Alternative Christmas

We don't follow convention for anything in our house, and Christmas is no exception. For a few years now we've had an alternative Christmas, on the 28th December. People often seem confused by this, but personally I get more confused by separated parents who split Christmas day.

As usual this year the Christmas season really started for us on Boxing day. With a party at my Aunty Karen's house, with most of my family there. My family are NUTS, but I love spending time with them like this, all of us together. I brought my camera, but struggled with low light and people weren't keen on the flash. (This has just made me realise I need a faster lens - perhaps a nice Canon 50mm - our anniversary is coming up *hint, hint, Gary*). I did manage to get a couple of quick shots though -

This little is the youngest of the family, and he has the most adorable chuckle! He of all people was most unimpressed with my flash. (you can see the pictures I took of him as a sweet newborn just a few months ago  here)

And then on the 28th Santa brought presents, LOTS of presents! This is what our tree looked like when we came down in the morning:

Of course, as he always does, Santa did a little something extra for us. He decorated the living room walls and left us a fishing game.

I got some really lovely presents, which obviously affirms that I am a VERY GOOD GIRL ;)

 My favourite is this Sheep cushion, hand-made by my wonderful son. The bubble says "<3 ewe"! :D

I know I can't be the only girl of my generation that loved (and still loves) Flower Fairies. Gary got me this Tulip fairy, combining my favourite flower with my love of Flower fairies. He's pretty good when it comes to gifts.

As usual we broke convention again for Dinner and had Duck with Raspberry sauce. I got a couple of quick shots of the dinner table before it got messy with crackers and paper hats and blobs of sauce! ;)

 I hope you all enjoyed normal Christmas as much as we enjoyed our alternative one!

C
xxx

TIGERS!!!!!

On Tuesday we all went to South Lakes Wild Animal Park. I'm going to let Cassius tell you all about his experience as a Junior Keeper, in a blog post to follow at the weekend. For me, though this visit was all about photographing the Tigers.

Last time Cassius and I visited, I didn't have my camera, or the skills I have now. So this time I was adamant I was going to get some photos of the beautiful Amur Tigers that they have.

I got a little giddy editing these, so forgive me for how many there are. ;)

This is Nina. She was sleepy but restless, and provided me with a variety of poses, for which I am incredibly grateful! ;)

This next shot is just adorable! She looks so cuddly....

So, the park have this novel way of feeding their big cats. They put pieces of meat at the top of 20 foot poles. This helps keep the animals in shape and also provides enrichment. I set up early and thanks to Nina  (who did NOT want to go inside so the keepers could feed her) had to wait 45 minutes for these shots, but I think it was worth it....

This reminded me Tigers are NOT cuddly. They come flying out into the enclosure, and are up those poles in two leaps! The whole thing is over in seconds.

If any of you are considering a trip to the zoo this summer, I cannot recommend South Lakes enough. The park is nice, the animals are healthy, and there is lots of opportunity to get up close with them. And the prices are reasonable. Also, they have such great links with conservation projects! Just go check it out!

C
xxxx

The beautiful North-West

I grew up here, so I sometimes take for granted how accessible beautiful countryside is. My grandparents house (where I spent my childhood weekends) is literally on the edge of the West Pennine moors. In the summer, I used to walk with my Grandad, usually in the golden hour before sunset. We'd take the dog and wander onto the moors, and watch the sun set. So for me, the countryside, the rolling hills, the greenery it's "normal". I sometimes forget how lucky I am to live here, in the North West of England, were "the countryside" is literally minutes away.

However, every now and then, I remember.....usually when we drive for 5 minutes and I'm confronted with views like this:

Happy Tuesday!

C
xx

Adventure weekend

Well, we've been busy this weekend. It started on Friday when I got home from work and demanded that we go for a walk in the sunshine. I mean look how beautiful Entwhistle is.....

Then on Saturday we went fishing. The original plan was that I was going to read for my PhD, but I picked up the wrong pile of articles and ended up just lazing in the sunshine instead. It was such a hardship!

Apparently fish enjoy sunbathing too, because they were all swimming close to the surface. Which meant it was a tough day for the boys, Cassius caught the only fish of the day..

This morning we loaded up the car and headed to Fell foot park, on Windemere. It was gorgeous again, and we decided to take a boat out on the water. I took the risky decision to bring my camera, so glad I did.....

Gary being all manly.

And Spider-Cas!!! ;)

And one last picture, because it shows how handsome my son is...

Hope everyone had as good a weekend as we did!

C

xxxx

A New Addition

Today we had a party at my Gran's house for Cassius's birthday. It was also the first time I had met the newest addition to the family - baby Frankie.......so obviously we took our cameras.

Meet Frankie

He was so good whilst his Auntie Claire mauled with him taking his picture.

And of course I couldn't resist a picture of those teeny tiny baby feet.

We had a fun day, Cassius enjoyed his party. And I enjoyed my first newborn shoot. ;-)

C

xxx

Spring!!

Gary and I had a lovely day out today in the sunshine, and I just had to share these few shots. Spring is most certainly here!! 

Happy weekend!

C

xx