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.....

The creative juices are flowing in the Hammond house.....

As a  family we are not renowned for being a creative bunch, so when we have a surprising and infrequent upturn in skill we must celebrate this period and sing it from the rafters. After all, we are known more for our consumption, not creativity. Amy has been baking again (I must admit there is some real talent within my wife), this time with a collection of delicious fairy cakes for Auntie Doris' birthday on Saturday. The girls came home with their years work from school on Friday and there was a massive collection of stories, hand writing, maths, art work and models. I was very impressed indeed. One piece that particularly caught my eye in this gallery that even the most modest of fathers would beam with pride over, was Lucy's model ice cream van. It has taken pride of place on the mantelpiece and in my humble view sums up the mood of all good things Hammond and celebrates many a good family day out in the Norfolk sunshine! Anna's contribution was more of a 'live work' as I watched her play a numbers game with Amy and Lucy and I was very impressed with her grasp of maths for a five year old.

I, am afraid, have not been able to contribute greatly to this creative surge, I did the housework and gardening this weekend and that my friends is about as good as it gets. I am a grafter not a sculptor (who is partial to the odd cake and ice cream!)...

Just 'pottering' around and making the most of our sunshine tokens!

The Hammond family has gone Harry Potter mad and nestled in the biggest pile of car boot rubbish this morning was 'Potter gold' in the form of a Quidditch robe perfect for Lucy and a Harry doll for Wiggle - all for the bargain price of £3! As Amy is reading the girls the third book these were perfect finds to fuel the imagination and the afternoon's games in the garden. Taking advantage of the weather while it lasts we have filled the weekend with some really fun  and normal Hammond things to do in the sunshine. Mud sliding at Blakeney; tea, cake and strawberry picking at Wiveton; stunt bike riding at the park; another brace of delicious barbecues with our neighbours, several rows due to a general hormonal shift in the heat, plenty of café culture, giggling at comedy and rude shaped fruit, much breaking wind and loads of ice lollies. A normal weekend in the Hammond house, including the rows!

Groovin on a Sunday afternoon....

A perfect Sunday afternoon - summer sunshine, a fine picnic, great company and a paddle in the river to cool down. The theme of the weekend for the family Hammond was sunshine and food. Two barbecues knocked off with our neighbours Libby and Ben, followed by a sneaky one this evening as well. Oh and did I mention the time honoured tradition the excessive consumption of ice cream.  As my work life balance is slowly restored I am enjoying more and more these lovely days out with the girls without interruption, it was a joy to kick back in the shade and watch them play in the river. Really looking forward return trip to Cornwall this year now where the focus will be well and truly on a family holiday, not fitting my family in with work. The weekend was not without its trials as tempers sometimes frayed in the heat - me very much included in this and the girls battled for the title of who could be the grumpiest on Saturday and on this occasion the winner was Anna by a country mile! She does know how to press her Daddy's buttons, she not stupid that one you know....

Reporting positive progress....

School reports day arrived today and we are delighted with both the girl's reports. Lucy has showed good steady progress all year and what I really loved was the comments about her kindness and caring nature with other children who are hurt or upset, also comments about working hard. Very proud of you Lucy. Anna's report was also very positive and starts with the comment: 'Anna is quite a character!' She is very young for her year and I am delighted with how she is doing.  She does need to focus a bit more and can be easily distracted. Surely Anna's teacher can't be talking about Anna?! Well done girls, well done indeed....