Been a few months...

Bleddy hell, where has the time gone?

Well on our way through 2020 and unless you've been living under a rock or been sailing the oceans (yep, that's happened), you should know that 2020 is being a right ol' shitter.

Things are ok with us at the moment. L is 35 weeks pregnant and the Weedude is starting to get a little isolation crazed but we're all healthy.
I think I'd be underestimating the level of crazy in the world at the moment and then impact on our lives. My mum has been pretty much alone for almost two months now, one of my main Aunties died last week but there will be no 'normal' funeral and the birth of Son number 2 is going to be strange one; at the moment I will be allowed to see the birth but will have to leave not long after that. I'll then next see L and the new arrival once I head back to the hospital to pick them up.

So....just like everyone else, sport has taken quite a back-seat. All triathlons have been cancelled and with gyms all closed for the duration. Add in the fact I can't go surfing and the lakes are all closed, I am feeling a tad 'fat'. I have made myself a 20kg weight bag and have a large concrete post that I can call my home-gym kit but that's only for dry weather. I'm taken up the Fitbit Premium freebee and even though classes aren't my thing, I've actually appreciated some short video sessions to keep me moving. Not forgetting the old balance board for a bit of an in front of the TV wobble.

Apart from general life stuff happening, there's not a lot to be said. All the scary or fun stuff is yet to come.

Grandma came to stay over Xmas

Winter tunnel playing

Wet feet....who cares

Same stream, different day

Hiding in the woods

Coffee shop (before they all closed)

Oxford Museum

Pump track

1st time bowling

Night time sneaky holiday

Holiday

Woolly beach

Thinking about...

Look at that view

I made a spaceship

Don't know

Wearing my lid 

Old school licking the whisk

The Weedudes drawing is coming along

Lock down means no bike riding

A bit of a tumble

He's ok

Exploring

Seedlings

Lockdown wandering

I made a mud kitchen

Pirate

Our woods

Pretend festival

Planting seedlings

Life is ....

Winter is settling in and it's not only the seasons that are changing (more of that to hopefully come later). In prep for the cold weather coming in, we had a log delivery and for the first time, there was a brief moment when the Weedude was moderately helpful. Filling his little wheelbarrow with logs and dumping them close to the store......that was quickly replaced however, with him taking a ride in the wagon and being part of the load on each trip.

Life is busy but it's all good. A is growing up far too quickly, he's a beaut of a boy but bleddy hell, he's tiring. I guess it's the same for all parents but how I miss proper lie-ins. L and me take it in turns at the weekend to get an extra hour in bed but it's not really the same.

He loves swimming but not being in the lake (yet). He loves the beach and ocean but the waves are a bit much for him at the moment. Risking taking, bouncing, leaping and mountain biking (or, rather him on his Strider bike or in the trailer behind me) are all things he loves.

Only pre-school but he has a flipping school uniform (at 3yrs old)

New piece of kit - Marin San Quentin 3

He did attempt the learner board

His first flight

Lollies for the ear drums

Hanging in the square (Brno)

Even though life has been and continues to be very hectic, we have managed to get back to the coast a few times (and should catch up with friends in a couple of weeks) and I've still been hitting the lake for some wakeboard sessions - not as many as I'd like. Todays session was the first one in a winter wettie but as I thought I'd packed my spring suit, it was proper cosy dropping in the water with a 5:3 on.

In other geeky news, I've just ordered my first Apply Mac laptop this weekend. Lets see if I can cope with the switch from Windows to Apple.....how hard can it be?

Growing up & getting older....

Life is good but it's definitely having its ups and downs this year. Mentally, things are good but my body is taking a bloody good beating. Sport, motorbike crashes and possibly age are taking their toll.

Outside of our little family unit, it was a very sad day when Jojo (possibly Ls closest friend) lost her battle with cancer. We all know cancer can be a right ol' fucker. My mum, dad and now little sis have all had it or still have it and are taking the fight to the c*nt but you losing Jojo the other month was a proper kick in the metaphorical nuts for L. 

As friends we don't see enough of one another. Growing up gets in the way and we just don't have the time to make those important physical contacts. Then, when you lose someone (as I still feel about my dad), you feel guilty for not spending enough time with them and only then realising you had so many more questions for them.

Jojo and L taking their foamies down to the surf.....neither of them were any good but they had a blast trying, only eventually to leave them on the sand and just splash about like kids.

In Between injuries, I have actually made some progress with my wakeboarding. A ripped rotator-cuff and then a motorbike crash have taken their toll.

Can't even pop to the shops now, without the Weedude wanting to 'help'.

Playgroup (or whatever it's called) is now a thing and the boy loves it.

One Easter Egg hunt and he was addicted. Every time friends came around, we had to recycle and hide the same eggs - at least it reduced the amount of chocolate he consumed. 

Bumble-bee is no more. Took a spill and killed off the poor machine. With grown-up things getting in the way, I think it'll be a few years until I'm allowed to buy a replacement.

Visiting a Didcot Steam Day was very exciting by all accounts.

Pizza time.

He always needs friends (dinosaurs on this occasion) to share his bathtime.

Getting a new mountain bike and so was checking my kit. I forgot how hard I have hit the ground on occasions.

Syncing-up for the Blenheim Tri.

Kiddies weren't technically allowed in the transition area but the Weedude was oddly allowed in on my shoulders. He gave my bike a quick once-over.

My my best time (slowest for a while) but considering I'd written-off my motorbike a week earlier, I'm ok with it.

It's all about the adventure with the boy at the moment. Either on his own, with Ted (the dog) or with friends.

After a tiring day, a snuggle and a read on my Voit blanket.

She might be old and a tad tatty but already she's been a great little alternative to camping. Unfolding and setting her up takes a couple of minutes - even in the midst of a storm. The Weedude loves 'Kitty' as if she was a member of the family. Explaining to him that it's not his own play-house is sometimes a problem.