Bubbleworks

Bubbleworks, a photo by Lukasmummy on Flickr.

Credits: Layered template (Chopped Paper, Template 3) by Elizabeth Albers (Scrapping With Liz) and Lil Mermaid, Cocoa and Candy Canes Glitters and Rainbow Daydream Glitters all by Jen C Designs. Font is Courier New.
Journalling reads: I have lost count of how many times we have ridden on Lukas’s favourite ride at Chessington, rain or shine the first thing he always asks to do is ride on Bubbleworks.

Sealife Centre

Sealife Centre, a photo by Lukasmummy on Flickr.

Credits: Layered template (Snapshot, Template 2) and Lil Mermaid both by Jen C Designs. Font is The Wolff by Heather Hess.
Journalling reads: After our trip to the London Aquarium we were really excited to hear that they were opening a Sealife Centre at Chessington World Of Adventures. We were already Chessington Annual Pass holders because we loved visiting it so much, so to us it was an amazing combination of our two favourite places to visit. When we first visited it was quite crowded but since we knew we could come back whenever we wanted that didn’t really matter. We loved that you had the opportunity to have a family photo taken on entry. It’s impossible for us to take a photo with all of us in it. I now have a fairly large collection of fun family photos, I suppose it helps that we got a 20% Annual Pass discount on them. The experience of the Sealife Centre was completely different to the Aquarium, you feel much closer to everything and you can see everything better. The only downside we have found is because it is so mucb smaller than the Aquarium you have to leave the pushchair outside, which can make it interesting if Logan doesn’t feel like being cooperative or we didn’t remember to bring the reins with us. I often take the boys in to visit the Aquarium while Mark is off queuing for one of the rollercoasters he loves to go on. One of the cool things is the activity trail for the kids to complete as they walk around. It’s made up of a selection of stations with questions and an activity on them relating to the information on each tank and fun facts dotted around. Some of the stations have flaps to lift,, wheels to turn or buttons to press. Both of the boys really enjoy doing this, even though they have done it so many times now they don’t even need to check the answers anymore. No visit is complete for them without a visit to the Sealife shop!

London Aquarium

London Aquarium, a photo by Lukasmummy on Flickr.

Credits: Layered template (Fun Circles Template rotated 180 degrees) by Elizabeth Albers (Scrapping With Liz) and Lil Mermaid by Jen C Designs. Font is The Wolff by Heather Hess.
Journalling reads: The first time we visited the London Aquarium was one of those happy accidents. We had gone to London for the day and for some reason I can’t remember we ended up at the South Bank and visiting the Aquarium seemed like a good idea and it ended up being tbe highlight of our trip. It was so beautiful and peaceful in there, we couldn’t wait to go back and this ended up being the first of many enjoyable visits once we bought our Merlin Annual Passes.

Sunglasses

Sunglasses, a photo by Lukasmummy on Flickr.

Credits: Layered template (May 16-31st 2012 Template Challenge) by Ryan Casleton (Roseytoes Designs) and Divalicious and Timeless both by Jen C Designs.

Fluffy Geese

Fluffy Geese, a photo by Lukasmummy on Flickr.

Credits: Layered template (Spring Templates, Template 1) by Elizabeth Albers (Scrapping With Liz) and Breath Of Fresh Air by Jen C Designs. Font is Georgia.
Journalling reads: We decided it would be a nice treat to take the kids to Hinksey Park. The plan was swimming in the outdoor pool and enjoying a snack at the cafe, before feeding the ducks, geese and swans and then spending the afternoon playing in the park. Nothing really went to plan, and by the time we got to the park nobody was in a very good mood. Everyone cheered up a bit after swimming but Lukas kept being a pain and tormenting Logan. After an hour we said it was time to get out, Leia and Logan were starting to get cold, this set off a tantrum because Lukas didn’t get his own way about going and playing in the sprinklers. Then we had an incident with Lukas touching stuff he had been told not to, outside the cafe and getting us all told off by the manager, even though we apologised for Lukas’s behaviour, we were feeling too embarrassed to queue up and buy food. As we headed over towards the pond we were all hungry and feeling miserable. Usually everyone feeding the birds and we had saved up a whole carrier bag full of bread, so we could feed them for longer. As we started to get out the bread, we spotted these teeny tiny baby geese. They were so cute and fluffy that we forgot all about how grumpy we had been feeling. These ones were obviously a bit more mature as they looked just like the adult geese only smaller and fluffier, but there were some smaller one that looked like balls of fluff on legs. It was adorable watching them trying to eat chunks of bread that were bigger than they were although they seemed to prefer eating the crumpets. We didn’t get manage to get many photos though as the adults kept hissing at us when we got close.

Finger Lickin Good

Finger Lickin Good, a photo by Lukasmummy on Flickr.

Credits: Layered template (Long Photo Template) by Elizabeth Albers (Scrapping With Liz) and Count Your Blessings (slightly recoloured) by Jen C Designs. Font is DJB Heart Of Dixi by Darcy Baldwin.
Journalling reads: I saw this dress for you when I was pregnant and fell in love. I had to buy it because it was so unusual. Then it kind of got misplaced and forgotten about. When I came across it by accident I was disappointed that you were almost too big for it, but it was still acceptable worn as a top with your skinny jeans. When I started taking these photographs I was just hoping for one decent one of you looking cute in the dress. But as I was clicking away over and over again I realized that I was capturing so much more than that. The boys always liked to suck on stuff like their clothes, tags. blankets etc, but they never really had that much interest in their hands or thumbs. You on the other hand can never seem to get enough fingers in your mouth to make you happy. I love how these photos show all of your cute expressions and your playful personality. I even managed to get a few of you sucking your fingers and picking your nose at the same time, way to multi task baby! 30/03/12

Me & My Dolly

Me & My Dolly, a photo by Lukasmummy on Flickr.

Credits: Layered template (Lots Of Layers 2, Template 3) and Strawberry Fields both by Jen C Designs. Font is The Deck by Heather Hess.
Journalling reads: I came across this adorable little rag dolly while shopping on the Build-A-Bear website. You are now 7 months old and you have just started to show some interest in playing with toys. So I thought it was about time that I got her out for you to play with. I sat you in the pushchair and put the dolly in your lap and then waited to see what you would do with her. At first you just held her in your arms and stared at her. Then you started turning her around and around. Next you tipped her upside down before deciding that all you really wanted to do was pull her hair and try and rip her clothes off. 19th May.

Going Down

Going Down, a photo by Lukasmummy on Flickr.

Credits: Layered template (Snapshot, Template 1, slightly altered) and Rainbow Daydream both by Jen C Designs. Font is Caviar Dreams.
Journalling reads: I came across these old photos of you on the SD card from Daddy’s old phone. I vaguely remember Daddy taking you to the local indoor play area once without me. I know that I wasn’t with you on this trip, because I would have been far too busy telling you off, for doing something as insane as throwing yourself headfirst down the giant slide to stop and take any photographs of you doing it. This is really dangerous Lukas, you could have really hurt yourself or someone else! 5th October 2008.

Pink Boots

Pink Boots, a photo by Lukasmummy on Flickr.

Credits: Layered template (Large and In Charge Volume 2, Template 2) by Tracy Anderson (Trixie Scraps) and Corduroy Girl Elements, Corduroy Girl Papers and Corduroy Girl Polka Dot Papers. Font is The Basic by Heather Hess.
Journalling reads: When you were born, Auntie Lisa bought you these tiny little pink fur lined boots. You were 4 months old, before your feet were big enough to fit in them. I found you this pair of cute skinny jeans to wear at the same time for some photos. I thought they would make a nice thank you gift for Auntie Lisa. Unfortunately you got really sick a few days before I took the photo. So you looked really miserable and full of cold. Poor baby girl.

Ballpit

Ballpit, a photo by Lukasmummy on Flickr.

Credits: Layered template (6th May 2012 Sunday Brunch) by Colie's Corner and Rainbow Daydream by Jen C Designs.

Building With Ella

Building With Ella, a photo by Lukasmummy on Flickr.

Credits: Layered template (May 2012 Template Challenge) by Crystal Sweeney (Inspired Designs by Crystal) and Rainbow Daydreams (slightly recoloured) and Rainbow Daydreams Addon Alphas both by Jen C Designs. Font is The Thickest by Heather Hess.
Journalling reads: When Ella came around to play she bought her girly set of megablocks. At first you made a fuss about playing with pink blocks, but you soon got so involved in building “the fort” that you forgot all about it. Both of you played really nicely together and had a lovely time. After these photos were taken we added in your set of Monster Megablocks too, so that you could make your fort even bigger.

Sweet Potato & Kiwi Soup

Sweet Potato & Kiwi Soup, a photo by Lukasmummy on Flickr.

Credits: Layered template (Cookin Up 1 4x6, Template 4) by Melanie Colosimo and In the Kitchen by Jewel Goodwin (Mad Genius Designs. Fonts are The Typewriter and The Shady Sailor both by Heather Hess.
Journalling reads: Ingredients: 3 small/medium sweet potatoes, 4-5 garlic cloves, 1 tbsp vegetable bouillon or 1 vegetable stock cube, 1 Kiwi fruit, Salt and pepper, water and frylight.

Method: Peel and roughly chop the sweet potato and garlic. Heat up a pan and spray with frylight. Add garlic and lightly fry for a minute or two, ensuring garlic does not brown. Add the sweet potato, season generously with salt and pepper and stir. Allow to cook in the pan for a few minutes before covering with water Add the vegetable bouillion or stock. Bring to a simmer, cover and allow to cook until sweet potato softens (10-15 minutes). Transfer to a blender, add the peeled and chopped kiwi and blitz until smooth. It should be thick and rich.

Low Syn Cupcakes

Low Syn Cupcakes, a photo by Lukasmummy on Flickr.

Credits: Layered template (Cookin Up 1 4x6, Template 1) by Melanie Colosimo and In The Kitchen by Jewel Goodwin (Mad Genius Designs). Fonts are The Typewriter and The Squash both by Heather Hess.
Journalling reads: Standard size cupcakes - makes 24 - approx 1/2 syn each. Mini size cupcakes - makes 48 - Approx 1/4 syn each. Ingredients: 56g self raising flour or 28g self raising flour and 28g cocoa powder, 9 tablespoons of sweetener,
6 eggs, 2 teaspoons of orange, lemon or vanilla essence.

Method: Gather ingredients. Seperate eggs then whisk up egg whites until stiff. In a seperate bowl whisk egg yolks with essence of choice and sweetener. Add 1/4 of the egg white and beat until mixture is a pale yellow. Add the flour gradually and fold into the mixture. Then add the rest of the egg whites and fold in. Divide mixture equally into a cupcake tin. Bake in oven on 180 degrees or gas mark 4/5 for 10/12 minutes oe until golden and firm to the touch.