There's only one direction!

After an amazing summer holidays the girls will be going back to school next week. I genuinely believe they have had the best time but now the grind of a new school year will begin. The next week brings new challenges for both them. Anna dives into year one and a new teacher - probably head first and with no fear, although she has developed a recent trepidation for new things. Lucy begins her first term at Junior School and I just can't believe or fathom I am a parent to a child who is nearly eight. It is a cliché, but whoever 'they' are, 'they' are so right - time flies by and you just can't stop it. I have spent so much more time with the girls in the last eight weeks and it has been pure magic and some lovely times to treasure. Next stop - half term and Amy and Lucy's birthdays and a planned visit to Harry Potter World....

Bye bye Cornwall....

The car is virtually packed for the morning - we are greatly lacking in space so I might have to leave a child behind but I cannot decide which one! It has rained for most of our last day and now sadly it is time to go home. It has been a wonderful couple of weeks full of fantastic holiday memories that I will treasure for a long time. Time with Amy and the girls is so precious and our now yearly trip to Cornwall is becoming very important to me. Having taken a family vote we have decided that a return trip next year is necessary! I have fallen for every trick in the book in terms of the 'oh Dad, please can we have this' strategy and we have spoilt the girls rotten as usual. I do sincerely hope they have come away with the same treasured memories as me and in years to come we can fondly discuss our family holidays to Cornwall. I am a simple soul and I know that I will be talking about them when I am an old man. See you next year....

If you miss your mouth don't blame us!

We love food - simple; and we love Pizza Express. A couple of nights ago we enjoyed another one of our frequent visits to one of their restaurants with the amazing view of Falmouth harbour as the backdrop. For the second time in two days Anna came up with the above missive for me. I am not sure on what grounds or previous experience she is basing this on and why she would think I would ever miss my mouth, but it was said with excellent comic timing and delivery! This was followed by another great trip out to the Eden project and the big hot balls as the girls described them yesterday. It saddens me to think in a couple of days we have to drive home and I will need to go back to work. Lucy and I had a lovely walk on St Ives beach today searching for shells and interesting things and she summed it up very well indeed - 'thank you for my lovely holiday memories Daddy'. A sentiment I shared too. I did realise two hours later that there was a motive behind it, as she wished to add to her build-a-bear collection! You have got to love this girl, she knows what she is doing...

Taming the Beast and grieving for Dobby....

The girls and I hit 'Creeley Adventure Park' today for some serious ride fun in the sunshine leaving Amy to soak up some more 'me' time in Port St Isaac. Bravery was once again order of the day. Anna, as fearless as ever just did what she does and hurled herself into going on every ride and giggling throughout. Lucy still has some fears about such things and needed persuading to go on the rides. Bravely she tackled the log flume, the rollercoaster,  the rapids, the dino ride, the zip wires, the hamster balls, the pirate ship and last but not least, even though she hated every minute of it, she tamed 'the beast!' Another great day out with my girls to savour. What was even better, was the close bond that was evident between them as the day went on - quiet cuddles whilst we queued for the rides, holding hands and looking after each other.

Something lovely happened last night. As we watched the last Harry Potter film and completed our evening holiday marathon of all the films. Anna showed how much she wears her heart on her sleeve, despite all her bravado. At the moment when Dobby the House Elf was killed saving Harry and his friends lives, Anna was quite simply inconsolable telling us with tears welling up in her eyes  - 'he was a true hero'. This was a very emotional moment to share with her and I have to say left me beaming with pride and tears in my eyes. This prompted both Anna and Lucy to draw Dobby tribute pictures. The power of films and books is truly something I am glad we share with the girls. (although secretly I am pleased not to be watching another Potter film for a while!)

New territory in the trials of parenthood...

Lucy is growing up so fast (sometimes she definitely behaves like a teenager) and the moment I have been dreading for a long time crept up on me without me barley having time to realise! This week we went shopping for her first 'training' bra. She is developing physically at a fast rate and I will blink and the next conversation will be about boyfriends. She is constantly intrigued about her body and questions about growing up and where babies come from. Amy is brilliant with her and calmly explains things, utilising all her teacher's skills and being the great mum she is. I. on the other hand, am having more than just a slight panic about this kind of conversation and am finding myself unusually tongue tied. This is going to be the hardest part of being a dad to two girls in the future as we get closer to conversations about periods, bras and boyfriends. In cowardly fashion I am taking a big step back and letting Amy handle it at present. Why should I stop her when she is doing such a good job?! I know I will have to take part soon and jump in and give it a try - not sure where to start at the moment though. In the mean time a great day at Lands End today, as Amy went off for a well deserved potter and sunbathe with her book. The '4D' cinema was more in tune with my parenting skills....

Pottering in Padstow....

With the weather sadly floundering - yesterday we hit the water park and had a cracking time, Lucy braving the slide for the first time on her own. She did require bribery, but overcame her fear never the less. Then Amy and the girls began their yearly holiday attack on my wallet - the girls getting individually designed jumpers; Lucy - a 'One Direction' theme and Anna a 'Pirate' theme with the word 'Wiggle' on the back. Good tacky seaside fun! With still no sunshine emerging today, Amy and the girls went for a bike ride - the famed camel trek, a picnic by the harbour at Padstow followed by endless hours of posh Padstow shops and very questionable souvenir shops. Despite the inevitable inclusion of a shopping trip into the holiday itinerary, it has been a chilled and lovely day again. With still well over a week to go, I am slightly skint but loving this family holiday thing...

Riding the wave and finding a legend...

Yesterday, we visited what can only be described as the most breath taking of beaches called Kynance Cove and had an absolutely magical day. The girls spent the day playing 'dare' with the waves (Lucy realising how powerful the sea can actually be when she was completely knocked down twice) and hunting for creatures in rock pools. I spent most of the time simply taking in the view and watching them play; until curiosity got the better of me and I had to dive in and scare people by putting my trunks on. My god that water was cold! If I had one criticism of Cornwall - why do all the most beautiful places to visit involve a five mile hike up a very steep hill!

Today we went in search of the legend of King Arthur and well and truly found him at Tintagel Castle (again only accessible by a long steep hill). Anna, was in her element, as she and I had what can only be described as an epic sword fight on at the top of a cliff with a dramatic sheer drop on every side. Lucy finished off her couple of days with a little stint shopping for fairy dust, wish bottles and jewellery. So far this holiday is turning out to be the best quality time we have had as a family in years. I can't say anything other than I am loving every minute of it. The girls are still endlessly fighting, but that's just normal. One downside, we have been stuck in an endless evening marathon of the Harry Potter films. I like them but not that much!

We're back!!!!!!

After ten hours of travelling, traffic jams and the constant asking of the question 'when are we going to be there!' we finally made it to lovely Cornwall. I jest, the girls were fantastically well behaved on a very long journey. I am going to show my age here now though, it is not like in my day as a kid when you had counting lorries and eye spy to play. The girls had the ipad, films to watch, music, colouring books, toys and a Harry Potter story CD to listen to. They did graciously allow us about ten minutes of listening to Radio 2 before beginning to moan! Today we hit our favourite place in St Ives and the simply stunning beach, Lucy and Amy got their hair braided again and Anna and I built a fine sand castle and prated around on the beach. The day simply whizzed by in the lovely Cornwall sunshine. The girls finished off the day with a session in the hot tub and their new friends, some how Anna managed to fall out... (injury number one of the holiday!)

It's all about practice...

There has been a definite theme of the day emerging in my house today and it is quite simple - practice makes perfect. As a family, we are not without talent in various areas of life, but I would have to say that we do not excel at anything and hard graft, patience and practice make the Hammond clan a success. Firstly and most importantly - we are not easy to live with - collectively and individually (realistically I probably top that list) and we are truly well practiced at winding each other up! Lucy has particularly learnt lessons today about the virtue of practice and its benefits. Lucy does take time to warm to a new challenge and on the park today she nervously tackled the bike ramps. After a complete melt down, she dusted herself off and mastered them with much practice and patience on her father's side! Well done Lucy and you were rightly honoured with the 'superstar of the day' award. This evening, she applied this patience and diligence to her writing and produced some lovely work.

Anna, is a bit more of a natural at what she does and winding up her sister is her best skill, in fact she excels! She is a bit more comfortable than Lucy in taking on a new challenge at the moment and her fearless nature drives her forward. For instance she mastered the bike ramps weeks ago and at quite a speed! The need to practice also applies to the grown ups in the house too and Mrs Hammond has been researching and working hard with her latest assignment in her Masters course. Fingers crossed for an excellent mark, if the effort gone in is a reflection of the mark to come, this should be a very high one. I, of course, have no need to practice, as I am perfection personified...

So much more than a mug.....

And so much more than a birthday! Following the arrival of my long awaited gift from Libby in the guise of an Emma Bridgewater coronation teapot, we made the tea and celebrated my thirty ninth birthday as a family (Libby and Ben always included as honorary members of the Hammond clan). We proceeded with dinner out last night at the Thai - very tasty, followed by rude and very funny pat-a-cake with the girls in the yard. A long session in the bistro this morning was followed by the return of 'Sir Wiggle of Fakenham' as we stormed yet another Norfolk keep at Castle Rising - no siege warfare would be complete without a picnic first. What made the day even better was we stumbled across a re-enactment day at the castle and there were Vikings, Romans, Normans and Anna's favourite: heroic Knights! Thank you girls and Amy for the cards, cheesecake and lovely display in the living room, complete with Norwich City colours. A great birthday indeed! Six more days to Cornwall.....