Action Chugger

Well as any parent will tell you kids have their phases and fads. With ours so far it has been Scooby Doo, Fireman Sam, Roary Race Car, Lightning McQueen, Bob the Builder and now the new kid on the block is Chuggington. So last week I treated the boys to a little chugger train and track each for being such good lads at Thomas Land last weekend. Here you can see them both enjoying their new toys - although we did have some fights over who had Koko and who had Brewster! Maybe I should buy two the same next time.

Joshua seems to really like "action chugger" from the cartoon so maybe I will have to keep a look out for that one next. Speaking of action - Amy gave the boys their first action man this weekend and bless little Brandon. He was a bit confused and calling action man, "Daddy". Well I guess he wasn't a million miles wrong and I should take it as a compliment. Thank god he didn't pick up Mr Blobby and then say "Daddy"!!!!

Now if you are weak stomached do not look at the following pictures. As I have mentioned before Joshua is getting braver and braver with exploring his environment. Today he took garden exploration to the next level and taught himself to climb the circular trellis. He seemed quite proud that he could see our car from over the fence. What a monster!

These smiles wont last long if he falls.

Thomas Land Finale

2 blogs in 1 day!!!! Just makes up for me missing yesterday as I just didn't have time on top of the 24 miles of running as well!!

So after the Zoo we discovered the Thomas playground which both the boys loved. In fact we had tears when eventually it was time to drag them away. This was a nice opportunity to chill with a coffee whilst the two boys just ran off and did their own thing. Joshua does worry me in parks though as he seems to get more and more daring every time he goes to a park. Here you can see him on a balance beam quite high up.

Another cheeky picture of Brandon hiding in a large playhouse.

And then both the boys whizzing down the slides.

Joshua would not part with his drink even when going down the slide!

Once we did drag the boys out of the park we took a brief walk around dinosaur land and then finished off the rest of the zoo.

Help, Joshua and Daddy locked up behind bars.

Brandon was asleep in this part of the park so I took Joshua on a shooting roller coaster where he scored 500 points and then we went into the Happy Feet 4D cinema. He really wasn't impressed with the penguins squirting him with water as he watched the movie. He also now thinks that all sunglasses are 3D glasses and whenever you wear them it is time to watch penguins.

Another picture of Mummy and the boys climbing on a Thomas.

And Joshua driving the Thomas in the gift shop. I think that is the look of "Ooooooh, looks like we are going to crash!".

Now for a test of memory. Who remembers in Thomas Land Pt.1 where I pointed out the little red train from on top of the roller coaster. Well here it is close up with the boys climbing all over it and learning the controls.

Well that's all from Thomas Land. After a very busy day we headed off to our hotel where the boys showed no signs of tiring. The new environment was like a playground as the two of them run riot in the hotel room playing with phones, hair dryers, jumping off the bed etc.etc. Brandon was bombing around and slipped over bruising his cheek in the coffee table! Boys will be boys. Eventually they started to fade and eventually nodded off at about 9pm.

Thomas Land Pt.2

After our well deserved ice-cream break the boys took their Daddy for a flight on Harold the helicopter, or as Brandon calls them "copta". The two boys sat in the front pilots seats and I was left to squeeze into the back seat to keep an eye on them. Whilst the picture doesn't show it, this ride actually went up very high and gave a pretty impressive view over the theme park.

On route to the fat controllers car track we stopped off for a quick photo shoot with another Thomas tank engine.

Then it was time to let the boys loose in the vintage cars. Joshua drove his Mummy whilst Brandon drove me.

I am really trying to make an effort to learn all the characters for the kids programmes but there are just so many. What with Nemo, Roary, Lightning, Chuggington, Bob The Builder, Thomas just to name a few, I have to say I am struggling. But whilst visiting Thomas Land I at least learnt that the green train (below) is Percy.

Percy has significance because I managed to win both the boys a largish teddy train by skilfully completing one of those ball throwing games (all be it on the second attempt). Joshua picked the blue Thomas teddy and Brandon had the green Percy one. Brandon was absolutely over the moon with his Percy and rarely let go of it. He was even playing with it in the car.

At this stage in the day Brandon was getting a bit sleepy and we had almost exhausted Thomas Land. So it was time to jump on the big Thomas train itself and head out to the zoo. Here you can see Joshua with his blue teddy of Thomas which I won.

Here is Mummy and Joshua sitting on the train.

No surprises here, Brandon still clutching on to Percy.

But I did manage to get another cheeky shot of Brandon just peering over the side of the train watching the world go by.

It was no mean feat getting two boys and a heavily loaded double buggy onto the Thomas train. But somehow we managed it and after the short ride we were at the Zoo part of the park.

In the zoo Brandon had a good run around and showed particular interest in the tigers. For the first time I heard him say "Tiger" and also he stood there making a "roooar" noise. You could tell the tiger was worried! Anyway that's all for today, final installment from Thomas Land tomorrow.

Drayton Manor Pt.1

Just got back from a fantastic weekend away with my family. A very welcome rest having ran over 100km last week and cycled 100 miles in prep for the forthcoming 24hr race. On Saturday we spent the day in Drayton Manor / Thomas Land and then today we was in Sutton Coldfield for a friends baby girl's Christening. Our two boys were so well behaved in the Church, in fact Joshua fell asleep! As for me, well I have been a parent for nearly 3 years and as from today I am now a god parent as well.

Anyway onto Thomas Land / Drayton Manor. As you can probably imagine I got a bit trigger happy with the camera so this visit will have to be posted in 2 or 3 parts. Anyway Drayton Manor is a top Theme Park with some great rides. We spent from 10am in the morning until nearly 6pm in there and the time absolutely flew past. The bizarre thing for me is that probably about 60% of our time was spent in Thomas Land. This is bizarre because 3 years ago we would have walked straight past Thomas Land without contemplation - how children change you eh? In fact we didn't go on any of the big coasters, the entire day was about the children and letting them have some fun.

Anyway the day started with a close up view of the Thomas train which runs frequently from the entrance up to the zoo.

Brandon loved watching the trains and was getting really impatient to get a ride on one.

However Brandon had to wait for a while as the first ride we went on was a mini roller coaster which he was too small for. Joshua 1st went on the coaster with his Mummy and wasn't to sure initially as it was pretty fast for a 2.5 year old.

Second time around he went on with me and enjoyed the ride much more. The theme park operates a parent swap idea which is fab because it basically means one parent can go on with a child whilst the other buggy/baby sits. Then without having to queue again the parents can swap, what a great idea. Anyway you can see from this picture that the coaster was pretty high up for little Joshua. To give you an idea of how high up we are, remember the red train in the background and on a later blog you will see the size of that up close.

Once we finished on the coaster we then headed over to Jeremy Jet so that Brandon could get his first ride. For this one we abandoned the buggy completely and all four of us flew in a jet together.

Brandon "Biggles" flying high.

And here is Joshua "Maverick" co-pilot.

The next ride was a spinning boat type of ride which Tina went on with the two boys. This was a bit hairy for Brandon and he didn't like it one little bit.

The next ride surprised me some what. It was a mini version of one of those vertical drops where you get bounced around and experience weightlessness. Joshua was old/tall enough and so I decided what the hell. I think I was more scared than he was as the dude just sat there sucking his thumb as if to say "whats the deal with this one Dad!". And yes I was wearing by Holland football shirt again in support of the Netherlands being the best team left in the 2010 World Cup.

You can just about see Joshua's little legs hanging over the edge.

It was a bit of a scorcher weather wise and after lunch we found (or should I say "Joshua found") and ice cream parlour. Cheeky little Brandon suddenly decides to like choc-and-mint and subsequently steals his poor Dad's ice cream. But I would give my ice cream up any day if it means seeing a beautiful little face like this. Brandon doesn't know it just yet, but in years to come those beautiful dark eyes and long lashes of his are going to have the girlies falling at his feet.

Anyway that's all for today. In between multiple 10k runs tomorrow I will try and get pt.2 of this blog update.

Joshua 5 Germany 0

Well the boys first ever World Cup ends in disaster with England losing 4:1 to a dominant German side. I think Joshua should now replace Wayne Rooney given that he scored 5 goals at the Little Kickers football club on Sunday morning. 2 weeks ago we were so proud of Joshua for saying Eng"er"land for the first time and had it as the ring tone for our phones. Joshua understands that England lost and now runs around shouting "Engerland not good". Maybe he should replace Fabio as well as Rooney - the new Enlgand player/manager is........

Also yesterday Joshua was sitting at the dinner table and was watching me use a knife in one hand and a fork in the other. For the first time ever he tried to copy me using both hands and a knife and fork, normally he would just use one had with a spoon or fork.

With all this hot weather the boys have really been enjoying the paddling pool and water pistols. I have to say it is quite nice to get squirted with cold water, and its even more fun charging around the garden and chasing around the trampoline shooting the boys. Here is me teaching Joshua the art of war with the water pistols.

In the end I am forced to surrender.

Brandon has not yet got the hand strength to pull the trigger so he is far less subtle. He just fills a container or a toy boat with water and blatantly throws it over you.