Three go adventuring

Today was one of those days when we just had to get out of the house. I don't know if it's a boy thing or just my boys but man, these kids have some energy. And today that energy was almost giving me a breakdown so off to the Outdoors we went.

Westonbirt Arboretum is a 40 minute drive from where we live but well worth the journey. It normally costs £8 per adult * (under-fives are free) but we go quite alot so have joined Friends of Westonbirt which means you can go as much as you like over a 12-month period.

It's perfect for us because it gives us a safe, traffic-free open space where they can run, jump and gallop (yes, they gallop) off their energy. There are 2 areas, the silk wood where you can take your dog and the old arboretum (which we went to today) where they don't allow dogs but kids are welcome to run free.

In the old arboretum there is a family trail with things to do for the kids along the way, like a den-building station with wood and 'tiles' to build a house and a network of wood and tree roots to navigate. They also have a tree themed play area with a log tunnel, tree house and wood carvings to play with and educate.

Throughout the year they also hold events such as Treefest, coming up this month and Enchanted Christmas where they light up the trees in a winter wonderland.

They used to have a cafe too which sold amazing cakes but sadly as I found out today, the people who used to run it don't anymore. They did have a pretty cool airstream though, selling ice creams and hot drinks.

If you live nearby, it's definitely worth a visit. Take a picnic, make a day of it and await the deep sleep your children will enjoy as a result (pleeeease?!)

This isn't a sponsored post, we just love it!

Up, up and away!

Ever have a really good idea for something to do, thinking it'll be a real treat for the kids then it turns out to be a disaster with them not actually caring about the thing? Yeah, that happened yesterday.

We thought the Bristol Balloon Fiesta would be fun for the boys now they're a bit bigger. They love to watch balloons overhead so we thought they'd get really excited about seeing a whole bunch of them, close up, taking off right in front of their excited little faces.

Wrong.

It started so well. We bought advance parking online for £6 (it's £10 if you don't pre-book) and went straight through to a designated car park, all easy, straightforward and stress-free so far. None of the gargantuan queues I remember from my childhood.

A short, downhill walk to the house at Ashton Court took us on a route through the fairground rides to get to the balloon field. This is where it started to go wrong.

Finn decided he wanted to go on a ride which we decided to say no to as last time this happened he cried when it started, tried to get out and they had to stop the ride so I could yank him off.

So we had tears agogo until we got to the balloon field and the sight of the magnificent hot air-filled beasts stopped the tantrum in it's tracks. Until a guy came past with a handful of silver kids helium balloons and ruined our evening.

Finn decided he wanted one. Cue hysterics for the next hour or so. By this time the balloons were inflating and the mass ascent was underway. It's an amazing sight and if you ever get the chance to visit the fiesta, I'd recommend timing it around an ascent.

Unfortunately Finn didn't feel the same. The tears stopped momentarily if an interesting-shaped balloon went up (hello, WoodyWoodpecker!) but all the cuddles, talks and 'wow, look at that balloon' -ing wasn't working so we had to abandon and head back up to the car.

So an evening which we thought would be brilliant for the kids turned out, rather disappointingly, not the fun family adventure we'd hoped but hey ho, you live and learn, eh?

And Max had a great time. He played, he danced, he gazed at the balloons lifting up, up and away. He ignored his brother and had alot of fun. 1 Out of 2 ain't bad, hey?

Angst

Kid loves to dance

Tour De South Glos.

What to do when the kids have gone to their Grandparents for lunch?

a) Go out for lunch? 
    No money

b) Go back to bed?
    There's a danger we may never wake up

c) Stay home and catch up with jobs around the house?
    Not a chance

d) Go for a bike ride together?
    YES!

So off we went, a 22 mile jaunt (route) around the best lanes South Gloucestershire has to offer. We spent the time daydreaming about living in one of the many quiet villages we passed though, almost being taken out by a sparrowhawk and narrowly missing a collision with a beaten up Rover.

And the rain waited until we got back. Result.

A Spanish-French adventure

This week we returned from probably the best holiday we've had in years. My brother got married just outside Girona and we took the opportunity to make the most of it and have a 2 week Spanish break.

Thanks to my fear of flying (and not being able to pop valium or get wasted on vodka as I would have in times gone by) we booked a ferry to France, 3 stops on the way down and prepared ourselves for a 4-day adventure with 2 under-5s.

I was apprehensive about the car travel and wondered how the boys would be but I prepared activity packs for them, plenty of snacks and drinks and an iPad loaded up with Peppa Pig and they were fine. They slept ALOT in the car which was great for the journey itself but my God did we pay for it in the evenings when they became incredible non-sleeping children.

We stopped in Tours, Sarlat-La-Caneda and Carcasonne on the way down. We then crossed the border and drove to the wedding venue in Fares and from there spent a week in Crespia. We only had 2 days to travel back up so 2 looooong days of driving took us to Limoges and finally Caen to get our ferry early morning.

We stayed in some beautiful places. Notably Les Petites Chamilles, just outside Sarlat, run by the parents of a friend I met through Twitter, L'Arcada which hosted the wedding and Hostal Nou where we spent the largest chunk after the celebrations.

The wedding was incredible, a 4-day celebration surrounded by friends and family. My parents are divorced and, though amiable, it's not often I get to see them both in one place so to have them, my brother plus my aunties, uncles, cousins and step-siblings not just together in one place but all dancing, laughing and enjoying each other's company was something special indeed.

All 3 places were located 'off the beaten track' and run by the most friendly, welcoming hosts we could have hoped for. Hostal Nou is owned by a Catalan family. As well as her day job as a teacher, Elena cooks the most amazing meals for the guests in the evening (saying they're 'amazing' actually doesn't do her justice. She went to cooking school for 2 years and the standard was unlike anything we've had for a very long time) runs the business with her husband and looks after her boys, age 2 and 5. The word 'superwoman' doesn't cut it for this lady!

The boys fell into a routine of waking at 9 (heaven after years of 5:30 starts!) having a siesta in the afternoon, eating with us at 9 then going to bed at 11. It worked really well and what struck me most about both France and Spain is the inclusion of children in everything. Going out of an evening, familes are all out together and it's perfectly acceptable to have toddlers at the table in restaurants at 9/10pm. They were given much attention everywhere we went with a pat on the head and a 'guapo' welcoming them in.

I won't drone on any more about the holiday itself, just to say that we had an amazing first proper family holiday. Lots of fun in the pool, taking in some beautiful parts of the country, immersing ourselves in the culture and eating some fabulous Catalan cuisine.