I woke up sandwiched between the two of you and managed to climb out of bed without waking either of you up. Daddy was already awake when I came into the lounge. Yesterday your auntie Anita & your cousin Samuel arrived from Sweden and each of you gave them your room while they are here. Nixie, you, were adamant that Anita would have your room and Forrest you wanted Samuel to have yours but because our bed doesn’t really fit all 4 of us, daddy slept on the sofa.. You, Nixie, especially had been counting down the days until their arrival. You even went to pick them up yesterday with daddy from Heathrow. 

I had been missing Foxy and just recently mentioned how I wonder when we will see him again next so I was super happy when we saw him in our back garden first thing in the morning. I rushed out with some food for him and daddy & I got to spend some special moments with him before he took off again. I always feel like it’s a good omen when he comes to visit and that it’s a sign I'm going to have a good day. 

You, Forrest were the first to come down and when I went upstairs I found you, Nixie, combing Mua'dibs hair and patiently waiting for Anita or Samuel to wake up. You are just so happy they are here and can’t wait to spend time with them! I managed to coax you downstairs as I didn’t want to wake them up prematurely and to our amazement Foxy had come back! The three of us rushed outside and fed him one more time as a very special treat. Foxy isn’t as relaxed when you, Forrest, are with us because you have a tendency to move around too fast and it spooks him but he still managed to stay with us until he had finished eating. 

When we came back inside both Anita & Samuel were up and pretty much straight away you wanted to share and show them so many things! First on the list was your dog breed guide book because you wanted them to see which dog you would really like to have: a Clumber Spaniel. Then you wanted to show them our family polymer clay art project of prehistoric creatures and they absolutely loved both yours and Forrest’s creations. Then you wanted to share with them all of our fossils and Forrest, you really wanted to show them the very first shark tooth you found at Highcliffe beach. You, Nixie, also had to show them pictures of Carli and tell them all about him. 

It’s funny because even though you, Forrest, haven't been using your room now that Samuel is in it you really want to use it and asked if you could go up into your bed. You told me that when they leave that you are going to sleep in your own room. The two of you are having the best of times with Samuel and he really knows how to make you both laugh so much! I had been in the kitchen getting things ready for our day out when all I could hear was loud squeals of laughter so I went to see what you were up to to find you both taking turns holding onto one of our cushions and with Samuel throwing that cushion with you attached to it onto the sofa! This was by far the best thing ever for you both! The three of you were having so much fun together.

After a while I could feel that things were getting maybe a tad too giddy so thought it would be a good idea to move us all into the garden while everyone is still happy and on a high! Having been away for 8 nights camping we had a lot of Calendula to harvest and it felt extra special to do this with Anita. I love that she will have helped with this years healing salves. It will be infused with even more love. Afterwards you, Nixie, had found a little snail and you made it a little sanctuary surrounded by food for it to eat which consisted of grass and petals from various flowers. Anita even sang a “coming out of its shell” song as a way of trying to entice her out. It just felt so incredible having them here with us in our garden. The last time Anita came here was when I was pregnant with you, Forrest and the last time Samuel came to visit was around 2012 when we still lived in London and way before either of you even existed! So it felt extra special having both of them here together. 

After we packed our picnic and our bags we all piled into our car and headed to Highcliffe beach. One of my favourite places. Sadly daddy couldn’t join us because he was working. As soon as we parked the car, Nixie, you had to show them the ammonite that exists in the car park. I find it so incredibly sweet that you love it so much and always need to show it to people. 

 As we walked along the beach to my usual spot we made friends with a lot of dogs. Forrest, you found so many itty bitty shells that needed to go into our treasure pot. It was such a beautiful day, not too hot but not cold and just the right temperature for having a swim although annoyingly I had thought it felt a bit chilly when we were at home so I didn’t bring my swimsuit but I didn’t mind because I was enjoying just relaxing searching for shark teeth and watching the two of you have fun with Anita & Samuel in the water. You, Nixie, were obviously the first one in and then you, Forrest and Samuel went in and I was amazed at how far you went in and how trusting you were with Samuel. Seeing the two of you together really made my heart go all mushy. You were just having the best of times and the squeals of joy that came out of you were the most beautiful sounds! After a while Samuel asked if you anted to go out deeper but you didn't and I could tell he wanted to go for a proper swim so I asked you to come to shore and hang out with me which you did. You managed to find the only bit of wet clay along the whole beach and had so much fun playing in it, covering yourself in it telling me you were having a mud bath. You, Nixie, were out in the water with Anita & Samuel and you were all having such a great time. 

Anita & Samuel came in first and eventually you, Nixie came in too and had some lunch. Forrest, you  were way too busy playing in the sand to be bothered with eating! Eventually though I did get you to let me help you clean off all of the clay off of you and I was so surprised that you didn’t make a fuss at all about getting wet. I then carried you to our blanket and wrapped you in a towel and sat you down where you had some lunch and then some treats. 

I decided to have a little walk along the beach in search for treasure and it wasn’t too long before I heard you, Nixie, shout for me in the most excited voice that you could see Rusty! Rusty is our favourite dalmatian and you had even said this morning that you hoped we would see them and we did! Rusty and his owner Steven are such a sweet duo. This time Steven even had some dinosaur fossils to show us which he had found at Compton Bay on the Isle of Wight. When they continued on their walk the two of you went back to the blanket and I continued on my treasure hunt for a little longer before also heading back to the blanket. When I had returned the two of you and Samuel were in the midst of creating a sand sculpture which you named Mrs. Foodie Food Mouth.

A little while later we saw Rusty and Steven again and this time we got to introduce them to Anita & Samuel. I just love how much the two of you love Rusty especially, you, Forrest! I had one last walk down the beach this time with Anita before we needed to start heading home and Nixie, you took this as an opportunity for one last swim. I love watching you enjoying yourself in the sea, you really are my little selkie. You kind of swam alongside me as I walked but after a while you told me you were heading back to Samuel. 

When we came back Samuel had buried the two of you in piles of sand and you were both loving it so much! Then Samuel grabbed you, Forrest, underneath your arms and you turned into an erupting volcano and this made you giggle so much.  I gathered all of our things and we made our way back up the hill. This time we went around the grass way because you, Forrest, wanted to see if you could see any bunnies. But instead of bunnies we found perfectly ripe blackberries! The really good ones were out of reach for you both but luckily Samuel is very tall and was able to pick handfuls of berries for you both to enjoy. I ended up having to rush ahead because our parking had run out and I couldn’t get any signal to lengthen our stay but luckily I didn’t get a ticket. I also had promised ice creams but when we got to the top we found out the ice cream shop was closed and this made you, Forrest super sad. 

By the time we arrived back home it was around 18:00 and I was exhausted! We found daddy outside mowing the garden which is something he loves to do. He just loves that he actually has his very own lawn mower. It makes him feel all grown up. I used this time to get the two of you into the bath and got all the sand rinsed off. Afterwards the two of you played in the garden with the hula hoop and on the trampoline and you, Nixie helped Anita hang up the towels. 

It was getting late and we still hadn’t had dinner and even though daddy was incredibly tired too and I know he didn’t want to at all he cooked us all his famous ratatouille. He really is an incredible person and we are all so lucky to have him in our lives. After we filled up our tummies with yummy goodness the two of you wanted to finish the movie, James & The Giant Peach which you had started watching earlier with Anita & Samuel. Forrest, you ended up falling asleep on the sofa and Nixie you and I ended up reading only one chapter before turning off the lights and falling asleep.  All in all we had such an incredible day and I feel so grateful for all the love that I feel surrounding us. Life really feels beautiful.