Football + Golf + Gymnastics Party Sunday

A very busy and very sporty Sunday for us this weekend. It all started with Joshua's Under 8 Tigers having their first league match of the 2015/16 season. They were playing the Hambro Colts Lions which form part of our league which appears stacked with Lions teams. The games are a bit longer this year with 20 minutes in each half so having 8 players with rolling substitutes helped to give them tired legs a rest and keep a high pace in the game. The boys played pretty good for their first match and came away with a hard fought 2-1 win.

 

Forest Glade U8 Tigers wearing their new Laboratory sponsored home kit.

 

Joshua getting a good tackle in to defend our goal.

 

Wind in his hair literally as Joshua makes a run down the wing.

 

Eyes fixed on the ball as he fends off the opposition.

 

Love the way the boys aren't afraid to get the arms in there and have a tangle to get the ball.

 

After the football match and a spot of lunch our family split up as Tina took Holly to a gymnastics party leaving me and the boys at a loose end. One of my objectives for 2015 was to take the two boys out on a proper golf course for the first time and given that we are nearly in October I was rapidly running out of time. So as we had the afternoon free and it was 18 degrees and sunny out side, it was the perfect opportunity for us to head over to Dunton Hills for the Par 3.

 

The man working at the counter doubted whether the two boys would be able to complete the Par 3 and was also concerned that some of the holes where quite long for them. But we decided to go for it anyway. Sods law there was no one on the course as we approached the first tee, then out of nowhere 3 pairs and a single turned up. We let one pair play through and then we teed off. The first hole was slow and so I offered the next pair to play through but they said they were in no rush. So we carried on and I have to say the boys did amazing and weren't really holding anyone up. I would say most holes they were getting to the putting green in 4 or 5 shots maximum. Joshua even managed to out drive me on 2 or 3 occasions. Both boys were hitting some lovely straight shots and getting good distance.

 

Both boys easily managed playing all 18 holes and thoroughly enjoyed the course. Between the 3 of us we didn't manage to lose any balls and all in all it was a perfect way to spend a lads Sunday afternoon.

 

 

Joshua tee's off, he kept moving his left foot like a baseball player!

Brandon on the tee.

Joshua lines up a small putt.

Hole 7 and both boys still going strong and having a great time.

Very unorthodox technique being demonstrated by Joshua!

Brandon listening to me well and keeping his head/eyes down.

Although its only a Par 3 course, the boys had some good distance to cover on some of the holes.

Brandon sends one straight down the middle of the fairway, perfect.

The sun was beaming down on our lads afternoon.

I think little B struggles to hold the weight of his wood right over his shoulder for a full swing!

 

Synchronised golf as they both take a shot at the same time.

 

They made it, first time completing 18 holes on a Par 3 golf course. Well done boys. PS Love Brandon's wind swept hair.

Selfie at the 18th flag.

 

So whilst we were having a good time at gold Tina and Holly were at a gymnastics party over at the sporting village in Basildon. 

Holly practising some bar muscle ups.

Love the face and the grunt as she pulls herself up.

Holly on the parallel bars.

Not quite enough bounce to get up on the pummel.

Holly playing in a soft play ring.

Holly absolutely loves her gymnastics club and gymnastic parties. Great exercise for her and tires her out somewhat as well.

Holly sliding down a padded area.

 

Inset Day at the Fun Factory

Today the kids had an inset day off of school and since I have so much holiday left to burn this year I decided to take a day off with the kids. As we had tickets already for Adventure Island, our plan was to send the day there and then dash back for around 4pm as Brandon had a football match in Chelmsford for the Chelsea Foundation and I had to teach karate for 3 hours. Brandon was really excited about Adventure Island as he has finally grown to over 1.2m which means he is now blue band and can go on the big rides such as "Rage".

 

Anyway you can imagine the kiddies disappointment when we arrived in Southend only to find that the Adventure Island is now on its winter hours and was shut all day. So we had a little walk along the seafront, played a few arcades and then bought some donuts whilst we thought up a plan B. We eventually decided to stay in Southend but head over to Purdeys to go to the Fun Factory so that the kids could have some soft play, rock climbing and ice skating.

 

As it was a school day the play centre was absolutely dead with only about 10 kids in there. Holly really enjoyed the sift play and even had a little go at ice skating for the first time. The ice skating rink is weird because it looks like ice and works like ice with ice skating boots, but is actually artificial ice that is not cold. The only fault with it is that the balance penguins do not slip very well on it and are subsequently pretty useless.

 

The climbing wall in there was fab and had automatic pre-tension cables to allow the kids to climb up and then to jump off and abseil down on their own. Both boys managed to climb just over the half way mark despite me pushing and encouraging them to try and climb to the top.

 



 

A quick walk along Southend sea front and the kiddies enjoy playing in the water fountains.

Joshua had to push the boundaries and despite strict instructions to stay dry, he deliberately got himself soaked through.

Superman Brandon running through the fountains.

Holly wanted a go on the horse merry-go-round in the arcades.

Josh and B also jumped on as there were 3 horses. Not quite a "Rage" ride.

Holly trying ice skating for the first time with a helping hand from me.

Brandon did extremely well and despite a few falls he had very good balance.

The non slipping balance penguin.

Carnage as both boys hit the deck.

Joshua in action and getting more and more confident on the ice.

 

At least the fake ice isn't cold so Brandon can relax when he falls to the ground.

 

Holly warming up on a small slide in the toddler soft play.

 

Holly looking through a glass dome.

 

Photogenic Holly poised at the top of a slide.

 

Spiderman Brandon climbing the netting instead of the blue wall grips.

Brandon coming down the vertical drop slide.

Me braving straddling the slide just to get an action shot of Joshua coming down the slide.

Joshua all set and strapped on ready to hit the climbing wall.

H learnt well at Beavers and shows good climbing technique with 3 points touching at all times.

He kept managing to get about half way up and then bottled it and bailed out.

Trying one of the more challenging climbs.

Brandon's light weight body lends itself perfectly to climbing and he was probably just as good as Joshua.

Fearlessly climbs to the green pacman character but couldn't make it to the yellow.

Race on, both boys challenge each other to a climb-off.

After mastering the toddle soft play, Holly progressed to the big kids soft play and loved the large slide.

Holly showing good balance getting across the rope bridge without any help.

 

The kids seemed to really enjoy the Fun Factory after the initial let down of Adventure Island. Holly is at the stage where she wants to run all over these soft play areas but needs to be assisted. So you end up getting very hot and knackered as you chase her around the play area and keep her safe. Mind you I did sneak in some hand stand practise whilst I was in the soft play with her.