London Zoo with the Cubs

On Saturday Joshua went on a day trip to London Zoo with his cubs group. He was really excited about the trip as he loves the zoo and had never been to London Zoo before. The only problem was he doesn't travel well (especially on coaches) and was really worried about the journey. So we had to pack him off with a sick bag, a anti-sickness wrist band and spare clothes. Despite all our efforts he was apparently sick 5 minutes before arriving there, but he did manage to travel all the way home without being sick. 

 

From talking to Joshua it seemed like he had a really great day and judging from the pictures they had a great day weather wise for the Zoo. Here are a few pictures that his Cubs leaders posted on facebook throughout the day in order to keep all the parents updated.

 

 

The Cubs sitting down having their picnic lunch in London Zoo.

All the Cubs group photo.

Joshua exploring a tuctuc vehicle at the Zoo.

Walk Like an Egyptian

This term the kids are learning about ancient Egypt and today was their dress up day. Last year they had Roman dress up day and we left it too late to buy a costume and subsequently I ended up spending about 2 hours with Joshua making one the night before. This year we were a little more organised and have had both the boys costumes ready for about 2 weeks. They certainly look very ancient Egyptian, although I think they need to work on their Egyptian pose a little more.

 

The two boys dressed up as ancient Egyptians ready for Egyptian day at school.

Some dodgy looking Egyptian poses.

Outside class and the poses aren't any better.

Some of the boys class mates - looks like a lot of people went to eBay for the same costumes as we did!!!

Challenger K1 Kayak

Today the boys both had a day off school as it was an inset / teacher training day and therefore I decided to book the day off work. We were hoping to go to a Theme Park but disappointingly a lot of them have already switched to winter hours and were either closed or only partially opened. So we abandoned that idea and as the weather was so amazing for late September we opted for a nice day out kayaking at Papermill Lock.

 

The other reason for picking canoeing is that as promised Brandon now has his own single seater kayak which he earned for giving up his cloth's, sucking his sheet and passing his little kayak handling test I gave him. We have been promising Joshua his own kayak for probably 2 years if he can give up his thumb sucking, but to date he has failed dismally. So we are hoping that now he has seen Brandon earn his own boat, it might just motivate him to finally kick the habit.

 

Anyway Brandon's boat was an absolute bargain, but it is really good for the price. Its very strong, very stable in the water, nice and colourful, very easy to inflate and it handles so precisely in the water. Within seconds Brandon had easily mastered the control and could pretty much spin it on the spot. As it is so much smaller and lighter than our 3 man kayak it seems to be a lot quicker and more manoeuvrable.

 

Brandon was absolutely in his element today and we could hardly get him out of the water long enough to eat lunch. About the only time he sat down was when we got the chocolate cake from the cafe. The boys were enjoying it so much that after playing around at the Lock for a while they both decided that rather than pack up they wanted to row back to Boreham and pack up there instead. So me and the boys headed off whilst Tina and Holly drove the car to Boreham to meet us. En route Joshua won the award for find of the day as he spotted a beautiful turtle about the size of lunch box sitting on some branches at the side of the river.

 

On the row back to Boreham Brandon did really well, but as we was rowing slightly against the current and a little wind he started to get tired and so we did a mid water swap and let Joshua row the final stretch. We had a really good day out and I am pleased we opted for kayaking as we probably won't get many more (if any) in before winter sets in.

 

 

Brandon's new Challenger K1 Kayak all pumped up and ready for its maiden voyage.

Holly helps carry it down to the waters edge at Boreham.

Captain B ready to take to the waters. No Champagne bottle to smash over the bow though.

In he goes in the crystal clear waters of the river Chelmer.

Brandon instantly had great control of the boat and headed off under the bridge towards Papermill Lock.

As Brandon had his own boat it meant that Holly could have a seat of her own on the Hudson rather than sitting on my lap. She also got to use Brandon's old ore as he got a new one with the Challenger.

Stopping off and chilling on the water as we look at the surrounding nature and take in the tranquil sounds.

Action shot of Brandon rowing.

Great shot showing just how calm the river was today. Beautiful blue skies and clear water. Lovely.

Within about 30 mins we got closer to the Lock which was evident b the moored up boats at the side of the river.

Holly was getting excited to find out where Mummy was.

Action shot of Brandon pulling in to Papermill Lock.

This place has got to be one of Essex's little gems.

Picnic b the side of the river. Joshua had decided to have a swim in the cold river water, hence sitting there in his fleece to try and keep warm.

With two boats going out, I taught the boys how to rather together just in case we needed too in order to get out of the way of an oncoming boat or if there was an emergency.

I think it is amazing to be able to give the boys the opportunity and experience to play out on the water in boats. It is amazing to stand at the side and watch them having fun and doing such a great job at such a young age.

Whilst Brandon nips off to the toilet Joshua sneaks a go at the Challenger. Hopefully this will motivate him to stop sucking his thumb so that he can get his own boat as well.

A&E Again

So one week after spending a couple of hours up Basildon A&E as Brandon had been charging around after school and bumped into a friend splitting his eye open, we find ourselves there again. This time for Holly and for a very unusual emergency which we have not experienced before.

 

She sits on a hospital bed with smiles, but can you tell what she was in there for?

 

Believe it or not Holly had rammed a large chunk of apple up one of her nostrils during the school run this morning. Tina tried to get it out with some tweezers but only succeeded in pushing it up further. A ENT doctor took a look at first and failed dismally to pull the apple out. So then Tina had to wait for the senior ENT to come and have a try. Fortunately the senior ENT managed to get the apple out with a combination of suction and some bendy tools. Had he of failed she would have been heading down to the operating theatre to get it removed!!!! So fours hours later and all is well and Holly is back at home. Fingers crossed she has learnt her lesson to not stuff things up her nose!

Star of the Week and Smiggle Pencil Cases!



Well what an amazing first couple of weeks Joshua has had at school. His teacher is super complimentary about him and thinks that he is very helpful and a nice boy. In fact he has been awarded the first "Star of the Week" certificate out of all his class for the start of the Year 4 term. So we are super proud of him even if he is still a little THUMB SUCKER!!!!!

 



Super proud of Joshua starting his Year 4 with Star of the Week.

 

I have never really been one for fashion or trends but unfortunately pier pressure in schools means that kids are influenced at a very young age. Whilst both of the boys got new pencil cases for the start of the school year, it turns out they weren't the right ones. The latest fad in the school is a pencil case called a "Smiggle" and apparently everyone in their classes has one except them!!! So whilst in Lakeside today we went in to the "Smiggle" shop to see what all the fuss is about. All I can say is I must be getting old as I just don't get it. The pencil cases don't look anything special to me, I can't see and unique selling points apart from the super expensive price tag. £15 for a pencil case - daylight robbery.

 

 

Glad the boys are happy with their Smiggles because my wallet certainly wasn't happy with this purchase!

Holly's 1st Lesson at Bilericay Dance School

It's been a busy week for Holly with starting pre-school, then this morning she had her first ever dance lesson at Billericay Dance Centre and then this afternoon she was at a build a bear party in Lakeside. Normally my weekends are all football and chasing around with the boys so it is refreshing to be chasing around for Holly.

 

The dance school is over Barleylands and falls at the same time that the boys are doing their football training. So it actually works really well as Tina can walk her over to the studio while I sort the football out. Anyway she had her first lesson today and wasn't in the slightest but shy and really, really enjoyed herself.

 

The party seemed equally as much fun for her. It was the party of her friend Darcy who also goes to the dance centre. Its really nice to see Holly getting invited to parties and this one was really special with no expense spared and all the kids got their own "Build a Bear" teddy to take home. Holly picked her own one and got a lovely pink bear which she dressed in a princess costume with a flashing crown.

 

 

Finally some girlie activities for Holly rather than being dragged around football matches each and every weekend.

Holly sitting nicely with the other girls at the Build-a-Bear party, and what a lovely party frock.

Holly's Princess bear with illuminating crown that she picked.

 

Learning how to build their bears from the party assistant.

More party fun....

 

Washing the bears with air????

Holly's First Day at Pre-School

Yesterday was another land mark day in Holly’s life as she had her first afternoon in pre-school at the TOPS foundation in the Wick Community Centre. She has been so excited about starting school and loves wearing her little blue TOPS t-shirt. From this week onwards she will be doing two afternoons a week on a Wednesday and Friday.

What is funny is that Holly is so used to seeing the boys stand by the garage wall for school pictures, that when Tina said she wanted a picture of Holly all ready for school she immediately ran over to the garage and pulled a pose. She walked off to school with her little back pack on and when she arrived there was no tears, no tantrums, no clinging on to Mum’s leg. Instead she just ran off in without so much as a goodbye and got on with it.

I think Tina was a little upset to see Holly going off to pre-school and even more so that she didn’t get a kiss or goodbye. But what you have to remember is that Holly is a 3^rd child and as such is so much more independent than Joshua and Brandon. Plus she gets to do the school run every day and see’s the two boys going to school without making a fuss. So to her it is already a natural progression she is looking forward too and just wants to be like her bigger brothers.

Anyway she seemed to really enjoy her first afternoon there and did me a lovely little drawing. Now all I have got to do is figure out how to pay for it given that the government support for 15 hours a week does not kick in until the January term!!! Doh!

Holly pulling a pose against the garage wall whilst wearing her TOPS Foundation t-shirt.

Such a big grown up girl already and all excited to be heading off to school.

Off she goes with her little ruck sack on her back.

I think there is room for her to grow in to that t-shirt! Tina said she looked so small compared with the other kids in the class.

2016/17 Football Season and Forest Glade Overnight Camp

So that's the end of our weekends for the foreseeable future as the 2016/17 football season has now started. I have managed to back out of coaching Joshua's team as we had another two coaches join from the Lion's team with the change to 7-a-side for this season. This leaves me to now concerntrate just on Brandon's U8's team. So hopefully my Sundays will not quite be as manic as I rush from one match to the next.

 

So Joshua has been playing two friendlies each weekend as the team tries to adapt to the larger 7-a-side pitch, and Brandon's U8's have already had two pre-season tournaments to get them ready for the first league game on September 25th. Both of them have a new kit for this season. For Brandon's team we got the team a new home kit courtsey of last years sponsor, Rose Builders. For Joshua's team we managed to get them a new away kit sponsored by JLT. I think the 2016/17 kits look great with the extra piping/trim.

 

Brandon sporting his new Rose builders home kit for the 16/17 season.

The U8's team all registered and ready for the first game on September 25th.

 

Joshua in his new JLT away kit.

Joshua keeps his number 9 shirt. The big question is how long he can keep it a nice yellow.

 

The weekend after we got back from camping in Newquay we had another overnight camp planned at the Forest Glade football club grounds. We had hardly recovered from Newquay and my back for sure hadn't recovered from 10 nights on an air bed. But we went along and took my Mum's old tent as it is a bit smaller and more suitable when it is just me and the boys camping. We actually had a really good night playing games, listening to music from a DJ, cooking a BBQ and ordering in pizza. The kids all loved it and we managed to raise a bit of money for the club. So win, win. The farmer who owns the land wasn't too happy the next day as apparently he complained that he thought there was a rave going on over the field. The next challenge was to get all packed up by 8am as Brandon had one of the pre-season tournaments at 9am over at Trinity.

 







Me and the kiddies all set-up with Nanny's old tent for the Forest Glade overnight camp.

Late Summer in Leysdown

You wouldn't have believed that it was mid September as we basked on 20+ degree temperatures today. We had a pretty full on weekend of football with Brandon at Chelsea training Friday night, then me at a managers meeting, then Joshua had a lunchtime friendly at Pitsea yesterday and a morning friendly at Southend this morning. However to make the most of this late summer we headed down to Leysdown straight after the football in Southend.

 

After arriving we had a spot of lunch and then went and had some fun on the beach before heading back for an ice cream and a little go in the arcades. As we approached the beach it looked like the tide was in, but it was well and truelly out so we had a bit of a hike for Joshua to go and try his body board again. Once we got out there he realised there wasn't enough waves anyway and abandoned the body board.

 

The time seemed to fly past and the kiddies really didn't want to come home. I think next time we will plan to abandon the morning football and spend more family time instead. Still we had a fab day out and made some more memories for the kids. They absolute love going down to Leysdown and have been nagging us all summer.

 

Joshua and Brandon chilling before heading to the beach.

I think Joshua has a new friend. He is constantly nagging us to get a dog!

The two of them look like they have the same colour hair!

Walking down towards the sea front on a beautiful day and it looked the tide was in.

But we were wrong, you can see just how far we walked from the beach just to get in some shallow water.

Some nice views looking back on Leysdown though.

Action shot of Joshua and his body board. We remembered the wet suits this time unlike Newquay!

Brandon didn't venture in to the water and chose to just play on the sand.

Along with his little sister. Why she had her life jacket on when she went nowhere near the water?

My beautiful little girl loving playing in the sand.

Joshua turned in to a sand merman.

And then Holly as a rather oversized Mermaid.

Love this idea of a little kids race track marked out in the floor which includes jumps, spins, hops, star jumps and a sprint. What a great way to encourage exercise outdoors.

Brandon takes a lead over Joshua and Holly chases behind.

Swapping tracks and still Brandon hits the final sprint ahead of Joshua.

Outside the chalet with a very grumpy looking Brandon not wanting to go home.

He almost managed a smile in this picture.