A.D. Cottrellski

Double bus trip

2011-10-13T08:01:00.003Z

This morning I walked with Katie and the kids and left them at the bus stop. Then on my way to work, Katie called to say that I had her keys in my pocket! I got off the bus, ran home to give katie the keys, get a kiss, then back on the bus to work ... phew!

Beehive Camp

2011-07-31T16:09:00.001Z

Had a wonderful few days with Katie on the Stake Beehive camp. I received. "The trolley Dolly award" for services rendered in the kitchen.

Ben Nevis

2011-04-28T18:23:00.001Z

In a bus with 15 others heading north towards Ben Nevis and other adventures. I'm greatfull for my wife an kids who love me, but hve shared me for the long weekend.

San Fransisco

2011-04-13T22:58:00.003Z

but slow to tyPe wIth., On friday my loverly wife brought me my very first plume phone. It is very nice. It all becomes crearer now that the spelling is english.

California Sacramento Mission Reunion 2010

2010-10-03T19:46:00.002Z

Such a shame that I have not been able to make it to a a reunion in so many years.

Nice to see some pictures of old friends.

http://californiasacramentomission.weebly.com/

Playing on an iPad but can't do a title and content !

2010-08-12T17:40:00.002Z

I have changed to edit the HTML, and now i can type stuff in the Main text box.

This morning I cycled from tiptoe to work, about 11miles.
I met up with Katie and the girls for lunch at the park for lunch, and AJ and Louise were their with Bethany and the Tate girls.
What a lovely day.... I just wish I could get hold of everybody to find out where they are, or if I should be cooking dinner?

On the Beach

2010-08-10T23:51:00.004Z

The pictures speak for themselves, but perhaps when I have time I can give more background the some of the pictures.

Hough Family's got Talent

2010-08-09T23:46:00.005Z

On Saturday we played silly games, and had a BBQ (it rained)

We tried to go swimming for the inflatable session, but we remembered the times wrong, so just had a 'normal' swim.

On Monday we held a talent show.

G.N.O.

2010-08-06T00:00:00.001Z

The 'Girls' had a night out at the leisure centre, steam room, sauna & Jacuzzi.

The Boys stayed home with the kids, played musical statues, bumps, knees and sleeping lions.

We also had a home made curry and our own version of the Harvester 'Rocky Horror' ice cream that the girls were having down the road.

We also broke out the pool table, and then got soundly beaten by the girls when they got home.

Lots of fun :)

Rounders with the family

2010-08-05T07:55:00.000Z

This morning we had a lovely cycle ride, and even forded the famous stream where Jenny fell in as a kid.

It poured with rain later, so we went to the cinema - Toy Story 3 / The Karate Kid.

And then in the evening, following a Chinese takeaway we played rounders and football.

What a great family!

Beach Fun

2010-08-04T00:24:00.002Z

Lots of fun at Fisherman's Walk.
Here are some pictures of us posing for the camera.
I Love my family.

Family in the Forest

2010-08-04T00:18:00.004Z

We had a great day out in the forest. Loved playing on the water at Wotton Bridge. Richard became everyone's target. He got Amber very splashed and then she got him back with a bottle over his head - good one Amber!

On the car journey to our holiday, we were playing a game in the car, think of a colour, something that is blue and other categories. When we got to "something that is small" We had ant, pebble, and then Jenna said "bogies!" what a mind!?

Surfing

2009-09-12T18:54:00.004Z

Today we went to Boscombe (near the surf reef) with a Stake Youth activity. As the youth were not that interested in surfing, Matt Ambrose let me have a go. I got up on my feet (for about 2 seconds) on my first wave, wave two was a nose dive, and after much waiting for waves, my third attempt saw me standing up for well over 2 seconds, and I saw standing well.

Summer Holiday 2009

2009-09-09T07:07:00.001Z

We planned to stay at home for the week as the weather had been bad and it was going to cost £300 just to go camping for the week. We had planned a schedule for the week so we could fix up babysitting and have some quality time together.

On Saturday Steve had Jenna so we could go shopping for a kayak (our treat instead of going on holiday) and we met up at Durley Chine. The weather changed from overcast in the morning to lovely sunshine and we had lots of fun on the kayak. Jenna wouldn't go on but both the other girls had a go and Steve and Alan went on too. There was also the air show and the red arrows so that was nice to watch. That night we dashed home from the beach and ate pasta before Alan and I cycled extremely quickly down to the pavillion to see Blood Brothers. We had a lovely time although I was extremely hot after the cycle ride, the show was great and got a standing ovation. The actors were very good. We cycled home a bit slower!

On Sunday we went to Mudeford and took the girls crabbing. We managed to not have anyone fall in, although Amber was a close call in her excitement of catching a crab! It was lovely and sunny and got to see a few planes from the air show at Bournemouth.

Monday was Alan and my first outing out. We dropped the girls at nan and grampi's and took our bikes over to sandbanks. We cycled to the ferry and went over to Studland. We had a map which we tried to follow, although we did miss the very first turning:) It was hard going at first but we had the wind against us. We turned right off the main road and went cross country. Some of it was a bit bumpy but it was lovely to be in the countryside alone where we could chat as we cycled. We ended up going all the way to Corfe Castle as we could see it from where we'd cimbed up a big hill.
I let Alan push my bike up the last bit:) By this time it was about 12:30 and we were due back at 2 so we didn't stop for lunch but tried to head back to the ferry taking the main roads. I went whizzing down the main road which unfortunately was not the one we thought and I couldn't hear Alan behind me calling! We made it to a water works place and the guy directed us back to the ferry which wasn't too far, although we actually went astray again, we did end up on our original path and made it back really quickly up the main road to the ferry. It took about 2 hours to get to Corfe Castle and about 40 mins to get back. We then headed to Studland beach to have a quick lunch. It was lovely and warm after quite a cool morning, perfect weather! (Movie of the decent to Corfe)

We picked up the girls and headed home for a nap for Jenna. In the evening, Alan took the girls to splash down which they absolutely loved. I chilled out in front of the TV.

Tuesday was a family day, we went down to the beach again with the kayak. It was really windy but we sheltered behind the kayak and in tent when it started spitting. It was a bit sunny and turned out to be the best day for the beach so that was good. We all had a go in the kayak again, it was a bit scary because it was windy. In the evening the girls went for a sleepover at nans. Alan and I went to Nando's. We had a nice meal in a little booth. We then went to Tesco, ironic but we always seem to do that wen we have babysitters. We don't usually get chance to shop in a relaxed way though so that was nice. we bought the DVD "Bedtime" stories, some face creams for me, some ice cream and choccies for the cinema and other little bits. We went to see Time Travellers Wife which was good and had the girl in from the Notebook which I love.

Wednesday was mine and Alan's next day out, we went for a row this time. Again the weather worked out perfectly because it was awful but a good day for going on the river because it was wet anway. We drove down to Christchurch Priory and got onto the river at Wick Ferry, a little point at the river where you can get on with boats etc. It was quite cold but you didn't notice when you were rowing. We rowed down as far as we could go before hitting a weir. We were eying up all the houses backing onto the river, but they didn't have very big gardens. I sit in the front when we row together and Alan sits behind me, he is generally in charge of steering! We stopped on the way back when we found a little point we could moor up and have some lunch. It started to rain during lunch but luckily we were quite sheltered from the trees above us. On our way back it was still raining and the wind was against us and it was just funny. We started singing songs like Bohemian Rhapsody and We will rock you! We had a great laugh, and on the way out some kids playing on the side of the river called Alan an old man! We dashed home for a shower and then Alan went to get the girls.

In the evening it was still awful weather so we didn't go to do the candles as planned. We did go ice skating though and Uncle Steve came to meet us and help us look after Jenna. Leah went around by herself for the first time so she was really pleased. They let Jenna on the ice with the baby skates and she loved it and loved to wave to us as we went around. Amber is very independent ice skating and doesn't like to hold hands:) I liked holding hands as it was very slippery. We went home and Steve stayed with the girls while Alan and I went out for dinner to Harvester. I had the Combine Harvester and Alan had Original combo, we were very stuffed afterwards. (it was a rare ocassion for Alan to ask for a doggie bag).

Thursday was another family day out. We went to Lulworth Cove. We were hoping to go for a boat ride but it was too windy. We had lunch down in the cove and then walked up to the top of the hill to see Durdle Door. By this point I was a bit fed up because Leah was whingeing and the girls kept walking near the edge despite me asking them not to. Jenna was also a bit of a nightmare as she wanted to walk and it was quite dangerous. We answered a questionnaire to get free kids tickets to Lulworth Castle so that was good. We went home and got the house ready for our friends coming for the weekend and I did lots of baking - banana bread, flapjack and brownies, yummy! Michael and Jo arrived about 9pm and once the kids were settled, we stayed up and chatted.

On Friday we took them to Lulworth Castle and had a lovely day out. The only dampner was a shower which turned into a downpour during the jousting. We had our umbrella but it just poured so we all got a bit wet. We had a quick look around the castle, mainly the lower floor and then went outside for lunch. We had a tractor ride down to the animals and had great fun feeding the goats etc. I loved the fluffy one. We found a little park on the way back and then went and looked at the chapel and a last look at the castle. Rather than go home and have the kids fall asleep on the way without dinner, we went down to Lulworth Cove and had chips for the kids - which were really nice so we knicked a few:) We had a walk down to show them the cove and then headed home.

In the evening us adults enjoyed a lovely Chinese together, nice and peaceful!

On Saturday we headed down to the beach, it was quite sunny but unfortunately very windy which kept us all quite chilly. We enjoyed taking the kayak again and I went out by myself before it got really choppy. Michael and Alan took the kids out but unfortunately they got tipped out with Sophie with them. I was quite worried because they were out of the boat for a long time. Poor Sophie was frozen when she got back in. It was a lovely day though, time to chat and play and hide behind the wind break for me and Jo :) Anna and Rich finally made it around 4, the poor things had been stuck in traffic. The kids loved being at the beach and all had a lovely play. Alan also got his kite out.

We had a Bar B Q at home for tea which worked out well and was yummy even though it was a bit chilly still. It was fun just being together and chatting and laughing.

Sunday was church as usual followed by spaghetti bollognaise and more chatting. Once Anna and Rich left we played some games with the kids before having tea. Michael and Jo left at bed time.

For our last day's holiday on the Monday Bank Holiday, I had a catch up day and started getting my childminding stuff ready in the morning, doing washing etc. The afternoon turned out lovely so after Jenna's sleep we went down to the beach for one last time. Steve met us and we had a lovely time out on the kayak, it was much calmer. we stayed until 7 and had chips on the beach. It was nice to have a warm day on the beach to end our holiday.

Saturday	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Boat Poole harbour	Church	Cycle ride to Swanage 9:30-2pm	Beach kayak	Row down stour 9:30-2pm	Lulworth cove/ equiv.	Get house ready for guests Shop
Beach Air show	Mudeford crabbing, walk	Quiet time Splash down £32	Beach, Crazy golf,	Quiet time Ice skating 5:30pm – 7pm £7.50 each =£30 for family	Boat trip / walk etc.	Beach / dinosaur BIC
Restaurant?	Fresh pasta, tomato sauce garlic bread	Tortillas	Girls eat at nans Us restaurant	Restaurant (KFC for girls prior to skating)	Restaurant with girls or Potato salad, pizza etc.	Spaghetti bollognaise
Blood brothers	Games night	FHE Game	Cinema, time traveller	Candles girls Dinner date, walk on beach 9pm Proposal Tower Park	Dancing Pavillion	Fireworks ?

Eco House

2009-06-02T23:07:00.003Z

http://www.simondale.net/house/index.htm

What a cool house.

My Young Wife (my Queen)

2009-03-20T12:40:00.002Z

Katie & I have made an effort to have more dates together. The foundation of any family should be built on the relationship between husband and wife. So thanks to all who have helped us have time together over 8 years of or marriage. And this is why we have needed help:

May 2009 will be our 100th Month of Marriage
Katie has been pregnant and very Ill for 18% of our marriage.
70% of our married has involved either a bump or baby under 2 years old.
Only 15% of married life with no kids under the age of 3.

So on Wednesday we enjoyed getting ready to go out, choosing some nice clothes to wear, etc. We have lots of dates recently where we have been dancing, but this time we were going for a relaxing meal and a movie. The food and atmosphere at Nando's was a lot of fun. I love to see Katie when she is laughing, her eyes light up and her smile is infectious.

We stepped out of the restaurant and up the steps to the cinema. We had wisely purchased our Orange Wednesday tickets before we ate so that we didn't have to queue for the movie. We sat through around 40 min. of adverts (while I depleted our stash of malteasers/minstrals) and then watched The Young Victoria. It was a well made and interesting film - I think that both Katie and I avoid history questions in quizzes because we don't know much, but we both enjoy learning. The film portrayed some good examples of what to do and not do in a relationship. At one point Prince Albert said that his wife (the queen) was 'Irreplaceable', and that was lovely, I couldn't replace Katie in my life she is unique and I love her.

I'm so glad that Katie & I are equally yoked - but also that we have different strengths.

I'm quite good on getting by with reduced sleep, and have been able to look after the children in the night while Katie gets the sleep that her body needs.
Katie is able to make good decisions and get on with things, if not for Katie's passion & drive we may well have been still living in our first small flat - with the old tied flowery wallpaper to boot.

Another thing that differentiates us is the ability to spot a face. I will often know the name of some actor/actress and know other films that they are in, but Katie can spot a face. For example I as sure that the actor playing Sir John Conroy was Jason Issacs, but Katie said that it saw the same actor that played Septimus in the film Stardust (Mark Strong) - and after a quick look on IMDB.com I can say with certainty that she was right. She also said that she recognized the actor playing Prince Albert (Rupert Friend), she remembered him in a military uniform, and what do you know - she was right again. He played Mr. Wickham in Pride and Prejudice.

I have learned a lesson - that not only is my wife my equal she is also my superior in many, many ways: Charm, Charisma, Capacity for loving and learning, etc. But when we have a differing of opinions she is almost always right, and when she has ever been 'out righted' by me, it is of little importance.

Wow. What a lucky guy I am!

I'm Married to a 30 year Old !

2009-02-08T22:22:00.000Z

Here is a small collage of pictures from Katie's 30th Birthday Ball.

BoardGameGeek : Pride Cycle

2009-01-15T21:47:00.003Z

I have been using BoardGameGeek ("BGG") for quite a while, as it a huge database about board games. Well back at Christmas 2007 Katie & I decided that we would design and build a game which could give to family members as a Christmas present, I have now added this game (Pride Cycle) to the BGG database... it is game number 40482!

If you want to see my collection or rating of various board games you can find me under the pseudonym of GeekGamerAlan.

THE NEWS OF THE YEAR 2008

2008-12-09T20:50:00.001Z

Dear friends and family, As Christmas cards start to arrive we are reminded that we need to send all our loved ones our news and best wishes for this special Christmas Season. We hope you enjoy hearing our news for the outstanding price of nothing!

Busiest Yet This year has been the busiest yet for Katie, a wonderful contrast to the previous year when she was pregnant and very poorly. Katie started and completed an Open University course in Social Sciences, scoring an average of over 90% on her assignments. She is excited to have finally begun her goal of acquiring a degree. In April she started training to become a childminder and worked late into the night with Alan helping her to write the many policies and procedures she had to have in place. It was all worth while, as in September she was inspected by OFSTED and received a “GOOD” rating after only childminding for a month – what a relief! Katie now child-minds a one year old all day and has two boys to look after, after school. Having a little friend for Jenna has been great and it’s been fun to add boys to the household and chat about Star Wars on the way home from school. So together with the usual tasks of caring for a family, she has been extremely busy but very satisfied this year. Just recently, Alan and Katie have started attending dance classes (Ceroc) which they have always wanted to do.

Service In the Spring Katie was also asked to help the Stake Young Women in the capacity of secretary. She has loved the opportunity to work with the young women again and go on another camp with them. Amber is looking forward to conducting the music for the children’s Christmas Nativity this year, with Leah staring as an angel and Jenna making her debut as a stable ensemble, (probably dressed as goat).

New Kid on the Block Jenna is now one and a half, just starting to talk and loves to draw. Unfortunately she doesn’t yet differentiate between drawing paper and wallpaper! Jenna loves her family, hugs and kisses, and especially loves Elena who comes to play with her every day. We now have to sit together at church or they disturb everyone by calling out for each other. Jenna is practising sharing and taking turns and loves to sing and sign where she signs to communicate with us. Jenna thinks she is ready to use the toilet so we’ve had a few attempts. At the moment the score is toilet 1: floor 3. We’ve obviously got some work to do on that one. Jenna is a constant source of happiness and laughter in our family and we’re all pleased she’s joined our little family. In the family there is much competition for favourite aunty. For Jenna, all the aunties take second place to her Uncle Steve (Alan’s brother).

Over the rainbow This year’s highlights for Leah were the rainbow concert and the school disco (most recent and easiest to remember). She now swims in the big pool for her lessons and she is in the top group at school, which is red group.

Precious Gem Amber’s picture has been featured in the local press with the coverage of the Bournemouth Schools Christmas Carol Concert, where they performed an original song ‘Shepherds with shades’. Amber was noticed not only for her voice, but the full performance, well done!

New Roles Alan, who earlier this year had been working as an application developer, had a slight change in job role and is now working as a Functional Architect for a new payments platform. Outside office hours Alan has another new, exciting yet demanding role which has required special leadership training. His effort is paying dividends as he leads his small but perfectly formed team around the dance floor.

Happy Holidays The Cottrell Clan have been on three holidays this year; Disneyland Paris during the Easter week; Haven, Devon cliffs during the summer half term, and camping in the summer holidays. Unfortunately sickness from Jenna and then Leah slightly spoilt the first two, (and the weather!). Camping was great and we enjoyed spending lots of time with extended Hough family. When asked about her Eurodisney experience, Amber exclaimed “It was fun, exciting and very expensive!” Poor parents, luckily some relatives provided the children with some special spending money. Amber further explained “I met lots of friends, had hot chocolate for breakfast every morning at the hotel restaurant and a meal there everyday too!” There were also lots of rides, and we discovered that Amber is the thrill seeker, and Katie does not have the same passion for rollercoaster’s anymore – must be too many pregnancies! The family stayed in contact at the theme parks using walky-talkies, this proved very handy when Alan, Amber & Leah got stuck inside Crush’s Coaster.

Peacemakers Amber has been selected as her class ‘peer-mediator’. This involves sorting out friends and other school mates problems. Leah is an excellent peacemaker at home, always willing to help others be happy.

Toothfairy At home, school and other places Amber has been pulling, yanking and twisting a massive, huge, gigantic tooth, which has given Amber so much pain and finally on the 4^th of December, she managed to yank it out, what a relief! Leah cottoned onto the idea about the tooth fairy and now we’re sure they’re pulling them out on purpose. That’s all folks,

Happy Christmas Everyone xxx

Katie would like to apologise for this year’s format and especially the cheesy crossword…please send all complaints to the editor.

Crossword

	¹	²	³	⁴

⁵
		⁶

⁷			⁸
			⁹	¹⁰

Down: (1) Goes well with ice-cream, and Amber goes too, (2) summer holiday, (3) What Amber and Leah love to do when it is time for bed, (4) Amber & Leah have both joined the school ____, (8) The opposite of Jenna’s least favourite word, (10) What Leah looked like when she was born. Across: (2) Modern Jive, (5) follows living, bath & bed, (6) A family of dolphins, (7) ‘ello, ‘ello, where did we go in May then?, (9) you’ll feel sheepish if you don’t guess this one. Answers: will be published on request.

Feel free to contact the chief correspondent Katie or the editor Alan, or read the online and uptodate news at either http://adcottrellskis.blogspot.com/ or http://hough-family.blogspot.com/

News

2008-12-07T23:52:00.004Z

I have been writing my bit in the annual family Christmas the NEWS letter, but as this is all about what happened in 2008, it is mostly OLDs, not NEWs, weird huh?

Last Wednesday the Young Men came to my home while Katie as out at a training course, and played one of my own crated games,

Monster mash, is not a new game, as Matthew & I came up with the Idea back in the early 90's. We even had some rules (Which we lost) and built a very large board. After Matthew moved into his own home earlier this year, the safe keeping of the very large board (and the boxes of little monsters) fell to me.

I decided to re-write the rules and have have had a few games with Amber & Leah during the year. Although Amber & Leah both enjoy the game, it was great to have some boys to play, as they did not get too upset when some other monster came and pounded on them. They all seemed to enjoy the game, and it would be great to have some more feedback from them

Carcassonne

2008-12-03T18:59:00.004Z

For the last couple of weeks on a Sunday afternoon, Amber, Leah & I have played Carcassonne: The Castle and we have all won a game each. When Leah won her game she scored a staggering 98 points! The scoring track only goes up to 100!

Amber won with 63 points.

I've never been there, but this is a picture of the real place.

Bloggin'

2008-09-28T19:19:00.003Z

Tonight Amber has been writing in 'Amber's Diary' and I've been helping her. While blogging we have been listening to the radio on Katie's mobile phone, and just having fun.

Amber said "This was fun Amber Daddy time, wasn't it?", and I just smiled and we kept on doing the head jiggles and hand jiving to the music :o)

Amber wants me to add that she got to stay up until 8:21 !

Good night Amber xxx

Family Search

2008-09-03T23:01:00.003Z

I'm really looking forward to how 'New Family Search' is going to change the way we can collaborate on family history Reserch, and allow individuals in ther home be more involved in preparing work for ancestors to be performed in the Temple.

Horse Riding

2008-09-03T22:54:00.002Z

Katie & Jenna have been going to a local sing and sign group for a while, where Jenna learns baby sign language so that she can communicate with us. She is fond of telling us when she is hungry and that she would like more. She knows the signs for No, and Hot and other important messages. As the name of the group suggest, it not all signing, but also singing. Some of our favorite songs include the signs for animals, including horse (which is one hand in front of you, fingers together and the hand vertical and your other hand making an inverted 'V' which rides the first hand).
Katie told me that today when Jenna was playing with the animal toys she was trying to ride the miniature horse, how cute.

Vegetable Sales

2008-07-25T23:31:00.004Z

Last Saturday Katie & I decided to get the most out of our excess garden produce, so we picked loads of lettuce, plus some courgettes, squash and cucumbers from the garden, and then took it with the kids to sell to our neighbors. It was great, Leah liked holding up a bag of mixed lettuce and proclaiming that it was 50p (even if they had just said that they had just been shopping, and didn't need any). We didn't get rid of everything, but still sold over £5 worth of stuff.
Infact this morning we had a knock on the door from a neighbor asking if we had any more! (Which we did)

In addition to selling stuff we have been eating all that plus potatoes and runner beans. I can wait for the corn on the cob to be ready.
(I'll have to add some photos to this entry)

apples to proposals

2008-07-24T22:11:00.002Z

I saw this story at lunchtime today where a guy proposed during a game of apples to apples.
This is a great game ( we have the junior version) but not sure that I would wan to propose infront of the whole family.

How to stay dryiest when it's raining?

2008-06-30T21:36:00.002Z

I was talking to a college at work who explained that one often debated question that he had as a youth was whether it was better to run or walk when it was raining?
Do you walk, staying in the rain longer, or do you run and collect the same amount of water by running into it?
What do you think... well here is a short essay on the topic that I found, and it also agrees with my guess.

The Family @ Euro Disney

2008-03-27T00:45:00.002Z

Just one of the family photos (ME, Katie, Amber & Leah) from our recent Disneyland Paris Adventure. It was incredible!

IF you want to see lots of pictures from the holiday take a look at my Disneyland Paris album on Picasa.

Swimming gala

2008-03-15T22:22:00.003Z

Amber and me (Katie) went to the swimming gala together. We had a lovely time. Amber won her backstroke race but was too nervous to do front crawl. I won all of mine, back, breast, front crawl and fly and we also won the relay :) Bournemouth won overall and there was a really good turn out. Amber especially enjoyed getting a drink and a treat from the vending machine. Oh yeah, I lost my glasses and didn't know how I would drive home. Thankfully I found them under June Shearing!

Mucho Munching of Meringues

2008-03-15T21:07:00.006Z

This evening Katie & Amber went to the Stake Swimming Gala and I stayed at home with Leah & Jenna (Who is not very well - she has both Laryngitis & Conjunctivitis).
After I had got Jenna off to sleep, Leah & I decided to do some 'cooking'.
I searched the Internet for a recipe and found a recipe I used to make when I was a child - Microwave Meringues.

Leah was a very good mixer - because the mixture gets very stiff.
We had to tinker with the timings because the first batch went flat (undercooked) and the second batch got a bit burnt. We perfected them and then added some pink food coloring to the final batch.

Labeling the Children

2008-02-27T12:25:00.006Z

We have all probably been taught that we should not 'label' our children, or they may grow into that label. however these stereotypes have already set in with our kids.

Amber is the 'Cold Baby' - the only child to wear a sweatshirt & Jogging bottoms on a sunny day at school sports - but Leah is the 'Hot Baby' who would always be glistening in sweat even when wearing next to nothing.

At lunch the other day Katie and I were discussing that we need to address some other label that Amber & Leah have assumed, Amber Likes to Organise whereas Leah likes to 'mess'. Jenna however is very 'regular'1.
___________________
NOTES
1 REGULAR: You can set your watch by regularity of the nappy changes.

D&D Requiem

2008-02-23T13:21:00.003Z

Last year I got the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon boxed set, one of my favorites from the 80's. You know the kids never get back home, but that is because the final episode was canceled. Michael Reaves was the writer of some episodes, including 'Requiem' the episode that was never made. It was interesting reading his preface & background to the story... I also enjoyed reading the script

Tooth

2007-12-30T23:00:00.000Z

Just the other day Jenna cut her first tooth. This is exciting - I love being a Dad !

What if The Lord of the Rings was written by ...

2007-12-04T20:37:00.000Z

I stumbled across this site which includes a comic based on the LOTR movies, it is titled the The DM of the Rings.
I just wanted to blog about it so that if I am ever bored I can find it again. Needless to say it appears to have been a work of many months - and I've only read bits, but it has made me smile.

"Imagine a gaggle of modern hack-n-slash roleplayers who had somehow never been exposed to the original Tolkien mythos, and then imagine taking those players and trying to introduce them to Tolkien via a D&D campaign."

My Wife

2007-09-21T11:59:00.000Z

I have not written about my wife very much, and wanted to take a few minutes to say how much I love her.
It seems strange how over a long period of time your children grow up day by day, and you don't notice; and then one day you realise just how much they have changed. Well I think the same applies is marriage. Looking back over the last 7 years since we met it is amazing to think how much closer we are, how much we have invested in each other, and how much we have collectively gained.
In the Bible it talks about cleaving unto one another - becoming one. I feel that Katie is just another part of me. I always look forward to sharing my life with her, time together, or shared experiences when we are apart.
I found this quote which I have modified:
"A [Spouse] is one who knows who you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still gently [encourages] you to grow."
- William Shakespeare [+ Alan]

Durdle Door

2007-08-09T12:11:00.000Z

I was looking for pictures of places I spent my youth and found this of Durdle Door which I think is just great. To be honest I've only been down to the spot where the photographer took this shot... and there ain't much of a beach.

I'm getting a SINKing feeling...

2007-07-14T07:50:00.001Z

During our Holiday, space in the car was at a premium, so the baby bath stayed at home (however we seemed to have brought everything else). Jenna was the only one who got a bath during the week, and that was in the sink. This is what memories are made of.

(Please note that the bathroom was not steamy, but that I have added the 'soft focus' which provides lots of privacy)

There it is!

2007-07-06T22:11:00.000Z

Katie did seem to snap a picture of a real smile, But I'm thinking... that Jenna is thinking of something else? (wind)

Smile but wind

2007-07-06T20:22:00.000Z

Today Jenna has tried smiling with no assistance from the wind.

This was not it, but she's only learning and I'm sure we'll catch it on film soon.

Who do we look like ?

2007-06-24T07:26:00.000Z

The Snowball Effect

2007-06-21T11:07:00.000Z

Life used to be quite laid back. Now things are moving ever faster and faster. The world is changing and although we should keep up to speed, I am a little worried that we (personally, as a nation and global culture) may be racing to a destination not of our choosing.

My thought for the day.

Quotes from my family

2007-06-17T00:42:00.000Z

Leah
On the way to school the other day Leah waved and said thanks to the car driver that stopped as we crossed the road, and then shouted up at a guy painting a house "Good Job, Good painting!"

Jenna
We have been using the Supper Nanny naughty step approach to discipline. This involves a time out for 1 minute for each Year of your Age. I noted that for Jenna, excessive crying will mean approx. 5 seconds in the naughty cot.

Amber
Today Amber has done loads of jobs around the house. I told her that a job that really needed doing was to sweep under the table. She said "Mum's going to give me two stickers for this". She is so motivated by stickers - but I think that is a front, she just wants to be useful.

We love them all.

Moving Pictures

2007-05-25T12:20:00.000Z

Jenna on my Lap, in the hospital about 30 minuites old.

Where it all began.

2007-05-23T13:45:00.000Z

I found this picture looking at a group of photos about Bournemouth
This is the location in the lower Bournemouth gardens just outside the pavillion, where on the 15th December 2000, I got down on one knee, asked Katie to marry me and serenaded her.
Garden River

What a lovely picture. Not sure why I can't link it to the blog!

Jenna Louise Cottrell

2007-05-21T17:28:00.000Z

Born at 1:12pm , Monday 21st May 2007. Weight 7lbs 3oz (33cm head!), length unknown.

I have posted some photos to my flickr site, here is one of them.
This is her first pose, and she has not made much noise, she fed straight away, even before the cord was cut (by me) and she looks like she will be a good sleeper.
We have fallen in love with her already - just like her older sisters.

5 Days late

2007-05-21T07:20:00.000Z

We think the baby is comming. Mum is on the way to take the kids to school, and then I'll take Katie to the Hospital.

10 Days Later

2007-05-14T08:35:00.001Z

It has been 10 Days since the last baby update, Katie had written a long email about our recent trip to the hospital... and I have decided to start my Parernity Leave from tommorrow anyway.
We are still waiting, but to be honest the due date is not until the 16th - so it's not like it's late is it.

Countdown to Birth

2007-05-04T16:31:00.000Z

We have been on alert Since Sunday Morning, because Katie thought the labour was starting. At about 4am she was woken with some very strong and long contractions - and she had several over a 2 hour period - so she woke me up to put me on stand-by, but then it all stopped. That was 5 days ago.
On Tuesday afternoon Katie called me to say that she wasn't having contractions but she felt very much how she felt immediately prior to the Labour with Leah. That was 3 days ago.
Every afternoon and morning Katie has been having a series of contractions - but still no Labour and no Baby. The due day is still 12 days to go.
Leah has her Bouncy Castle Birthday party tomorrow - so Let's hope the baby doesn't crash the party - but I would be great to have our new arrival this weekend.

These Pictures were taken on Sunday the 24th April at a Country Park - Katie is even bigger now but still as much fun.
I Love her very much and I'm getting really excited about the new baby - and I've almost caught up with Katie on the preparation.

Tooth 2

2007-04-19T16:53:00.000Z

Oh... and shortly after my last 'tooth' blog, Leah managed to loose tooth number two. She now has two bottom teeth missing, and the teeth either side are also wobbly.
She is not the only one in her class to have lost a tooth, but I think she is ahead of the game with the size of her Gap.

Improve your public speaking

2007-04-11T15:58:00.000Z

At lunchtime today I went to the Chaseside speakers club, part of Toastmasters International
It was good to be able to see others deliver 'talks/speeches' for the purpose of practice, critique & improvement.
I may very well join the luchtime club which meets every couple of weeks during a lunch hour.

Wave towards Hengistbury Head

2007-04-11T08:40:00.000Z

At work there was a Photography competition
The winner was 'Michael Pechey' and the photograph was posted with this narrative "...photograph taken in January, of a wave breaking on the beach with a view towards Hengistbury Head and on to the Isle of Wight."

I love living in Bournemouth and near the Sea. Roll on the Summer, and going to the beach, forest and Camping. We Love Camping. Do you Like Camping?

Smile...

2007-04-06T22:45:00.001Z

Smile...
Originally uploaded by adcottrellski.

Leah has lost a tooth.
Yes - today Leah was in tears because her tooth was hurting, it was wobbly. She is not yet 5. This evening, her tooth fell out.

I found the following on the internet: "At between six and ten months of age, most infants begin to get their baby teeth. The central Incisors (front middle teeth)usually come in first, and then teeth begin appearing on either side and work their way back to the second molars. By the time a child has reached three years old, most of the baby teeth should be present. The process begins to repeat itself when the child is about seven years old." [emphysis added]

Smile...
Originally uploaded by adcottrellski.

Some other sites gave more encouraging advice (It also looks like the new teeth are just below the surface.), but Leah may be without some teeth for the next few years... she's so grown up :o)

NB: This is the first picture I got when I asked Leah to pose for a photo of her missing tooth.

Hilton, Frankfurt

2007-03-15T10:16:00.000Z

The hotel was very nice. This is the view from inside the hotel entrance looking up at the lifts. These are cool because you can see where they are, and when you are in them you can see down into the entrance hall.
Last night a piano player near the bar could be heard from inside my room on the 2nd floor.

Freecycle & Deutchland

2007-03-14T00:06:00.000Z

I have been busy connecting with lots of people in our local community of freecyclers.

This was my post last night - and now it's all gone or going to a new home :o)

To: poole-freecycle@yahoogroups.com
Date: 12-Mar-2007 20:33
subject:OFFER (BH10): Shed, Blinds, plus more...

All ready and waiting in Ensbury Park (BH10 4HG)

[1] Shed 4'x6' dismantled shed.
[2] Blinds - wood effect, 2 x 2' wide & 1 x 6' wide
[3] PC Monitor (works, but going a bit dim)
[4] TV Unit, space for DVD/Video, a draw underneath and shelves to the side - needs a clean up.
[5] All-in-one Scanner/photocopier/printer
(a DELL A920, but is basically a Lexmark x1270 - you will need a USB cable, but I've got all the drivers and even a thick help manual.(It wasn't working with my own refilled Tesco cartridges, but even assuming that you can't fix the printing, this unit can still be used as a very good scanner (including text recognition, and even a fax machine I believe.)
[6] Cannon Star Writer (This is a a word processor with built in printer - includes manuals)

Regards,
Alan

And I'm off at 5:45 in the morning to Germany for a couple of days hard work (or at least lots of travel). I'm glad that I live close to work, and even work from home sometimes. When I was single I saught oppertunitiers to travel as part of my Job, but I am glad that travel is now limited. I will miss my family, but look forward to a long telephone call from Katie all free of charge due to our TalkTalk Talk3 International & Free broadband deal.

The mind of a four year old - Pregnancy

2007-03-01T00:00:00.000Z

The following conversation happened at the dinner table on Monday.

LEAH: Mum, when you eat your food I can see your tummy get fatter.
KATIE: (chuckles) Really?!
ALAN: Leah, what happens when you eat your food?
[Leah gives Alan a steady look... Alan continues]
Does your tummy get fatter?
LEAH: Of course not.
ALAN: Why not?
[Leah gives Alan a look, while raising her eyebrow which says "don't you know anything?"]
LEAH: I haven't got a baby in my tummy!

This also reminded me of the day I told the girls that Katie was expecting - and that she was feeling quite ill. I said that when we got home Katie might be asleep, and that they could talk to her in the morning.
Well Katie was awake - and Leah wanted to see the baby right now... or in the morning.

It is slowly getting nearing to having a new baby with us... all we see at the moment is feet and elbows sticking out of Katie's sides.

The pregnancy is not very much fun - Katie even said she is looking forward to the Labour!

Amber's Baptism

2007-02-25T16:30:00.000Z

Amber had been looking forward to her Baptism for quite a long time, but as the day came nearer she was concerned about all the invitations that had been sent out. She can be very shy at times, and the Baptism was no exception. She did not want any photos, but we did manage to get a few.

The talks were great - Amber listened to her Granny, Nan & Aunt Jenny as they were talking to her. When she came down into the font, and it was just Amber and I with Mummy on the steps , all the nervousness seemed to have gone. She was wearing the same dress that her cousins wore when they were baptised, she also wore a calm smile (not the giggly/cheeky smile that makes you smile right back, but the kind of smile that tells you she is thinking, a smile that makes her look older than her years).
I have baptised quite a few people, but this was only the second time I had performed the ordinance for an eight year old. My bother Matthew was waiting for me to baptise him when I returned from California after serving as a missionary. But this was a first... my own daughter, now a baptised member of the church. I'm so proud of her, and the example she is to her younger sister. Leah wants to be just like Amber, and do all the things that she does.
Leah is now eager to countdown until her 8th Birthday (less than 3 Years and 3 months to go).

Journals

2007-02-23T01:10:00.000Z

Last Monday Night we had a lesson about Journals during our family home evening. We talked about writing things that showed the real you - and to focus on the positive things. As this Blog is like a journal I thought I'd flick through some old journals and add some bits to this blog. I will be adding them on the date they happened.
One of my journal entries that I read just made Katie & I laugh so much... and when you are 28 weeks pregnant laughing can be serious business.

Craft work clear out

2007-02-18T00:56:00.000Z

A few weeks ago we did some serious clearing out of Junk. I have tried to freecycle a lot of stuff, we have moved a massive box of clothes into the loft and donated a bib bag full of clothes to charity and thrown away loads that were just too worn out to even give away.

HPIM1516
Originally uploaded by adcottrellski.

Another area to make huge gains on is the category of arts and craft.
After just a few short years of school our girls have amassed a huge volume of stuff - and that is just the best bits.
Well I thought that we could take pictures and then chuck it all :o)
And here is the picture that gave me the idea in the first place.

School Governor

2007-02-12T23:52:00.000Z

In a recent letter from the school to parents, we were informed that there was a vacancy as a school governor. So a week ago on Friday after discussion with Katie I dropped into the school office with my form and a short written 'factual statement' about me.
The expectation was that the statement would be published as part of the election for the new governor.
Well there has been no election - and I have been appointed as a governor! The first meeting is tommorow so I'll find out more.
When we moved house last year and came to the new school we talked about how we could become more involved in the community. We discussed that it would be good to get involved with the PFTA, for Katie to volenteer at school, and perhaps I could become a parent governor... well here we are.

Blah! Grandpi

2007-01-11T14:09:00.001Z

Blah! Grandpi
Originally uploaded by Munzerr.

This is the photo (Four months ago) that started me off on Flickr and Blogger. I guess you could say that it inspired me. That's my Grampi.

60th vs 6th Anniversary

2007-01-06T16:00:00.000Z

Alan and Family
Originally uploaded by Munzerr.

While attending Nan & Grampi's Diamond wedding anniversary I contemplated the current duration of our marriage. We are approaching 6 years in Febuary, and our 60ths will be in 2061 !

Now the last six years have flown by, and 2061 seems a looooong way away, but time keep accelatating (from my perspective) then I'm be a grandda pretty soon and a great grandad getting ready for my Diaond anniversay in no time at all.

Looking forward to the next 54 years.

Face Painting by Amber

2007-01-01T12:00:00.000Z

Face Painting by Amber
Originally uploaded by Munzerr.

Amber did her own face painting on New Years Day while Katie & I slept in.

Christmas Message 2006

2006-12-21T10:04:00.000Z

Dear family and friends,
We hope this Christmas newsletter finds you well and happy and that we get it out in time for Christmas! Our biggest news this year is that in January we finally moved house and we are now expecting baby number three. More on that later, let’s start from the beginning…

We spent last Christmas at Katie’s parents as our flat was all packed up and ready to move. When we returned home our flat was so cold that our water pipes were frozen and the kitchen wall tiles fell off! We were more than ready to move by this point.

We finally completed on January 12th and moved into another cold house with hardly any lights that worked. With all our things moved in things soon felt homely and it’s been lovely having so much extra space. So far we’ve redecorated the dining room and the girls’ bedroom and after discovering dodgy building work in bed 3 ended up having builders in to rebuild the wall between bed 3 and the study and to plaster both rooms. Not something we’d planned on but both rooms look great now and we’re renting out bed 3 to a uni student so that will recoup the costs incurred. Another nasty surprise included discovering that the two big bay windows need replacing too, especially our bedroom. Never mind, all in good time. We hope this house will last us as long as we want to live here. After finding so many leaks though I think we’ll go for a newer house next time.

We’ve spent a lot of time and energy in planting a garden this year and enjoyed bumper crops of tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, carrots, sweet corn, courgettes and a few strawberries, black currants and about four raspberries! So we’ve been really pleased with that and had a great bargain of getting a large greenhouse free from freecycle.

In the Easter holidays we enjoyed a holiday to Burnham on Sea in a caravan at a Haven Holiday Park. When we first arrived we’d been put in a caravan right by the lake – with a three year old! So we complained and were moved to a brand new caravan, posh as you like! So we had a good holidayJ. We walked to the top of a big hill, played pitch and putt, got the kite stuck up a tree and went swimming.

New back garden and old back garden (after we moved)In the summer Katie spent the first two weeks at the beach with the girls, which turned out well because they were our best two weeks of weather. We then decorated bed 3 (post plastering) ready for the arrival of our student. Katie went on Young Women’s camp for the week while the girls had a nice holiday with Katie’s mum and dad. We spent the last week of the summer camping on the Isle of Wight. This year both girls played at the park while mum and dad read, quite a novelty! We enjoyed cycling to the beach, days out and lazy days at the camp site.

In September both of the girls started at our local primary school, Leah in reception, Amber now in year 3. They both settled in really quickly. On Leah’s first day she happily strolled in by herself and sat on the teacher’s chair and read herself a book. Leah is still doing her dancing lessons and just learnt to swim at the end of the summer. Amber has really improved her swimming strokes this year and in her previous school played the recorder and sang in the choir.
September saw the biggest event of the year and that was Katie falling pregnant. Unfortunately this meant the usual ‘Hyperemesis gravidarum’ which saw Katie into hospital three times with dehydration and Ketosis from the continuous sickness. Unfortunately the side effects from all the medication also lead to Katie not sleeping either, a horrible combination because she could find no relief from the sickness by sleeping. Thankfully at 14 weeks she finally began to be able to eat and now at 17 weeks is starting to get back to normal, just in time for Christmas. She already has quite a bump and we are excitedly waiting for the first movements to be felt. Amber and Leah were so excited when they found out about the baby and Leah wanted to see it straight away! Now that the bump is starting to show they want to keep looking at it and showing it to all their friends! They have coped amazingly well with all the sickness and being ferried off to friends all the time. Thankfully Alan has been able to work from home and was able to do the school run and basically everything else.

Since the pregnancy Katie unfortunately has had to stop teaching swimming and was released as Young Women’s President which she was gutted about. Needless to say Katie doesn’t like being pregnant:L This year Alan was called to serve on the Stake High Council which involved organising activities, helping support wards in the Stake (our local area) and doing things like audits.

He also has a new job in the same bank but a different department. He was a business analyst and is now a systems analyst (ask Alan for more details on that one!) and we hope will be moving up a steeper pay scale.
Over all we’ve had a really good year. The girls are lovely and play nicely together. It’s hard to describe them but here goes: Leah is quite sensitive and conscientious. She loves bringing home a new book from school and inviting all her friends to come and play. She still loves to dress up and dance around the house. Amber on the other hand is always found in her pyjamas and despite claiming to dislike school loves to play schools with Leah. We think it’s because she gets to be the teacher! Amber loves to make star charts and be helpful around the house. She constantly tells us she loves us and gives us lots of kisses.

We haven’t received any cards yet and that’s probably because no-one has our new address (we hope anyway), so we’ll try to get this out to you soon. We wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year. We feel very blessed this year as a family and find great happiness in being with each other. The pregnancy with all its drawbacks has at least strengthened our marriage and our love and appreciation for each other. We know that all our blessings come from a loving Heavenly Father and share with you our knowledge that He lives and that His son, our Saviour came to earth so we can return to live with them again.

We send you all our love and best wishes,

Katie, Alan, Amber and Leah. xxx

(Sorry about the late letter the printer broke – so we got a new one, cheaper than buying new ink too)

Why Cottrellski ?

2006-12-18T12:46:00.000Z

When serving as a missionary in Sacramento California I often wore my Russian hat (which was given as a gift from Katy Hathaway before I left) I had removed the Russian emblem from the front and made my own Klingon Empire pin which I wore on the front. Didn't think it was a good idea to wear a really Russian hat in the US of A.

Well one of my missionary friends (Elder Balzly) who I lived with liked to call me AD (Just AD) , but when he saw me with my hat on he called me AD Cottrellski with a Russian accent... and it kind of stuck.

So when I first wanted to comment on my sisters blog about a year ago I had to register... and this was the profile I created... I just thought a blog with the same name made sense.

London

2006-12-16T11:31:00.000Z

Went to London for My 32nd Birthday. Katie and I did loads of looking around and also went to see the Lion King.
We stayed with Louise at her flat.

Me and my sweetheart

2006-11-18T07:26:00.001Z

Couple
Originally uploaded by adcottrellski.

I'll have to post a wedding picture here, but this a really nice one. When we were dating I took katie to a dance at Poole chaple and brought her a flower to wear, and I also sang 'our song' (I want to grow old with you) from the stage. Paul Bleach said he thought I was going to propose.

This photo was taken at the same event 4 years later.
Katie is wearing the same dress she had on 4 years earlier, and I'm wearing the same outfit I brought for our wedding.

We are now around 3 years on from this photo - doesn't time fly.

Blog newbie

2006-11-18T06:40:00.000Z

I have decided to create a web log for myself. I do not plan on putting stuff here all the time, but just a way of creating something that I may want to share or to look back on over the years... these things to not have a limited shelf life do they?

(Chinese) New Years Whispers

1998-01-01T20:00:00.000Z

To celebrate the new year Linda, Helen and I along with others went to the YSA dance @ HYDE PARK (London)...
...the best line of the evening was just after 12pm last night. I needed the loo.
I told Dave Kenchington and James Crier that I was going for the first 'poo' of the year.
When they followed me to the bathroom door they then realised that I had said 'poo' and not 'pull'.

(Post Mission, Vol. I, p54)

How to Scare a Missionary

1995-02-21T10:45:00.000Z

We were supposed to meet with the ZL's @ 9:15 so we could stay at their house tonight. We didn't get home till 9:45 because we got caught up @ the Bybee's house. (Karri should get baptized soon!) I spoke to Ballard and Fotheringham, then called the ZL's. No one home, so left a message.
By the time 10;15 came around I took off my tie and put it in the closet and Tanner Jumped out, (who I consequently strangled)...

(Mission, Vol. I, p142)

We stayed in Lodi and travelled together to do a booth at the Galt Flea Market the following day. It was Great - much better than tracting. In fact If I can find the picture, it was at the Flea market that we all brough the the stussy oversized t-shirts.

First Contact (with Journals in my Own Hand)

1989-01-25T22:00:00.000Z

Christmas day! Same as every year, wake up early to open stockings (Matty got a whoopee cushion again) ...

(Loose leaf Journal)