been looking at the Birmingham departures and the Sanford departures and it looks like we're going to be flying today at 4pm. It's been a great stay in a lovely hotel - spotlessly clean and the bed was wonderful. As it's now Easter Sunday everything here is closed, as it is in the UK so there wouldn't have been much for us to do, except wander about and we do really need to get home now!

Er...did I say we were homeward bound?

This morning we left the villa with a feeling of sadness and I have to confess that I wished we were staying a bit longer. Little did I know I would get my wish...

We were out of the house by 9am and had breakfast at an IHOP. We all had a good breakfast which was a good thing! The journey to the airport was very smooth as we took the Florida Greenway which is a toll road and very quiet. We arrived at Sanford at 12pm, returned the car and made our way to the Departures. There were already quite a few people at our check-in desk, but when we looked at the screen, our flight said "See Agent" which was a bit worrying...

A woman standing near to us saw us looking at the screen and told us that we had a 24 hour flight delay as there had been numerous problems with bird strikes and technical problems. The word on the street was that we would be bussed to a hotel and flown out the next day.

A hour later this was confirmed by a Thomson rep but we had to check our luggage in, take out essentials such as clean underwear, etc and we would then be taken to a - what we thought - Best Western hotel. There was a mass scramble as people pulled knickers and pants from cases and anything else they thought they would need overnight. We then checked in and went to wait for our bus which took us to a beautiful hotel - The Westin in Lake Mary, about 30 minutes from the airport.

We were given two adjoining rooms which are beautiful ($299 a night). After checking in we went over to the local Publix and bought some water, some sparkling wine for later and necessities such as toothbrushes and razors (we'd thrown away our toothbrushes that morning and Keith had left his razor in his case). I also treated myself to three books in case the wait turned out to be a prolonged one.

The children were hungry by now so they had a margarita flatbread in a Crispers restaurant and then we headed back to the hotel for a shower and a freshen up (I washed a pair of knickers just in case). Thompson had put on a free buffet between 5.30pm and 7.30pm but after taking a look, we decided to go it alone and crossed the road over to a square where there were lots of shops, restaurants and...pubs!

The one thing we yearned for over the holiday was somewhere to sit outside and enjoy the warm evening air and we got our wish tonight when we found Liam Fitzpatrick's pub. We sat outside with drinks for a very pleasant and relaxing hour before moving inside for a meal which was delicious. Three of us had curried chicken (very hot!) while Keith had fish and chips. At 9.30pm there was live music - duelling pianos - but the children were becoming tired so we returned to the hotel.

As I write at almost 10.30pm we are still not 100% sure we will fly home tomorrow as Thomson cannot give us a guarantee. In a way I hope we don't but it will mean that the children will miss school if that happens. The way I see it is that we've been given an extra 24 hours of holiday and we really enjoyed the afternoon and evening, still basking underneath the Florida sun!

Friday 22 April - Goodbye Florida

Well, the cases are all packed and we just have a few minutes left before we lock up the house and start the journey home. I don't think any of us want to go home - we could easily stay another week - but all good things must come to an end.

Friday morning was spent packing and tidying things up before we enjoyed the pool and the sun loungers for one last time. At 5pm we headed off to one of the shopping malls but it was so busy and so hot we wandered around for a little while and then decided to have an early dinner at Houlihan's restaurant.

Keith took an immediate dislike to the restaurant for some reason. He said it was the brown walls, but I like Houlihan's and I especially liked the huge French advertising posters on the walls. We had, what I thought anyway, a lovely meal - Keith had salmon (he said it was overcooked), I had pot roast which was delicious and the children ended their holiday with the great American burger.

Back at the villa we had a de-briefing on the terrace with a glass of wine and then it was early to bed!

Thursday 21 April - Goodbye to Universal.

We planned to spend most of the day by the pool again but first we had to get some shopping done so after getting more petrol (I'm just glad that petrol here is about 50p a litre!) we went to the huge Target supermarket we visited the other day. There was a Starbucks inside so I treated the family to coffee, chocolate smoothies and some biscuits before we hit the aisles. We didn't need to get a lot, just breakfast and lunch things for the next couple of days and some more washing liquid as I planned to try and do all my washing before we left.

Back at the villa we relaxed for the next few hours and for lunch had the food we'd brought home in a doggy bag from Bahama Breeze. What a good idea that is! I was going to start packing but I changed my mind. Packing for the return journey seems to sound the death knell for the holiday so I relaxed back on my lounger and basked in the hot sunshine.

At 6pm we were driving in heavy traffic towards Universal and our last time at the park. There were a lot of people with the same idea and I only hoped it wouldn't be manically busy, but there seemed to be as many people leaving as arriving and Universal Studios seemed a bit quieter than Islands of Adventure.

On the way to the Simpsons ride we saw that Termintor 2 3D was just about to start so in we went. We were herded into a large room and a woman appeared to give a speech about the fictional Cyberdyne Corporation. The story was that we were all there to see what a brilliant company they were, but half way through the presentation, the video is hijacked by a woman and her son, characters from the film who want to bring Cyberdyne down. We then all moved into a movie theatre and donned our 3D glasses for a fantastic film/show with characters on stage and Arnie and another actor in the 3D film. It was brilliant and the special effects were very clever indeed. I would hesitate to take very young children in as at both sides of the theatre huge black robots appeared and had a shoot out and the scary things on the screen seem to come right out at you.

We rolled out of the theatre and straight onto the Simpsons ride where the wait time was only about 20 minutes. It was now getting dark and the park looked beautiful. For me, the Simpsons ride was my favourite, beating even Harry Potter for sheer thrills. I could ride it again and again!

Next up was Men in Black and the wait time was even shorter, which was brilliant. I just couldn't beat the mens' score - Mikey scored about 90,000 while Keith achieved 81,000 so if ever Aliens do attack I'm in good hands. I'm not even going to report my score which was far lower than Sophie's!

Our last experience of the evening was Disaster! - a really good show where the audience is recruited to take part in a film called Mutha Nature. Again, it was very good fun, with several people taking the parts of actors in the film. Christopher Walken appears as a hologram and then the last bit involves a subway ride in New York where we experience an earthquake, fires and floods. At the end we see ourselves on the short film which is very funny.

As we emerged from Disaster! it was almost 10pm and suddenly the sky was lit up with fireworks over the central lake. On the huge globes that are situated in the water, was a montage of all the Universal films which was fantastic for a film buff like me. We stood and watched for the next 20 minutes as fireworks were set off and some truly brilliant films were shown on the globes. It was a lovely ending to a wonderful evening and just reinforced my love of the park. I only hope I will be back again one day.

For dinner we went to the Hard Rock Cafe. I had imagined there would be a long wait, but we were shown to a table straight away, right underneath a guitar signed by the group Pearl Jam. It was a very noisy evening but the atmosphere was brilliant, the food very good and the waiting staff friendly and efficient. As it was so late I went for the lighter chicken in marsala sauce with pasta, Keith had salmon and rice but the children opted for burgers which were huge. Keith had a glass of draught Newcastle Brown Ale which he said didn't exist (normally just in bottles) but he enjoyed it nonetheless and got to keep the glass to add to his collection. Walking back through the restaurant - you have to exit through the shop! - we saw loads of rock memorablia and I only wish I'd had the time to look at it all. In the shop, Sophie bought a tee-shirt and Mikey treated himself to a bandana and looked very cool with it on!

CityWalk was still heaving at after 11pm and we walked wearily back to our car and then made the journey home on roads that were heavy with traffic. There was just time for a quick glass of red wine before bed!

Wednesday 20 April - Feeling hot, hot, hot!

Wednesday was very hot indeed! We had planned to go to Seaworld later in the day, but the children wanted to set off a bit earlier, so we decided to explore International Drive first. I'd heard of a good restaurant called Bahama Breeze and I wanted to see if we could find it as a possible dinner venue in the evening.

International Drive goes from the extremely elegant (at the Seaworld and Aquatica end) to a bit tacky, but it was interesting to drive slowly along and see all the things going on, such as the upside down house and Ripleys Believe it or Not exhibition. There were also plenty of restaurants and we found the location of Bahama Breeze very easily. On the way we saw a Dairy Queen so after trying to back track (which took a lot longer than I thought!) we stopped off for an ice-cream to cool down a bit. Thank goodness every restaurant is air-conditioned!

Seaworld looked very busy - what a difference a week makes! We parked the car some distance from the entrance (all the preferred parking had been taken) and walked in the fearsome heat to the ticket turnstiles. People were emerging from the park looking extremely hot. Our first stop was Key West where I wanted to feed the dolphins but the queue was rather long (!) and the wait was about half an hour so we abandoned that idea! There were crowds of people everywhere and the heat was unbelievable, so we all looked at each other, thought of our cool pool and decided to come back later in the afternoon as the park was open until 9pm. We would just need to produce our parking ticket to get back in without having to pay to park again.

Within fifteen minutes, the air-conditioning in the car was blasting away and then after half an hour we were all in the pool, enjoying the blissful cool and the peace and quiet. we spent a very happy couple of hours sitting in the jacuzzi with a drink and then I fell asleep on the sun lounger. Perfect!

Come 6pm we were all back in the car again and speeding towards Seaworld. Luckily there were no jams on the freeway and we managed to park much nearer to the entrance. It was still very hot, but the sun was hidden behind thick clouds and it looked very much like we were going to have a storm. Our first stop this time was the Sealions Tonight show which was very, very funny! The mime artist appeared again to take the mickey out of people coming into the auditorium and then the show started. The cast explained that the show was a p**s take of all the shows in Seaworld and they did it extremely well, with the sealions taking a big part and the huge walrus acting as Shamu. For the people who had been to the other shows it was hilarious as they really did take the mickey of the, at times very cheesy, performances!

After the show we walked to Key West and of course the dolphin feeding was over...typical! We did manage to go and see them, though, and they swam very close so that was some consolation. The children wanted to ride Journey to Atlantis again so Keith and I waited for them opposite the ride in the hope of getting a photo of them but by the time we saw them it was dark. Seaworld looks lovely at night with lots of little lights in the trees and all the shops and exhibits lit up. It was now almost 8.30pm so we called it a day and returned to the car.

International Drive was very busy but we found Bahama Breeze again and even managed to park. There was a 40 minute wait and Keith almost said no, but I persuaded him to wait as we were able to have a drink at the bar - outside! - and before long we were seated. The restaurant specialises in Caribbean cuisine but the men stuck firmly to their ribs, while Sophie and I went for something a bit different. I had shrimp linguine while Soph went for the Jerk Pasta chicken. We pushed the boat out with the starters - Cuban Roasted bread, chicken sliders and chicken wings - which were all very delicious but very filling! I even allowed myself a glass of wine as a treat, a White Zinfandel that disappeared too quickly!

The food was very good but three of us couldn't finish our meals (I'd opted for the light portion so I was smug) and we were given boxes to take the food home in. We had no problems, but the English family on the next table were not at all happy with their experience, made worse by the fact it was their last night and they'd booked the restaurant as a treat. I'm not sure what the management offered them, but the man of the family put his point across in a very firm and controlled manner and I think the staff knew he was not a happy chappie!

We had a much better journey home than the previous evening and a last glass of wine before bed!

Tuesday 19 April - Magical Universal

Phew! This holiday is speeding by too fast for my liking - why does time always fly when you're enjoying yourself?

Yesterday we had a lovely lazy day at the villa with lots of swimming and lizard watching. The little creatures are entertainment themselves as they climb all over the netting and then chase one another through the grass. They do this very strange thing with their throats which bulge out and become red...no idea why. I'll have to look it up!

Not a great photo, but then they don't stay still for long!

 
We went out at 4.30pm to Universal to see a film. On the way we had a few drops of rain and the sky looked really ominous. I've been hoping for a big, dramatic storm, but within minutes the rain had stopped, much to my disappointment. Universal looked a lot busier than last week when we arrived and we were directed to another car park, the one we usually use being full. We made it to the cineplex just in time to see Limitless starring Bradley Cooper and Robert de Niro. Armed with a HUGE box of popcorn and a drink we settled down in the lovely big comfy seats to see the film and all of us enjoyed it very much.

When we emerged into the dusky evening light after the film it looked as if the place was emptying. Islands of Adventure was open until 11pm because this week is officially the second busiest after Christmas. Did I say it looked as if the place was emptying? Ha! It was super busy in the park and this time there was a wait for the Harry Potter ride of 45 minutes. This rose to 75 minutes later on in the evening! However, Disney do not have the monopoly on magic in Florida. After dark, Islands of Adventure comes alive with gorgeous colours and lots of little lights in the trees. The Jurassic Park quarter looks positively sinister as dinosaurs peer at you through the darkness!

Mikey managed to persuade Sophie and me to go on Popeye and Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges, a circular boat ride that got you very wet. Keith, very sensibly, held our bags for us and on we went. The barges traverse rolling rapids and you're thrown about like mad and get extremely wet. I don't mean damp, I'm talking drenched to the skin, wringing out water from your clothes wet! The first time we went on there was just the three of us and a little boy who looked terrified. We didn't know what to expect and I nearly died when the thing started up a steep tramway...Not another steep drop, please!!! Luckily there was no steep drop, just a gradual descent into boiling rapids and more drenching!

When we staggered off, looking like drowned rats (hence the name, I suppose!) Mikey wanted to go on again. And like an idiot I'd enjoyed it so much I went on with him, figuring that I couldn't get any wetter! This time our barge was full and the other people with us hadn't been on before so it was great seeing their reactions and hearing them scream when they got wet!

Of course, for the rest of the evening we had to walk around in very wet clothes which did gradually dry out a bit in the warmth of the evening!

We passed on Harry Potter as the wait was just too long and we'd already ridden it twice, but Sophie and Mike did manage a ride on Flight of the Hippogriff again, this time in the dark, which was fun. I was determined to have a glass of Butter Beer which turned out to be sweet and very creamy and not alcoholic at all! Hogsmeade Village and Hogwarts Castle looked beautiful in the dark, all lit up and very atmospheric. The sky still looked a little stormy and with the roofs covered in snow, it really did look like a cold winter's day.

On the way out of the park we were distracted by a sign for a magic show which was extremely good. The magician entertained us with playing cards and spongy balls and even took a dollar note off Keith and levitated it for him. Very impressive, and wonderful that it was completely free, although he did try and sell a range of DVDS which showed you how to do the tricks.

By the time we got back to Citywalk it was nearly 10pm and the place was heaving with crowds and crowds of people and music blaring out from the various clubs and restaurants. We chose Bubba Gump again but this time none of us had any shrimp, Keith choosing the fish and chips while I went for Mama's southern fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy. The children went for cheeseburger and a chicken sandwich and still had room left for dessert! I'm just glad none of us are vegetarians as there is very little on the menu for non-meat eaters, just the odd salad that hasn't been blessed with chicken or seafood. Our waitress was very good and came and quizzed us on the film. Amazingly we were able to answer most of the questions!

We left Universal at just after 11pm and joined the mass of other people heading to the car parks. The journey home was a slow one as there were roadworks on the I-4 and we were held up for about twenty minutes in a traffic jam, so it was past midnight when we got back. Just time for a quiet glass of wine by the pool and then bed!

Monday 18 April - Dipping my toes in the Gulf

Did I say yesterday that we were going to the Olive Garden for dinner on Sunday night? We arrived, only to be told there was a 45 minute wait, so we headed back to Chili's for dinner. This was also busy but we managed to secure a table straight away as we were prepared to sit on a "high table" rather than a booth. Our waitress was severely hassled, but I think she was the first genuine server we had so we tipped her accordingly at the end of the evening.

We had a bit of a disturbed night (Mikey was unwell) but we were all up early to start our journey to Clearwater Beach. We had to fill up with petrol first and I put $50 in the tank. Keith told me that the equivalent in £s would be over £90 so a bit of a bargain there, then! The journey was very smooth and we managed to negotiate the city of Tampa successfully. The last bit of the journey involved a very long bridge over to Clearwater and then we managed to find ourselves in a very affluent neighbourhood that reminded me of the Stepford Wives film -  huge, beautiful houses half-hidden behind gates and manicured golf courses.

Once at Clearwater Beach we found a parking space and before hitting the sand we had a drink at a pizza restaurant. It was very hot! Ahead of us lay the Gulf of Mexico and when we did eventually find somewhere to sit - $20 for an umbrella and two chairs - the children went off to swim and saw two dolphins in the water. I went back to the sea with them and saw one moving slowly, parallel to the coast. It was a lovely sight and I did try and take a few photos...

A dolphin - not a brilliant photo!

The children stayed in the water for an hour or two and then we went for lunch. Keith and I chose the salad platters - tuna for him and chicken for me - and they were huge! We staggered back to the beach afterwards and decided to call it a day, which was a good thing as it took us about two hours to get back to the villa. The traffic was noticeably heavier on our return and we witnessed at least one near-miss accident. I concentrated very hard after that!

As we'd had lunch so late, we stayed at the villa in the evening, enjoying a drink and sitting out by the pool and enjoying the warm night air. We had two little visitors - a gorgeous bright red bird and a squirrel that entertains us by crawling over the netting and hanging upside down. He then goes and nibbles on one of the fallen oranges! So cute!

A few photos from today:

Clearwater Beach

Going over one of the bridges

Eating out

Tonight (it's almost 7.30pm here) we're going to The Olive Garden in the hope that we're going to get some veggies. I love American food, don't get me wrong, but at the moment we're all meated out after having ribs, steaks, chicken and burgers. Last night we went to Applebees again and I chose salmon, almost unheard of for me! It was delicious, seared with an orange sauce and served with almond rice and broccoli. Keith went for a rack of ribs and they defeated him so he took half of them home in a box, destined to be eaten by Mikey today for his lunch.

It's been a very lazy day today - perfect for a Sunday - but tomorrow we're off to Clearwater Beach to see the sea. I'm looking forward to seeing a bit more of Florida and seeing the Gulf of Mexico!

Some photos from Gatorland

These trees were beheaded by a tornado that was spawned from Hurricane Charley in 2004

Mikey in conversation with a new friend

Saturday 16 April - Chillin' out...

As it was the weekend the plan was to relax by the pool and do very little, which is what we did. I managed to do a bit of tidying up (it's funny how our roles go back to the traditional while on holiday), caught up with some urgent feminine tasks and ironed a pile of clothes. I'm so glad we have a really good washing machine and tumble dryer as when we return from our outings, we are invariably a bit sweaty so everything goes into the washer and dryer and within a couple of hours they're ready to wear again. I will really miss this house when we go home next week. For a start, it's a lot bigger than our house at home, it has wonderful air conditioning and is a lot easier to clean! The fridge and dishwasher are huge and very efficient. There's an identical house up the road for sale for about £175,000...no...don't go there!!

After our day of lolling about and relaxing we went to Walmart and Target at the insistence of the children. Mikey wanted to buy a Playstation game in Walmart which he did, and Sophie wanted to go to Target as she thought they did a great range of clothes, which they didn't. The supermarket itself was huge, spotlessly clean and had everything you would ever need, just the clothes were the same as in our local Tesco. She did buy some make-up, though, and I bought some eye drops for my sore eyes. I think shampoo got into them while I was showering and as far as I was aware I've never seen eyedrops for contact lens wearers in the UK. There was a whole aisle dedicated to solutions - I saw some really pretty lens cases! - and eyedrops, so I might have to make a trip back there before we go home to stock up.

We headed back to the villa and for the first time this holiday really wished we had a little bar to go to for a drink, with a pleasant outlook. We haven't seen anywhere like this so far in Florida, although I know that a restaurant called Bahama Breeze does have a terrace, but it's on International Drive, a fair distance from where we are staying. So it was back to the villa and a drink by the pool before dinner!

Friday 15 April - Pooped out at Gatorland...

On Thursday night we went to the Longhorn Steak House for Keith's choice in our Come Dine With Me competition. We had a short wait but the food made up for it. Three of us ordered steaks, the boys going for large T-bones, while I had a more modest sized sirloin and Sophie went for chicken. We started with french fries smothered in bacon bits, chillies and cheese which was a bit naughty, but very nice!

The steaks were very tender and juicy, the waitress extremely friendly and efficient, but the restaurant lacked atmosphere. It was the sort of place to be fed well and that was all. There were various cowboy things hanging on the walls (leather chaps, bridles, cattle horns) and a lot of people tucking into the hearty food!

On Friday morning we decided to go to Gatorland and had breakfast first at a Golden Corral. This is a buffet restaurant and it was understandably busy. The food was OK, with a huge amount of choice and the children had a great time picking and choosing the things they wanted to eat. Keith was not that impressed and I wouldn't make a habit of going, it was just nice to let the children roam around and decide what they wanted. As we were leaving, I saw some Brussels Sprouts being put out - not my idea of breakfast food!

We found Gatorland easily and this time went for the normal entrance. Last time, when we visited with Mum and Dad, we were persuaded to have the "Grunt Package" which included wieners for the alligators, a train ride and the chance to sit on the back of an alligator. We had done all that so we didn't need to do it again!

We spent a very pleasant few hours wandering around and I particularly liked the walk through one of the lakes to see all the birds nesting. Well, I was enjoying it until one of them pooped on me... We also did the "Swamp Walk" which was very peaceful. Gatorland lies at the headwaters of the Florida Everglades and the plants were very impressive. Several of the trees had been beheaded by Hurricane Charley when it swept through the area in 2004 and lots more were lying drunkenly at an angle from where they had been tossed by the wind. I'm just glad it wasn't Hurricane season in April!

We managed to see two shows and had another look at the famous white alligators who looked back at us with menace in their eyes. I could see them thinking, "If only I could get at them"! Along with parrots, huge turtles and a petting zoo where we fed the goats, we had a great time in a park very much removed from the big players in Florida. There's a real sense of Gatorland being a family run park, with a serious side as it provides a natural habitat for nesting birds (some of whom like to poop on visitor's heads!).

We left the park and headed back to the villa, driving the longer way back via the 192 as Mikey wanted to see the brightly coloured houses that had caught his attention the last time. It was a bit sad to see them all boarded up so I don't know what happened there...maybe the impact of the recession?

Back at the villa we soaked up the late afternoon sun for a couple of hours and then drove to our local shops and ordered a Chinese take-away. It was delicious but, as with all things American, there were huge portions. I wonder what we'll be eating for lunch tomorrow!

PS - Keith won the Come Dine With Me competition with his choice - the Longhorn Steak House. The children were a bit miffed, but they have paid up!

Thursday 14 April - Not amused by Aquatica...

We all learnt a little lesson today. If you want something you have to get up early for it. Well, you do in Florida, anyway! Our plan was to spend the day at Aquatica but by the time we'd had breakfast, been showered and dressed, it was almost 11am. We took our new route onto the Interstate 4 and the first sign of trouble was the traffic jam that held us up for about twenty minutes. We found Aquatica easily enough and opted for the preferred parking as the sun was steadily growing hotter and Keith wanted the least possible distance to walk to the entrance.

As soon as we walked in, I didn't like it. No idea why, but I just knew I wasn't going to enjoy it as much as I'd imagined I would. I went first to the Guest services to see if we could hire a cabana, somewhere to get changed, keep cool and relax while the children went off to have fun. However, after queuing for quite a while I was told there were no cabanas.

Now imagine a busy packed beach, no shade (or if there is any it's already been taken) and people everywhere. Not my idea of fun, and luckily not my family's idea either. We wandered about, feeling ridiculously over-dressed and tried to find somewhere with some shade. No luck. The Germans could learn a thing or two about Aquatica's customers! I'm perhaps being a little unfair as the place is lovely if you have a cool shady base to retreat to when it all gets too much. I was prepared to pay $100 for such a retreat and seeing as it wasn't available (we were too damn lazy to get up and get to the park early!) and as I couldn't bear the thought of lying out in the full Florida sun all day, we left. I'm just glad that the park was included in our Flex ticket as I'd have hated to pay full price for such a short stay.

We headed back home and on the way stopped for an ice-cream to treat the children. Mikey was the only one really disappointed that we came home, Sophie confessing that she hated water parks anyway! The rest of the day was spent blissfully in our own, very roomy, cabana!

Wednesday 13 April - We go exploring

Every time we go on holiday we always end up having to go to the local pharmacy, and this time was no exception. Sophie had a bit of heat rash which was itchy and uncomfortable so after breakfast we set off for the chemist, a drive-thru one nonetheless, although we went inside in the normal way!

As with all things American it was huge and sold loads of other things as well but we were soon sorted out with some cream and tablets and I treated myself to a new pair of sunglasses as my old pair kept slipping off my nose! Before heading back to the villa we decided to explore so we carried on down Highway 27 to see what else was there. We were hoping for more restaurants and although there was a sprinkling of fast-food places, nothing caught our eye. The really good thing we found, though, was a junction onto the Interstate 4, the main freeway for all the parks. Normally we would drive onto the 192, a long road full of restaurants, shops, crazy golf places (think Blackpool on steroids) and then get onto the I-4 so the new route would save us a lot of time as the 192 has traffic lights every few yards.

We drove back to our community - Highlands Reserve - and decided to have a little mooch to see what else we could find. In the middle of all the houses is a golf course and all the street names are British, which made us feel very much at home! We drove around and to my delight, found a road that led to the local shops and restaurants. It meant that going out I could drive this way and therefore avoid having to cross the very busy two lane main road which was a real relief. This was brought home to me even more, as later in the day when we went out, there'd been an accident at the junction to our community involving two cars, one of which was on its side... It also meant that we could stroll to the restaurant - Applebees - and I would be able to have a glass of wine with dinner! Yippeee!

The children had spotted an ice-cream parlour in the row of shops so begged us to take them there. I duly parked the car but the ice-cream place was closed so we wandered along and found - don't be disappointed  in us - a British pub. Well, we just had to go in to be polite but I think one visit will be enough. We did manage to get hold of The Daily Mail so I would be able to get my fix of the crossword!

We spent the afternoon by the pool and then went to Universal again at 4pm. The heat wasn't as intense as it had been the previous few days and, as the park was closing at 6pm, it was emptying out fast. We still managed to ride Spiderman again and Harrry Potter (even better the second time) while Keith and Sophie went on the Jurassic Park River Adventure and got soaked. Sophie then managed to persuade her brother to ride on one of the smaller roller-coasters, Flight of the Hippogriff, which he loved.

By now everything was closing so we hobbled back to Citywalk (our feet were a bit sore!) and had dinner at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co, a wonderful themed restaurant based on the Forrest Gump film. It's located right at the entrance of Citywalk and so was very lively, busy and noisy. It goes without saying that the speciality is shrimp (prawns) so Keith and I went for the Shrimp Heaven while the children had burgers. The food was delicious and plentiful and as this was my choice for the Come Dine with Me competition, I hope I did well. Keith chose a beer and for a few dollars extra, he got to take the glass home with him, which was great, especially as we collect beer glasses! After the meal, when we went to the shop to collect Keith's glass, Mikey bought himself a hat while Sophie chose a lovely Bubba Gump tee-shirt so all in all I think my choice was a hit!

Tuesday 12 April - Seaworld

Tuesday morning was a little bit cloudy when we woke up, but it was still very warm indeed. We were all up early and out by 9am to drive to a nearby IHOP (International House of Pancakes!) for breakfast. The restaurant was very busy which meant we had a short delay in ordering, but our waitress was very apologetic (I think another waitress was in for a tongue lashing) and before long we had breakfast piled up on our plates! Mikey went for pancakes - what else? - while the rest of us opted for a more traditional bacon, eggs and sausages with delicious hash browns. The coffee just kept on coming - wonderful! - and by the time we left there were queues waiting to take our table.

The journey to Seaworld was over in about half an hour and we were soon parking in the vast car park and walking in. It didn't seem very busy which was great and we decided to head for the Shamu Stadium first so Keith could experience the "Believe" show. I had heard that the killer whale who had killed the trainer last year was back performing again and the difference this time was that the trainers didn't go into the water with the whales at all, they stood on a platform and interracted with them there. It was still extremely shmaltzy but Keith said he enjoyed it very much. I'm not so sure I'm comfortable with these huge creatures being kept in captivity but the show was entertaining nonetheless, especially when Shamu circles the huge pool and splashes everyone with his huge tail!

The children wanted to go on Journey to Atlantis again so we made our way there, stopping to look at the sharks on the way. The Shark Encounter is brilliant as you walk along a conveyor belt underneath an aquarium full of different types of sharks. They were beautiful in a scary way, I thought, their dead eyes flicking back and forth and maybe sizing us up for lunch!

I was still in two minds about going on Journey to Atlantis. The ride has a huge drop into water and it looked pretty scary to me...

 However, the children begged me to go on with them and Keith, so after stowing our bags in lockers, on we went. The agony was prolonged because the first boat we were supposed to get into was full of water so we had to wait for the next one and I wanted to turn tail and run!

The first part of the ride is very gentle and takes you on a pretty tour through magical glades with fish and lights everywhere. Then this mermaid appears, says everything is going to be alright and then changes into a demon type thing and laughs manically as you start to climb higher and higher! We climbed up and up and then suddenly a pair of doors opens and you go over the top and fall dramtically downwards into a pool of water. The feeling was horrible! However, this was not the end! You go round the corner, drop down again and then have a short roller coaster ride in darkness before being shot out at the end, dripping wet, shaking all over and knowing you're never going to go on it again!

To calm down a bit we went and had a look at the manatees and the alligators before heading over to Key West to see the dolphins. We wanted to feed them but when we found out it was $28 for the four of us to have a tray of food each (and each person had to have a tray) we changed our mind! Deciding to have a little snack ourselves we went in search of an ice-cream and sat in the shade watching everyone walk past in the intense heat. The clouds had gone and it was extremely warm, not really weather for walking around so we went off to the sealion and otter stadium to see another show - Clyde and Seamore take Pirate Island.

The show was very popular and was completely full. About ten minutes before it starts, a mime artist appears and takes the mickey out of everyone coming in to take their seats. Most people are unaware that he's doing it, except for the audience of course, who laugh loudly at what he does, the poor victim completely oblivious!

The show was very good, and again, Keith enjoyed the slapstick humour and the animals who performed very well. When it ended we decided to call it a day and headed back to the villa for a couple of hours by the pool which was bliss!

Before going out in the evening to Mikey's choice - Miller's Ale House - we called into the local supermarket to get some more essentials. The sky was very stormy but we didn't have any rain, just a gorgeous sunset. The Publix we went to was great and very handy as it's only five minutes away. It was chock full of Brits all doing their shopping and we even noticed a British pub next door!

We had a short wait at the restaurant as it was extremely busy. The restaurant specialises in "Zingers", boneless chicken wings coated in a crispy batter and covered in the sauce of your choice. We had them as a starter between us, served, bizarrely, with sticks of celery.

The wait for the main course was a bit long, and our waitress kept apologising. Keith and I had chosen flat iron steak with spicy shrimp, Sophie went for fajitas (again!) while Mikey had turkey burger. I'd ordered a salad and baked potato with my meal, but when the food eventually came they were obviously forgotten...oh dear, Mikey! One less point. We caught the waitress, she brought the salad but said that they had run out of baked potatoes...hmmm!

It was a good meal, let down by the poor service, unfortunately. It will be interesting to see how the voting goes as the other three were very happy with their meals!

Some photos from Islands of Adventure on Monday. Click on them to see them a bit larger.

Monday 11 April - thrills and laughs galore!

Our plan was to get up early and go to Islands of Adventure as it opened, but Sophie slept in until 10.30am which scuppered our plans. It turned out to be a good thing, though, as we spent the day at the villa relaxing and went to the theme park at 4pm. Our aim was to experience the new Harry Potter ride which I'd heard was very busy with long waiting times. However, this plan to get to the park later was a brilliant one as we didn't have to wait at all.

Islands of Adventure is out of this world - so many vivid colours and things to look at. We had a quick drink first as it was very, very hot and then went on the Poseidon's Adventure tour which was a pleasingly silly walk undergound (it was beautifully cool) as Poseidon and Zeus battled it out with fire and water. The acting was a bit cheesy, but it made us laugh. Harry Potter then beckoned and I have to say that Universal have done a fantastic job with Hogwarts. The village houses were covered in fake snow and all the fronts were shops which featured in the film. Above all of this towered Hogwarts castle. We entered the castle, put our bags in a locker and then walked the fair distance to the start of the ride. I was a bit nervous as the warnng notices were very serious! The ride starts as you enter the castle and it was like being on the set of the film. I was very impressed. Half way along Harry, Hermione and Ron appear as holograms and explain the plot, but there's so much to see that we didn't really take it in.

Loading of the ride is very fast as the cars move constantly and you have to get in them very quickly! A staff member pulls down the restraint and then off you go! It was brilliant! Each car (four people) is on a long automated arm which throws you about left and right and up and down, but we never went upside down. As you move around, screens open up and all the characters appear in front of you. At one point we're with Harry on his broomstick and then you go into darkened bits with Valdemort looming out of the darkness and frightening the living daylights out of you! I wouldn't recommend this ride for very young children or those who have neck problems as we were jolted about a lot, backwards and forwards. However, it was very enjoyable and I'm looking forward to going on it again!

We stumbled out into the daylight, laughed hysterically at the awful photo taken of us and then had a pleasant half hour watching a Sinbad show with lots of stunts, pyrotechnics and water. As the park was nearing closing time, we hastened off to the Spiderman ride, taking in Jurassic Park on the way which we'll save for another day.

The Spiderman ride was very similar to the Simpsons ride and again we had no wait time and were soon flying through the air with Spidey around the streets of New York as we battled it out with villains. All good fun!

Our venue for the evening was City Walk and The Latin Quarter restaurant - Sophie's choice. It morphs into a club later in the evening but it was a lovely place to eat with candlelit tables and a video playing Latin music. the children had fajitas, Keith had half a chicken and I had chicken and beef on skewers served with yellow rice. The food was delicious.

City Walk is a wonderful place at night, full of restaurants, shops and clubs and a huge cinema. We walked back to the car, negotiated the freeways in the dark (a bit hairy) and went back to the villa, a glass of wine my treat as we sat by the pool!

Sunday 10 April. Settling in...

The first night in a strange place is always a little disturbed so we were up several times on Saturday night. Firstly because our body clocks were still attuned to UK time - 5 hours ahead - and secondly because of the small noises that weren't familiar to us, like the whirring of the fridge and the beeping of the alarm!

After breakfast we headed off to find the Thomson offices where we had to register. Luckily we knew roughly where they were but Sophie spotted them and after about ten minutes we were all done and heading to Walmart to get some more shopping. Walmart was HUGE! We bought essentials such as loo rolls, washing liquid and foods for lunch then returned to the villa to spend the afternoon by the pool.

I suppose I should mention our villa! It's beautiful, has four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a large open plan kitchen, diner, living room and a snooker room!

Our plan was to go to Universal in the late afternoon to activate our park tickets so we set off with Keith giving me great directions. The roads were a lot busier than the last time we were here, with the freeway being very busy indeed. It was slightly hairy having cars overtaking me on both sides! However, we found our way to the park without any trouble and activated our tickets very easily. The park looked busy but there was hardly any wait time for the four rides we managed to fit in! First stop was Shrek which Keith loved, especially when the dragon sneezed and we were squirted with water! Next stop was The Simpsons ride and I think we annoyed the Chinese family in front of us who shared our car as we were shrieking and screaming the whole way through, while they just sat there looking terrified! Men In Black was a fabulous ride and needless to say Mikey got the best score in shooting at the Aliens!

Our last ride was Jaws - very cheesy but great nonetheless. By now it was still very hot, and as we'd walked around the entire park we headed back to the villa to have a swim in the pool before dinner. The temperature in the car was measuring 96F so a cool down was definitely needed!

Our dinner choice of Sunday night was the local Applebees, great because it's literally five minutes away. It was packed to the gunnels so we had a little wait, but the food was delicious. Three of us chose steak while Sophie went for the half rack of baby ribs. We decided to start a new exercise over the next few nights...we will each choose a restaurant and then the other three will score it, as in Come Dine With Me! The person who picks the most popular restaurant will win $10 off the other three!

After dinner, it was back to the villa, a glass of wine for me (I found a 1.5litre bottle of my favourite wine in the supermarket!) and then thankfully to bed!

Hello from hot and sunny Florida!

Phew! What a day we had yesterday, and as usual, we can't go on holiday without some sort of drama happening! More of that later!

We had a brilliant journey, setting off from home at 5am and getting to Birmingham airport well ahead of most of the passengers on our flight which meant we were all checked in and sitting in departures by 6.15am. We had some breakfast, did some shopping (I treated myself to a litre bottle of Jamesons for the amazing price of £13.99 - great for a nightcap) and were boarding at just before 9am. The flight was great. We seemed to have more legroom with the Thomson flight and the children happily watched films and played on the games. Keith discovered Bejeweled Blitz and spent most of the flight playing either that or Who Wants to be a Millionaire (we won $1,000,000!)! I also have to say the food was very good - a four course meal which was delicious and then, just before we landed, a cheese and onion wrap and a scone. No complaints there at all. I sat by the window and had an amazing view of the icy wastes of Canada and Newfoundland which were incredible.

Landing in Sanford, the drama began...

We made our way through Immigration and this time I'd made sure I'd filled the form in correctly. We were almost the last to go through again and the man dealing with us seemed fine, although I did notice he'd put my passport to one side. Three of us had our fingerprints and photos taken and then he said to me that he needed to ask me some more questions, but that Keith and the children could go and collect our luggage.

Thinking that it was just another routine form of security I followed him to a waiting area and was then called into an office. He joked about my surname and then asked me when was the last time I'd been to the US. He looked very serious and I replied that I'd been to Florida in May 2009. Then he said when was the last time I was in trouble and I had a terrible feeling that the last time I'd been here I'd done something wrong, like been spotted on a camera for speeding or a parking fine. All these thoughts were racing through my head and I was trying to remember what, if anything, I'd done.

He made a joke when I said that as far as I knew I hadn't been in trouble and then he said seriously, "Have you ever been to Colombia?" The question was so unexpected I nearly burst out laughing, but I said no, never been and would never really want to go. Then he asked if I'd ever had dual nationality, i.e. British and Colombian and I said no, trying not to sound incredulous!

He then explained that they were looking for someone with the same details as me and that they were ruling me out, which he was 99% sure he'd done. He disappeared off, then came back and did a lot of typing into the computer and told me he was trying to purge all the information so that the next time I came back to the US it wouldn't happen again. I was speechless, to be honest, and although relieved that the situation wasn't serious, I was a little worried that someone may have been trying to impersonate me! The consequences of not being allowed into the country were not worth thinking about! I would have been even more worried if I'd rejoined my family and Keith had said he didn't know me, a la the film Unknown!!!

Of course Keith and the children were very worried when they saw me being taken away but at least they know now that I'm not a Colombian drug baron!

Heaving a huge sigh of relief we made our way to the Thomson desk, picked up the directions to the villa and then went to get our car for the two weeks. We had no hassle at the desk, other than a payment for a full tank of fuel, and we chose a Chevrolet which had a nice big boot to take all our luggage. The journey to the villa was without incident and we were very close to the house we had in 2009 which was great as I knew my way around.

We unpacked and then headed off to the Sweetbay supermarket where we bought some essentials for breakfast the next morning. Our first meal was at Chili's where Mikey was desperate to go and we had a lovely meal with very friendly waiting staff. Keith went for the full rack of ribs while Sophie had fajitas, Mikey had Big Mouth Bites (mini hamburgers) and I had some crispy chicken strips. Delicious! The children even had balloons made for them by Randy so they were happy!

Back at the villa we rounded off our very long day with a drink by the pool (after my strawberry lemonade in the restaurant the whiskey was fantastic) and a sleepy chat. We were all shattered but I knew that the next morning we would be up early as we'd still be on UK time!

Spring cleaning!

Half of today has been spent giving the house a good clean and changing all the beds. It wasn't all work, though, as we escaped to the pub at lunchtime for a snack and a drink, which was very relaxing. The warm sunshine had brought lots of people out and we had Sophie with us as she had a training day at school. Poor old Mikey was still stuck in the classroom, but they did have an early Easter Egg Hunt to make up for being cooped up indoors on a beautiful day!

In the late afternoon, Sophie and I made the trip into town to go to the beauty salon where Sophie had false nails put on for her Birthday treat from my mum. I managed to avoid the Denis Healy look again by having my eyebrows shaped. I was very envious of Sophie's nails when she had them done - they were very natural looking and the therapist had just coloured them a delicate shade of pink with a clear varnish over the top. Now she'll have to look after them!

School dinner!

I had a lovely experience today when I was invited to Mikey's school for a "banquet". Mikey hadn't really told me what to expect, just that I had to be there at lunchtime and that he had made spaghetti bolognese, even though I'd chosen to have pizza. The children had been taking part in a Personal Interest Project and Mikey had chosen cooking, which was great!

I took my seat with the other mums, dads and grandparents and studied the handwritten menu. We started with butternut squash soup with croutons, followed by the meal of our choice and then finished with assorted tartlets and tea or coffee served with handmade sweets. The entire meal was made from scratch (even the pasta and pizza bases) and it was fantastic. The children served the meals themselves, cleared away the plates and they were brilliant. We all had a lovely time and as I wasn't expecting a four course meal, it was all the more special!

A walk in the sunshine

Although today started off cloudy, by the time I'd got to work at 8am, the sun was breaking through and the temperature was rising. We had two work experience boys in today and Polly, with a lot of patience and humour, managed to keep them occupied for most of the day. We were nowhere near as busy as yesterday so Keith and I escaped after lunch and walked to the post box, about twenty minutes away. It was very warm and sunny and it was lovely to be out enjoying the fresh air, rather than being cooped up in the office, grappling with the payroll!

Birthday celebrations

Yesterday Sophie was 15 and it hardly seems any time since she was a tiny baby. Where have the years gone? I managed to see her open her presents and cards before I left for work. It's the end of the payroll year so I was busy sorting all that out, in between running down to the kitchen to help serve and wash up. As the weather wasn't too nice (cloudy and damp) we were busy which was a good thing!

Poor Sophie had to work after school and she wasn't too happy about it, I can tell you. However, she had her friend Susie with her and when they were all finished we headed home to get ready for a meal out at The Mandarin Buffet in Northampton which is where Sophie wanted to celebrate her birthday.

We had a good meal and it wasn't as packed as the last time we went, but it was still noisy and reminded me very much of a large hotel's buffet dining room. The children had a great time choosing what they wanted to eat and Mikey ended up with his shirt decorated in chocolate from the fountain...honestly!!

Ouch!

This afternoon Sophie, Mikey and me had an appointment with the dentist. Normally, I'm OK about going but today it was a thoroughly unpleasant experience. Firstly, there were no spaces in the car park, then the children decided to wind each other up. As soon as I picked up a magazine to read, we were called in and Sophie stood there thumbs flicking over the keypad on her new phone, which drove me mad! Thank goodness she won't be taking the bloomin' thing on holiday!

The two children were seen to and then it was my turn. My dentist always gives me a scale and polish but today the Nurse stuck the sucker thing right into my mouth and I just knew I was going to gag, which I did. Ever since I had the children, I've been very funny about cleaning my teeth and I still have to be careful about having the toothbrush in my mouth otherwise I feel sick. It was a trigger for my morning sickness and after eleven years, nothing has changed!

I got up very thankfully from the dentist's chair, eyes streaming, but with nice clean gnashers!

Tapas meal photos



Tomatoes stuffed with a spicy egg mixture



Prawns wrapped in bacon and garlic bread topped with mushrooms



Patatas bravas with paprika sauce



Tortilla with onions and chorizo



Sophie in mum's wedding dress

Mothering Sunday

I didn't have a lie-in this morning but I did have some beautiful flowers, chocolates and the new Adele album, which made my day. Keith made me a pancake for breakfast and then we had a lazy morning doing very little. At lunchtime, Sophie and I headed off to Milton Keynes again, to take back Keith's shorts and to buy a few last minute bits. Rather than take the M1 I drove the scenic route via Newport Pagnell and it made a lovely change.

I bought Keith another pair of shorts - he looked ridiculous in the other ones as they were too long and reminded me of Don Estelle in It Ain't Half Hot Mum - and a tee-shirt. I treated myself to some holiday knickers and then we went and had a YooMoo to celebrate Mother's Day.

I took an even longer scenic route on the way home, turning off the main road to Newport Pagnell and driving through Tyringham, Filgrave and Olney. The countryside was stunning and as the weather was a bit changeable it just added to the beauty. Again, I wished I had my camera with me.

Today has been the first day in years that I haven't spent with my mum who went down to Kent with dad to see nan. As we have rather a lot on in the next few weeks we decided to stay at home but they are calling in on their way back so I bought a bottle of Cava to celebrate!

Tapas evening

Last night the four of us walked up to Mum and Dad's house for dinner. Dad had spent all day cooking tapas dishes for us and we were really looking forward to a Saturday night out and a good dinner. The evening sky was beautiful, lots of vapour trails, pink-tinged clouds and the sun slowly setting. The village was looking lovely with lots of daffodils, purple aubretia and blossom on the trees.

When we arrived at mum and dad's we had a glass of Sangria and munched on nibbles before the main event. My dad loves cooking and told us he'd been in the kitchen all day preparing the meal for us and the smells wafting around were certainly very good!

For starters Dad had cooked tiger prawns wrapped in bacon, tomatoes stuffed with a delicious spicy egg mayonnaise sauce, garlic bread topped with mushrooms and grilled chicken strips. The prawns were gorgeous and I managed to convince the children to try them. Mikey said he loved them so we'll see if he has them again on holiday but Sophie wasn't as keen. Still, at least she tried them!

For the main course, Dad cooked spare ribs, meatballs in a tomato sauce, patatas bravas (cubed fried potatoes served with a hot paprika sauce) and a spicy chorizo and onion tortilla. There was so much food! We washed it all down with a white wine from Spain (Airen grape) and a lovely Rioja.

Before dessert Mikey, Dad and Keith went upstairs to fly the model aeroplane on Dad's computer programme. Needless to say Mikey did much better than me as I crashed it seconds after take-off every time! Sophie amused herself by trying on some of my mum's dresses - a beautiful purple ball-gown that she wore on her 25th Wedding Anniversary, the dress my mum wore at my wedding and mum's wedding dress itself. All three fitted perfectly and Keith was rendered speechless when he saw her in them. The wedding dress was especially beautiful - a heavy satin dress with lots of creamy embroidery and a long train. Although it was from 1966 Sophie could easily get away with wearing it today, with just a new veil. I think Keith was a bit misty-eyed by it all! I took lots more pictures but I've had trouble uploading them onto the laptop but I'll try and post them tomorrow.

After dessert of tiramisu and trifle we waddled off home under a sky full of stars. It was so good to be able to walk home and it did go a little way to walk off some of the food!

Getting lost...

This morning we set off early for Wellingborough as DPD had tried to deliver Sophie's laptop yesterday, while we were out shopping. We looked up the address on Google maps and had a vague idea of where it was. We were fine until we reached the industrial estate and became completely lost! We saw numerous DPD vans about so it was a mite frustrating. Sophie had no idea we were going to pick up her laptop and kept whining in the back about being murdered because the area did look a bit dodgy! Even when we found the depot, we still couldn't find our way to the main office! A bit of signage would not go amiss, methinks!

Of course, Sophie was delighted to get her beloved laptop back and to celebrate we went to MacDonald's for breakfast. Despite nearly being mown down on the way out of the car-park, we had a good time. Back home, the laptop worked perfectly so all is well. I'm so pleased it's been repaired and sent back to us before the holiday and I will be sending a thank-you letter to Mr Wilson at HP (the big cheese) for the prompt service. Maybe he should train all his staff in the Complaints Department a bit better so customers would not have to trouble him in the future!

I spent a rather boring hour sorting out all the phone chargers and other miscellaneous electrical items that were stuffed into one of our drawers. Most of them had got themselves into a tangled mess and it had got to the point where the drawer wouldn't close properly because a lead would be hanging out of it if you tried to ram it shut. I found about eight phone chargers (half of them obsolete), adaptors, USB cables and other nameless bits of tangled wire and shoved them all into a box to put in the garage. I also found my old camera and after putting a couple of batteries in, it miraculously worked again! The last time I tried it was dead so maybe my luck is changing and things will start working again if I leave them long enough!

I also had a stern word with Sophie about her new phone. Much against my better judgement, I have taken out a contract on a new Blackberry for her, which includes "unlimited" texts. I had a very good online chat with a Vodafone representative when I ordered it for her last week and I asked what unlimited meant. I found out it was 3000 texts a month and I was sure that not even she could exceed that. Keith and I worked it out that she would be able to send around 100 texts a day and to our horror we found out that yesterday, after getting her mitts on it after school, she had sent 100 by 9pm last night... I have warned her that if she exceeds that and I get a large bill I will confiscate it and keep the phone for myself and that she'll spend a long time working to pay me back. The agreement is that she will contribute to the monthly contract price from her wages and I think she gets the message now. Woe betide her if she doesn't!

New month

Last night's meal at Dangs, the Vietnamese restaurant in Northampton, was great. The seating area was downstairs in the cellar, which I found a bit claustrophobic at first, but I got used to it. We were given a bowl of prawn crackers to munch on while we looked at the menu, which wasn't extensive but for me this is a good sign that the food is being freshly prepared.

Three of us ordered the same starter - seared scallops on a bed of spinach and fried leeks with garlic. Our other friend ordered fishcakes, which looked delicious. We were given chopsticks to eat with, something I found a bit hard with the scallops and greens! The scallops were cooked beautifully and we agreed that we could have done with four (instead of three) and less greenstuff!

Amazingly, the same three of us ordered the Vietnamese chicken curry which was probably the most delicious curry I've ever eaten. It was served with a bowl of gorgeous fried rice and was pretty hot (in my opinion - one of my friends pronounced it mild), but very flavoursome with a lovely thick sauce and chunks of tender chicken, potatoes, onions and chilli. I will definitely be going back for more! The service was friendly and efficient and the place was pleasantly busy but not packed so it was a lovely night and the four of us were the last to leave, such was the gossip!

Today has been a shopping day in Milton Keynes, something that Keith himself suggested. We usually have an annual trip when we go shopping together so this time it's come rather early in the year! Before we left Keith tried on all his holiday clothes, making the bedroom look an almighty mess with tee-shirts and shorts strewn everywhere. Most of them need a freshen up in the laundry and I'm glad I won't be the one doing it!

Before we hit the shops, we had breakfast at Caffe Italia and then I managed to persuade Keith to buy two pairs of swim shorts (one pair we will be taking back as they are just a bit too long...) and some deck shoes in M&S. I myself bought a new pair of sandals and two cotton short sleeve shirts so I was a bit more successful than last week!

We headed home and on the way stopped at the local garden centre to buy a voucher for mum as it's Mothers Day on Sunday. Our Wyevale now has a soft play area for children under 8 years and this might explain why we've been a bit quiet at work lately. Wyevale is a great place to shop, but it's rapidly turning into a department store rather than a garden centre and I have to admit to being a bit dismayed at this latest development. It was completely free for children to play and will no doubt attract the "yummy mummy" brigade, especially as the garden centre also has a Costa Coffee.

And talking of business, I have to mention the very sad demise of Oddbins which will go into Administration on Monday. I was always a big fan of Oddbins as they stocked wines that you wouldn't normally see in the large supermarket chains. Before I discovered Duncan's shop in Market Harborough, I would regularly visit the branches in Milton Keynes and Northampton, sadly both of which closed a few years ago, for special wines if I was going to a dinner party. Now it seems that there will be very few independent wine merchants left and I only hope someone will buy the business and make it the shop it once was.

Our indulgent day was rounded off by a trip to the hairdressers where Sophie and I had a trim. It was very relaxing to have my hair washed and fiddled about with!