Ah, Christmas. Turkeys, bow ties, happy dogs and angry birds. Sort of in that order.

Added: 07 December 2013

Assorted oddities - many of which seem to involve food - throughout October, and a tramp through Swyncombe on a pleasant autumn afternoon.

A trip to Bournemouth on my birthday - ice cream, groynes and a shopping trolley. We also visited the wetlands centre at Slimbridge for the first time since 2005 - it's changed a bit since then, but there are still ducks. And geese. And otters. And flamingos. We close up this selection with an array of real ales, which is never a bad thing.

Our three children have their adventurous lives chronicled.

Year 3 were having a build-your-own garden competition. Joshua did one in Lego. Then we shot a film. Then another film. He didn't win, but that was never really the point.

My goodness. So much rain this year. Most of it fell on only one day (Saturday, pictured), but it turned half the site into a quagmire (and, unfortunately, some of the businesses suffered). Events were moved and cancelled, and they banned cars from entering the camping fields, but people mucked in and got on with it and came together as never before.

It started with Emily's birthday, almost as a joke. Then it became a hobby. This will be updated as and when we acquire them. Our goal was for every mug in the house to be kitsch: it makes those early morning cups of tea all the more memorable.

Updated: 07 December 2013

Decent weather, for the most part. Ice cream. Rock pools. Brioche. Sandcastles. Caving. More ice cream. Lighthouses. Swimming. More ice cream...

I do wonder, perhaps, whether having a Doctor Who party was as much for my our benefit as it was for Joshua's. Certainly he was enthused, but rarely have I thrown myself into a project with quite as much gusto. We had themed food, puzzles, and - well, you can see the cake Emily made. The Musical Weeping Angels game fell by the wayside, but everyone had fun.

More stretches of Ridgeway - in various kinds of weather - including a semi-impromptu visit to Barbary Castle at ten o'clock at night to view the Jubilee Beacon. Also: more trips to Bristol, a Eurovision party, and at least one birthday cake.

Thomas's latest thing is road signs. He's memorised half of them and is always asking about the ones he sees when we're walking or driving somewhere. Emily hit on the idea of doing a road sign-themed afternoon about three days before the big day, and then she jumped on the internet for craft ideas. What follows is the result of her golden touch - with a good bit of help from our parents (who also helped take some of these). And Thomas loved it, and that's the most important thing.

Two short walks across a short stretch of Ridgeway, a trip to a Swindon park with Emily's friend Lizzie and her family, celebrations for Miriam and Dave's birthday (photos by Elisabeth and Michael), a visit to a Buckinghamshire National Trust property - oh, and a couple of Daleks....

It was a Saturday afternoon and we needed a screen break. So I suggested building something with Lego. And one thing sort of led to another. I managed to snap a few pictures before Daniel wrecked it; the results were pleasing in a surreal sort of way...