This was from our first ever ploughing match. Not being farming sorts of people, this was all a very strange world for us, but we went with friends, and there were machines involved, so the boys had a fun time.
Our enjoyment of the affair was increased when lunch came around and we retired to the barn for a feast. Joy!
And, in case you needed yet more Ploughing Match action, here is a video of the action:
It was a lovely place to spend a few hours wrapped up warm as the boys played in the sand, made a stone bridge across the stream, and made an island in the river too:
As some of these pictures show, we had a proper camera with us on the trip, which allowed us to take some more lovely pictures:
As you will see in that last picture, Finn has lost another of his bottom front teeth, and the tooth in his first gap is growing in already. Exciting times!
The next weekend we went to the Manx Whale & Dolphin Watch show in Douglas. The weather was lovely and it sounded like a lovely day out, which it certainly began as...
However, it appeared that seemingly every other parent in the Isle of Man had the same idea. It was rammed. It was nice to see seemingly ever one of Finn's school mates there, but neither the boys nor we were very interested in the whole aquatic life thing and the mobs of people made us all rather restless to get out once we'd done a round, taken the obligatory pictures, and run the gauntlet of trying to get out without meeting anyone we knew to chat to...
But once outside the weather changed into snow and piercing wind. Finn was excited by it, some brave father ignored it to fly his kite on the beach, but Orry (and we adults) were not impressed!
February, of course, saw Pancake Day, and the mighty races at Maughold Village. Cori had a doctor's appointment. Unluckily for her, just as the morning sickness started to lessen, she got the flu. After a week of being really horribly ill, the flu went away but settled into bronchitis - which after a few weeks of constant coughing then managed to turn into pleurisy (diagnosed when the pain was so intense one evening, Cori decided A&E was the only option because clearly she was dying...) Anyway, because of this, I was happily left with the boys on the day of the Races, so it was that we went and had great fun with Granny & the cousins:
As the pictures might show, Orry and Finn competed this year, excellently. And also as the pictures will show, Finn had a great time. He even made a 'New Best Friend' as he does, and we lost him for the rest of the event, as he ran about the church hall, inside and out having fun (just like my own 6-year-old years!)
I too competed, winning my race but rather embarrassingly: the local head teacher was winning, and the crowd cheering him and shouting his name, but then he dropped his pancake at the finish and I was left to go over the line first, in complete silence. I felt rather embarrassed by this, and I don't think that I was forgiven by anyone! However, we all enjoyed the pancakes that followed, especially Finn, who got into the newspapers with a picture of him enjoying one.
A great day out in Maughold!
Another great day out was our first ever trip to the legendary tholtan(s) at Killabregga. It was easy to see why it's so legendary:
The climb up there was quite something though, so we were sure that Granny was there to distract Finn from his apparent hatred of any sort of walking on a hill or any sort:
We had a lovely time, and it was even the perfect place to pose for a picture or two, to make the pregnancy Facebook Official, at last!
That probably gets us half way through the month, so we'll leave the rest over for another post...
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