Tales of the unexpected with The Boy, my pride and joy.
Memories made at the beach last a lifetime.
As far as I'm concerned, this is completely true!
However, sometimes it helps to have a little something to aid the memories. My sister pointed out a glass jar to me recently which had 'Sand from our favorite beach' printed on it. I really liked the idea, but thought I could make it myself and actually etch the name of the beach into the glass.*
The Boy absolutely loves bubbles and the more that can be blown at a time, the better. He's a huge fan of bubble blowers which produce several at a time, and so we decided to have a go at creating out own multi-bubble blower using drinking straws.
Build it, paint it, climb it! LolliBop, the UK's biggest children's festival is back!
It seems like the Summer is beginning to whizz by! One minute we're busy waiting for a bit of warmth and sunshine, and the next I'm beginning to worry about fitting in all the days out which I'd wanted to plan.
But in amongst all of this, when it comes down to it, is a little boy who just wants to play in the water.
One of the highlights of our Summers for the past two years has been going to the LolliBop children's festival in London. With the vast majority of the best quality children's television personalities appearing on one of the many stages, activities galore for every age and interest, and a wonderfully happy atmosphere, it is the pinnacle of our Summer days out.
LolliBop has announced a new home for the festival on 15th-17th August 2014; the majestic and fairy-like stately home Hatfield House.
We've got just over a week until I go back to school. Normally I treasure this last week with him, while desperately trying to deny that I'm looking forward to some regular adult contact that isn't my mum or husband. However this year, I'm hoping that the time really drags as a day after I return to work (for an INSET day), The Boy will start school for the first time. And I must confess that while it is a fun and exciting prospect for him, I see the next fourteen years zooming along through primary and secondary schools towards adulthood.
I may be overthinking it somewhat.
That's why I am desperately trying to fill our last week with as many activities as possible; to make memories together and enjoy every second. I've still got a bank of activities that we can crack on with including cooking and craft, however after four weeks, even my 'toolkit' of ideas is beginning to feel a little empty!
Next weekend though is a special treat weekend for The Boy as he hasn't stopped asking to go to Peppa Pig World since around Easter time, and so I have planned for us to have a trip down to Southampton to visit the special pink porcine and her family. It's a fair old trek down to Southampton from Cardiff and so I'll be making sure I've packed a variety of activities for The Boy; it's far too easy to put on the DVD player to keep him amused for an hour and half. I do have a feeling though that as I will be spending around eight hours listening to Peppa and her family snort while queuing to ride on George's Dinosaur, I need a back-up plan so I'm not subject to endless renditions of the music on the way down. I've found in the past that packing a rucksack with activities for amusement, can be a great tip to make travel easier for children and parents.
Until that trip though, we're going to fill our days with painting, craft, cooking, play and visits to the park and beach. If anyone else is struggling for ideas on how to keep their little ones amused until the beginning of term, here are some great activities to help create a fun-filled last week of the Summer holidays!
216. Swing Low (The zip wire at Coombe Mill is one of the big draws for children, and I can't begin to tell you how many times he's been on it this week. Sunday was an incredibly rainy day, and I'm so glad that we brought his red all-in-one waterproof, it was very much needed on the feed run and for outdoor play. This was also the last photo taken on my much-loved Canon EOS 300D before it died; one of the mirrors inside broke and every photo was black from a third of the way down. Having just been presented with a brand new 55-250mm lens by Mr. TBaM as an early birthday present, and so I could photograph the wonderful location we were staying in, I was left with little choice but to order a new one and await Tuesday morning's delivery eagerly.)
217. Sodden (I rarely include photos of Mr. TBaM but I want to illustrate exactly how wet it was: we had to peel our clothes off after the feed run and wring them out; The Boy even cried because he was so wet and fed up. Luckily, by mid afternoon the skies brightened and we were able to indulge in a stroll around the farm.)
218. Hero ("Ah, there you are Guy!" was one of the most heard phrases of the week. The Boy adores Guy, one of the Coombe Mill triplets, and was keen to chatter to him about anything he could. We found him in the goat enclosure and he spent a great twenty minutes with us, accompanying us up to see the deer before continuing his game of 'Manhunt' with his friends while The Boy looked on wistfully! Oh and my new camera came: this was taken with it and my new lens.)
219. Farmer The Boy (Need I say anymore? He adores driving the tractor with Farmer Nick!)
220. Wrong Way (We ventured off site today to visit Lappa Valley Steam Railway. I will confess that I wasn't overly impressed with it for the price, but The Boy's eyes lit up when he saw the crazy golf course. Looking at the sky, it's hard to believe the monsoon that plagued us on Monday!)
221. Country Kids Go Rafting (Earlier in the week, we had made stick rafts and Fiona was very taken with the idea of having a competition at the end of the week for organic rafts. It was great seeing people gathering their sticks together on the Thursday and walking along the main path, there was a vast array of designs waiting on the patio tables outside the lodges. It warmed my heart to think that a simple activity I'd done on Tuesday with The Boy, sparked such comradery and good-natured competition. Even Fiona's children made rafts, and families waded down the river watching their rafts from the wooden bridge to the stone bridge.)
222. Birthday (36 today! Driving 5 hours back from Coombe Mill was not the best way to spend my birthday; a) because I had to leave Coombe Mill, and b) because my numpty of a husband forgot to look up directions until after we'd driven past the right road, and then sent me off on country A or B roads, which were little more than lanes, for 40 miles. 40 miles which took 90 minutes. I was pretty cross! Nonetheless, we finally made it to my parents' house for my family birthday tea! )
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We spend a lot of time on the beach at all times of the year, but especially during the warmer months of the year. And just like all children, The Boy likes to collect shells.
Lots of shells.
And it comes to a point when we have to start finding things to do with them.
So this weekend, we collected up shells with holes in them and we made a musical instrument with them!
You'll need:
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