The slope in our garden ....

... is now a 'mountain' ..... according to Connor!

I usually have my afternoon tea .. in a mug ... sssh! not a word to my Mum ... tea is not served in a mug! Tea is served in a teapot on a tray with cups and saucers, milk jug and sugar bowl! My children were brought up with the tea-tray every tea-time and I still practice this 'age-old', mainly English (I think!) custom but in the afternoons .. and it's only been lately .. I have succumbed to laziness and make my tea in a mug ....horrors ! Oh .. it's just easier that way with two littlies to cater for as well. I do use a tray though - a small one - on which are 2 plastic cups with juice and a couple of biscuits (plus my mug ..sshh!) ... and then we, the littlies and I, go into the garden (if we aren't there already) and have our 'tea' !

We sit on the patio ....or on a rug on the lawn - on the bottom lawn (near the house) or the top lawn (up the slope) ... or on the garden bench on the top lawn up the slope - weather permitting of course .. which it usually is!

On Friday afternoon, when it was tea-time, I was walking outside with Connor and I asked him where we should have our tea. "up ... mountain" he said. "oh" .. I said ... "where's the mountain?" "there" .. pointing to the slope! "Come ... Nanny .. up ... mountain"!! Off we traipse ... 'up the mountain'. When we get there .... "sit .. Nanny ... on ... bech"! He is the cutest thing ! His vocabulary is expanding every day.

So ... our slope has become the 'mountain'. Our 'mountain' has been the focus of many many years of children's delight!!

We've lived here 'forever' (built our house in 1980!) and landscaped the garden in such a way as to get maximum space for playing. Leveled the lower section as much as possible leaving a smaller upper level (without going to expense of retaining walls which we couldn't afford in those days) and then made flower beds all around. The pool was subsequently built into the lower area .. right to the side ... still keeping maximum space for playing.

Maybe we were destined to always have children here ... the garden has been played in ever since .. by toddlers and growing up children ... running up and down, giggling and laughing .... pulling and pushing toys ...

.. doing roly poly's .... sideways ... forwards ... backwards.

Our 'mountain' has had every conceivable wheeled contraption going up and down it .. from baby's prams and pushchairs (to rock/jiggle babies to sleep!), to plastic 'ride-on's' ...

... to dolly's pushchairs - Elaine's - and now our granddaughter, Erin ...

.. to bicycles and plastic motorbikes ....

.... whizzing down and crashing into patio ... shrub ... house ... or anyone standing in the way ..

... to balls of all sizes for all ages of children from littlies to teenagers ..... from large balls to soccer balls, tennis balls, cricket balls (and surprisingly enough NONE through a window !!) etc etc ...

.. and hula hoops endlessly rolled down and up .... frisbies flying from the 'top lawn' to the bottom .......

.. endless 'blurry' fun !!!