Stay a while

It is the 1'st of August today, where did July go? Where is 2013 going? I was meant to have organised the house by now (still doing it) etc.

Summer holidays- please stay with us a while and let us enjoy you! :-)

So far....

I could we wrong but I think this is the first time I ever been in a car with the roof down. I loved this journey home from work in a VW Golf Cab.

Playing and watching my family play tennis in these "free to use" courts. 

I love how happy my daughter and nieces look. 

Happy Cerys :-)

Were we lucky enough to be invited to http://www.evans-crittens.com/2013/07/the-charcoal-challenge-hot-dogs-in-wild.html which was so nice. I love things like that! My camera did not seem to be having a good day. I came home with photos of blurred kids or just somebody's hand etc and only a few decent ones.

We loved our BBQ with Nanny and Aunty Ceri too

Fantastic holidays so far but please please don't go too quick. 

Presenting Belle....

We have a new addition to the family - Beautiful Belle. 

I have debated about getting a kitten or cat for so long and was convinced that one day a cat needing a home would follow me or Cerys home and that would confirm that it was meant to be.  I waited and waited and although a few cats have indeed tried, they have all had collars and look well looked after. 

Anyway my mum texted the other day asking if I wanted to look at some kittens and it turned out that a neighbours cat had five kittens needing homes. Of course, me and Cerys were there that evening. Cerys chose her and what a good choice. She looks very much like my Mum's cat she had when she was younger so I will be expecting lots more visits from her! :-)  There was also one who looked like our family cat we had -Tinker who we still miss. Good old Tinker. :-) 

It was then off to a trip to Home bargains. The shop that just has it all, to go shopping for the our new kitten. 

I love this cat tent but I must admit I didn't have high hopes for her actually sleeping in it as they usually tend to find somewhere else far more cosier to sleep but here she is:

We also got her the usual cat litter tray, food/water dishes, cat litter, toilet training pads (very useful indeed as she has chosen not to use the litter tray so far but we are working on that) and a scratching pole!

The only thing that I couldn't get was the food so it was off to Tesco's. I have started her on Felix kitten pouches and so far she has been loving them. She certainly enjoys her food but I suppose after all the playing  she needs to get the energy levels up again. 

She has lots of people around to love her and my mum, sisters, nephew and nieces could not wait to see her so we had a lovely busy, family house last evening. :-)

So next steps- vet, toilet train and give her lots of love

I will end this here with a photo of the "best friends" 

Bye from us and meow from Belle x x 

Fishing for socks

I had a lovely day with my daughter on Sunday. We had a leisurely morning with no school or work. The weather wasn't great so we did not want to venture too far. So, we headed to the nearby woods with our picnic.

and we have since developed a bit of an obsession with Innocent juices. We tried the apple and raspberry juice whch was a big hit with us both. I also love the shape of the bottle so as well as trying the different flavours, I need to buy more to save the bottles. 

This was one of my favourite moments of the day.....

I could have sat and watched her hours and of course snap snap snap at her. The camera was very busy that day. :-) 

I think the funniest thing though was Cerys accidentally dropping her sock into the stream 

and us frantically running around trying to find a long stick to rescue it.

Cerys to the rescue :-)

Hope we have more Sundays like this soon! 

Starshollowjo- Whatever will be will be

I have had a slight name change for this blog and url. I tried a few names that I would have been really happy with but they had already been taken! So why not carry on with the Gilmore Girl theme...

Gilmore Girls

Obviously (well obviously if you are a fan too) I have a obsession with Gilmore Girls. I had caught odd episodes on the TV while I was pregnant with my daughter and ordered the DVD set bit by bit after she was born - One of the best investments I have ever made. A sign of how much I loved/love it is that my when my daughter first started in playgroup at the age of two she called every girl or woman a Gilmore girl!As well as the fact that I love the programme, the characters, the storylines, the cultural references, it brings back a lot of memories. It reminds me of being pregnant and having a kicking belly. It brings all sort of emotions back of Cerys being born and especially as the story revolves around a mother/daughter relationship. I just love it!! It has also introduced me to many other films, music and books with its many references.

Just to show how a love for the show seems to run in my family, we recently had a Gilmore Girls evening which my sister has wrote about here http://www.evans-crittens.com/2013/06/moneysupermarkets-big-night-in-gilmore.html.

You can find out more about The Gilmore Girls here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilmore_Girls. Unfortunately it has finished now but I don't think I will ever get bored of watching the DVD's over and over again.

Thank you Gilmore Girls! :-)

Our day at Folly Farm- Britain's Best Days Out

A big smile and a “yay” was my daughter’s response when I told her we were going to Folly Farm for the day. We, along with my sister Claire were very lucky to be given tickets to review a Britain's Best days out/ Families Day Out and Folly Farm was our chosen attraction.

We don’t live too far away anyway but it so easy to find from wherever you are travelling from, with plenty of car park spaces.

The staff are always very pleasant and helpful and after we got our map of the park and timetable of events which were on that day, we entered the park. We visited in late November and there was an immediate “Christmas feeling” with the Reception area lit up and decorated.

We also got given Wristbands for the children where we could write our mobile numbers on should any of them get lost. I think that this is such a good idea.

We decided to attempt the Winter Wonderland Reindeer Trail where we had to find questions around the park and then of course answer them. I am not sure if the adults or kids enjoyed this more.

Folly Farm has different special visitors during the year but we were very lucky that the most special one of all was here this day and during the month of December. It was of course- Father Christmas. We didn’t have to wait long until we got into Santa’s Grotto but I don’t think any of us would have cared too much if we did. We were entertained with magic tricks, a beautiful snow scene and even a mulled wine for Mummy.

I love that magical feeling of Christmas and the Grotto certainly had that feeling. Father Christmas was lovely and took the time to talk to my daughter and my nieces and nephew and let my youngest niece sit on his lap.

It is these moments in life that can bring a happy tear to the eye. They each had a present and even a mince pie as we left.

We went into The Jolly Barn and Farm where we of course found lots of animals. I have always been a animal lover and Cerys is too so we love seeing all the animals. This visit, if it had something to do with Christmas coming up I don’t know but these donkeys seemed to be one of the favourites.

In here you always have the opportunity to hand milk a goat, play on a indoor play tractor and have a go on the many activities.

Folly Interactive is one of my daughter’s favourite parts and I love that she is learning while having fun. She loves these lights

and was one of the inspirations for a Christmas present for her bedroom. I think photos can best describe the kids enjoyment of this area.

The whole family was entertained with a magic show performed by Jugglestruck. Although this photo probably doesn’t do it justice

(I really do need to invest in a decent camera- for these photo opportunities) I/we loved bring surrounded by bubbles. After all who doesn’t love BUBBLES whatever age you are?

In December of course you can not rely on having decent weather for a British family Day out but then again we don’t always have the best weather in the summer. Folly Farm has so much to do indoors that you really don’t have to worry about what the weather is doing. We decided to take a winter picnic courtesy of Nanny- which is always good and always lots of it. We could actually sit inside in the Carousel Woods and all of us sit at a table and eat, drink (soft drinks I should add) and be MERRY. You can of course always choose to eat in their Restaurant or other food places around the park.

The indoor play area there is fabulous. If I took my four year old daughter just into this part for the day she would happy.

Where do I start when writing about The Vintage Funfair? It s amazing to see these “beautifully restored rides” and even better to have a go. Although they have some favourite rides which you can see in other funfairs, they have some which I would have never got to see if I had not visited FOLLY FARM. I didn’t take photos of the rides as I was too busy being a big kid. I also recommend the doughnuts that you can purchase in here. They are, for want of a better word- yummy!

Cerys also enjoys the fairground stalls and you are given a little prize each time even if you don’t win.

If I have one negative thing to say is that here was the point that we ran out of time and had to leave so we didn’t get to do everything so their Boomerang ticket offer is something that I would take up if I would have been able to go back within a week of the visit. I am also thinking of getting a Annual Pass for both myself and my daughter as we would certainly get the use out of it.

I really do have to mention how clean and tidy the park is with excellent facilities. I love the gift shop for kids and adults alike. It is well worth a look around and putting a bit of money aside for as I can always see something in there I like, Whether it be for me, Cerys or a gift for somebody.

The conclusion- Folly Farm is a excellent family day out!

Click her for more information on Days Out Vouchers, Money-off Vouchers and Money Supermarket Days Out Discounts


　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

Nurturestore

I can feel a obsession coming on! http://nurturestore.co.uk
I came across it on Pinterest and am now constantly writing down ideas that I want to try/make with Cerys. I have been on the look out for a website like this for so long. There are lots of Halloween and Autumn themed things to make and do at on there at the moment!
We made our very first one yesterday - the Halloween yarn pumpkin and there are so many more I want to attempt! Can't wait! :-)

Popcorn and lollipops!

We enjoyed a pleasant afternoon at Folly Farm, no I'm not always there ;-)
I fell in love with this horse in photo!
He spent most of his time with his back to everybody but for some reason we caught each others eye. As I walked over to see him he came directly over to me! Lovely moment!
Cerys had a lovely time, we saw animals, went on rides and managed the play area today. We also managed doughnuts and popcorn and came home with sweets and a lollipop!
I always get inspired by the sensory experience that they have. I would really like to have some
Lights like these in Cerys's bedroom obviously on a smaller scale!
Well,we had a lovely day and made even better by the news that my nephew got a gold and a bronze medal in his gym competition today! Well done Danny!
Had the usual frantic Sunday evening but sat down now with Downton Abbey on the TV- my little treat before the week ahead!
If anybody chances to come across this post- wishing you a good week ahead! :-)