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Under the sea

Team cousins was in full force today to celebrate Millie's 6th Birthday

The theme of the party was under the sea!

Picnic time

For once the bank holiday weather has been kind and the sun has come out!
It's been a busy weekend of Star Wars and BBQs and today a picnic on the banks of the Thames at Windsor

May 4th be with you

 Today is a special day in the calendar, and so we decided to celebrate!

Princess Leia (aka as Poppy) was in full costume for the day, and has gracefully allowed me to add some behind the scenes photos!

School

I picked Poppy up from school on Friday and found the below in her school bag:

Very proud of our little girl.

South westerly

This evening we had wind speeds varying from 26mphs to 40mphs which whipped up a few little waves for us to have some fun with!

Porthleven memories

As mentioned in a previous post, this is not my first visit Porthleven, as kids we stayed in a cottage called Tamarisk not a million miles away from where we are staying at the moment, in fact it's one minute away, so we paid a visit this afternoon.

It does not appear to have changed too much and from peeping in the window it still appears to be a holiday cottage. The other memory of this cottage was of the cottage opposite, which has changed massively. When we stayed as kids the cottage opposite was almost derelict but was occupied by the 'witch' kids code for an lady. What was also memorable was the amount of cats that kept her company. The cottage has now been totally renovated.

We Bought a Zoo!

The title of this blog entry refers to a film (and a book) which stars Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson, where Matt Damon's character buys a zoo! The film is based on a true story, and is based on the zoo that we visited today!

The zoo is just outside Plymouth on the edge of Dartmoor and was on our way to Porthleven, and seeing as the film has been on Sky recently, it would of been rude not to drop in and visit.

It should be noted that the film is based in the states and not in the actual zoo and so it is more the story line, rather than the location the the film is based on!

And it's a lovely little zoo. It's not as polished as the London or Marwells of the world, but it's a lovely little zoo with a good selection of areas and animals to visit. And using the Poppy gauge, in that she did not want to go home after 10mins and actually stayed 4hrs, it was petty good.

We did get to see Matt Damon, well, the person who Matt Damon plays in the film, Benjamin Mee, who is the person who did actually buy the zoo!

Porthleven

Porthleven has long held happy memories, it was a childhood summer holiday location, although my memory fails me in how many times we have stayed here.

However I do recall it being the home of one of the most memorable card games in the Butler history!!

Since then I, and Jo, have visited on a few occasions, but only as day trippers. So this weekend is a first for Poppy and a long overdue visit for me!

Within 15 mins of our arrival Poppy was on the beach, and as you will have seen from the other blog entry, dodging waves in the first evening, so I think it so far has the Poppy seal of approval.

Day 1 of our trip has involved a zoo, a road trip, Porthleven, beach, wave dodging and an attempt at a log fire, not bad for a first day.

I am currently in bed, with a fast asleep Poppy listening to the waves, wind and rain, I don't think we are going to be blessed with the sun today!

Oooops

One of my favourite things to watch is a feisty sea, and there is no better place to do that than Porthleven in Cornwall. And even more fun is watching the waves smash over a wall. Both Westward Ho! and Porthleven allow for that and Poppy has now seen it at both!!

I somehow suspect that Jo might not of totally approved, and I do now have a 4yr old wave dodger who loved it!!

The Princess and 'staff' !

A day with Fab Aunty Sue resulted in this:

and this:

Thanks for a 'fab' day,
Love,
Poppy
x

Photo catch up

Its been awhile since i have posted too the blog, but that does not mean i have not been snapping away and taking the odd photo here and there!  Below is a little catch up of events that i have captured over the last few weeks:

Nanny and Poppy safely behind glass!:

 Baking - a few rolls for lunch:

Indoor Hopscotch:

Legoland:

 Feet up at Starbucks:

Mothers Day:

Mini

My peugeot has looked after me for quite a few years now, in fact for as long as Poppy has been with us, and in that time it has clocked up 95,000+ miles, not a bad achievement for a car just coming up to its 5th birthday.  So, it was time to try something new.

And that 'new' being a:

MINI Cooper D Clubman - and to translate that, its a new MINI called a Clubman which means it's a bit longer and its diesel - British racing green with a black roof.

It has received Poppy's seal of approval as it has some lights inside that change colour, with one of those colours being pink!

Why a Mini - well i am not too sure, i like the looks, after a test drive it drives really well, and of course there is the Italian Job!!  Dad also owned a Mini although Mum tells me that he always wanted a Cooper - so the Cooper is for Dad.

Treasure Hunt

A long time ago, in fact in 2003, me and Jo went treasure hunting, or to give it the more technical name 'Geocaching'.  We had talked about giving it a go with Poppy to see if she fancied it .. well, this morning me and Poppy went treasure hunting!

We plugged in a few co-ordiantes into the phone, put our boots on and went for a wander around the 'outback' of Twyford.  

I am pleased to say that we managed to find all three that we set out to find, and although a bit chilly, i think Poppy is sold on the idea!

Constable Butler!

You may notice a face in the picture above!

This cutting is from a local (to Southampton) free newspaper that is delivered to every household in the area.  Thanks to a tip off via Facebook, and by luck we were also in Southampton, we managed to pick up a copy of the paper, however it is also available for download from there website!

Poppy still has her fingerprint keyring which is currently on her new book bag for her new school.

New school, New uniform

Poppy started her new school today, and that mean't a new uniform!

Crazies Hill School has a blue uniform, and more importantly a Buttercup!  And here is Poppy in her new attire:

She has had a good first day.  Before we even got through the school doors people were coming up to us to welcome Poppy.  Mrs Burton, her new teacher was there to welcome her and she settled in very quickly.

A trip down memory lane ..

This morning i had a trip down memory lane as i went to Crazies Hill.  Crazies Hill is a small village just outside Wargrave:


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At No 6 Crazies Hill, lived my Nan and Gramps (my Dad's parents) and we spent many many happy times as kids at there house, and exploring the area.

The picture above is of the road they live in, and the house furthest away is No 6.  Lots of happy memories.

Today's visit was to visit Poppy's new school - more on that in a future blog!

Cat hair!

We had a good weekend just gone. We were in Wargrave for Liliana's 2nd birthday party. However I did not take any photos, I know, unusual for me!

So, I thought I would share Poppy's handy work on Gizmo's hair this morning before school

Poppy's other 'event' for the weekend was a performance of the Nutcracker, in her own unique style!

Our trip to see Nelson

Last Saturday morning when Poppy woke up (we were in Wargrave) she noticed a ship in a bottle which was beside the bed - its been there for ages, and i guess that Uncle Nik had put it there - Poppy asked me about the boat, and i said i could do better than tell her about it, we would go and see it!  So .... last Sunday we went to visit HMS Victory:

After a breakfast stop at Cafe Rouge at Gunwharf we wandered to the Historic Boatyard and got our ticket for the ship tour.

We weren't allowed to take pictures onboard so you will have to make do with a few pictures of us outside.  Poppy did the full tour, and i think enjoyed it, even if her legs did get a bit tired by the end!  

She will now tell you that it is a very very very very old boat!

And despite not liking having my picture taken, i thought i would share this one, only because Poppy took it all on her own, despite my best efforts to dissuade her!

There are a few more pictures that i have added to Facebook, including Poppy and Nelson!