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A Visit to Carters Steam Fair

Wednesday, October 3, 2018 Permalink
Toddler riding in a vintage Alfa Romeo on vintage carousel at Carters Steam Fair

For a long time now I've noticed the signs for Carter's Steam Fair when it's near us and been meaning to go, but we've always had something else on that weekend. So when we were invited to visit them last weekend at Englefield Green I jumped at the chance! Carter's Steam Fair isn't your usual funfair. The Carter family have spent the last 40 years collecting and restoring vintage fairground rides and they tour the South East of England. It's a real throwback to a bygone era, with every ride painted in beautiful colours and with pretty lightbulbs everywhere. Carter's have been featured in lots of TV and films too, including Call the Midwife, The Theory of Everything, and, most importantly ...

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Me and Mine: September 2018

Sunday, September 30, 2018 Permalink
Family standing in dappled sunlight in the woods, with autumn leaves on the ground

September feels like it's been the month we've been building up to for so long somehow, as it marked the start of school for Max. It feels like it's been looming over us for so long now, ever since we put the school application in, and as much as I think we tried to pretend that it wasn't happening, we knew that it was on the horizon. And despite all of the worry and anxiety from all of us, it's gone more smoothly than we ever could have imagined. Sure, we've had the expected tiredness and tantrums after school, but it seems that Max is really enjoying it, and we've not yet had so much as a whisper of him ...

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Encouraging Wildlife in the Garden with Boxwild

Monday, September 24, 2018 Permalink
Little boy filling bird feeder with bird seed

We're such big fans of learning about nature as a family and anything that gets us outside in the garden is always a big hit. One of Max's favourite activities is topping up his bird feeder and seeing all the different kinds of birds come flocking to feast on the seed. We loved our Gift Box from Boxwild last year, so it was a lovely surprise for Max to receive their Children's Bird Gift Box from them. It contains a nesting box with paints for you to paint it yourself, along with two packs of birdseed, a bird feeder, and a little scoop. He was so excited to open it up and see that he had his very own bird ...

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The First Day Of School…

Thursday, September 13, 2018 Permalink
Little boy sat on wooden crate, holding sign reading "my first day at school", with vintage globe and apples sat next to him

Dear Max, It's finally here. Your very first day of school. We've spent the last few weeks looking at the photos of so many other children, dressed so smartly in their school uniform and with that nervous / excited smile on their faces, and now finally it's your turn to put on your uniform and walk into your classroom. You said to me just last week, "Mummy, I going to miss you when I'm at school", but I think we both know that it's me who's going to miss you the most! You've been my constant companion for the last 4 years and it's been such a pleasure watching you grow into the most kind, thoughtful, and loving little boy that you ...

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Were Our Merlin Annual Passes Good Value For Money?

Tuesday, September 11, 2018 Permalink
Were Merlin passes worth it?

Last year was our first year having a Merlin Annual Pass. We'd had Legoland Annual Passes before, but when Merlin ran their January Sale back in 2017, the offer to get your Merlin Pass for just £129 was too good to refuse. We've now reached our full year of having them, so I wanted to look back over all of our adventures and work out whether our Merlin Annual Passes were worth it. As a family of 4, we needed 3 Merlin Passes, as our youngest was born in June 2017, and we opted for the Premium Passes so that we weren't restricted on entry days and didn't need to pay for parking. Our 3 passes cost us a total of ...

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10 Of The UK’s Most Instagrammable Flower Spots

Friday, August 17, 2018 Permalink
Max walking under rose covered archway at Mottisfont

We're so lucky in the UK to have some spectacular floral displays each year. I adore flowers, and chasing down the most beautiful flower fields has become a little hobby for me now - every year I try to visit particular favourites, as well as looking for new ones. I've put together a little list of my favourite Instagrammable flower spots to take you through the year - starting with the first of the flower displays, the snowdrop...   Snowdrops at Welford Park, Berkshire I love seeing snowdrops appear. After a long winter it's always the first sign that spring is finally on its way and they're so welcome. I visited lots of places across Surrey, looking for a beautiful display and was ...

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A Visit to Paradise Wildlife Park

Wednesday, August 15, 2018 Permalink
Huge dinosaur figure at Paradise Wildlife Park

I don't think it's a secret that in our family we love dinosaurs! Max is a huge fan of them, and I recently redecorated his room with a dinosaur theme. So when we were invited to Paradise Wildlife Park, which is also home to the World of Dinosaurs, we jumped at the chance! We love a trip to a zoo or a theme park - it's one of our favourite things to do as a family and Paradise Wildlife Park is only about an hour away from us, being located in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire. We headed there on what must have been one of the hottest Sundays of the year - it was definitely a sun hat, sun cream, and ice cream ...

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The Best Splash Parks in Surrey

Tuesday, August 7, 2018 Permalink
Max splashing in paddling pool laughing

We've made it our mission this summer to try out all of the different splash parks in Surrey. When the summer is as hot as this one has been, cooling off in the water is a great activity for the summer holidays, and when entry is free, it makes it a fantastic cheap day out. I think this is a comprehensive list of all the splash parks and paddling pools in Surrey - have you tried them all yet?   Priory Park Bell Street, Reigate, Surrey RH2 7RL Priory Park in Reigate is by far our favourite splash park to visit. It was opened in 2017, so is lovely and new, and as well as the splash area, which has lots of water jets ...

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PYO Sunflowers – Fields of Happy!

Thursday, August 2, 2018 Permalink
Sunflower field, with rows of sunflowers stretching into the distance

I truly think seeing a field of sunflowers stretching out ahead of you is one of the happiest sights there is, and so perfectly summer! We love a visit to our local PYO farm, where they always have a good selection of sunflowers which you can pick yourselves from the field. Since posting our latest little trip on Instagram, I had lots of comments from people who said they'd love to pick their own sunflowers but didn't think there was a PYO sunflower field near them, so I thought it would be fun to share a few of our photos and give a little list of places across the UK where you can pick your own sunflowers.   Garsons Farm, Esher, Surrey Garsons ...

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Return to the Lavender Fields

Wednesday, August 1, 2018 Permalink
Katy, Max and Ben, sat together in lavender field

Our visit to the lavender fields has become an annual tradition now, and when Max asked me a few weeks ago if we could go, I was more than happy to head down to Mayfield Lavender. It was towards the end of June, so still a little early for the fields to be at their best, but I was confident they'd be in bloom enough to make it worth a trip. I love the sweet smell of the lavender, the rows of purple stretching out ahead of you, and the sound of the bees buzzing away. It makes the perfect backdrop for some beautiful photos of my boys. And Max loves the tractor ride, so it's a win win! We arrived bright ...

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