Family Trip - Day 3

The Sunday of our weekend trip started pretty much the same as the Saturday as I had booked swimming for us at 9.40 the same as Saturday. This time there was me, Lee, Peter, Neil, Rob, Beth, and T. It was again really lovely and I'm glad we went! 

When we got back I again had a shower and then it was time for lunch again so we did that in our caravan. I don't fully know what we did, just hung about and chilled out I think! I think someone took T to the playground where he enjoyed jumping in puddles. I think I did some cross stitch. Dunno! Oh we did play a game for a bit

Anyway about 2.30 we all headed to the entertainment area because Caroline, Neil, Rob and Peter were doing the inflatable assault course on the lake. I was almost tempted to give it a go but I think I would have struggled to get on to the inflatables! So I didn't. But they all got kitted up in wetsuits and life jackets and got on! They had a fabulous time and it was fun to watch them. Beth and T turned up after his nap. My mum and stepdad were taking photos of my aunt, uncle, and cousins. Lee had been asleep too so he came with Beth. T put himself into a locker and he was extremely pleased with himself about it. 

There was a little train that ran round the lake for free, so Beth, T and I went on it. He was so thrilled to see it when it arrived, and he was so good when we were on it, holding on really tightly. He was narrating all the things he could see, including the alpacas, whose field we went past. We stopped at the far side and then the heavens absolutely opened and it threw it down! Beth and I both got absolutely soaked! It was not ideal!

When we got back to the lake they were all getting out of the lake so they all headed back, and my mum, Norman and I went to the bar near the lake. Lee was already there. We all had an ice cream. Peter arrived, but he didn't want an ice cream. Beth went back to the rabbits but they weren't available for cuddling, boo. 

We went back for tea eventually. My mum had made a ton of pasta and did three different dishes with cold pasta. The vegetarian one was pesto and mozarella so I helped her prepare that in her caravan. Back in our van Lee did the garlic bread in the air fryer (there was an air fryer!) and we chucked basically everything else on the table in the hopes of eating it before we went home. 

I made more cocktails but didn't get pictures this time. But they were strawberry daiquiris and they were delicious! Rob also brought orange wine which is turns out is really nice. After tea we went out to play on the field at the bottom of where we were. Rob has this game called Molkky which everyone likes to play, and my mum had brought the boules, so most of us headed out. I played boules with my mum and Peter. We had quite a time keeping T off the balls! 

Peter didn't have the Monday off so he left at around 8pm. It sucked but at least he had been able to leave late. Lee and Neil carried on playing and I got my camping chair and sat on the grass watching them. The weather had come out really sunny and beautiful and I was happy to sit in the sun for a bit, not worrying about anything. We headed back in eventually and played games before finally calling it a night. I took a photo of the stars just before bedtime. 

Joneses ready to hit the water! It did look like a lot of fun

Caroline gave me her ruby rings and Rob gave me his wedding ring, so they didn't lose them in the water, so I put them all on my middle finger to keep them safe

While they were on the inflatables

T being very pleased when he fitted himself into a locker

And here he is as the train arrived at this station for us to get on

Beth and I on the train

T holding on really tightly and enjoying the train

The alpacas from the previous day

I did get a video of the rain but not a picture but believe me when I say it was bad. I was really damp when in the bar but I enjoyed my ice cream - coffee and chocolate

This little wildflower area was outside the bar and it was really cute, I liked it

T gave me a daisy, too cute

On the field playing after tea

Which yes was made harder by T stealing the balls, haha. I cuddled him for a bit and he was very taken with my rainbow heart earrings

We got a picture of all of us before Peter set off home

Watching Rob, Neil and Lee playing Molkky. It's a type of skittle game but you also have to do maths. I've never played it but I've watched it

Here I am in a lovely selfie with the most gorgeous sun on me. I had got changed when I got back to the van because I was so wet from the rain!

And here's the sky last thing

Family Trip - Day 2

On the Saturday of our weekend trip we had quite a busy day! I had booked swimming for 9.40 for 7 of us so we all quickly got ready for that. There was me, Lee, Rob, Beth, T, and Caroline. So only 6 of us! But it was lovely. They were operating a wristband system so we got an hour swimming which was absolutely fine by us. T played in the baby pool and swam in the big pool, which he is very good at. The jacuzzi area was open too so we went in that for a bit. It was lush. 

We got back to the caravan and I had a shower and then we all dispersed for a bit. Beth went to offsite to a shop. I did some cross stitch. T and Rob played around about. When Beth got back we all had lunch together in the caravan I was in, lots of bits all together. T went for a nap and then my mum, Norman, Lee and I decided to go to the entertainment venue to play there for a bit. Peter, Rob and Neil joined us. We played on the 2p machines, I beat Peter at air hockey twice and he beat me once, and a few of us played pool upstairs. 

I bought ice creams for Peter, Beth and I (no one else wanted one) and we ate them outside. Beth and I shared with T and then he wandered off to find my mum and Peter so she and I chatted for a bit which was nice. Lee and Norman went back to the van, not sure what Caroline, Neil and Rob did, but my mum, Beth, Peter, T and I went to the ranger station because we had booked an experience feeding alpacas! At this point it was only about 4pm so we got to cuddle BABY RABBITS for a bit. Oh, I remember, Caroline and Rob went to a nearby museum and Neil went for a walk. 

The ranger station has games in, and a cafe, so we got a drink too, and RABBITS. There's five all together and they take it in turns to be held and try to keep the numbers down. I'm not usually a fan of small animals like rabbits but I was very brave and held TWO different ones. They were so tiny and so soft. Beth loves rabbits so she was in her element. T and Peter played Connect 4 and my mum sat and had her drink.

Then the ranger took us over to ALPACAS. This was £10 each and it was about worth that, it was pretty cool. There were four alpacas all together, one cream and three chocolate. We got to feed them which was really cute. I am glad we did it! 

We walked back to the caravans where Neil was getting tea ready. He had got a few different quiches with potatoes and salad and dips and stuff. It was perfect especially as the weather was so hot. Beth, it turned out, had left her purse in one of the shops she went to, so she went to retrieve it and was very glad it was still there! Meanwhile, I got busy blending frozen margaritas for whoever wanted one. I bought a blender recently and I've been enjoying blending all the things, so we had decided to make two different types of frozen cocktails. The margaritas were delicious but strong!

After tea we did a quiz that I had written and played some other games and just basically had a good time before bed. 

I hadn't felt well so had ended up on the sofa in the living room, where I was joined at 8am by T

And here we are sharing ice cream with him after lunch

Rabbit!

Peter and I and yes he apparently did have to pull that face

Beth cuddling a rabbit

T and I, he is such a cutie

Playing Connect 4 with uncle Peter

Many many pictures of alpacas, they were so cute

And finally, my delicious cocktail

Family Trip - Day 1

Asi n previous years, we went away for the weekend in July with my family. We used to go camping, but we have also done other things. While baby T is little, we have decided static caravans are the way forward. We went in one last year in Norfolk, in Hunstanton, and this year we booked to go to Billing Aquadrome which is near Northampton. It was about two and a half hours drive for Lee and me, but we stopped for lunch on the way. We got to Billing Aquadrome about 2.45 but we couldn't check in until 4pm so we sat in the main entertainment area - which is called The Venue - and had a drink. 

It was really hot so we sat outside and I had a lager, but it wasn't actually that nice which was a shame... Never mind! We eventually got the keys and drove round to the vans. I had booked them over the phone because we wanted to be close to each other, unlike last year when we were just a bit too far apart from each other for comfort. So we were next door but one to each other on River Meadows, which is one of the closest 'streets' to the main areas. The park is huge, I'm glad we weren't any further away. The vans were absolutely identical so Lee and I chose one and opened the windows in both caravans because it was so hot inside. 

My mum and stepdad arrived not too long after us and my aunt and uncle the same, and then my cousin Peter. By this time it was about 4.30 and I had booked swimming for 5 people at 5pm. My mum can't fully swim because of the ongoing problems she is having with her mastectomy scar, but I had persuaded her to bring her swimming costume and come with us. So me, her, Lee, my uncle Neil, and Peter, all headed off. The swimming set up was a bit confusing but it was fine once we were in the pool. There was a slide so my uncle and Peter went down it a couple of times. My mum just sat on the side with her legs dangling in, keeping her scar dry, chatting to us. It was lovely, I'm glad she came. 

I have been having a really crappy time recently - more on that later - and we haven't been swimming because of my mum and a few other things, so it was so nice to be in the water and just let myself float and relax. In fact, I managed to relax for the whole weekend, barely thinking about difficult things at all. I cried in the pool which was a huge release too, I must have needed it. It was also really cool in the pool so that helped. I've doubled my dosage of antidepressants so the heat has been absolutely killing me. 

We got out at 6pm when the pool shut and headed back to the caravans, where Rob, Beth, and T had arrived. T was thrilled to play with some fans, which was adorable. Lee and I were cooking on Friday so we got started on that. We made a Mexican baked rice thing which we've made before and which we really like. We made one with beef and one with vegetarian mince, plus sour cream, cheese, a mountain of guacamole, and so on. It did take quite a while for it to be done, but it was worth it. Everyone enjoyed it! 

Rob had made all the desserts for the weekend and I had requested tiramisu which he had made and it was SO GOOD! I am so grateful! It was soft and coffee filled and delicious. We just chatted for the rest of the evening and had some wine, we were all tired after the week but it was so good to be together. 

Lager in the bar outside the Venue. I really only drink lager when the weather is hot

T playing with Lee's rechargeable fan, too cute

And finally tiramisu!

Anniversary Trip to North Yorkshire - Day 5

On the Tuesday of our holiday we had booked to go on a heritage train! The railway goes from Pickering to Whitby and we decided to get on at Goathland, meaning we had about an hour on the train. My mum kindly bought Lee and me the tickets as an anniversary present. We decided to get on the train at just after ten. 

We drove to Goathland and parked and got on to the platform to wait for the train to come in. On the way there it was a diesel engine which was still old but not quite as exciting as a steam train. We got on but unfortunately couldn't find seats for all four of us together to begin with, which was a bit annoying. But we managed to move next to each other which was better.

We got into Whitby just past 11am and walked from the station and over the swing bridge. There were some shops we wanted to look in so we did that. Then I wanted to go to the French bar that Lee and I went to in January but it turned out it didn't open until 2pm, so that was a bit annoying. We went in the shops and decided to go to Abbey Wharf for food. I've never been in before but I've walked past a thousand times. My mum and Norman had been, though.

It's up some stairs but once you get up there it's absolutely beautiful. There are views right across the town and the sea. If the weather had been better I would have sat outside but it was raining off and on and since we were eating we didn't want to have to rush inside with our food. So we sat in a lovely bright area inside instead.

They had quite a few vegetarian options but my stepdad and I both went for halloumi burger and chips. Lee had chicken burger I think and my mum had a lasagne. It was very dense and she ate a lot of it and really enjoyed it, which was the main thing!

As we were eating my mother and I both realised that the new Whitby RNLI lifeboat has my grandma's name on it! When she died she left £500 to the RNLI and I kept seeing TV adverts for sponsoring one of their new lifeboats and getting someone's name on the side of it, so that's how we donated it. We were kept up to date about where the boat was, so we knew it was in Whitby. The place we ate was right next to the RNLI station, so we went round! A very helpful man told us that the names are on the sides of the boat, but it lives in the water so we can't see them without, you know, going swimming. So they have put a replica of the names on the dockside, contained within the letters RNLI. They have a database to tell you exactly where each name is, so we were able to locate my grandma's name within the portside R of RNLI. It was so cool to see! Plus the roses are RNLI roses which my grandma would have liked too. I am glad her name is there!

I bought three books for a fiver in a discount bookshop, and a small sodalite tower in the crystal shop in the market. We only had three hours in Whitby because we didn't want to get back too late, so we started to wander back, but we kept stopping of course. My mum and Norman went back to the station before us because they wanted to get hot drinks. Lee and I joined them in a queue for the train. And this time it was a steam engine! It was so cute, I am so glad we got to see it. I know we didn't have very much time in Whitby but really it was about the train, and it was a cute outing.

We all sat together round a table on the way back. My mum and Lee went to get coffees just as we were setting off. We got back to Goathland at about 3.15 and drove back to Glaisdale. For the rest of the night we just relaxed with the same stuff as usual - we had some tea, we relaxed, we did quizzes, we drank. Norman had got a Baby Guiness kit for Christmas so had brought it to share with me. I did really well at pouring them until the last bit. As usual, it's more of a teenage Guinness. No matter, it tasted really nice anyway. 

Goathland station when we arrived

And the other side, it's so old fashioned and cute

On the train

Not sure which station this was

Lee and I on the train - I love all the old compartments

The diesel engine in Whitby when we arrived

Halloumi burger

The sodalite tower I bought, it's only dinky but I liked it

The lifeboat from the dock

And this is where my grandma's name is! The name of the lifeboat is the Lois-Ivan, if you're ever there

The lovely roses

Looking up towards the swing bridge from the lifeboat station

Me and my mum with the R where my grandma's name is. You can see my outfit - hand tie dyed t shirt and a Scarlett and Jo skirt that I wear a lot

The port side of the lifeboat, looking across the estuary

The steam engine just coming in!

And while they were faffing about and putting the engine to the other end of the train 

View on the way back

As we walked over the line at Goathland because that was the disabled way over

The river in Goathland

And the station again (I took a lot of photos this day!)

Baby Guinness later at night

And the three books I bought from the YA section of a bookshop