Our Northumbrian Holiday

We're just back from spending a lovely week in Bamburgh with gran and grandad. The house we rented had a fantastic view of the castle and we could also just make out a lighthouse and the sea. The photo is the view from our bedroom - can't do much better than that!

The weather wasn't too bad (though could have been a bit better) so we only got to spend one morning at the beach. It started off a little damp with a bit of rain but cleared up nicely. Beth was more than happy to collect shells and stone (most of which are now piled up in our back garden) and wasn't particularly interested in the sea. On the other hand Toby was VERY interested in the water. I took him down for a little paddle (it was chilly) but that did not satisfy him and Steve took him down for something that ended up resembling a swim! I think the waves surprised them both so after a quick snack, we had to head back for baths all round.

On Sunday cousins Adam and William came to visit us for the day so we wandered down the road to the castle. It's pretty impressive and dominates the village. You can just make out the figures of Beth and Adam heading up the hill. The interior was impressive too but we didn't have time to fully appreciate it as we whipped round it at a fair rate of knots. The kids did however sit still long enough to devour ice cream at the tearoom after.

We managed to pack loads of visits into the week making it to Alnwick and the famous Barter Books bookshop. I would have been happy to spend the day browsing but two little souls prevented that! We also made it to Berwick Upon Tweed but only for a wander and short explore.

Our next big adventure was to a National Trust property, Cragside House and Gardens, the first house in the world to be lit using hydroelectric power. Steve's been wanting to visit for years - he went when he was younger and before it was of as much interest to him. I think him and grandad could have spent days exploring inside the house but again a couple of little souls prevented it. The gardens were equally as impressive with a bridge, rockeries, a formal garden and lots of space. I'm afraid much of the technical information related to the house was totally lost on me but it was still interesting and the gardens were lovely.

Thursday we indulged Toby and went to the Ford & Etal Estates where we got to ride on a (miniature) steam train. Amazingly we got to see a barn owl poking it's head out of a tree along with lots of cows, sheep and herons. After lunch at a very picturesque pub (thatched roof and all), we headed back on the train.

Our last trip was to the fishing village of Craster where we parked and walked along the coast to Dunstanburgh Castle. The sun was out and it would have been a beautiful walk except for the wind that nearly lifted Toby off the ground. It made it quite tiring but we all enjoyed it and Toby slept for ages after (I'll have to rent a wind tunnel to tire them out in future!!!).

It was a lovely week and Beth was very upset to be leaving, she did not want to go back to her house at all. Steve probably felt the same with work looming tomorrow but he was very restrained and didn't say so. :)

100th Post!

I can't believe I've posted 100 ramblings on here since starting it in January 2008. I'm quite impressed with myself to work out that's 88 weeks, so over a post a week. Who knew I had so much to say!

Anyway, this one will be a bit of a mish mash of outings and happenings. Last weekend we went to visit grandma and grandpa and made the most of one of the last days of summer. The weather was beautiful so both the sandpit and the paddling pool came out.

Both kids are such water babies had to eventually be physically removed from the pool - blue lips and all. Beth received a fab dress for her dressing up box from G&G, brought back from their holiday in Spain. Here she is posing in it and holding the maracas given to Toby.

Next week we're off on holiday to Northumbria to play on the beaches and look at the castles (fingers crossed for good weather). In preparation Steve bought a roof box for the car in hope we might actually have room for all the necessary equipment! It came in a huge box that was quickly fashioned (by talented daddy) into a (rather un-aerodynamic) car, windscreen, boot and doors included. It's been a enormous hit and is still dominating the living room. I'm sure there'll be great dismay tomorrow morning when it 'disappears' into the recycling.

This morning we took a picnic over to Clumber Park. Apart from a bit of wind it was a perfect day. We had a lovely walk through the woods and by the lake. The leaves are starting to fall so much time was spent waist deep in rotting foliage! It was pretty busy with loads of dog-walkers and cyclists; they obviously don't realise it's our park and we'd like a bit of space please . . .

Had to include this last picture. We planted our sunflower seeds back in May and it has taken until this week for the flowers to come out. They do look pretty good and you can see them over the fence from the street (much to Beth's delight).

A Busy Few Days

Tuesday was Beth's first day at nursery. She has been looking forward to it all summer - going to big school with Tim. :) Unfortunately things didn't go quite to plan and Murphy's Law stepped in!

When Toby got up on Monday morning he was wheezing and I could see he was working hard to breathe. We popped to the docs and got a prescription and strict instructions to come back in a few hours. When we arrived back we were sent to A&E, great fun since they are doing renovations in our local hospital and there was lots of hammering and drilling. After a lovely wait there we eventually got to see a junior doctor. He wasn't entirely sure what to think so we waited a while longer to see his 'boss'. After a bit more poking and prodding we got sent on to the children's assessment unit to see another doctor and then, finally, got admitted to a ward (phewwww)!

So, Toby and I got to spend Monday night in Pluto Ward. Thankfully he seems to be just fine now and was sent home just before lunch on Tuesday armed with an inhaler which he is very good at taking.

Of course this all meant that I missed the all important first day but Steve stepped in and from all accounts Beth didn't notice I wasn't there and hardly noticed that Steve was. She seems to love it and is happy that she gets to play with Tim every morning. The picture on the left is of her proper first day and the one on the right is her 'second' first day. :)

Belton House (a.k.a. Rosings Park)

Today we added to our visits of National Trust properties and met grandma and grandpa at Belton House in Grantham, about 45 minutes from our house. It's a beautiful house with fantastic gardens and an unbelievable playground.

We started and finished in the playground. It is huge with loads of slides, swings, zip lines and little tree house things to explore. I think that it would be quite easy to spend an entire day just in there. Beth was very brave and went on the big slides; Toby would have tried too given the chance.

After a picnic lunch we had a walk around the gardens. They were lovely, there was an Italian style one with a big fountain, an Orangery and even a maze. It wasn't the most difficult of puzzles but that's probably a good thing as Beth kept running off into it and I'd imagine she would have got a little panicked if she couldn't get out!

After an ice cream and a look at the archery we went back for a quick play before heading home. Amazingly neither fell asleep on the way home and although Toby fell asleep quite quickly tonight, Beth is totally fighting it and is still chasing Mog about upstairs as I type this. Not for long, I think Mog will soon find herself outside and Beth will have stern words . . . ;)

This week is an exciting time in our house as Beth starts nursery on Tuesday morning. She can't wait but I'm not sure if she'll feel the same once she realises that she has to go every morning! It'll be interesting to see how Toby gets on without her, I think he'll miss her but hopefully we'll get to do some cool things so that should take his mind off it.

The Weekend

We did a few things over the weekend, it was all rather pleasant. On Saturday we went to our old stomping ground in Sheffield. We had a lovely walk through Endcliffe Park and spent a while in the playground. After lunch at an American style burger joint (nothing close to the real thing), we went to the Botanical Gardens for a wander and an ice cream. The kids had a great time chasing each other round a tree - easy to please! Someone was getting married, a perfect setting but it was really warm so they were all spilling out of the 'greenhouse' before they were cooked!

On Sunday Steve made Toby a ramp for his cars, it was a great hit with all of us. Again, easy to please. We spent the rest of the day at Sherwood Forest. Steve has always wanted to see Major Oak - I saw it when I was younger but couldn't remember the occasion particularly well. It was pretty impressive, over 1,150 years old (they think) and rather big. Can't say the kids were too bothered by it, even with a mention of Robin Hood, but they did have a fab time clambering on all the tree trunks. Just thought I'd include this last picture as Steve seems to think it's hilarious. I like to think I'm a fairly observant and conscientious mum but it seems this isn't the case!!

The Last Few Weeks

Sorry for the lack of postings for the last few weeks; the summer holidays seem to have eaten into any blog-posting time! Anyway, we've been doing bits and pieces of things - lots of trips to see the grandparents, visits to various parks and afternoons playing on the green.

Last weekend we went to another show with gran, grandad and Adam, this one was an agricultural one in Wensleydale (of cheese fame). It wasn't nearly as good as the traction engine one, I think because it was a bit windy and we couldn't properly enjoy our ice creams and we had little interest in 40 different types of sheep. After, we were treated to pizza lovingly made by Beth and Adam. It actually tasted pretty good.

On Sunday we decided to walk to Cusworth Hall to feed the ducks and have a picnic. It's a while since we walked there as it's a couple of miles and last time poor Steve ended up carrying both Beth and Toby half the way back. This time we were far more successful and had a lovely walk over - the weather was lovely; even though the field in the picture looks rather dull, you can see how blue the sky is and can also just make out Cusworth in the distance. Once there we had our picnic and spent rather a long time chasing each other around a tree! The walk home seemed rather longer than on the way over, but we made it! Once there, Beth and Toby spent a relaxing few seconds reading under Beth's new quilt and cover.

Our 'big' event occurred this week when Beth had her first ever night away from home on her own. I went over to Northern Ireland to visit the family and took Toby along too. It would have been unmanageable with both of them but this worked great. Beth had a wonderful time being absolutely spoiled with attention from grandma and grandpa. She went swimming everyday, painted, took the double-decker bus into town, ate at a cafe, explored the market and dragged poor g+g into every toy shop in the county. Thankfully Beth didn't suffer any anxiety or homesickness and I suspect we may well be shipping her out again soon. ;)

Toby and I also had a good few days; he was a hit with his great grandparents and amazingly he was more than happy for me to leave the room (gasp) without him having a melt down. I think he was won over by the big bucket full of bubbles and being allowed to rule the roost while there. The pic on the right is of Toby playing with my cousin Miriam, he took instantly to her and had great fun. The weather was nice enough for us to get to the beach one morning, g-grandma came too and Toby spent a ages knocking down sandcastles and collecting stones. His interest soon wavered from that once her realised that the sea was wet. Given the chance he would have been in up to his neck, as it was we spent rather longer than my feet were happy with ankle deep in frigid water, splashing and watching the waves wash over. He is definitely a water babe - at his age Beth wouldn't go near the edge of the sea, she hated the sound and movement of the waves. That afternoon we had a walk along the shore and Toby enjoyed looking at all the boats in the harbour.

Although I have no photos, I can report that Toby loved the plane journey - we were sat next to the wheel on the way out and the propeller on the way home and he spent a good portion of the flight with his face glued to the window.