Lakeside Karting

As a little treat during the half term we decided to book the two boys in for some go-karting at Lakeside. They have only ever been once before which was some time ago now and due to their age they could only go on the little tots electric karts. However as they are now both over 8 and above the height limit they can drive the full on petrol karts that are capable of 45 mph. Given that they are both petrol heads we thought they would really enjoy this experience and we wasn't wrong!

On the journey up to Lakeside we were getting a million and one questions about how fast they go, how easy they are to control, how dangerous they are, what all the different coloured flags mean etc.etc. It was a mixture of nerves and excitement. Once we arrived at the Karting circuit we got the boys signed in and then race suits, gloves and balaclava's fitted. Next it was up to the briefing room to get some safety instructions and basic driving tips for about 10-15 minutes before heading down to the circuit.

Within no time at all the boys had their race helmets on and were in their Karts ready for the off. Brandon was dressed all in black and racing Kart Nr. 53, Joshua was dressed in black and yellow and was racing kart Nr. 60. Considering this is the fastest thing the boys have ever driven they both did extremely well. In the 15 minutes racing they both achieved 13 laps and Joshua was getting the better of "B" until around 3 minutes remaining when Brandon put in a quicker laptime beating Joshua's fastest by 0.6 of a second (so very close indeed). Joshua span out on one corner being a little right foot heavy and he also took a nasty shunt up the rear on a hairpin (by someone who broke way too late) resulting in him being pushed into the tire wall and suffering a stiff neck. Overall they two boys came 7th and 8th place out of a total of 12 racers.

After the boys finished their racing we let Holly have a go on the little electric kart circuit. At first she was all over the place like a typical woman driver, but she soon got the hang of it and had the whole circuit to herself to drive around. She actually only lasted about 5 minutes or so as every time she crossed the start line she would glance over at the boys playing on the bouncy castle and was clearly more interested in that than the karting.

Josh and Brandon kitted in their race suits and ready for the briefing.

Balaclavas on to wear under the helmets.

Down in pit lane and waiting to be called in to their kart.

Joshua speeding down the straight (the one in the yellow helmet, kart Nr. 60).

Joshua taking a great line through that corner.

Brandon was a natural at karting and wants to go again next weekend!

This was the hairpin that Joshua was shunted into the tire wall.

Another action shot of Brandon driving his kart.

Joshua trying to stick a move on Brandon taking him on the outside line.

Another action shot of Joshua driving.

15 minutes racing over and Joshua pulls in to the pits.

Soon followed by little Brandon.

The final score board showing Brandon with the slightly quicker lap and the boys placing 7th and 8th.

Brandon celebrates his quicker lap on top spot of the podium.

Holly getting to grips with the smaller electric karts.

Holly was a little ropey at first but soon got to grips with the karting.

Nice close up picture of Holly driving.

But she was distracted by the boys playing on the nearby bouncy castle.

And Holly comes across to take the checkered flag.

To end a really great afternoon at Lakeside Karting I managed to snap a lovely picture of the 3 kiddies.

Holly's Imaginative Playtime in her Bedroom

Since Holly had her bedroom extension done, (thanks to Uncle Steve) she has really started to enjoy playing in her room. With her old box room I can probably count on one hand the number of times she actually played with toys in her bedroom. However nowadays she often disappears up to her room, closes the door and enters into a wonderful world of imagination with her toys. I have crept upstairs a few times to see what she is getting up to and she will have loads of dolls, Lego characters, Minnie Mouse characters spread all over the place and she will be playing so nicely and interacting with them. This sort of creative play is something we have lost with the two boys as they spend all their play time on the IPAD or PS4, so I’d kind of forgotten just how nice it is to see the little ones playing with toys and using their imagination.

Holly enjoying some imaginative playtime in her big bedroom. Toys everywhere. 

Kings Lynn Mart Fair

Yesterday I took a day off work to spend some time with the kiddies during the February half term. As we didn't get to see the Norfolk family over Xmas we decided to head to Downham Market for the day to see Auntie Chris, Uncle Steve and Layla. The weather this week has been absolutely atrocious but we couldn't have picked a better day today. Suddenly we had blue skies, temperatures of almost 9 degrees and almost feeling spring like. To further add to our good fortune - it was £1 day at the fair so all the rides were only £1 per go. With 3 kids that helps a lot!!!!

Going to the Mart brought back some very distant memories of my childhood. The funfair was jam packed due to half term, good weather and £1 day. That being said there weren't really any queues and the kids all got to go on every ride they wanted too. There were plenty of rides crammed in to the Mart and in the end we was over there for nearly 3 hours. Brandon started getting a little green and had to calm down towards the end, but both boys and Layla were going on the biggest thrill rides there. Holly had plenty she could ride on and she also had a go on the bumper cars with me.

After the Fun Fair the kids all decided that they wanted a KFC for dinner. So we headed out of Lynn to find a KFC and all sat inside with the largest party bucket they had. We had a really good day and Layla seemed to love seeing her cousins and having kids her age to go on the fairground rides with.

Josh, Layla and Brandon on the Twister.

Holly on a little driving ride.

Amazingly Joshua didn't want to go on the Waltzer so it was just Brandon and Layla.

Can you spot a little Holly in this Big "Little" Wheel?

There she is.

Joshua and Layla ride on the Olympic Bobsleigh ride, how appropriate given that the Winter Olympics are currently on.

Brandon is somewhere up in that play house. I ended up being dragged through this to take Holly on it!

Holly negotiating the Lily pads in the play house.

Me and Holly look down on the others from the top of the play house.

Holly on a little Mini Waltzer for the tots. Love the face!

She was joined by her older brothers.

Layla and Holly on the bumper boat things (minus any water).

Me and Holly on the bumper cars.

Joshua took a bit of a knock on the bumper cars getting sandwiched front and back jolting his head back.

Holly on a helicopter ride.

Holly on the helter skelter (i drew the short straw and had to run up with her carrying her mat).

Shrove Tuesday & Pancake Flipping Tennis

The kiddies certainly made the most of Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day) yesterday. Not only did they have pancakes for breakfast, but they made some at the Treehouse Day Club and also then for pudding at home in the evening. Brandon has taken to my pancake taste keeping things simple with traditional lemon and sugar. Joshua sides with Holly and prefers Nutella with their pancakes.

 

Once we finished eating our pancakes last night we cooked one extra for the kids to play with and have a go at flipping themselves. This soon escalated in to a game of pancake tossing tennis using two frying pans. Holly was having an absolute blast running around and flipping pancakes at people. Once she got fed up with using the frying pan she simply picked up scraps of pancake and threw them at me. Needless to say the spare pancake didn't last too long before it was disintegrated all over the kitchen floor. So a little mess, but loads of fun.

 

 

Good old Brandon taking after his Dad with lemon and sugar pancakes.

Too sickly for my liking, but Joshua prefers Nutella.

Holly getting ready to try pancake flipping for the first time.

Well that's fun, until it comes down and lands on her head!

Holly getting some airtime with a pancake flip.

Joshua trying his hand at pancake flipping.

Little B was a natural and managed multiple flips/

But I think this one is destined for the floor!

Brandon trying the overhead serve as he flips a pancake to me which I then have to catch.

Me returning the pancake to B with an overhead flip.



Holly's New PB at the 2k Junior Park Run

With yesterdays football training cancelled and the boys well in to their cross country training at school, we decided to have a nice early start and head over to Chelmsford again for the 2k Junior Park Run. Despite the cold conditions Holly did absolutely amazing and on her 3rd Park Run she got a new PB of 16 min and 11 seconds (and that was even with a brief stop to tie one of her shoe laces). She was so proud that on the second lap she managed to overtake someone on the run.

Me and Holly hand in hand as we run the Chelmsford 2k Junior Park run on a very chilly morning. She got loads of comments from the marshals for her hat!

Holly finished 100th out of 113 runners and got a new PB of 16:11.

Brandon was also running well yesterday in his 30th park run and is inching closer to sub 9 minutes again. Finished 15th overall this week with a time of 9:08.

Joshua looked so comfortable on the 1st lap and stored out too quickly (just like I do) and then paid for it later. He finished in 30th place with a time of 10:14 this week.

Parents Evening

So it's half term again already!!!!! Seems like the boys have only just gone back after Christmas and they are off again - where does time go. Anyway as it is the end of term we had parents evening last week for a progress update on the boys and it was a bit mixed really.

The evening started with Brandon and his teacher pretty much couldn't praise him enough. His work ethic, concentration, contributions to class discussions etc.etc. was all praised very highly. Apparently he is a right little mathematician and really excels at this subject and is in top set. He is also very enthusiastic in topic and science subjects. His biggest weakness appears to be English and in particular we need to work a little harder on his reading. He is at the right reading stage for his age but given his ability in the other subjects he should be at a higher level and doesn't always understand what he reads, which shows in his book quizzes that they have to complete after each book they read.

Then we moved on to Joshua's teacher and I came away a little disappointed which is a first. Joshua's work has started to get neater but his hand writing is still not as good as his younger brother. But the biggest issue the teacher had with Joshua (which is something we see at home as well) is that he is easily distracted and has a very small attention span. He is doing OK at most subjects but according to his teacher he could be so much better if he applied himself a bit more and just got on with his work instead of letting things around him distract him. His teacher has advised that we perhaps try playing some memory games with him at home which will force him to concentrate and focus for longer periods of time. So not quite as good as Brandon this time, but not alarms bells just yet. We have told him he has to knuckle down and turn things around over the next 5 months.

Brandon's Birthday Money

Brandon has almost finished all his Birthday celebrations now. Last weekend we took him out to spend his money and he has bought himself a West Ham coloured boxing bag (thanks Auntie Lisa and Uncle David), “The Crew” PS4 game, a really nice West Ham winter coat  and a West Ham Cup type of thing. He has one more part of his birthday left and that is to have his best friend stay over next weekend for a sleepover and we will probably take them out bowling or something. He wanted this (along with more presents) instead of having a big parts. Disappointingly he hasn’t really used his drone much yet and hasn’t touched his Lego. He has obviously used his PS4 a lot and his wireless headphones and he very quickly spent all his PS4 vouchers from Auntie Nicky in Gran Theft Auto shark cards!!!!!

Brandon with his new West Ham coloured Main Event boxing bag.

With the rest of his birthday money he bought this lovely winter West Ham coat, the West Ham glass and "The Crew" PlayStation game.