We got back from a week at Center Parcs on Friday with my sister and her husband! It is a bit like a holiday in a bubble - we were on sight the whole time, but it is just fabulous! All of us really enjoyed ourselves :) One of the first things we saw on our arrival was a bunny hopping around in the forest behind the chalet :) And the the next morning we opened the back door, watching a little red squirrel in the surrounding trees, and he came in! We couldn't believe how tame he was!
It rained all week (we were literally just up the road from all the major floods), and the air felt so fresh whenever we were walking through the forest to and from the chalet :) We spent most of the time swimming so we were wet through regardless!! There was a good little covered area by the lake where we stood on the decking, sheltered from the pouring rain, and fed the hungry ducks who I think had been relatively starved due to people generally shuffling past at a quick pace under their umbrellas, not slowing to give them the attention they're probably used to!
We met some real reindeer down by Santa's Grotto on Wednesday, though they were upstaged by the ponies as far as Isaiah was concerned, and he got to have a ride on one :) We didn't indulge in the grotto but Isaiah did fluke a sneaky peak through the back entrance where he caught a glimpse of Mrs Claus and one of the elves!.. On being asked which pony he wanted to go on he, as easily the smallest rider, picked by far the biggest pony; apparently its size would qualify it as a horse! - he doesn't do things by halves! He hung around watching the ponies standing in the rain for ages after dismounting - he found them fascinating; the staff were running out of things to say to us! He also spent an extended period of time getting a close up look at the shire horses and their big hooves and horse shoes while they were resting between carriage rides.
There was also an excellent adventure playground made up of various wooden walkways, rope bridges and the like, plus a zip wire and swings. We all had loads of fun there too, in our wellies! It must have seemed huge from Isaiah's level; he loved exploring it! I took Jeremy on the zip wire in the sling! He didn't complain though I'm not sure he knew what was going on as his Uncle David pointed out his little hat had slipped over his eyes after I got off!
You have to pay extra for a lot of the stuff at Center Parcs but as you can see we have the most fun doing the free stuff! We never got round to using the log burning fire though becuase the heating was too efficient..maybe next time!
Sunday 22 November 2009
Sunday 1 November 2009
Hale Beach, Sudley House..
Oh dear, I need to try and keep up with this blogging thing, or at least remember I have one!! Time runs away from me and it would seem weeks have now passed since my last post! There has been a trip to Cornwall in that time though so I shall cut myself some slack..
Anyway, I digress..
Isaiah and I went for a walk down the country lane, looking at the farmers fields on either side, to Hale Beach recently. I followed his lead and therefore didn't get to the waters edge but spent all our time at the beach exploring round the rocks which are beautifully smooth and weathered by the water, if that's possible..! He had fun with an old rusty barrel which he climbed on top of and pretended was a drum. He also discovered what a kissing gate is and used it repeatedly thereafter! Jeremy slept in the sling and enjoyed the fresh air on his face and new things to look at when he woke up :) The 10 minute walk back took about an hour because we were going at snails pace until a passer by used the phrase 'a hop, skip and jump and you'll be there!', which was a godsend because I was secretly starting to lose the will to live and this sprang Isaiah into enthusiasm so we hop, skipped and jumped the rest of the way, from stone to stone, puddle to puddle, etc!
This week we visited Sudley House for the first time and ended up spending the entire day there - we arrived before they had opened and left as they were locking up! It is one of the Liverpool museums so free entry and is really closeby so I don't know how we've managed not to really know about it fully til now!
The gardens have some fabulous low trees in them ideal for small people to have a go at climbing, and there's a lovely veranda at the back of the house overlooking the gardens (now Sudley Park playing field) and River Mersey to Birkenhead. We had a picnic lunch on the veranda and a clamber on the wall and stones. I wouldn't massively recommend he cafe, though isaiah found it very exiting and as we walked up the hallway away from it he stopped a passer by in her tracks, saying "Do you know what's down there? ..A CAFE!!!!!!!"
The inside of the house was great too; really child-friendly and the staff were exceptionally friendly as well! Isaiah pulled up a chair to stand on to get a really good look at a model ship in the library room, and he studied it for ages, twice (after going round once we went round again)! He also had a good look at some of the artwork on the walls, especially the piece of Jesus as a young boy. All three of us had an extended play/reading time in the childrens rooms which exhibit genuine childrens toys from the day as well as modern ones to play with. Jeremy, of course, sat on the mat and mainly just slobbered on the toys, but he was loving getting his hands on them all :)
Anyway, I digress..
Isaiah and I went for a walk down the country lane, looking at the farmers fields on either side, to Hale Beach recently. I followed his lead and therefore didn't get to the waters edge but spent all our time at the beach exploring round the rocks which are beautifully smooth and weathered by the water, if that's possible..! He had fun with an old rusty barrel which he climbed on top of and pretended was a drum. He also discovered what a kissing gate is and used it repeatedly thereafter! Jeremy slept in the sling and enjoyed the fresh air on his face and new things to look at when he woke up :) The 10 minute walk back took about an hour because we were going at snails pace until a passer by used the phrase 'a hop, skip and jump and you'll be there!', which was a godsend because I was secretly starting to lose the will to live and this sprang Isaiah into enthusiasm so we hop, skipped and jumped the rest of the way, from stone to stone, puddle to puddle, etc!
This week we visited Sudley House for the first time and ended up spending the entire day there - we arrived before they had opened and left as they were locking up! It is one of the Liverpool museums so free entry and is really closeby so I don't know how we've managed not to really know about it fully til now!
The gardens have some fabulous low trees in them ideal for small people to have a go at climbing, and there's a lovely veranda at the back of the house overlooking the gardens (now Sudley Park playing field) and River Mersey to Birkenhead. We had a picnic lunch on the veranda and a clamber on the wall and stones. I wouldn't massively recommend he cafe, though isaiah found it very exiting and as we walked up the hallway away from it he stopped a passer by in her tracks, saying "Do you know what's down there? ..A CAFE!!!!!!!"
The inside of the house was great too; really child-friendly and the staff were exceptionally friendly as well! Isaiah pulled up a chair to stand on to get a really good look at a model ship in the library room, and he studied it for ages, twice (after going round once we went round again)! He also had a good look at some of the artwork on the walls, especially the piece of Jesus as a young boy. All three of us had an extended play/reading time in the childrens rooms which exhibit genuine childrens toys from the day as well as modern ones to play with. Jeremy, of course, sat on the mat and mainly just slobbered on the toys, but he was loving getting his hands on them all :)
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