Skydiving

July has been pretty busy. I finished my job at Tesco and got to spend some time at home in between. The weather wasn't as hoped but we managed to head out to the river and for lunch and a few walks. One of the main reasons for going home was Dad's 70th birthday. And instead of doing something normal, he wanted to go skydiving. So we all went.

Signing in.

Mom was not going to go up in a plane, let alone jump out of one! So jumping, it was myself, my dad, my sister, brother-in-law and one of dad's friends who was also 70th year. We were split in runs, so Dad and I went first, Craig and Uncle Jim second, and Kerry was on the third flight. We all decided to have the video packages (who knew if we were going to do this again?).

On the way up.

Dad jumped first

He's off.

Then my turn.

It was an experience.

Oddly I wasn't nervous jumping (my fitbit says my heart rate got up to a massive 90 bpm) - maybe because I was firmly attached to someone who knew what they were doing. We did free-fall for about 45 seconds and were falling at about 120 mph, hence the wonderful face lift photos. :)

When he pulled the shoot, that hurt. I had straps around the top of my legs, my shoulders and across the chest, and damn the legs straps hurt. It was very pretty coming down but I totally screwed the landing. You are supposed to lift your legs up and land on your butt. But thanks to the straps my legs were numb and didn't go up. So I landed on my knees. I had some impressive bruises for the next few weeks. Though not as bad as my brother-in-law who go a huge bruise on his thigh from the straps.

Dad was glad he did it, but like me, not over-keen on doing it again.

After the skydiving, we all went back to Kerry and Craig's house for dinner. She had done some decorating and got a cake for dad. He was very happy with it all.

Happy with the giant balloons.

The awesome cake.

Dad was very happy with his cake and apparently it was a very good red velvet. He had a great time. So did I, though it took quite some time to get over the bruises and aches. 

Moms 65th Birthday

Last week was Mom's 65th birthday. On her actual birthday day, dad took her out for lunch. She didn't want a party so we took her for a meal on the Saturday night instead and I went home for the weekend. 

Cheers.

She did not expect the cake but definitely liked it. Dad ordered it but didn't realise quite how big it was. The people at Mom's work are going to really enjoy some. For the next week!

Birthday 2019

On our last night in Reston, we found a wine bar which did a half price bottle of wine happy hour. We had planned to go for tapas afterwards but never made it out of the bar. We managed to get a $55 bottle of wine, half price. It was well worth it. 

On the Thursday we flew back to the UK. It was my birthday that day and not the worst birthday I have ever had. The seats weren't as good as on the way out but the plane was practically empty with only 40 onboard so we all had a row to ourselves. Even Demi's new little friend, Slouthicorn, had his own seat.

However this was officially my worst birthday meal. The breakfast was edible (not great but I could eat it). But the afternoon meal was disgusting. I got a pot of half cooked dry rice, with a sliver of tomato. It was inedible. Thankfully I had a glass of wine at least. 

My birthday meal. :(

I had brought myself a 'birthday cake' protein bar. I had a little bit but it was so sweet. But at least I got to spend my birthday watching movies and got the Friday off work as a day in leui to recover. So not a bad deal overall.

My 'birthday cake'.

Kerry's Birthday

Last weekend I went home for a long weekend. Mom and Dad were supposed to come up the weekend before but couldn't due to the snow and me being ill. So I went home last weekend instead. I spend Friday helping Kerry with revision for her exam which she happily passed and on the evening we went out to a smoke house for a combination of her birthday and celebration of her success.

I let Kerry do my hair and make-up - she is much better than me

Giant platter of food.

Because of the last minutes plans to go home, we couldn't get in anywhere for Mother's Day Sunday lunch. So Kerry and Craig cooked for us. It was lovely though they made the most unusual Yorkshire Puddings. They were more like Yorkshire biscuits. Not sure what happened. I forgot to take any photos as I was too busy eating and playing with the cats. :) 

This week Kerry and Craig came down Thursday night and stayed over on the way down south. So I got her a birthday cake. She was very happy with this. And then made her a birthday Pancake breakfast on Friday morning before they headed off. She managed to leave behind an full outfit but did remember to run back for the cake. So she has her priories set. :)

Minion Birthday Cake!!!

Dad's birthday and retirement party

Dad turns 65 this week and officially retired on Friday. And he was so happy! 

I went home for a long weekend, travelling home Thursday. I had hoped the traffic would be better than on a Friday. But no. The M40 was a nightmare. 

On Friday we started the prep for the party and I got a hair cut as my hairdresser is awesome and it is crazy expensive in London. On the evening when Dad got home, we had a take away and a few bottles of wine to celebrate.

The party was Saturday afternoon and carried on into the night. And we had so much food. I forgot to take a photo (I was too busy getting drinks and refilling the food) but I did get some of the cake.

We did a little decorating, mainly putting up photos of dad around the house. He was such  cute kid.

My dad as a kid.

The weather held out for the most part (it started spitting a little at about 7pm) so most people were sitting outside for most of the afternoon. Everyone showed up so we had to dig out some extra chairs.

Birthday boy blowing out the candles. 

It was a great night. Everyone left with food parcels and we had to pour one person into a car at the end. (Thankfully as it was mom's car, she did not need the supplied puke bucket.) Dad had a great time and is already planning things for his spare time. 

I also got my latest project framed and picked it up this weekend. Due to the weight and size, it's going to have to stay at mom and dads until I have a house where I can put some holes in the walls. They are quite happy with this and I'll be lucky to get it back! It turned out better than I expected.