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By Gareth, June 14, 2009 21:58

As I mentioned in one of my previous post this weekend has been pretty busy, with the highlight of the weekend being Ellie’s Birthday party.

With all the food prepared in the morning, it was just a case of setting up the room that we had hired for the afternoon. The theme for Ellie’s party was “High School Musical”, which she went to see the previous day.

All we had to do was sit back and wait for 20-odd hyperactive kids to arrive!

Once all the kids had arrived we let them run around for a little while before getting them all sat down for their food. We’d prepared the usual party food; ham and cheese sandwiches, sausage rolls, pizza fingers, and crisps. Gemma had also made some fairy cakes that she decorated in line with the party’s theme.

After the kids had had their fill of food, it was time to play some party games. We had a couple of games of pass-the-parcel, and also musical bumps and musical chairs. They all seemed to enjoy the games and four of them went home happy with prizes.

Its been a while since I’ve been to a kids party, and it was quite an experience to be confronted by all those screaming children! I’m hoping next year’s party is a little quieter!

By the end of the party there were a lot of tired children, especially the birthday girl. After dispatching all of the guests with their party bags, and birthday cake, we did a quick clear-up and headed for home. I think that all of the kids (and some of the parents) enjoyed themselves.

I would just like to say a big thank you to Gemma, for doing the organising for the party. Also, I’d like to thank my Mum for making a really amazing cake, and to Mandy for your help in getting things ready.

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By Gareth, July 6, 2008 12:21

I just want to wish my wife a very Happy Birthday.

I won’t reveal her age (as I’m a gentleman – Honest!!) But I just want to say that she means the world to me, and is the best thing that has ever happened to me.

I love you x x x x

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By Gareth, June 17, 2008 22:43

Ellie had her 3rd birthday this weekend. It really is hard to believe that she was born three years ago. The time seems to have gone so quickly.

On Saturday, which was her actual birthday, we had to wake her as Ellie was being a lazy bones and decided that she would sleep in. After waking, Ellie came into our room where we gave her some of her cards and presents.

“Oh, ” she would say each time she got an unopened present. “What’s inside?”

“You need to open it to find out,” we replied.

After that we all got up and came downstairs for some breakfast, and also to give Ellie her main present, a battery powered jeep.

Ellie had a small ride in it and wasn’t very impressed. She couldn’t work out how to stop as she careered across the garden towards her trampoline, getting out and declaring that she didn’t like it. Hopefully she will grow more accustomed to it and have another go in the near future.

Once Ellie had had her presents we made a trip to the supermarket to do the weekly shop and also get the food for the party. After returning from our shopping trip, the three of us went to Knowsley Safari Park.

We had a great time. We were pretty fortunate with the weather too. Ellie even had a go at driving around.

After our visit to Knowsley, we headed back home, but first we had to make a stop at Wigan train station to pick up Gemma’s brother, Shaun. Ellie was very excited as she loves going to see the trains.

Once Shaun was safely loaded into the car we headed home, where Gemma set about making Ellie’s birthday cake. She had done a trial run the previous weekend and it looked and tasted brilliant. This one was no different.

On Sunday, we had a BBQ party, and we were very,very lucky with the weather. During the previous week the weather forecasts had not been too promising, so it was with some trepidation that I lit the BBQ shortly before our guests were to arrive. And very soon after I had lit it the first spots of rain began to fall.

“At least I’ve got a waterproof coat,” I thought. But luckily for us all, it was only a brief shower and the sun soon showed his face to make it a gorgeous day. Gemma and I were very thankful for this as it would have been a bit of a tight squeeze trying to get everyone inside the house.

Shortly, after the BBQ was lit, guests began to arrive. My sister Lynwen and her husband Geth were first to arrive with their two boys, Dafydd and Aled. Next to roll up were Nana Mandy and Taido, with Carl, Craig and Ricky. We had a few other guests who came to see the birthday girl.

Once all of our guests arrived, Ellie began to open the mountain of presents that had been bought for her, while I got on with cooking the huge amount of food that we’d bought. (We bought way too much!) Gemma gave me a helping hand with all of the salads and extra bits and pieces. After serving up and everyone tucking into the vast amount of food, it was nice to sit down for a few minutes in the sunshine.

Once everyone had finished their food and given it chance to settle, it was time for Ellie to blow out her candles. The cake was brought in to a chorus of “Happy Birthday”, and before it was finished and the photos were taken, Ellie had already blown out the candles. Cheeky girl – no patience. So we had to do it all over again so we could get it on “film”.

It was a really good day and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. We did had one minor mishap when a stray gust of wind blew our parasol over right on top of my sister. Luckily she escaped with just a bump on the head and a bit of a sore neck. Sorry!

Thanks to everyone for coming. And a big thank you from Ellie for all of her presents

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By Gareth, June 14, 2008 00:01

Our Daughter Ellie was born. That’s right, our little girl is 3 years old.

She has been really excited for the past week or so. We are having a party for her on Sunday, and hopefully the weather will hold out so that we can have a BBQ.

I’ll post some pictures later when Ellie’s opened her presents

Happy Birthday Ellie!

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By Gareth, March 27, 2008 19:48

Its my birthday today, reaching the grand old age of 33.

I spent the day as usual in work, a really thrilling experience. But I was cheered up by going out for dinner with Gemma and Ellie.

I met them at the pub after work, and we had a lovely meal. As it was my birthday, I even treated myself to a pint .

Thank you to everyone who sent me cards, and especially to Gemma and Ellie for my present. I really love it.

Here’s to another year.

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By Gareth, July 30, 2007 11:00

Sunday, usually a day for generally lounging around and quite often doing nothing.

Not yesterday!

Suit Fittings

My best man, Sam and his fiancee Bronwen came up so that we could get our suits fitted for the wedding as this was the only day he had free for the next few weekends.

So, me, Gemma, Ellie, Sam and Bronwen headed into town to the suit hire shop.

It was all pretty straightforward, although we had to wait a short while, because of a party of 8 having their fitting before us. And that wasn’t the only delay. The shop manager wouldn’t let us into the fitting rooms until she’d fumigated them, as the father of the groom (at least I think it was) of the party before us had a distinct lack of personal hygiene, and she had to give the fitting rooms a good dosing of air freshener. It was not nice!

Anyway, like I said it all went pretty straightforward, trying on the suits and trousers to find the right size. I had to try on a couple of jackets to find one that was comfortable, and ended up getting a size 46″ chest, just so that it wasn’t tight across my shoulders. I wouldn’t say that I’m fat, but I do have pretty broad shoulders, so anything smaller would just have been pinching all day at the wedding.

Gem and I had decided that the best style of jacket to go for was the Tailcoat, as this made me look a lot slimmer, especially my “dumpy” legs, as Gem calls them , with striped trousers, rather than plain ones. We’ve also decided on a gold / silver coloured waistcoat for myself and Sam, with our Dads and little Dafydd wearing silver waistcoats.

Lunch

After the suit fittings, Sam very kindly offered to take us all out for lunch. We all thoroughly enjoyed our meals, especially Ellie who had her usual “sausage”, and scoffed it all. She just loves sausages.

Sam ordered Gammon steak, which looked good, and it was a pretty thick piece of gammon. Bronwen ordered the Steak and Mushroom pie, just like I did, but we were told that there was only one left, so being the gentleman, I let Bronwen have it and I went with the Meat and Potato pie which was pretty good, but I think I would have enjoyed the Steak and Mushroom more . Gemma went with the lighter option of a Cajun Chicken wrap, which again looked nice.

Hospital Visit

After lunch, we said our goodbyes to Sam and Bronwen, and headed to the hospital to visit Gemma’s Mam. Gemma’s Mam has had very severe asthma since she was very young and handles it very well. At the moment she is having treatment to try and reduce the amount of steroids that she needs to take. She seemed pretty well in herself and hopes to be out on Monday. But we just need to wait and see.

Get well soon Mandy.

Sarah’s 21st Birthday Party

After visiting Mandy, we headed to my cousin Sarah’s 21st birthday party.

Sarah had great delight in showing everyone her “trophies” from the day before. She had gone Paintballing with her friends, and had been “shot” numerous times . Gem and I had been invited, but had been unable to go as Gem didn’t finish work in time. Maybe next time!

It was a good party, good food and plenty of entertainment, provided by Ellie and Dafydd. They spent most of the party playing with and bursting balloons. There weren’t many left by the time we left the party. The two little ones managed to keep going until we left the party, which was about 9pm.

We eventually got home just before 10pm, Ellie managing to stay awake until we were almost home. She kept herself amused by looking at all the cars and lorries and also by playing with her “Thomas the Tank Engine” Top Trumps cards that Taido had given to her that day.

It was a long and busy day for all of us and we were in bed pretty much soon after getting home. We were so glad to get home!