The highlight of the holidaying year for the girls is always Christmas camp. Last year Fran, Amelie and I missed it and the year before trying to negotiate a holiday filled with babies and toddlers that I had expected to take Freddie to was pure hell. This year (last year, I'm so behind!) was lovely.
As ever, the run up to it was filled with secret Santa making.
Maddy excelled herself as ever.
Amelie did her best job ever.
Josie absolutely slaved over a hand stitched, beaded banner which I forgot to take better photos of 🙁
And I risked something arty and made coasters as my receiver only likes useful things!
We got absolutely lovely gifts back and I adored (as organiser of the gifting) being Santa 🙂
This years hostel was in Ironbridge (moreorless) and was lovely. I adored the place and definitely want to go and 'do' more of the museums this year. We all loved the one we went to and it tied in really well with our current history book. Very beautiful area, hilarious it was once the most industrial area in the world!
We always take lots of crafts; this year the kids were too busy socialising, rehearsing and having fun, so the adults did them. It was very funny 🙂
Annoyingly, they areal, far better at things than me! Some prairie muffins came out of closets that week!
Humphf! I'm pretending this is mine because I brought the fabric.
Bene was adorable all week and relished full attention. I took no work (well I did but the connection was rubbish and the company too good to struggle to use it to blog or work) and Bene relished my attention and all the people and things to look at.
I barely saw the girls, though Maddy did a wonderful guitar solo and song and Amelie was in the play.
I had the company of lovely Lulah one day for a walk into town. She is a precious person indeed to Amelie and all of us and had stayed with us for several days before. She's a very steadying influence on Ams and a long suffering friend 😉
They make quite a trio these days. (No, we didn't turn Josie into a bear). This was the Olympic bear in the Merrythought factory where all the girls teddies were made.
I say it every year but I feel so incredibly lucky each time I go on this holiday. The families we go with are my extended family, the women (and men) are close to sisters (and brothers). It's no exaggeration to say they took over bringing up the rather unfinished off person I was as a young parent and I owe so much of me to them. Every year we go I count myself so lucky to have a group of people I can rely on and depend on and laugh and cry with. It never fails to make me count my blessings and be grateful for the quirk of fate that three us all together more than ten years ago.
Xxx to you all, as ever.
A large part of that quirk of fate was Muddlepuddle, so we are all grateful to you xxxxxx
I never really think of MP as having been the root of it, but I suppose it was. Lost in the mists of time now.
Sounds lovely.
My children have gone off the craft stuff this year too, having amassed a big pile of it for them. Hopefully better luck next year 🙂