Ponies, Ponies, Ponies!

We had a great weekend camping near Fordingbridge in the New Forest last weekend. A fun site where Bill, the owner, gets the children to help with feeding the chickens and grooming Toby his elderly pony. The children used to be able to ride Toby around the paddock, but unfortunately he is a little too old for that these days.


Bill also has a dog called Daisy who was very popular (and spoiled by the children). Daisy also answers to the name of "Doggo"!

LegoLand

I offered the children a day to do what they wanted,
but they weren't allowed to stay at home, and Hannah suggested Legoland. As we hadn't been yet this year, this sounded like a good idea. We got there for 10:00AM when it opened, and headed straight for the Viking River Splash. The queue was pretty small, and we were on in about 10 minutes. Great fun.
It is funny how getting wet is an aim in itself when you are younger. Some of the photos came out quite well...

Camping in Wales

We had an enjoyable week camping near St. Davids in Wales last week. Although it must be said, the weather could have been better. I had to deploy the extra storm guy ropes as it was blowing a gale as well as raining, but we managed to keep all of the important places dry. On reflection (actually on about the second day) a week camping in the UK is possiby a little optimistic we feel. When it was nice it was very nice, but when it wasn't .....

Still, we got some body boarding in. Hannah seems to really enjoy this, although she would no doubt enjoy it a lot more in warmer waters. Being quite light in weight, I think that she rides the waves pretty easily.

We all managed walk along the coastal path to St. Davids Head which was quite dramatic, if a little windy. Coastal paths do make for an interesting walk. It seems that around every headland is another stunning viewpoint. We saw a seagull (or seabird of some description) diving into the sea trying to catch fish. It was too far away to see if it was successful or not, but Zoe seemed quite intrigued.

Pembroke Castle is well worth a visit, if you like that sort of thing.

On the whole I found the South West of Wales a pretty good alternative to Devon and Cornwall. The waves were good, if a little cold. Although we don't know if the water in Devon was any warmer last week. Travel was certainly less busy, with no major hold-ups either way, and the beaches, restaurants and car park were all less busy, and in the case of the car parking noticeably less expensive.

School Milestone

A bit behind, as the 22 July was the end of term. I typed this on my laptop on the way to work (train :-)) but have only just got around to posting it.....
It is Zoe's last day at Junior school today. Yesterday we went along to the "Leaver's Assembly" where the whole of Year 6 performed a few acts and read a poem or two. Zoe took part in the "Disturbia Dance" which she had performed in a local competition on stage with the school.

It is strange because I can remember fairly clearly my last day at Junior School. I am not sure that we treated it quite so seriously as a significant step back then. Which was probably fine for children who are confident and looking forward to Secondary School, but I doubt that it was so good for those who were anxious or worried. I definitely prefer the method used today.

Zoe is looking forward to Secondary School, which is really good to see. I hope that she enjoys it as much as she hopes to. I know that it is probably the biggest cliche of parenthood, but she is certainly growing up fast. It will be a little strange for Hannah and Daniel to walk to school without Zoe, and not see her around the school during the day.

There is no reason to make it feel a really sad occasion though. I quite envy the opportunities that she has in front of her.

A Great Week

Well Zoe certainly seemed to enjoy herself. Whenever we asked her did you do ....(enter any particular activity here). She would look into the distance, smile and say "Oh yes! We did......... it was really fun/great!" etc...etc.
Here is Zoe after crawling through a muddy tunnel....



















And half way up (or down) the climbing wall....



































And all the bags waiting to come home...

No Zoe for a whole week!

Zoe is away on school trip this week to an adventure centre. She was really looking forward to it, so I hope that she enjoys it.
She will be doing caving, climbing, archery and other activities.

It is a bit of a weird situation though as she is away for four nights, and we aren't in contact with her. She can't even update this blog!
We have heard via somebody at the school that all the girls on the trip are fine.

We are thinking about her though. This morning Hannah said at breakfast that it was feeling strange without Zoe around.
xxx

Michael Jackson RIP

Michael Jackson died last week. It seems of a heart attack. There are various "conspiracy" stories circulating, but I suspect that he was an understood soul who died in rather sad and lonely circumstances.
The only reason that I mention it here is to include Hannah's perspective when she saw the story on the news.
She said... "Well he was 50, that is quite old. Not many people live to be 50".
Very reassuring. I am 47!