With the weather being so nice we decided to get out and go somewhere for the afternoon, we settled on going to Burbage Common. When we arrived we got an ice cream and then Ethan played on the park, it was quite busy so we didnt get too long. We then walked into the forest and spent a few hours going down the little trails off the main paths. It was great being out in the fresh air and in the woods. We finished the evening off by heading to McDonalds, getting a takeaway and heading back to Burbage Common to eat it, very nice picnic.
We had to remove the old log store when we fixed the fence last weekend, so today we built a new one. I reused the old sides which were made from 6x2, we then cut a wall plate and a beam for the rafters to hang off, we leveled everything off and then cut all of the rafters, added some Tyvek felt before adding the lath. I had some spare tiles and some old tiles from last time, so we tiled the roof, making sure to overlap the fixing holes so there is no leeks. We finished off my flashbanding between the fence and the tiles and then adding some black guttering. Really pleased with how it turns out and we managed to fill it with burnable wood.
We had want to meet up with my Mum and Grandma as it was her birthday so we decided to go to Everards Meadows for a nice walk outside. I hadnt been there before and it was such a nice walk, lots to see and there wasnt a lot of people round. It was good to see everyone and have a nice walk.
Our fence at the side of our house was new when we bought the house and it has gone rotten already. I tried to get in touch with Morris Homes, but they havent done anything about it. I bought 8 4 foot concrete posts which Dad and I have now dug down next to each wooden post and using post-crete have fixed them in place, these concrete posts have then been bolted to the wooden posts. The fence is solid again, we have also straightened it up as much as we can.
When getting something out of the shed i accidentally knocked over a tub of varnish which was meant for the wooden garden items. I didnt want to waste it, so Ethan and I varnished the floor of the shed. It came out really well and looks really nice. Not something i wanted to varnish, but it was better than wasting it.
We took a walk to Broughton Astley Park this afternoon, Ethan and I went on the swings, slides, climbing frames and had lots of fun in the sun.
Sam and Debbie finally got married today. They got married at Stapleford Park in Melton Mowbray, which is a beautiful venue. Sam asked me to be best man which was a real honour, to which i accepted. Rachel and I got there early to help setup. We attached cans and a sign to a golf kart, which Sam and Debbie would be driving later. They got married at 12 and then everyone went out for photos, there was then a nice sit down meal. I did my speech after the food, i thought it went well but it was good to have done it. I had created a quiz on Debbie and Sam which everyone took part in. Afterwards they had a disco and some more food, it was nice to get round and speak to some of Sam and Debbies family. We got home at midnight, but it was a great day and loved being apart of their special day.
The Lego build was initially going to be for me to build in the evenings, but Ethan really wanted to build it with me. Over the last week Ethan and I have been working on building the model after dinner each evening. He really enjoyed building it and the model itself is amazing. I have now got it on display in my office so it can be seen when i am on video calls.
We decided to go out and do something today, so we went to the crazy golf course in Blaby. We havent been for quite a while and really enjoyed it. Ethan had got a lot better, i think in part to him being a little taller. Ethan and I both got a hole in 1 which was great. Afterwards we ordered a pizza from Pizza Hut and ate that at home which was lovely.
It was really cold and wet, but we wanted to get out of the house, so we drove to Burbage Common and went for a walk through the forest which was lovely as it gave a bit of shelter from the rain.
Ethan had a 1 hour play session at school today as he is starting school in a few weeks. We arrived at the school a little early, it was chucking down with rain and we had been told that we would be playing outside. Just as we got to the gates, we got a call to say that it was cancelled because the rain was too heavy. Ethan was really disappointed.
It has been 10 years since Rachel and I went on our 1st date (Last year we thought it was 10 years, but added up wrong). Rachel surprised me and got me the Fast and Furious Lego Technic Charger which is great and I am looking forward to building it.
We went out on a bike ride over the fields today and they were baling the hay. We had a lovely ride around the fields and the weather was lovely.
Rachel, Ethan and I went out for a ride today through the fields and we were lucky enough to get there as the farmer started to harvest the field with his combine harvester. We stayed for quite a while watching the process as it is something i had never seen being done.
Rachel wanted an extra plant box for the back garden and after we removed the old fence and gate, we had some spare wood. So Ethan and I decided to reuse the wood and create the plant box. Ethan did really well, hammering in all of the nails and i did the cutting. Hopefully we can get some plants for it now.
Claire and Luke got engaged and Joy wanted to get close family together for a celebration of this. The weather was great and we were all outside/ It was lovely to see everyone and congratulations to Claire and Luke.
The posts in our side fence and gate have gone rotten, originally we were going to just replace the posts, but after Dad built us a new gate on the front, Rachel asked him to build us a fence and gate in the same style. He has built it over the past few weeks and this morning he came over and we remove the old one and fitted the new one. It looks really good and Rachel is really happy with it.
Ethan loves Lamborghinis and he has wanted the lego set for a while. The set contains 2 vehicles and he built the Huracan with Rachel and he built the Urus with me. They were quite complicated to build but he really enjoyed building them and has been having great fun racing them.
It was a lovely day and Ethan wanted to play with water balloons, which then turned into playing with the water pistols. We had great fun and got soaked but it was so hot that we got dry really quickly.
I had been looking for a Wifi light switch for a while, i did look at the bulbs, but having a controller in each bulb is ok, until the bulb breaks and then it costs a lot more to replace a single bulb, where as having the controller in the switch keeps the cost of the bulbs down. The switch is very deep and the backbox in my wall was not deep enough to fit the switch. I got a deep backbox and then chopped out the wall so that the box would fit. Once i had done that, wiring up the switch was easy. I downloaded the app and then setup the switch really quickly, it works really well and is responsive.
Rachel was cooking dinner and Ethan wanted to help. He grated the cheese and then made some yorkshire pudding mix. After making them he also wanted to try a yorkshire and he really liked it.
Rachel got Ethan a mini rocket which is shot in the air with a little pump. It is really cool and does fire the little rockets really high, after not very long we had already got 1 stuck on the roof.
Rachel has been getting some accessories bit by bit for the house and as there was quite a few bits to do I got the pictures and hearts hung on the wall. Rachel got some plants and pots which added some life to the shed.
Ethan and I have been out riding a lot and we thought it would be nice to invite my Dad out for a ride. In the day i ordered some chips from the Cosby chip shop. We then took a ride over the fields, sat on the bench opposite the chip shop and ate chips and sausages. We had a lovely ride and was out for 1.5 hours, Ethan loved it.
We had a busy day today being outside as the weather was nice. We went out for a big ride in the morning, we then worked on the garden for the afternoon, getting the lawn mowed and garden weeded and pruned.
After i finished work this evening, Ethan and I went out for a long bike ride. We did our normal route and then decided to go and explore. We ended up going under the M1 motorway and was some distance away from home. We did have a great time though.
I have been having issues with my broadband for a while, i pay for 60mb, but i have never seen that much, at the start of lockdown i was getting about 30mb which was ok, but the past few weeks it has gotten worse with some days only getting 4mb, which isnt great when you need to be on video call. I phone EE and then sent out a BT engineer. He tested the wiring in the house and the street and then checked the connection in the cabinet. When he left i was up to 57mb which is a huge improvement.
Ethan and Rachel made their own playdough, Ethan got to do the stirring on the hob and then he added green dye. When it had cooled down they went outside and cut out shapes and made things with it. Ethan had lots of fun.
I can see the hedges from my office window and they were in need of cutting, so today Ethan and I cut them. I did the cutting by hand with shears and then Ethan picked all of the cuttings up and put them in the wheelie bin.
Rachel has started using her office more and so we thought it was about time that we make it a bit more homely in there, so Rachel ordered some photo frames and then some nice photos of us all to put in them. Ethan and I put them up on the wall while Rachel was reorganising the room.
