Summer Holidays

Our 2015 Summer has mostly been catergorised by having the company of the lovely Kate. She stayed with us for the first time last year and ha returned for a second innings and we have loved having her to stay.

The end of July saw us going on a family holiday to Newquay, Cormwall, with Grandma and Pops, FA#1, UB and Cousin B, and FA#2. We camped whilst the rest of the family shared a cabin. It was a few days full of tourist trips and, considering that it was the school holidays, we didn't feel too smothered be people. We saw the fireworks at Land's End and spent a day at the Eden Project, another day at the beach and a visit to Jamaica Inn. The journey home was long long long.

August is a strange month for us. The weather is generally meh! and our usual haunts are busy so we stay home more or organise play dates and try and get into the garden more but it takes us a while to find the home groove.

We have joined a Skylanders club which consists of four families where the hosting is rotated and the children use each others characters to complete further levels in their own games. We hosted the second one and it was one (of the many) occasions that we benefited from having the extra pair of hands. Kate had to walk to town twice on the morning of the event, once to get milk and then batteries.

We have ventured into using the green over the road from us. There is a football pitch, hard surfaced court and play area. We have met Bean's friend M several times in the evening to play ball games and it's lovely to watch their friendship continue and grow. We have also met once or twice a week throughout the summer at each other's houses. Play dates have mostly involved performing musical concerts, trampoling, cops and robbers role play, skylanders, playmobile and paddling pool, this is in addition to a few minecraft dates via servers and Skype.

Bike riding has become a possibility for us as a family too. Daddy rides with Pippin in the sling and Pumpkin on a tag along bike, Mummy rides with Plum on the back and Bean rides solo. We have cycled to the playpark on the new estate near us twice taking the river walk route. It is lovely to have found something that we all enjoy together and is possible.

We have ventured out to a few public places during the summer holidays. Nyman's Gardens, Worthing Beach, Southwater Country Park, Fishbourne Roman Palace and several play parks.

Mostly we have found our home groove: lego stop frame animation, den building, baking, doll's house, dress up, puppet shows, minecraft, role play games, lego, painting, sticking, playdough, paddling pool, nerf wars and more.