Cadbury World

Last weekend we booked a half term treat for the kids to take them up to Alton Towers for 2 days staying in the Enchanted Village over night. To break up the journey I had Friday off of work with a plan to visit Cadbury's World on our way up to the North and then stop over in an AirB&B close to Alton Towers ready for Saturday morning. Clearly it was a bad idea going on the Friday of half term as the 2-3 hour journey to Cadbury World took well over 5 hours primarily due to the good old M25 car park!!!

Luckily we made it to Cadbury World about 10 minutes before our allocated time slot and pretty much walked straight in. None of us had ever been before so we didn't really know what to expect or what it was about, but essentially it is exactly what is written on the tin and all about chocolate! From the moment we walked through the door we was given bags of Cadbury's chocolate and then we pretty much didn't sop eating it until we left. By the end of the day I had certainly had enough chocolate to keep me going all weekend.

It was quite nice going close to Halloween as they had lots of Halloween decorations up and a Freddo Halloween quiz show which Holly enjoyed a lot (a bit too babyish for the boys!). As if we didn't have enough chocolate during our visit, we still ended up spending an absolute fortune on yet more chocolate in the souvenir shop!

Anyway here are some piccies from the start of our long weekend away.

We arrived at Cadbury World with about 10 mins spare after diabolical traffic.

Loved the Cadbury monster truck taxi parked outside.

Holly and Tina with the Cadbury bunny.

At the start of the trail and learning about where cocoa originated from.

Notice Holly not letting go of the bag of chocolate!

Some interative screens to learn all about the history of chocolate.

The replica of old London in the Midlands.

Some very old chocolate bar and Easter egg moulds.

Holly with a selection of some more modern chocolate bar moulds.

The 3 kiddies learning how to temper chocolate.

Then learning the fine art of writing your name in chocolate.

Holly was writing hers in bubble writing.

Learning the fine art of chocolate decorating.

Joshua's mess - safe to say he won't be a professional cake decorator when he is older.

I left my Shark signature (before Josh decides to ruin that as well).

After making a mess of his area, Joshua started to colour in the shark that I drew.

Holly's finished master piece.

First ever visit to Cadbury World for all 3 of them.

Tina, Holly and Josh shared one car for the little indoor ride.

Me and B rode in a separate car.

Again a bit childish for the boys but Holly's enjoyed it.

Next up we got to pick and mix our own little chocolate recipe.

The boys sampling their delights with melted chocolate, marshmallow, cookies, fudge, Oreo etc.etc.

Holly's little pot of chocolate goo.

This section of Cadbury World gave you some history on some of the classic Cadbury adverts from years gone by. I loved the Phil Collins drum playing Gorilla which they had a life size animated version of.

One of the old Cadbury adverts you might remember.

And another, the Cadbury surfer dude.

Holly running around on some interactive floor lighting.

And then waiting around for Tina to finish buying half of the souvenir shop. Note Holly has yet another Teddy to her collection and Josh picks the biggest bar of chocolate ever!

Bearing in mind that we had already pre-ordered Joshua this birthday bar of chocolate anyway!

Outside the boys were being very mature and smashing in to each other in little radio controlled cars.

Boys will be boys, but it kept them entertained whilst Holly was in the play area.

After about a 30 min drive we then arrived at our AirBnB and headed out for a Dominos Pizza to add calories to all the chocolate.

Me and wifey.

Family souvenir pic at Cadbury World.

Happy 14th Birthday to Joshua

Joshua turned 14 this year and for the first and only time in his life is now twice as old as his little sister. I am so glad Joshua is seriously in to his fishing now as without that we wouldn't have had a clue what to buy him this year. So for his 14th he ended up with mostly fishing gear including 2 new rods, 2 reels, some floatie things, a rod pod, some rod pod attachments, some stronger line and a few other bits and bobs. 

Then on top of that we bought him loads of clothes as he keeps bloody growing out of them! Mostly green clothes which he can wear for fishing. The new fishing coat fits well and he really liked the green tracksuit we got him, but the other clothes all got a pretty muted reaction from him.

It was nice for most of the family to come and see Joshua ad share some birthday cake. He did very well for birthday money which as expected ended up in my wallet last night as he did loads of online shopping buying yet more fishing gear!!! Anyway here are a few pics from his special day.

As usual Joshua was keen to open his presents before going to school.

Some of the clothes he got - green for going fishing.

A new green fishing jacket (which he probably won't wear knowing him)!

Opening his rod pod, not many surprises this year as it was all stuff he had specifically asked for.

Two new super duper light weight super strong fishing rods (thats about all I know about them).

As Tina has been ill we had to settle for a quick and easy chocolate birthday cake this year, but very tasty.

Once school was done and dusted he was keen to start setting up all his new fishing gear (at least he is wearing his new tracksuit though).

His all new set-up of rods, reels, rod bod and other little bits attached hear and there. Let's hope he has many fruitful fishing trips and gets lots of catches with his new gear.

Early 14th Birthday Dinner for Joshua

Tonight we went out for an early Birthday celebration ahead of Joshua's 14th tomorrow. We decided to go out tonight as tomorrow is a school night and it is always such a rush, plus Holly can't stay up too late. For ages we have wanted to try a "Five Guys" burger and so we headed in to Chelmsford which is our nearest "Five Guys" restaurant.

It's not the cheapest burger and chips you can buy, but I have to say I was mightily impressed and definitely rank it up there as one of the best burger and chips that I have had. Even the Cajun chips cooked in peanut oil are just amazing.

So now Josh can stay in tomorrow after school and enjoy all his presents without rushing out for dinner. Then on Thursday night he has another birthday surprise as we are heading to the Olympic Stadium again to watch West Ham play Genk.

Our forst "Five Guys" to celebrate Joshua's 14th birthday.

We found this nice flower bench in Chelmsford which made a nice Mummy/daughter photo opportunity.

Then it was back home to wrap Joshua's presents ready for his bog day tomorrow.

Hashtag United New Football Kit for 2021/22 Season

Brandon's new football season started over a month ago however he has not had his new kit until recently due to a delay in availability on the socks!. So Thursday he finally got to wear the new training kit which is also the away kit and then today we had our first league game against Corringham wearing the new home kit and the boys stormed to a 9-0 victory. I think the new home shirt looks really good, albeit a colour swap between the old Forest Glade home and away colours. Fingers crossed the new kit will bring new fortunes for the team.

New Hashtag United Away Kit and Training Kit

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New Hashtag United Home Football Kit.

Brandon is Offered the AQA Higher Project Qualification Level 2

Very proud of Brandon this week as we received a letter from his school stating that as a high attainer student he has the option to do the AQA Higher Project Qualification Level 2 which is run by an external company called Twenty Twenty. The objective of the course is to bring Brandon towards achieving the highest possible grades in his final exams but will also get the AQA Higher Project Qualification at the same time.

Initially Brandon was absolutely dead against doing this as he really puts himself down all the time and doesn't realise just how clever he is and how much potential he has. The fact that some of the sessions are in half term really didn't help our case in trying to persuade him. Luckily I managed to talk some sense in to him and advised him what a great opportunity it is and that they wouldn't have offered it to him if he wasn't capable. I also told him that having stuff like this on his resume is what will separate him from everyone else when it comes to applying for University places or future job applications.

 

Mirafit Sled/Prowler Training

So the latest addition to my home gym is a Mirafit sled / prowler which I have wanted for ages. I have added a 12m strip of cheap astro down the drive so that I don't wake the neighbours at 6am with metal grinding on block paving!

Anyway Joshua was up for a challenge and wanted to try it out tonight thinking that he could hit 125-150kg. I will give him his dues, he gave it a good try but only managed 111kg. Little Holly also had a go and managed a respectable 46kg. The most I have loaded on there is 131kg although tonight I had 111kg + Holly sitting on the sled which seemed to feel heavier than the 131kg I did this morning. Holly seemed to find her ride on the sled amusing which is more than I can say for pushing all that weight!

At least one of us is smiling in this picture. 111kg + a Holly.

Holly warming up with the sled on its own (which weighs 41kg).

Joshua's first attempt at 91kg.

Then stepping up for a very respectable 111kg.

Coach Holly shouting words of encouragement to Josh. 

Holly the Sports Ambassador

Several weeks ago Holly was sent a form home from school which had to be completed pitching herself as a Sports Ambassador for her year. Between me and Holly we brain stormed loads of ideas about what she could offer as Ambassador and then I helped her to complete her form with all the ideas she had generated. Anyway today Holly was sent home with a letter from school and when we opened and read it we were very pleased and surprised to find out she had been selected as the Sports Ambassador. Holly was absolutely made up with the news and so chuffed with herself. She is now planning loads of running and skipping challenges with certificates and badges as rewards.

Super proud of this little one for being the Sports Ambassador.

This was the letter from Miss Dooley confirming Holly's selection.

Yet More Covid Home Learning

So the Covid situation got a lot worse in our house before it got better - hence the lack of blog updates lately. Once Tina had a positive lateral flow test the weekend before last, we decided to all go for another PCR test on the Saturday. The results came in on the Monday and Tina, Holly and me all had Covid. Brandon has been the only one in our household who has somehow managed to avoid it. He reckons he is desperate to catch it as he wants some time off of school like Joshua and Holly have.

Holly has been working hard on her RockStar times tables and SumDog home learning Apps during her isolation. She has also been trying to keep up on her reading as she has plenty of books in her room. She is absolutely smashing the RockStar App with over double the points of her class mate who is in second place. Fortunately Holly wasn't really affected by Covid much and only really felt a bit under the weather for a day or so. Despite being double jabbed, me and Tina were much worse and pretty much knocked out for 3+ days.

Anyway today is the last day of Isolation for us all and that means Tina is back to work tomorrow and Holly is finally back to school.

Finally looking through my phone I found a couple of pics from mine and Tina's recent 24th anniversary. As next year is our big 25th we had a very low key anniversary this year and decided to just go out for a meal as a family. The venue which was democratically voted was Aroma which always leaves you completed bloated. Altough the base the child versus adult price on height and not age and therefore the meals here are getting more expensive as I am now paying for 4 adults and 1 child!!!!

24th Anniversary meal at the Aroma in Bas Vegas.

Holly enjoying an ice-cream for pudding. It's been a while since I saw her in her glasses as she lost them at school already! So we are waiting for a new set to be made up!!!!

Covid home learning again as Holly works on times tables on the laptop.

Despite having Covid, Holly has worked hard and is leading the way in her class.

School Awards + Covid Update + Grealish Hair

Joshua has finally out of isolation having been diagnosed with Covid-19 and thus he finally went back to school last Thursday. The school have recently issued some awards during the morning assembly and it was good to see both Josh and B picking up a certificate. Brandon won a subject award in Chemistry and Joshua was awarded a certificate for his Year 8 discuss.

Anyway no sooner was Joshua back at school and now Tina has been diagnosed with Covid-19 so we are all still isolating and pretty limited on where we can go and who we can see. So not much to update on the blog lately.

Brandon has still been going to football and seems to have really found his passion for it again now. He has stamped his mark on the right back position on our team and is playing really well cementing his position in the starting line-up and playing nearly all the games without being subbed. Perhaps it was the world cup and Jack Grealish which has inspired him as he now wears a headband at football to hold his hair back (just like Jack!).

Brandon's Year 7 award in Chemistry.

Joshua's Year 8 award for his discuss at the Nationals.

Brandon's new Grealish look for football training and matches.

Action shot of Brandon in today's league match - he has really found his passion for football again and is really enjoying playing and training.

Joshua Test's Positive for Covid-19

After swabbing his tonsil's and nostril's, Joshua had a positive lateral flow test for Covid-19 on Monday.

Well Joshua was back in school for all of one week and is now isolating at home for 10 days. The kid he sits next to at school tested positive for Covid-19 last Friday and kindly decided to pass it on to Josh. He has done two lateral flow tests which were both positive and had this verified via a PCR test yesterday. As a consequence of his positive test the rest of us were pinged yesterday to say that we also had to go and get a PCR test. So this was done at 7pm last night and we are all anxiously waiting the results hoping they come back negative.

We haven't done badly really when you consider Covid all started around February 2020 and our household has managed to avoid catching it until September 2021. Fingers crossed Joshua will now keep it to himself and not decided to share it around the household!!!!

First Day Back at School

It is sods law isn't it that the week the kids we have a heat wave with a 30 degree heat wave. Holly went back to school in her Lilac class last Thursday. Joshua and Brandon both started this Monday. So far they all seem to have settled back in to the routine ok, but we are only just over half way through the week and the signs of tiredness are starting to show. Early mornings, long days and walks to and from school in this heat have certainly taken a toll on all three of them.

The school uniform bill wasn't too bad this summer as the boys both had growth spurts last year and had new shirts, trousers etc. So for the boys we got away with 1 PE kit, 2 new pairs of shoes and a blazer. Holly needed some cardigans and a few other bits and bobs, so all in all not too bad this year. Josh has now decided he wants to go back to the pre-school rugby club though so I will have another £50 coming for some new rugby boots to fit his size 11-12 feet!!!!!

I have never known anyone be so excited to go back to school as Holly was last Thursday.

Then on Monday all 3 went back to school (Yes Joshua is smiling in that picture). Holly had to wear her PE kit to school on Monday hence the blue top.

West Ham Vs Crystal Palace

Well in my lifetime I cannot recall a time when West Ham were top of the Premiership, but after 3 games in 2021/22 season, guess what?, yes West Ham are top. Joshua and Brandon both really follow the football now and were nagging me all holiday to try and get tickets to the home game against Crystal Palace.

So as it is the school holidays and we have never been to watch West Ham at the Olympic Stadium, I decided, what the hell, lets do it. Although our tickets were quite high up in the stadium, we actually had an amazing view and really enjoyed the game. At times Brandon found watching the conflicts between the West Ham fans and the visiting Palace fans more entertaining than the game! There were 2 little incidents which resulted in 2 Palace fans being escorted from the stadium.

The game was really good and West Ham should have won having dominated the play. However it ended a 2-2 draw meaning that West Ham lose their top spot in the Premier League. The draw means they are still undefeated though and still sitting very high in the league table at the moment. It was a really good boys day out and we enjoyed a nice Krispy Creme donut, a burger during the match and treated ourselves to some West Ham merch in the shop.

It was also nice to see a full stadium back after fans being banished from games for so long due to Covid. Shame it is so bloody expensive to take the boys as I would love to do this more often.

Well that is something I can not recall ever seeing - West Ham at the top of the Prem.

They were excited to go and see their first game at the Olympic Park (even if their faces don't show it).

Loads of chanting as we approach the stadium.

Our seats were quite high up but we actually had a really good view of the whole pitch.

Still can't get a smile out of them even though I bought them West Ham shirts and scarves!

The build up to the game that ended 2-2.

Holly's Bigger Bike

Over a year ago Chris and Steve brought down Leyla's old bike for Holly as she has really outgrown her little 14" wheel pink bike. I tried to get Holly to ride it last year but she just wouldn't have any of it and wanted to stay on her little bike.

It was blatantly obvious this year that she was so ready for this bike as her knees were up at her ears on the smaller bike. So after a little persuasion I finally convinced her to try it again and hey presto, she likes it. She is so much quicker on this bike and also it is her first bike with gears so now she will be able to manage the hills that much better as well.

It has only taken a year but Holly is finally riding her larger bike from Leyla.

There is no getting her off it now and she has me taking her out for a ride every day.

Next is to take her over to Hadleigh and see how she gets on at the mountain bike track.