Last Thursday a few of the guys had organised a night out in Worthing and we decided on the Thieves' Kitchen which has a decent sized games room at the game with pool, smart darts and shuffleboard. It was myself, Adrian, Ben, Lee and Rob for the night and other than a few rounds of beers, we had a good number of games of darts followed by shuffleboard which was good fun. After a few hours there we moved onto The Egremont Pub for a couple until closing time and then all headed back home.

On Friday it was the last day of the school year, but also Ian's graduation at Busy Bees which was really cute - can't believe it's the end of nursery school for the little guy. The graduation was a picnic in the afternoon in the garden, where all kids leaving were presented with a leaving card and small gift. It was very cute and very well done for each of them :)

This past weekend we were mostly housebound due to the heavy rain and gusty winds. So Saturday was a rather lazy indoor day here. Then yesterday had similar predictions of heavy rain and wind and flooding, and we were supposed to meet up with Greg, Kim and the boys but decided to cancel it - no enjoying driving in that weather or trying to find a place to picnic after heavy rains. So again a day at home, but luckily it did subside by the afternoon so we managed a braai for dinner which was good - wasn't a complete weekend washout :)

The weekend before last was a fairly grey and dull and rainy one here, especially after having had such nice weather for a while, we weren't quite used to the dreary dull sky. After spending the Saturday mostly indoors, we headed out to the rec on the Sunday with the kids' new bikes which we had picked up on the Friday after getting their checks and service done. So that was great excitement. It didn't take Ian long at all to master the pedals on his bike and was happy to zoom off on his own. Ellen thoroughly enjoyed her first time on a bike and fairly quickly grasped the steering and pedaling which was great.

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The weekend just gone was a lot better weather at least, so on the Saturday we had smash burgers on the braai for lunch and then headed down to the beach in the late afternoon. On Sunday we had the morning at home, had another lunch time braai, this time with prawns and scallops, and then in the afternoon made our way over to Hove Park for the Summer Fiesta Party there which we've been to the past couple of years as well. After the Fiesta we drove down to Hove Beach for takeaway chips on the beach for dinner before heading home.

Yesterday I had taken the day off work which we had originally planned to head down to the beach, but it landed up being quite windy so I popped over to the skatepark in the morning with my RC car for some racing and jumps there (always good fun) and then the rest of the morning and early afternoon chilling out at home before heading up to the school for pickup in the afternoon.

Over the past couple of weeks we've had a mild heatwave here, which has been great for the temperatures but also so dry everywhere. We've managed to make some pretty good use of the good weather, with a lunch time cycle and swim down by Carat's Cafe, as well as a lunch time swim by Kingston Beach. Ellen also had her end of year assembly which was very cute to go and see.

On the Friday before last, I had booked the day off work, so after dropping the kids at school, I took my RC Car out for a spin around the skate park which was long overdue - I had always wanted to do a bit of skate park bashing with it, so that was good fun :) After the early morning there, Una and I headed down to the beach for a relax, swim and paddleboard before picking school pickup and heading out to the Marina for dinner that evening.

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The next day on the Saturday, myself, Ben and Lee had organised a bike ride over to Goring-By-Sea, stopping in at Sea Lane Cafe for coffee and pastry before heading back to Southwick. Round trip and brunch took a bit over three hours, which was good to be on the bike doing a smallish group ride. That afternoon, Una, myself and the kids headed down to Southwick Beach where we landed up bumping into a few others and then that evening stopped in at The New Port Arms for a few evening drinks there along with the live music. At least Sunday was a lazy day at home with a lunch time braai :)

The past few days have been Glasto Weekend, so Una has done a fantastic job of getting the house festival ready. With the projector set up for the Friday night headliners, the kids had a fantastic time 'staying up late' and enjoying the entertainment. On Saturday morning, Una and Ellen headed into Brighton for William's party while Ian and myself took a bike ride down to the beach, lunch at the New Port Arms and then all home in the afternoon for Saturday's headliners. Ben, Alice and William came round that evening too.

With Friday and Saturday nights being rather late ones, yesterday was a bit more subdued with a beach visit in the afternoon and Glasto in the background on the projector, but I think we were all rather knackered after the previous few days :)

Yesterday we had a rather busy and active day out at the Balloons & Tunes Festival at Fontwell Park Racecourse near Arundel. The festival was based around some live tribute music acts, family entertainment and then hot air balloons in the evening. Unfortunately the weather wasn't ideal for the balloons, with the wind a bit too strong for them to launch, but the rest of the day was good fun.

The kids thoroughly enjoyed the music, the food, the entertainment and the wrestling, which was a hit with Ian. They also got to enjoy some of the carnival rides as well as see Lilo and Stitch characters, plus two of the Transformers.

With today being Father's Day here, the plan was for a garden picnic at home, but Ian hasn't been feeling well today so we've just had a pretty easy, chilled out day at home which has been great after a full-on day yesterday and home rather late!

Last week ended up being quite busy here, because no sooner had the Irish girls left, we had Tommy and Patricia at ours for a few days, from Tuesday to Thursday. We managed a good catch up with them, while on the Thursday I headed into London for work and had a few afterwards at the King's Stores, before grabbing a curry at Preem in Brick Lane with Tim who had stopped by earlier to catch up with everyone again.

Then on Saturday afternoon, after Ellen's PQA lesson, we all headed over to Splashpoint in Worthing for a late afternoon swim session. Ian had said he wanted to go to Splashpoint for his birthday but decided since it might be too rushed on the Sunday, we went through the Saturday afternoon while the weather was rainy and dull. After our session there, we made our way back to Longshore in Lancing and stopped in there for dinner.

Yesterday was Ian's actual birthday, so we started the day off with great excitement with his new gifts and then after lunch we got the train into Brighton, stopping first at Sprinkles for an ice-cream then down to Brighton Palace Pier to the softplay and arcades.

After a while in the arcade and along the pier, we walked over to Pizza Pilgrims for dinner (and some football downstairs) and then got the train back, getting home rather late but we think he thoroughly enjoyed his birthday day out :)

This past weekend was rather busy with family and friends visiting. We had Greg, Kim and the boys over at ours on Friday which was nice and sunny, so had a good afternoon outside with them while the kids had a great time catching up. After lunch (and a kids picnic) at home, we decided to head down to Hove Lawns and promenade for a walk along there before they had to head away back home.

On Saturday, Una had the Irish girls Margaret, Lorraine and Gillian over for a visit. So she headed into Brighton in the morning to meet up with them and after Ellen was finished with PQA, myself, Ian and her headed out to Lancing where she had Elodie's party. Since it was a drop and go, myself and Ian popped over to the TeamSport Go Karting track for a little watch of the karting and then over to Brooklands for a little while there in the park. That evening we were all back home at ours for dinner and drinks.

Yesterday morning we all had breakfast outside at ours before the three of them headed into Brighton for some sightseeing and shopping. The rest of the day was rather chilled and was mostly an outdoors garden day making good use of the nice weather. Then last night Una headed into Brighton for dinner with them, where they had a hotel for the night and flew back out to Ireland this morning.

Over the past week we've all been in Ireland, after having flown out Thursday night and heading back rather early tomorrow morning. We had the late flight out, so only got down west just after midnight, but at least we were there on the Friday rather than staying by the airport and travelling down the next morning.

On Friday we headed out to Rineen Woods in the morning for a run walk around there, searching for the fairy doors which the kids obviously loved! That afternoon we drove over to Drombeg Stone Circle which I'd never been to before, so good to see that. Afterwards we took a slow drive through Glandore before grabbing some 99s in Leap and back home.

On the Saturday the weather wasn't great, but managed a drive around the coast, some 99s from town and then over to Lough Hyne in the afternoon. Sunday was similar weather, but got out in the morning to Castlefreke with a lovely walk up to Lady Carbery's High Cross. Afterwards we stopped in at The Celtic Ross Hotel for a quick look, then grabbed a bite to eat at Ger's Atlantic Way. Since we were right there, we had a quick look at the Leap Waterfall before heading back home, where later we had Pat and Celia from the US over for tea and a chat with The Boss.

Yesterday's weather was dreadful, with heavy rain and wind for the day. However we did manage to get out a bit, with a visit up to St. Barrahane's Church in Castletownshend, followed by a quick shop in Skibb, a visit from Teresa in the afternoon and then a drive down to Baltimore in the evening. Today's weather was similar, with more wind and rain, so we spent a good bit around the house, but got out this evening up to Lui's place to visit them there and then over to Declan's as well, followed by dinner at JCs in town.

It's been a busy few days, but a good visit over and the kids have loved it which was good. Got an early start tomorrow morning up to the airport and hopefully back home around lunch time tomorrow :)

This month has been quite busy with activities as well as a lot of outdoors time, especially with the milder weather and very little rain which has been great (especially for May). Starting off on the 1st, I eventually got around to sorting the garden and getting Larry back up and running again.

On the 2nd was our 10 year wedding anniversary, so after dropping the kids at school, Una and I stopped in at The Flour Pot bakery for coffee and cake before getting the train into Brighton. After a casual walk around the streets, we had an early lunch booked at Ten Green Bottles which did a selection of snacks, small plates, cheese and charcuterie, as well as a really nice red wine. After lunch there, we grabbed a beer in the sun at The Waggon and Horses before heading back to Southwick to fetch the kids. That evening we popped over to the funfair on Southwick Green for a couple of hours and then back home.

The first weekend was our early May bank holiday weekend, so on the Saturday I headed out early on my bike to the Marina and back, then had a family day out on the Sunday at Sheffield Park and Gardens and over to Laura and Dennis on the Monday afternoon.

The next weekend was Una's birthday on the Friday, when we had sushi and steak for lunch and dinner, respectively, not both for both meals unfortunately :) On the Saturday we stopped in at Southwick Square for the VE Day celebrations there. Then Sunday I headed out for a cycle in the morning and all over to Lottie's party at their house in the afternoon.

After a trip down to the beach last Tuesday, the weekend was fairly busy with the Circus at Eastbrook school on the Friday evening, with Saturday busy with house and garden jobs while Una took Ellen and Ian to the Bowls Club Kids Disco. That evening we had Lorena and Lena back at ours with hot stone raclette for dinner. Sunday was Jacob's party which I took Ian to, over at Quayside Youth Centre.

So far it's been a really sunny and dry month, but tomorrow we're off to Ireland for a few days so let's see if that dry weather can continue :)

April started off really nice and warm and sunny which was great. On the first Friday, it was the last day of school for the kids, with them off for their Easter break for just over 2 weeks. That evening we had a braai at home and I kicked off a new batch of biltong making again. On the Saturday we had an outdoors day at home in the garden, getting it Spring ready hopefully. Then on Sunday, Ellen was off to Lena's birthday party, so myself, Una and Ian headed down to the Beach Huts for the afternoon. That evening we got around to making our pottery creations, which needless to say, reaffirmed that I won't be going into professional pottery making anytime soon :)

The weather over the first week was great, which was perfect with the kids on holidays, so plenty of time in the garden. After that week, on Saturday 12th, we had tickets to Ardingly Springfest, which was a family festival at the South of England Showground, featuring monster trucks, fairground rides, entertainment as well as live music. It was a rather busy, full-on day there, but we really enjoyed the festival and kids had a blast too! The Sunday was very much a home and chilled out day.

Over the Easter weekend, we didn't have any set plans - but between Southwick Beach visits, the Easter Egg hunt in the Square, visit to The Pirate Park, swimming at Splashpoint, a morning cycle into Hove, afternoon visit to Mackie Park Playground with the adjacent woods and an evening beach braai in rather windy weather... we kept ourselves busy :)

Last week Wednesday the kids headed back to school after their two and a half weeks off, and with the slightly milder weather now here, I decided to (eventually) take down the back garden mesh fencing we had up for the grass, so good to have the garden open up again!

On Saturday we all headed out to Brighton Marina since Ellen had Lila's birthday party there while myself, Una and Ian went for breakfast at The West Quay Wetherspoons. After the party we took a drive over to Centenary Park in Peacehaven for a few hours and then back home by early evening. On Sunday Ellen had Sophia's party in Shark Park, so after picking her up there we drove over to Three Cornered Copse woods for a stroll through there.

The past couple of days have been nice and mild, so quite a bit of time in the garden when we can, so all looking forward to a warm month of May...

At the start of the month Una was away in Ireland for a few days, so on Saturday 1st after dropping Ellen at PQA, myself and Ian kept busy with a few house jobs that needed to get done. After picking up Ellen from PQA, we headed down to Pirate Park for a few hours and then over to The Cricketers for lunch. However, what I hadn't planned for was them being out of kids burgers, so to try to calm the situation we headed home to get the car and head out to McDonald's :)

On the Sunday we decided to book the early session at Jumpin Fun in Burgess Hill which they thoroughly enjoyed. Ellen had been there before for a birthday party but it was Ian's first time and had an absolute ball! After getting home for a quick snack, we jumped on the Cargo Bike and headed down to the Beach Huts to meet Pete, the kids and a few others down there.

The first week of the month was super sunny around here which was nice, getting a taste of Spring even though I know it's a bit optimistic to think that just yet :) That next weekend was still fairly mild, so on the Saturday I had a few outdoor jobs I wanted to get done and had Ian as my little helper. Then on the Sunday we made our way out to Petworth House and Park for the afternoon which was good.

On the 13th was Ellen's birthday so after the afternoon at home with presents and cake, we drove over to Hove that evening for dinner at Marrocco's which is always a favourite of ours.

Then on the Saturday, with the weather still nice and sunny, I managed to get out for a nice early morning cycle into Hove and back. And then once Ellen was in PQA, myself and Ian decided to get the bikes out and go for a bit of an adventure around the place, ending up at Shark Park for a while. That afternoon we had the final weekend of the Six Nations games, so once back from our adventure we settled down in front of the TV for those games.

Sunday the 16th was Ellen's birthday party at home which was Monster High themed. That morning I took them both out to Shark Park for a play and run around there while Una managed to finish setting up the house which looked fantastic. Then after lunch her buddies all started to arrive and all had a great time between the disco, snacks, sweets and cake!

Last weekend was rather busy with kids' birthday parties. On Saturday was Viola's party at LaserZone in Brighton, so after picking her up from PQA we headed into town, dropped her off there and then Una, Ian and myself headed into Churchill Square Shopping Centre for a wander around there before grabbing lunch at Ed's Easy Diner. After the party Ellen headed back to their house so the three of us took a drive along Madeira Drive before heading home. On Sunday, after a rainy morning at home, Ellen had Jasper's football party at Portslade Sports Centre in the afternoon, and then just a chilled out evening at home.

This past Thursday I had my work social function which was at Hijingo in the evening, followed by a few beers at the Crown & Shuttle in Shoreditch. Then Friday kicked off a couple of weeks of warm sunny weather according to the forecast. The past couple of days have been really nice, so long may that last!

On Saturday, after Ellen's PQA, we headed out to Walton to meet up with Greg, Kim and the boys for the afternoon which was good to see them again. Then yesterday was Mother's Day here, so after a visit to Brooklands Park in the morning, we had the afternoon at home. I had decided to take today off work, so once the kids were at school, Una and I headed over to Hove in the morning for a walk along the promenade and then stopped in at B&Q to get ourselves a set of garden recliners, followed by a braai for dinner this evening.

With the current sunny and warm weather, those recliners should get some good use and we're all looking forward to some outdoors time as we head into April.