Fourteen!

It's only a rubbishy phone photo but Woh what a sunset as we drove across the Buchan plains this evening.

The middle boy had a hockey tourney in mintlaw this evening and given his granny and poppa were home to look after the others, my lovely husband, of fourteen years today no less, both took him up to watch him play. We were late for the start unfortunately, partly because of tractors and partly because he was playing tennis after school till near 4.30 and so there wasn't much time to get changed, have tea and try on those new football boots which had just arrived in the post, but mainly because mintlaw is just so.far.away.

Anyway he still had more then enough time to show off the skills he'd been learning at Tuesday night training and which have earned him star player for the past two weeks and didn't have to sit on the subs bench for too long, so it worked out fine.

By the time we got back it was definitely dark and just time to drop him off at home before dashing out to pick up the big one and his pal from cubs. They were hyper as usual and plotting all manner of adventures with walkie talkies.

I finally got the eldest home to where his littlest brother was already happily snoozing and where his middle brother had had some post match supper but was fighting the call for bed, and turned straight around to go out with my lovely husband to celebrate our special day.

We went to watch A Walk in the Woods, (and only missed the first twenty minutes!!) an adaption of a novel we both enjoyed but which turned out to be a pretty rubbish film, but ach it was a nice night out.

We are both grateful to my generous and helpful inlaws who are staying just now and have done loads of things to help, including babysitting tonight, but more than that we are grateful to them for all the love and support and practical help they given to us over these past years. Thank you P & F xx

A final note to my lovely husband Iain whom I love more than ever and who has filled my life with fun, joy and love all these years. He has coped with my grumpiness, disorganisation, intolerance, chronic lateness and inability to fill the tank of a car with fuel with grace and love. I am a better person for having him in my life. To Iain, thank you xxx