83. Look Mummy! (We left for our Butlin's Ambassadors' holidays a day early to break up the journey, and called into Westonbirt Arboretum on the way – more on that in another post. It's an amazing Forestry Commission site, but dear God it was cold. We braved -3°C to explore the play area and some of the old arboretum, and The Boy really showed his growing ability and confidence at tree climbing!)

84. View (Checking into our hotel room in The Ocean Hotel, we discovered that we had a gorgeous view from the fourth floor over the resort. The Boy has been out on the balcony at any and every opportunity this week to catch a glimpse of his beloved helter-skelter.)

85. Plopping (A day trip to Brighton, which was an opportunity that I couldn't let pass when down this way. I've wanted to visit the West Pier for a long time and I find the condition of it so very sad. How it's been allowed to lapse into such a terrible state of disrepair over the past thirty years, is beyond me. Our seaside heritage is one of the things that makes Britain special, to see such a beautiful example of Victorian architecture destroyed is shocking. The remaining pier was a let-down, and so we spent a good amount of time 'plopping' on the beach, having already enjoyed the wonders of the Royal Pavilion.)

86. Round and round (We had passed a walled park several times this week, peeking over the top was a zip-wire and wooden climbing frame. A quick Google showed it to be Hotham Park, which we visited on Wednesday afternoon. The park was amazing, and for most of the hour or so we were there, we had it to ourselves. I even had a go on the zip-wire myself; a first! The Boy found a very different swing to those we are used to, and really enjoyed spinning around watching the sky swirling.)

87. I Can Cook! (This is one of the shows that we've been looking forward to all week. The Boy is completely captivated by Katy's antics on CBeebies and, even though this show wasn't presented by her, he couldn't wait to see today's show. I had to sit him at the front with all the other children, and then join the adults at the back. That was until I heard a frantic 'mummy!' being screamed from the front when the character 'Naughty Salt' was being chased by 'Lucy' around the audience. The Boy hates naughtiness of any description, and it really upset him. Another frantic 'MUMMY!!!' and I'd managed to scoop up his little sobbing body. Apologies to the three parents whose fingers I stood on en route.)

88. By the seaside (Today's photo had to be one that summed up our Butlins Ambassadors break in Bognor Regis; sunshine, deckchairs, cheerful smiles but biting winds. Hats and gloves, long johns and rosy cheeks were the order of the week, but dear God we had fun!)

89. Which ride first? (I won a competition for us to visit Legoland for the launch of the Lego Hero Factory, Build and Test Area. We've never been there with The Boy before, the only other time was actually ten years ago, well before children were thought of, and we commented on the time that it was a pointless place without them. Today we got to try many of the rides that we'd seen then, and how they had expanded the park. Freezing conditions meant that we lasted from 9.30-4.00 but gave up early to head home after a tiring week. The Boy adored the park and the rides were a good length for him to enjoy them, he loved looking over the park map to see where he'd been or which he was going on.)

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