Half Term Romford Dog Racing

As something a little different for half term we went to the Coral Romford Dog Racing today with Brandon's mate Brett and Auntie Nicky and had a really good time. This would be Holly's first time dog racing and when we was at home she kept saying she was looking forward to going "Puppy racing".

I never knew they scheduled day time meetings and even better than that it is free entry on a Thursday afternoon which means more money on betting! It has been a good few years since we last went to Romford Dogs and was shocked to see the main grandstand has been torn down only to be replaced by a car park. So today we was in a temporary marquee as the other stadium is undergoing a refurbishment due to open June/July 2019.

To try and keep to some sort of budget I allowed the kids to have a £1 bet on each race for 1 dog to win. Holly started the proceedings off well with a won straight away bagging herself about £3.30. Brandon was next up with a win slightly topping Holly at about £3.50. Then we went through a bit of a dry spell until about race 5 or 6 when Brett struck gold and got a win of over £7.50. We decided to leave after race 8 and as Joshua was the only one not to get a win I allowed him to bet £1 on each dog (thus guaranteeing a win). Surprisingly this bet actually paid off and he bagged himself £10.22 in winnings.

Holly's first ever time dog/puppy racing.

Joshua looking like he knows what he is doing looking over the form book.

Holly bags the first winner of the day.

And this was her number 4 dog which got her the win.

Action shot of one of the races.

Nicky and the kiddies watching the races from the terrace on a very sunny mid February day.

Brandon, Brett, Josh and Holly.

The dogs being walked out for one of the longer 575m races.

The dogs get loaded in to the starters traps.

And the race is off.

Finally Brandon's 10th Birthday Party

As with Joshua's 11th birthday, Brandon decided he also wanted a go-karting party with a few of his friends and his brother. So we waited until half term and book Brandon, Joshua, Brett and Riley on a really good value package where the boys got 6 sessions out on the track plus pizza and drinks afterwards. The first session was really just a shakedown and everyone was told to take it slowly. The next 4 sessions were all part of qualifying to see who could bag the fastest lap and gain pole position for the final race. Then obviously session 6 was the race where they all started in a grid formation instead of just driving out of the pits straight on to the track.

ll the kids booked in today were split in to two groups and Joshua ended up in the older age group as he was driving an adult kart due to his height. Josh was consistently placing 4th to 6th in the first 4 rounds and then out of nowhere he bagged the second quickest time of the day in his final qualifying session to get on the front row of the grid in the race. He peaked to perfection and got the quickest lap of the day in the final and 5 minutes in to the race he was comfortably leading by over 7 seconds. However disaster struck as he was wiped out by a back marker and then his engine stalled dropping the poor sod back to 4th place. He says he is still claiming it as a win as it wasn't his fault, but if nothing else he still had the record for the fastest time of  the day.

Brandon was in a group with his two mates and two other young kids in the cadet karts. To be honest he didn't really have any competition and stormed ever single qualifier and the final race in 1st place. His best mate Brett came closest to him but finished the final race maybe 15 seconds behind him. Then Riley who started very nervously in the early events really grew in confidence and place a respectable 3rd in their final race.

All 4 boys absolutely loved their day karting and tucked in to some well earnt pizza afterwards.

Celebrating Brandon's 10th birthday with some karting, Brett, Brandon, Joshua and then Riley at the front.

Joshua all ready to hit the track.

Brandon was flying today and really wasn't challenged all day long.

Pulling in to the pit lane.

Brandon and Brett, pretty much every race saw these two finish first and second.

Joshua done very well in the qualifier and the final race until being wiped out by a back marker.

Brandon and Brett exiting the track area after their final battle.

Brandon sits on top of the podium, Brett second and Riley 3rd.

Tucking in to some pizza and drinks after a whole morning of racing.

Back at home and Brandon had another birthday cake so his mates could all sing happy birthday to him.

Holly gets her Half Marathon Certificate and Wrist Band

So last week Holly achieved her half marathon award for the Junior Park Runs by completing her 11th 2k run. So she is now the proud owner of a certificate and a wrist band. What is more impressive is that this was her first park run which she completed without holding my hand and then the second lap she completed even without me running along side her. Amazing effort. Next week she is going to try and run the whole race with no Dad running along side her at all!

Action shot of Holly running solo on her second lap.

As she comes in to the finish line a redundant Dad just stands a round in the background to cheer her on.

Holly's half marathon certificate. Well done.

Holly helping a few other children doing the group warm up.

Big hip circles....

High fiving Mummy on her way around the run.

Holly being called out in front of everyone to receive her half marathon wrist band.

Having also gone swimming almost straight after the run, we had a very tired and sleepy little girl in the afternoon.

Holly gets Star of the Day & is Invested in to Rainbows

Very proud of little Holly following in her big brothers footsteps from a few weeks back and getting "Star of the day" at school yesterday. This is her first award since starting at Abacus and her little smile shows how much it means to her. Not sure why her hair is so flyaway after school though!!!

Also yesterday was her bid day at Rainbows as she was officially invested. She repeated her promise very clearly and loudly, however she did struggle with the 3 fingers salute and then looked completely bemused by the left handed hand shakes afterwards. Anyway more badges for Tina to sew on now. Interestingly the 3 finger salute represents the 3 aspects of the Scout promise, Honour God and Country, Help others and Obey the Scout law. Let's see if Holly can abide by her promise!!!

As Holly starts her journey through Rainbows the boys Beavers, Cubs and Scouts seems to have come to an end. They have both been really struggling to go lately and saying that they find it boring, it has become a real drag getting them out of the house for Scouts lately. So we have agreed they can have a month off for now and then we will re-evaluate. I think it is such a shame as it is a difficult club to get in too and they have done so many amazing things over the years. Fingers crossed after a month off they decide they miss it and want to go back.

Holly's first "Star of the Day".

Very happy with her achievements, but that flyaway hair!!!!

My little Rainbow about to be invested.

Listening carefully to the Rainbow promise/

Struggling a little with the 3 finger salute/

And on goes the badge as Holly is officially a Rainbow now.

Finally being presented with her certificate and some badges for Tina to sew on.

Disney Frozen Princess Pea

We all know how much Holly likes her Princesses and of course there is the famous Princess story about the Princess who can feel a frozen pea through a mattress. Holly has a slightly different take on this though and my little Princess loves eating frozen peas, she does it all the time and polishes off whole bowls of them. Yesterday I was cooking by biryani dish and as soon as the peas came out of the freezer she was standing there with her bowl ready. Still at list it is healthy I suppose.

Disney Frozen Princess pea eater!

Holly's Football Birthday Party

Since starting at Abacus school Holly is now going through that phase we had with the boys where they get invited to tonnes for birthday parties. She has had dinosaur parties, Monkey Madness parties, Party Man World and then last weekend a football party which is right up her street. With her park runs she is pretty quick on her feet and from being around football most weekends she has developed a pretty handy left foot as well. So whilst I didn’t get to see her in action at this party, I suspect she more than held her own against the other girls and the boys. She seemed to really enjoy herself though and was glowing at receiving a participation medal at the end of the party.

Holly talking tactics with the football coach at the party.

Setting up for a short as her team watches on.

All the kids at the party, Holly tucked away at the back right.

After all that running around its time for some party food. No surprises Holly is eating the cucumber!

Happy little face showing off her medal.

Holly's Rainbows Uniform & New Running Outfit

After a few weeks of going to Rainbows club (also known as Unicorn School), Holly has finally got her Rainbows uniform which consists of a red and white T-shirt and fleece. Now she has everything ready for when she gets officially invested in a few weeks time.

Holly has also been given some new running clothes from one of Tina's friends at the school and she really looked the part at last weekends Park Run. As Brandon's cross country races are getting closer I have tried to inspire him to up his game a bit on the park runs and push much harder. I told him I want to see his pain face and that if he could stand after the finish line then he didn't put enough effort in. It seemed to work as he dug deep trying to stay with the leaders and finished in his highest position and was only 1 second off of his all time PB.

Holly in her new Rainbows costume.

Holly really looking the part at last weeks Park Run.

Me and Holly ready to start her 10th Junior Park Run. One more until she gets her half marathon wrist band.

Brandon and Josh at the Park Run. Brandon was flying last week and just missed his PB by 1 second but placed in his highest position coming 9th our of 138 kids and being 3rd in his age group.

Chinese New Year - Year of the Pig

Yesterday was Chinese new year and I actually planned to plan out a few craft activities for the kiddies to make some Chinese lanterns and some masks to celebrate the event. This year is the Year of the Pig which is also the year Joshua was born, 2007. Brandon and Tina are the year of the Ox, Holly is the year of the snake and I am the year of the rat.

As a special little treat we ordered in Chinese takeaway for the evening from the JustEat app for the first time. The service was pretty good and only arrived 10 minutes late, the food was hot and plentiful and despite 5 of us tucking in, there was still leftovers. To make the celebration a bit more authentic we dug out all our old Chinese crockery and chop sticks and then had Alexa playing some Chinese background music as well.

Celebrating Chinese New Year with a Chinese Takeaway.

Plenty of food for everyone, plus our Chinese crockery set and chopsticks.

Our Alexa show set the scene with some Chinese background music.

Holly working hard colouring the dragon on her Chinese lantern.

Holly's finished lantern provided the decor for our dinner.

And Finally Holly's Bedroom is Finished

Well it has only taken about a year and a half, but Holly's bedroom is finally pretty much finished now. Yesterday I fitted a nice new carpet for her and today the new Unicorn lampshades went up. The carpet looks amazing and is pink with flicks of glitter throughout. We bought the carpet from a place called Online Carpets and what a great service. It was a bargain price of £105 for 4m x 5m square with free delivery and it arrived just over a day after ordering it! I am not a trained carpet fitter but I think I have done a pretty good job of her room and by fitting it myself I saved £70. Plus there was enough left in the off cuts to carpet our little en-suite bathroom carpet which is looking a bit tired as its 19 years old!!!

I fitted Holly's carpet whilst she was at school and didn't tell her we was doing it. Luckily I managed to get it done and everything cleared away before she got home from school. We didn't say anything to her as we wanted to see her reaction. When she got in from school and ran upstairs she was pretty much screaming with excitement and shouting for Josh and Brandon to show them. She then said it felt some comfy and soft that she stripped off to just her nickers and was rolling around on her new floor. Looks like Daddy did good.

Really please the way the carpet flows up to the new mirrored wardrobe doors.

I had to work around the bed as it wouldn't fit through the door, but I think the carpet went down very well in the end.

Slowly all of Holly's furniture and toys come back in to her room ready to surprise her when she gets in from school.

This is now her play end of the bedroom.

A little girl was very happy with her finished room fit for any Princess.

Joshua gets Star of the Week

Really please with Joshua this week as he was awarded "Star of the Week" for working harder on his reading and staying more focused. His school report last year wasn't great and so he has really had to up his game this year and we are being much stricter on him with homework and reading. On top of that he is doing 3 early morning SATS classes each week plus a Friday lunchtime homework club. I think he hates us for it at times but maybe this is a turning point and his hard work is starting to pay off. Well done Josh.

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