The boys!

Both William and Tom have had big events in the past week - Tom started school and William celebrated his 8th birthday. I had meant to do individual posts on these deserving two occasions, but time has been whizzing by and I find myself somewhat behind again, so they are going to have to share a posting I'm afraid. Aaaah, such is life sometimes in a busy family... sharing with your siblings is part and parcel of it all....

Tom's first day at school was last Thursday, after a brief trip into school on Monday for a 'Best Start test' when he spent half an hour on his own with his teacher, answering questions and giving some idea of his ability and knowledge thus far (which amounts to not a lot, in fact). His teacher is a lovely man, Mr Scott, who I think will provide a great introduction to school life for Tom and appears to be so young that I am sure he cannot be long out of school himself (or is that just me getting old?).

William and Katy returned to school on Monday and Tuesday respectively, so Tom and I spent a last treasured few days with him 'at home' before he began on Thursday - well, I treasured them but in truth he was desperate to join his brother and sister in wearing a uniform, having a packed lunch and carrying a backpack. When Thursday came he was fully dressed and with his bag on his back before we had even had breakfast, such was his enthusiasm, and he has been equally enthusiastic in the days since - long may it continue!

Tom ready for his first day at school

We have had super-hot days for the past fortnight - reaching 40+ degrees on several consecutive days - by the time the kids have come out of school, they have been fit to drop - so we have been to the local outdoor pool after school almost every day, much to their delight! Finally now the temperature has dropped to a gorgeous 25 ish degrees - pleasant sunshine and warmth without all the sweat and energy-depletion. It does appear to be the same every year - the last week in January and the first week in February are when the weather gets unbearable... at least it's predictable, and comes to an end fairly quickly...

William's birthday was on Sunday, and he not only had a great day, but also a good week - on Friday he was voted onto the School Council by his classmates as their representative, and on Saturday he got the 'man of the match' trophy at cricket. On his birthday himself he was thrilled with the presents he received and had a lovely day at Luna Park with three friends - Ally and I took them (plus Katy and Tom who were penalised for not being the birthday-children by not being able to go on any rides - mean parents again!!) on the train. The last time we went, William was too short for a lot of the rides (they allow you on to different things according to height) so I envisaged the boys just going on a few things - however this time they all scraped into the 'allowed onto everything' category and amazed us by going on absolutely everything, even the most scary, hang-upside-down, spin really fast stuff!! They had an absolute ball, and definitely made the most of their tickets - I couldn't believe how brave they were.

Happy Birthday William!! xxx

Four 8 year old boys ready for action in sweltering heat...