The enchanted forest

A few weeks back we visited Groombridge Place, also know as the Enchanted Forest. What a magical day we had!

It is such an amazing place to visit, especially with kids, both mine loved running around and discovering what new surprises were lurking around every corner. We started off by visiting the beautifull gardens where we admired all the pretty flowers and plants. The kids had loads of fun hiding behind big hedges and then jumping out to scare us, we did pretend they managed to do so of course, even with all the "warning" giggles coming from behind every hedge.

We also found the secret garden where we looked for fairies, but sadly we found none. Nevertheless it was a very pretty place.

As we continued walking the gardens we came across a giant chess board where we stopped to have a little game. The was definitely a lot of fun. Dylan even asked if we can have one of these in our garden! Hmm, maybe a miniature version...

After we explored the remaining gardens we got on a canal boat which took us to the other part of the forest. It was so much fun and really relaxing, even if Emily had a bit of a freak out because of a spider being too near to her seat! 

Once we got off the boat the kids ran straight to the play park where we let them play for a bit, but not too long because we had much more exploring to do. Everything was really mystical on our walk around the forest and there were so many interesting things to see.

At one point we stumbled into a teepee village where both my kids quickly got a makeover. Dylan turned into an Indian warrior and Emily into an Indian princess.

My absolutely favourite part of the whole day were the giant tree swings and we spend so much time there, trying out all of them, each swing taking us higher into the treetops. The feeling was magical! Simon, Dylan and I couldn't get enough, Emily on the other hand wasn't too sure, she was much more at ease at the kiddy swings further down the path. In her defence, these swings did go up quite high as the trees were on a slope, so when you were up, you really were UP!

It really was an amazing day and I can't wait to go back. I'm thinking autumn might be the perfect time for another visit.

Evening harbour walk

Last week my family came down for a couple of days and we had a fantastic time! During the day we visited parks, beaches and cities. Evenings were spent in our garden where we had an epic BBQ one night and one beautiful summer evening was spent at the harbour. It was low tide and we were able to walk all the way up to the harbour wall, something  the kids were amazed by! All the fishing boats were stranded and Dylan loved walking amongst them. Emily was more interested in finding pretty seashells and chasing the seagulls. All in all it was a pretty good night!

A busy weekend

Happy Monday everyone! The kids are back at school and life is back to normal. I have to say, the half term has just flown by. We've been really busy, so busy even that yesterday evening I HAD to go to bed at 9, I just couldn't stay awake any longer. I told my boss this morning I needed a weekend to recover from my weekend (and half term) but he didn't seem convinced enough to let me have two days off, haha.
So last week the kids went on a computer / minecraft course which they both absolutely loved. Emily was crying when she had to come meet us for lunch on the second day. My dad and brother had travelled over from Belgium for the day so we thought it would be fun the pick the kids up during their break to have lunch with us...little miss got very upset she had to leave, such a drama queen! Both her and Dylan then wolfed down their lunch so they could rush back. Never seen two kids so enthusiastic to go and learn!
I'm so glad the weather stayed dry for half term, and not only that...the sun came out as well! No way was I going to let the kids sit inside in front of the TV.
Saturday we went to town to do some quick shopping. I also promised the kids to take them to their favourite play park near the beach. It's a bit of a treat for them if we go there on the cliff lift. They LOVE it!

It takes us straight to the park entrance and then they just run all the way to get to the actual play park.
It's so beautiful out there and some of the views are spectacular.

Emily quickly made some new friends and played pirates while Dylan went straight for the zip wire.

They had so much fun! When they were ready to go back home we took them back the beach way, it's always fun to throw pebbles into the water.

No surprise when I say Dylan got wet feet. He somehow always ends up getting wet when we're on the beach! 
Sunday we met up with family and after we went to the country park. The kids ran straight to the little play park where Dylan dominated the roundabout and Emily the swings. We then continued on for a walk around the lake in search for the ducks.  On of the kids favourite things to do is race sticks down the waterfall. Such a fun game.

The rest of the day was spent at my brother in law's where we had an amazing Sunday roast dinner. Tired we got home, bathed the kids, put them to bed and then fell asleep on the sofa at 8. See, I do need a weekend to recover!

Monday already?

 

  I can not believe it's Monday already. Seriously, this weekend has just flown by. Saturday started out really lazy, I think we didn't get dressed until about eleven. The kids were meant to do their homework but then Dylan remembered he had a scouts party to go to in the afternoon so we spent a couple of hours dashing around like mad people to get everything sorted and get him a tombola prize. The scouts party was CRAZY! About seventy boys running around having the times of their lives, jumping on the bouncy castle and playing all sorts of games, all I can say is...it was loud! We ended up being lucky in the tombola, three times, yay! There were some really nice prizes, chocolates, bottles of wine, nice bath bubbles...so naturally I was excited.  I let the kids go up and choose the prizes and here's what they picked,  a giant teddy, a cats toy and some toilet refresher. Aren't they amazing at picking out prizes!! Next time I'll go and choose myself I think. Toilet refresher, seriously!!!! Sunday started out French style with croissants and hot chocolate, continued on Greek style with a Greek salad for lunch and ended British style with a roast. Nice. My favourite bit of the weekend was when Emily got a surprise packet from my aunty in the mail, some brand new ladybird earrings. she was beyond excited with these.  

It was a fun day

Saturday was our village's annual fun day. Unfortunately Simon had to work but the kids and I ventured out and we still had lots of fun together. The highlight for them were all the different rides and bouncy castles, I think Emily rode the roundabout about ten times, each time carefully choosing which animal she was going to ride on, the swan proved to be her favourite. Dylan on the other hand preferred the more adventurous activities such as the boxing ring, sumo wrestling and the bunji runner, it was so much fun to watch him! One of my favourite stalls was the scout stall, Dylan had promised to help out for a bit so Emily and me went over for support...and did some sponge throwing while we were there. It's not often you get to throw wet sponges at your own child. There were tons of other activities of course such as a boot fair, craft stalls, a hog roast and a live band, all of which we briefly visited before heading back home. Oh, and no fun day would be complete without some sugary goods, got to love some candy floss!   Anecdote of the day: On our way back home we stopped at our local super market and whilst browsing the isles Dylan said "Oh, I've just noticed I'm not wearing any shoes!" Turned out he left them at the bouncy castle. Typical.  

 

 

 

Have you ever stroked a tiger?

  No, neither have I, it's just a sign. But I've been peed on by a tiger, I really have...not that you needed to know this. It was at the very same zoo a few years back. The tiger was pacing up and down by his fence and I walked up and down next to him, at one point he turned his bottom toward me and lifted his tail... I had a second to jump away but he still got me all over my jacket sleeve! That was a jacket I never wore again.   Anyway, this weekend we took the kids to the zoo. We went on an African safari, great fun.  

  That's the truck we drove around in. Half of the zoo has got African animals roaming around "free" in a giant habitat. Nothing too dangerous, lions and tigers were kept somewhere else. Going through the gates felt very "Jurassic park" to me. We were lucky enough to see all these beauties

The giraffes however stayed away from the truck but we did catch a glimpse of them in the distance  

Once we got off we saw Emily's favourites the meerkats. These little guys are sooooo cute.  

After we cooed over them for like half an hour Emily went into the gift shop and

bought her own toy meerkat with some of her money.

She called him "Meerkatey" and carried him around all day.

Next up we went down the primate path. We got there at just the right time to see to gorilla's being fed. There was even a little baby gorilla, so cute.

whoops, wrong photo!  

  This is better ;) See the baby climbing on it's mothers back. She's only five months old, such a cutie. We were even lucky enough to hold hands with one

This was so cool! The gorilla was hanging upside down but he kept his hand on the glass the whole time. Perfect photo opportunity!

Some more monkey friends. Quite glad they were kept at a safe distance...see the teeth on that one! Wouldn't like to get my hand stuck in that mouth.   Before we left we visited the beautiful gardens. Dylan wanted to climb walls, Emily wanted to dance.

We even had a moment of sibling "love" over sitting on a mushroom  

  And last but not least we did this  

strike a pose!   Yep, we had a good day and are planning to go back soon to see the other side of the zoo where they keep the lions and tigers and bears...oh my.