More Non Camping

So Sunday we had a lazy day. We didn't really do much of anything I think.

Monday was a little bit more structured, a trip out to Bolton Abbey Railway Station for 'A Day Out with Thomas'. Here are Adam and the boys on the train journey to Embsay Station.


We didn't stay very long as there wasn't actually that much to do. A stall where the boys got the 'free' gift that comes with their ticket, a HUGE queue to stand in Thomas and blow his whistle, we passed on that, and a couple of vintage cars and buses to look at. Oh and of course the obligatory toy shops. This time Theo came away with...erm, can't remember, I'll have to ask him in the morning lol and Louis got 'Whiff' who I've never heard of but he seemed happy enough with that. :D

When we got home Theo's friends were playing out in the street so he stayed out and played. I had to drag him in for his dinner and he was straight back out once he'd eaten. That's what I like to see, outdoors fun. There have been occasions when his friends have called round for him and, for whatever reason, he has, usually grumpily, refused to go out to play! He did come home with an invitation to Charlie's birthday party on Saturday so that should be fun.

More resting on Tuesday. I was hoping to get some bits and pieces done, get to the opticians and the Drs but I couldn't get appointments 'til next week so I ended up drawing stuff and sticking bits and pieces to playing cards (see Apshoo). The boys watched telly, played with their toys and drew pictures with me whilst Adam played on the computer upstairs.

Wednesday didn't start too well. Theo didn't want to get dressed then Adam told him we were going shopping. Well he dissolved in a heap of tears. Shopping was boring then suddenly he was crying because he couldn't go to Charlie's birthday party! Where did that come from??

We drove to Drayton Manor so we could spend all day standing in queues! OK it wasn't as bad as all that, but put it this way. I'm glad it wasn't a sunny day otherwise I think we would only have managed a couple of rides.

Here's a picture of the boys queueing for Diesels Mayhem ride.

I know we are not noted for our patience, I think the wait for this ride was about 20 minutes. It didn't help that Theo had had Adam queue for the Bulgy the Bus ride for about 15 minutes before deciding he didn't want to go on after all.

Adam and I took it in turns to queue / ride with the boys. Fortunately for me, this one was Adam's turn. I didn't time it but I'm sure they queued for well over an hour for a 5 minute ride on Terence. At least Louis and I could wander around whilst we were waiting for them. If I had known how long it would take though, I would have wandered to a cafe for a latte :D But, being the loving mum I am, I waitied where I could see the rides so I could get this photo, and a few more.

Theo's favourite ride (although we did only 'do' Thomas Land) was the Jeremy the Jet ride. Despite how it looks in this photo, both Louis and Theo were in the jet with me, honest. It's just that I left Adam in charge of the camera and the control of the jet to Theo (you made it raise / lower using a button in the front) and they never quite got in the same place at the same time. lol

I know I complained about the queues but this was definitely one of the better theme parks I've been to with the boys. Most of the rides were suitable for both of them to go on so there was plenty to do. I had planned on going to the zoo there too but I forgot. By the time Adam reminded me it was 4.45 and I wasn't sure whether the park closed at 5 or 6 so we headed back to the car.

We stayed at the Premier Travel Inn in Burton-on-Trent, straaange lady on reception was very friendly and funny. A very nice dinner was had in the pub next door, diet is out the window this week anyway, just as well.

Today was a really good day too. No photos 'cause we were at Alton Towers Water Park and photos are not allowed. Heaven forbid! After an initial paddy from Louis because he didn't want to wear the floatation vest thingy we had a great time. Theo remembered having been there before and immediately went off to play. Louis had to be coaxed, so we sat in the shallow water and played with the bubbles but he quickly got braver and more adventurous. He liked playing in the water with the bubbles but after the first time I took him for a walk around the park, up the stairs, through puddles, accross bridges etc, he didn't want to sit and play in the water for more than 5 minutes or so before he was up and wanted to wander around again.

Did I mention that my ipod is poorly? A couple of days ago I tried to switch it on but it wouldn't play. I had a look on the Aplle website and followed the instructions for rebooting it. It turned on but there was just a white screen, no menus or anything. Anyway, as we were coming home up the M1 anyway we called into Meadowhall so I could take it to the Apple shop for a nice man to fix it. As it turns out he couldn't. Apparently the LCD screen is dead and they do not replace those. I could trade it in and get 10% off a new one, or they could take the hard drive out of mine and put it in a new case but that would cost almost as much as a new one and I'd loose the engraving on the back of the case.

I discovered today that a new LCD screen to fit my ipod would set me back a whole £15 on ebay, and that includes the tool I'd need to open the case. Adam found a 'how to' video on the internet so I could replace the screen myself for £15. Not too sure I'm going to attempt to do it myself though. You have to disconnect the battery, remove the hard drive and a few other bits and pieces to do it, it looks complicated. I have found a place in Bradford who do Ipod repairs though so I'm going to phone them tomorrow and see if they can fix it and if so how much they charge.

Anyway, this is a mammoth post and it's late now, I need my bed, so I'm off. There are plans for more fun stuff this week so I will be back with more photos soon.

Take care

We're Ba-ack

Just a quick post to say that we're now home from our weeks holiday in a lovely cottage in Babraham, a village just outside Cambridge.

We had a great time either lazing in the cottage and 1/3rd acre enclosed garden, complete with climbing frame and trampoline, or going out to visit local attractions. The weather was amazing for the most part and the tourist attractions were fairly quiet because it's term time and most people were at work or school. Add to that the fact that I spent the weekend at a scrapbooking retreat glueing and sticking and generally getting in a mess (felt like I was a 10 year old again, great fun), we couldn't have asked for a better week I think.

Here's a photo of the cottage, click on the little pic 'cause the main picture is a lot longer and you can see much more.

I'll be back with more news and photos from the holiday later today hopefully.
Edited to add: I've added the holiday photos etc on the dates they were taken so if you're reading this chronologically then you will have already seen them

Mountftitchet Castle

With the success of yesterdays morning out and afternoon in the cottage, we did the same again today, the last day of our holiday.

First thing we went to Mountfitchet Castle. I told Theo that was where we were going so he was looking forward to being a King. Unfortunately it's a Norman sesttlement from 1066 so the term 'castle' actually refers to a stone tower built onto a central hut. Not a castle as Theo understood it. So much so that on the way home he was asking when were going to see that castle so he could be a king.

At the entrance to the grounds you can buy a bag of food and they encourage you to feed the animals in the grounds (goats, sheep, fallow deer and various fowl). Don't. Not if you have young children with you. Don't even take out a bag that looks like it may contain food, because you'll get mobbed by the birds, which can be very scary when some of them (geese mainly) are almost as big as you (if you're a 2 yr old child of course).

I made the mistake of taking out the bag of food fairly soon after we'd arrived. As soon as I got the bag of food out we were mobbed by birds which panicked Theo and that set the tone for the rest of the visit. Every time any birds came anywhere near us Theo panicked and insisted on being picked up because the birds were going to eat him. He didn't want to go into any of the huts because they were too dark and the life size models that were in them we're too scary. He enjoyed it when I posed in the stocks for a photo though .

In the same grounds there is a Toy Museum which we went to see next. Again Theo was unwilling to visit most of it, especially as lots of the exhibits moved and made noise but when he found the lego table he was more than happy to sit and play. Which was just as well because my handcream leaked in my handbag and I had to empty the contents and clean it all up, including my camera which was, fortunately, undamaged.

Well that's it from School Cottage. We have to be out my 10 in the morning so we'll be spending tonight packing up and tomorrow driving.

A Ride on Percy at Whipsnade Zoo

Today we went to Whipsnade Zoo. A bit much considering we went to Linton Zoo yesterday but why not, we're on holiday lol

Getting there was fun, we told the sat nav to get us there quickest route and it wanted to send us down the M11, around the M25 and then up again (I forget which road) a round trip of just over 70 miles! The shortest route was left out of the cottage, right onto the A505 and then about 30 miles later you're there. Easy. You'd think so anyway but Tom Tom tried so hard to complicate it, he got a little upset at one point when it thought we were driving through fields but we got there in the end.

I have to admit that I was a little disappointed with the Zoo. I thought, as it was a 'drive around' zoo I was expecting close encounters with lions and monkey testicles (my car has windows in the roof!!) but it was more a case of drive from car park to car park, get out and look at the animals in their cages then get back in and drive some more. The only bit of the park that was open to cars only with instructions everywhere NOT to get out of your car (sounding hopeful she says with baited breath) had antelope / deer type animals and camels??? Oh and erm thingies, Yaks, that's 'em, really exciting stuff for Theo to look at through the window, not.

Don't get me wrong, as far as zoos go, it was OK. Especially as the weather was glorious and there were very few people there so there was no queueing for anything. Oh and you can now go into the banded lemur pen and have them inches from you without cages in the way.

Theo enjoyed the kiddies play area most, with it's climbing frames and slides and what not. We played there (well he played, we watched) whilst waiting for the train which was the highlight of the day for him I think. The train was a green steam train therefore it must have been Percy (Thomas the Tank's friend incase you didn't know) and he had a great time sitting right behind the engine and watching the driver shovel coal into the fire. He came back a bit grubbier than when he set off though. I stayed in the play area with Louis and we watched a wandering peacock. Whopee doo

What D'ya Want?

Our baby is looking more and more like a little person and less like an 'eating, sleeping, pooing machine'.

This is Louis at the Zoo. He was more than happy to watch the world go by from his vantage point in the puschair.

Fireman Theo

We went to Linton Zoo today and I have to say, it's a gorgeous little place. The weather was glorious and there were very few other visitors so we got to spend as much time as we liked looking at the animals and trying to get some decent photos.

Theo found the lesser spotted Fireman Sam so we had to let him get up close and interactive, isn't that what education is all about? LOL

I did take some photos of the animals at the zoo but to be honest, they're not that good. Either the animals weren't up to much (the big cats were all sleeping somewhere shadey and secluded, not that I blamed them in that heat), they were too far away for my camera to cope with or they were behind glass, which my little camera doesn't like much either. Next time I'll remember and take my good camera and maybe get some nice animal pics too.

This picture shows just how gorgeous it was there in the sunshine. A gorgeous little alleyway absolutely blanketed in cherry blossom that was falling from the trees like pink snow.