As a prefix to this month's write up, the entire post for this month has been generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and not myself. I decided to save some time and use AI to write it for me, by giving it some very basic bullet points of what we did and let it write a full summary for me. So it will read quite differently to my other posts, but gives a decent summary of what we did this month. The only bit I did myself was add some photos in between the generated text :)

So courtesy of AI, here goes this month's update...

As we bid farewell to June, I can't help but reflect on the wonderful memories we've made this month. From lazy days at the beach to exciting family adventures, June has been a month filled with joy, relaxation, and quality time with loved ones.

We kicked off the month with a perfect balance of home and beach time. On the first Saturday, we spent a peaceful day tending to our home garden while Ellen enjoyed time with Lena. In the evening, we picked her up and took a brief trip to the beach, savouring the start of summer.

Sunday was all about soaking up the sun. We headed down to the beach in front of Carats Cafe for lunch and spent the afternoon enjoying the sand and sea. It was the perfect way to round off the weekend and set the tone for the month ahead.

The following Friday, I got my hands dirty laying new soil and turf in the garden. It was hard work, but the results were worth it - our garden is now looking lush and inviting.

Saturday was a special day as we celebrated Ian's birthday. His face lit up when he saw his new Spiderman bike! We spent the day at home, letting him enjoy his new wheels. In the evening, we treated ourselves to a delicious dinner at Marrocco's in Hove, followed by a refreshing run on the beach.

Sunday was another perfect family day. We spent the morning at home, then headed to the park in the afternoon so Ian could show off his bike skills. We rounded off the day with a tasty braai for dinner.

The following Thursday marked the start of a few days off work for me, as Una headed to Ireland. I spent quality time with the kids, visiting the Garden Centre, treating them to McDonald's, and enjoying our newly refreshed garden.

On the 20th, I attended my work summer party at Shoreditch Gardens. It was a great opportunity to unwind with colleagues. Afterwards, we all headed down to Brick Lane and caught the England game at Juju's pub before heading home.

Friday was a day of pampering for Una, who enjoyed a massage treatment day in Worthing. I picked up the kids from school and we attended the summer fayre at Eastbrook School, embracing the festive summer atmosphere.

The weekend was busy but fun. Ellen had her PQA session on Saturday morning, while I picked up some quality meat from Westdene butchers. In the afternoon, we attended the MS Centre summer fair. Sunday was my belated Father's Day celebration, spent at home with a delicious braai featuring a mouth-watering bone-in ribeye steak.

As the month drew to a close, we squeezed in a lovely beach braai on Wednesday evening, enjoying good food with the sound of waves in the background.

The final weekend of June was particularly special as we took a trip to Oxford to meet up with Seamus and Kirsty and kids. On Saturday, we visited the Victoria Arms for the afternoon before checking into our hotel. I took a solo excursion to Tap Social in the evening to meet Paul, Carol, Phil, Dan and Marty. Sunday morning started with a refreshing swim at the hotel, followed by a visit to the Up in Arms pub for lunch. We made it home just in time to catch the England game in the Euros.

June has been a month of balance - home improvements and relaxation, family time and solo adventures, local outings and weekend getaways. As we move into July, I'm grateful for these moments and looking forward to what the rest of the summer has in store for us.