living arrows

Living Arrows 2017 – 40/52

by with 2 Comments PersonalPhotography

Last Friday I took Rhys and Nerys to school, then almost immediately hopped on a coach to London.

I had a bit of a whirlwind weekend.  I spent Friday evening with my parents in Kent, chatting over an absolutely delicious lamb tagine.  Then it was relatively early to bed so I could be up early Saturday morning to head into London for BritMums Live.

I was incredibly nervous about going.  It was the first time I’d been to a blogging conference, and I really wasn’t sure what to expect.  I’ve heard some mixed reviews from other people who have been to BML in previous years, and don’t feel that’s it’s as amazing as it used to be.  But I’m still so pleased that I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and went.

The sessions that I went to were, for the most part, really useful and inspiring and I’ve come away full of ideas to move my blog forward.  I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me!

What I really enjoyed about the day though was chatting to other bloggers.  I’m so proud of myself for taking a deep breath and going over to talk to people that I’ve not met in person before.  Everyone was so lovely and friendly, and it was fab to see the real people behind the little profile photos I’m so used to seeing on my phone!

After a long day in London, I then had another long day on the Sunday travelling back to Swansea.

I got home just after 8, and was planning on heading upstairs to give the children a kiss goodnight as soon as I got in.  But it turns out they had been allowed back downstairs after their bath, so they could see me properly when I got home.

So I was greeted by this little one giving me a big smile, and then telling me how much she had missed me while I was away.

living arrows

She had a lovely weekend with Steve, and I don’t think she really asked after me much at all while I was away.  But I have to admit it was quite nice to hear her say that she had missed me when I came home.

Rhys on the other hand, was more excited to talk about what he had been doing on Minecraft while I was away!

I think so often we worry and feel guilty about leaving our children to go and do something for ourselves, but honestly, my two had a wonderful weekend.  And I think it’s so good for their relationship with their daddy to have some time with just him, which doesn’t happen that often.

And it does me a world of good to take that bit of time for myself now and then.

 

Living Arrows
me and mine

Me and mine – September 2017

by with No Comment Personal

I’m feeling quite pleased about our me and mine photos for September.

After leaving taking the photos for August until the last minute, I was determined to be more organised this month.  So when I knew we were all going to be out together, at the beach, with Nana and Pops handy to take pictures for us I grabbed the opportunity!

Last weekend, after Rhys and Nana ran the 1k race along the seafront, we all gathered together to congratulate our little runner.  I grabbed a few photos of him proudly showing off his medal, and then I handed the camera over so we could quickly get some family photos.

me and mine september

me and mine september

I have to say, my mother-in-law has been fab this year taking family photos for us!

I really love these that she took last weekend, and she also took some lovely pictures of us when we went to Bluestone, for May’s me and mine project.  I think I should hand my camera over more often!

With only 3 months left of this year, I feel pretty optimistic that I’ll actually make it a full year of doing the me and mine project every month which I’m really quite excited about.  It’s such a lovely idea and I love how it gives me a push to get us all together in front of the camera at least once a month.

What I really love though is the memories that the photos will bring back in years to come.  I’ll always smile at these photos, remembering how well Rhys did running his 1K, and how proud of himself he was at the end!

 

 

The Me + Mine Project - Dear Beautiful
living arrows

Living Arrows 2017 – 39/52

by with 10 Comments PersonalPhotographyUncategorized

Around this time every year two events happen.

The Swansea bay 10k takes place, and all the students arrive for the new year at the university.

And for some unknown reason, these two events always take place on the same weekend.  So all the students are trying to get to their accommodation when various roads around Swansea are closed for the 10k.  There must be some logic behind it, but it just always amuses me that the two things happen on the same weekend, as if the organisers just want to make arrivals weekend a bit more of a challenge for all the students!

The 10k this year was held on this Sunday just gone.  And for the 3rd year in a row Rhys and his Nana ran in the children’s 1k race before the main event started.

It’s something that Rhys seems to really enjoy, and this year he even ran ahead for the last little bit, sprinting towards the finish line on his own.  I think that was what we were all most proud of, seeing him feel brave enough to go for it on his own.

living arrows

living arrows

He was so proud of himself at the end of the race, and was really excited when we told him that he had finished it a lot quicker than he did last year.  Next year we think he might be ready to run the whole thing by himself, and Nerys has said all day that she wants to do it too next time.

So watch this space for two excited children with medals this time next year!

 

Living Arrows
living arrows

Living Arrows 2017 – 38/52

by with 12 Comments PersonalPhotography

Last week was the first full week back in school, so it was a bit of a quiet one for us.

The children both seemed pretty tired all week, and are actually now sounding like they’re coming down with colds.  So we’ve not really been out and about much, and have just been enjoying some down time at home after school each day.

All of which means there haven’t been that many photo opportunities this week.  Sometimes though, little moments of magic happen in those simple everyday moments, and I’m so glad that I’ve had my camera nearby to just snap away.

living arrows

This was taken one evening after the children had been in the bath.

They were messing around on our bed, laughing hysterically as they clambered over their Daddy and then tried to escape his tickles.  And the light was just perfect for a few quick photos.  I just love the way you can almost hear Rhys laughing when you look at the photo, and Steve and Nerys in the background just perfectly captures that moment of post-bath mayhem.

These are the moments that I hope my children remember when they’re older.

These everyday moments, part of the daily routine, nothing special.

But beautifully special all the same.

 

Living Arrows
siblings-project-september-1

The siblings project – September 2017

by with No Comment Personal

I’m sat writing this with rain pouring down outside, wondering if I should give in and put the heating on.  It feels like Autumn has well and truly arrived.  So it feels a bit strange to be sharing these photos for this month’s siblings project.

They were taken just a few weeks ago, when we took a trip on the Swansea bay rider land train to Mumbles.

There was a grey cloud that threatened us while we were out, but it was still a lovely warm day, still shorts and t-shirts weather.  We had such a lovely day out, with the children’s cousins, their aunt and Nana.

As we waited for the train to take us back along the seafront, I grabbed these photos of Rhys and Nerys together.

siblings-project-september

september-siblings-project

siblings-project

I really love these photos.  After a run of pictures where Nerys is the one with her arm around Rhys’ shoulders, it’s nice to have some when Rhys is the one leading the way and grabbing his sister!

They’ve both started back in school now, although Nerys is still only doing half days this year, and it’s lovely because they quite often see each in the playground at break time.  I just love hearing how excited they are to see each other, they both get so animated when they tell me about it when I pick them up.

I hope they always look out for each other at school, in every sense of the expression.

 

The Siblings Project - Dear Beautiful
living arrows

Living Arrows 2017 – 37/52

by with 10 Comments Personal

We did it, we made it through the first week back at school in one piece.

Rhys was a bit nervous about moving up to year 2, but seems to have settled in ok after the first few days.  And Nerys has been brilliant about going in to nursery class in the mornings, after doing afternoons for a few months last year.

So with this past week being pretty much all about the return to school, it seems only fitting that our Living Arrows photos should follow that theme.

I have to admit, I hesitated a bit before picking these photos to share.  They feel more snapshot-y than I would like, with slightly awkwardly posed children and backgrounds that are either cluttered or a little clichéd.

But it just felt strange to not share them this week.  When I look back at all my Living Arrows photos from this year, I know I’ll be happy I put these ones in, to mark this little milestone in our year.  And you know, in years to come those cluttered, clichéd backgrounds will take on new meaning.

Years down the line, when we’ve long moved from this house, I think we’ll be glad of these kinds of photos.  With the front door that we walked through a million times in the background.  Or the kitchen that was one of the main reasons I fell in love with the house.  Or the extra deep windowsill in the lounge, covered in toys that will have long since been packed away or passed on.

I love beautiful, instagram-worthy photos with clean, uncluttered backgrounds, but I also love the photos where the little details of our lives creep in too.  So many of our memories are in those details.

So this week I’m embracing the snapshot, and celebrating the moments they capture.

 

Living Arrows
living arrows

Living Arrows 2017 – 36/52

by with 6 Comments PersonalPhotography

After looking at the weekend weather forecast and seeing that it was due to rain all day on Sunday, we decided to make the most of the dry weather on Saturday and pop down to our regular spot on the beach at Swansea bay.

That dark cloud that you can see looming over Rhys threatened us the whole time we were there, but luckily it kept its distance and we stayed dry!

living arrows

living arrows

A lot of the time when we go to the beach we go empty handed.

Steve and I both love seeing the children just run around, maybe splash in the water, and then get creative building sandcastles using shells as spades.  This weekend though Nerys asked if we could actually take a bucket and spade with us.  Which got put to good use building a rather impressive castle with a moat and turrets and a little village of houses around it.

Once it was built both Rhys and Nerys ran around finding feathers to stick in the top of the castles for flags, and shells and stones to decorate the sides.

living arrows

I think we need to buy Rhys a book on geology soon as he’s started getting really interested in what different types of rock are.  He really loves looking out for rocks and stones that the tide brings in, and seeing if we know what type of rock it is.

So actually, maybe I need to get a book for me, so I can provide some answers to all his questions!

 

Living Arrows