I used to envy my friend....

who worked as a photographer at Fort Lauderdale, Florida. But, that was before I had kids and realised that Skull Fort is where the real fun is at:

We found this tree house whilst on holiday - the kids loved it.

Whilst this post is simple it is actually quite pivotal in the life of this blog. I had decided, whilst on holiday, to put the donkey to sleep. It appeared that my recent posts had been misinterpreted and were hurting people, I was afraid that the blog was making me live in the past rather than the moment and it was making me focus on the negative rather than the positive. I felt like I needed a change of scene, somewhere else to hide and a new direction. However, soon after deciding to silence the donkey, I had a desire to do a follow up post on my daughter's dyslexia, to commit my thoughts of the moment to print and to record my memories before they were forgotten. Therefore, the blog is staying!

The holiday was great for me, it allowed me to relax, spend time loving my children and put things in perspective!

I hope that you had an equally enjoyable Easter!

If you go down to the woods today

I've always loved the English countryside in the Springtime:

The flowers are the most delicate and gentle:

Some, like this bluebell, are stunningly beautiful:

And some, like this wild garlic, fill the air with their perfume:

A great time of year!

Goodbye Ganesh Vijay - RIP

Sunday 9th April the kids and I went to Twycross Zoo where we had a great time. The weather was wonderful, in fact it was so wonderful that I burnt the top of my head, and the animals were magnificant.

The kids and I loved every minute of our visit.

We particularly enjoyed watching little Ganesh Vijay, an 18 month old Asian elephant, playing with his family.

I was gutted, therefore, when I read today that Ganesh had died in the week from a heart condition. I now have to ponder whether I should tell the kids that their new found friend has passed away.

RIP Ganesh Vijay - you will be fondly remembered and sadly missed.

Teachers come in all shapes and sizes.....

and some even speak with scouse accents. I love revisiting my music collection and, when I need words of wisdom, I always feel that you can't go far wrong with a little bit of John Lennon:

"People say I'm crazy doing what I'm doing,
Well they give me all kinds of warnings to save me from ruin,
When I say that I'm o.k. they look at me kind of strange,
Surely your not happy now you no longer play the game,

People say I'm lazy dreaming my life away,
Well they give me all kinds of advice designed to enlighten me,
When I tell that I'm doing Fine watching shadows on the wall,
Don't you miss the big time boy you're no longer on the ball?

I'm just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round,
I really love to watch them roll,
No longer riding on the merry-go-round,
I just had to let it go."

It sounds to me like John had just about sorted life out and reached a stage of contentment when he wrote this. That is a stage that I hope to approach soon!

The Changing Man.

I've always loved music, it has been a close companion to me during the good times and the bad. Different songs have called to me at different phases of my life. I'm currently spending a lot of time listening to The Changing Man by Paul Weller. I guess it is because it sums up my current thoughts:

"And the more I see - the more I know
The more I know - the less I understand.

I'm the changingman - built on shifting sands."

Love it!

Clocks (Part One)

Whenever I need a lift, I can guarantee that one of my off-spring will be there to give me a boost and put a smile on my face. Last night my daughter made me the proudest father of any little girl, that had ever played a dancing clock, in the school production of Cinderella.

Thank you E - I love you!

Confusion Surrounds

Edited

A huge Mother's Day thank you!

I sometimes feel like this blog provides me with the collective wisdom of a hundred fabulous mums (all of which are very yummy and gorgeous!). In fact without the sharp and perceptive words of my readers I would have struggled far more then I have coming to terms with the break up from J.

I would, therefore, like to wish you all a fantastic Mother's Day!

Of, course it would be remiss of me to not thank all my other readers so, thank you all!

Moving on!

Edited