One week, three times

I can't believe it! Val, Syl and I met up 3 times this past week! First was last Wednesday when I took the girls to London. Then on Saturday (which I've yet to blog about), we went to Val's place where we had lunch and then we 3 ladies left our kiddies behind for their daddies to look after while we went out to jalan. Today, my dear friends came to mine and we had a picnic at Windsor Great Park. I'm now extremely sleepy and will go to bed once I switch off my computer. Yes, me, going to bed before 10pm. A rarity indeed! Will blog more another day. Thanks, V&S, for making our half-term a fun-filled one.

So! The day we'd been praying for good weather came and went. We woke up to good weather and thought to ourselves, 'Yippee!' (weather forecast had been 'heavy showers' the previous night but changed to 'sunny intervals' this morning) I went to pick Syl and Danielle up from the train station at noon (we like to meet at noon, don't we? :p) and the sky turned more gloomy as the hours passed. We told ourselves we would have an indoor picnic should it rain. Louisa had suggested the day before that we should buy a tent so that we could still have a picnic if it rained. LOL! Our girls played while I prepared the food (potato croquettes and grilled chicken pieces) and chatted with Syl. Unfortunately, much to my embarrasment and horror, Lavigne was not on her best behaviour today. She didn't want to share her toys and even pushed Danielle. Even before her friend came, she had been unkind to Louisa the whole morning. I guess it was because she woke up earlier than usual (6.45am). I prepared toasties for the kiddies to munch and Syl helped me make some star-shaped jam sandwiches. The little ones were eager to help. Clever Syl told them they could only do so after they had finished their lunch. You guessed it. No one left any food on their plates.

Val and Luke arrived close to 3pm due to traffic congestion. We promptly got the children into the car and right before we were about to set off, Syl announced that she felt some droplets. I suggested we carry on with our plan since the park is nearby and it might just be passing rain. I brought them to another entrance (Savill Garden) which I'd never been before. I thought we could get shelter at the cafe if it rains. The plan had been to bring them to the Valley Gardens but I wasn't sure how far we had to walk.

The Valley Gardens

There weren't many people around, certainly no one was having a picnic in that weather. But we weren't deterred. The area near to the Savill buiding is quite woody so we walked further towards the Valley Gardens. When we realised that it was quite far away and the kids were getting tired from the walking, we decided to pick a spot to lay our mats and food. Val brought her homebaked pandan cake, yummy fishcakes, crisps and juice. Syl made delicious potato salad and tuna dip. I prepared vegetable sticks for the dip and brought along jelly for the children. We ended up with lots of grapes because we didn't inform one another we were going to bring that. Hahah! Even though we enjoyed the food and company, we didn't manage to stay as long had we had planned. Firstly, it got pretty cold. Our hands were starting to freeze. Then it started to drizzle so we hurriedly packed up and left. But it stopped soon after.

Along the way, Lavigne refused to walk, saying she's too tired and wanted to be carried. I was carrying a heavy haversack and another bag of food so I couldn't do so. I don't know how I managed to get her to walk back to the building (so nice and warm) where we all went to relieve ourselves (must be the cold). After a quick browse at the shop, we went back to our cars and return to my home. I promised Syl to cut Danielle's hair so I made a quick pasta bake. But they had to leave 20mins later after I finished cooking so Syl suggested I cut it another time. (So sorry!)

Val and Luke stayed for dinner while Syl went back to London with her girl. I had a good chat with Val and was glad to see Luke playing very happily. Soon, everyone was getting tired (especially Lavigne). Val left only after she had kindly helped me wash the dishes (haiya! You shouldn't have done so lah!). We're now planning a camping trip for next month and will have another gathering at Syl's. Oh and the weather forecast for tomorrow? Sunny day! Humph!