Hobbledown Farm

 I came across this adventure park/farm in Epsom randomly through browsing a website. Looked like some much needed active fun we wanted to shake off the lockdown blues. 

Not far away from London, the farm wasn't busy which was good to know. We first headed to the mini farm/zoo to see the various animals including meerkats, peacocks, wallabies, etc.... The farm lead us to the massive adventure playgroup with lots of wood houses and big slides. I couldn't resist the kids having all the fun so i joined in and god wha a work it was. I'm glad that despite me putting some kilos on, i still fit i those small tunnels and holes. It was so much fun running after the kids chasing them up and down those gigantic wooden houses. 

To catch our breath, we then headed for the bouncy mat which was fun. My kids have decided that there weren't done chasing me around so hey chased me around the bunny mat too which again was excellent exercise ti get rid off my belly fat. 

There was another play area where kids got to dig for gold and another play area with dragons and what looked like fairy houses which I couldn't climb into, much to my dismay.

There was a maze which was fun to run around in and the kids had a dizzying time in the zorbs!

We ended the day by doing a Go-ape obstacle course. While Mahi completed the course like a pro he is, i fell, much to my kids amusement, half way through and had to be rescued. It's ok, i still zip lined like a superhero!

A day trip to Margate

 On an extremely hot day in August, we decided to travel down to a beach. We wanted to go somewhere we never been before and not too far from London. We therefore picked Margate. I know, the news kept saying how busy it was however we went there bright and early around 11am and there was no-one so we picked the best place and made our territory so we could socially distance! Unfortunately, Dreamland wasn't open so not ride for us this time.

I didn't know there was a swimming pond right next to the sea which was very convenient for when I just wanted to read a book. Once we settled in, we went to dip our toes. It was full of seaweed and algae which rather put me off swimming in the water but that didn't deter the kids. Once the kids pulled me through the algae and seated, the water was so refreshing and clean in the hot weather. 

We needed  a break from the sea so we headed for lunch and the seashell grotto. The grotto was small but stunning. The grotto was made entirely of shells with a bit of history to it too. It was reasonably priced and not too far away from the seafront. The gift shop wasn't like any other gift shops with quite nice and rare gifts.

We then returned back to our place which became quite full however since we had our borders, nobody was close to us. We spent the rest of the afternoon in and out of the water and before we knew it, it was time to go home.

It was a day well spent!

Post summer holidays blues

As we say goodbye to the last summer day and the family has got back to the school routine, it is a great time to look back but at our summer holidays.

Lucky went back to school just the last week before school broke up. This was her year 6 graduation and sending off week and me or her wanted to save whatever we could from her last week in primary school before she goes to big school! I have to say that since there wasn't many students, my fears of sending Lucky back to school were calmed down. It was easy to socially distance and with different entries and exits for the other 2 year groups. Anyways, Lucky had a wonderful last week. They had a socially distance class party and a more socially-distanced graduation party. I wasn't too pleased about the people who received the awards but very proud of how much my little 11year old achieved in her primary school years including being a rights ranger, campaigning about anti-bullying, being a sports captain, always being called for different sporting events, many concerts and more importantly being there for everyone! She won the best friend award and how true is the?1 i'm so proud of the human i created. It was quite an emotional farewell saying goodbye to all my mummy friends. 7 years of supporting each other through all our different issues.... What a journey it has been.

The summer also meant we moved out to a bigger property at another borough meaning the kids needed to change school. That bought on  a whole kind of nightmare i wasn't ready for but we have finally settled in.  Literally, if you decide to move to a whole other area, make sure you do it before you kids start any schools!!! Settling in is so tough. I hate moving and everything that comes with it.

We also went away for short trips in August which I will detail in separate blog posts.

My school shop was so expensive this year what with Lucky starting school and buying several types of uniform since the turnaround for the schools was so high! However, the kids are so happy to go back to school and be social butterflies again. I was a bit apprehensive as I didn't want to deal with school runs, bedtime routines and classes. I also was still undecided about  whether to send kids back to school or not with being unsure whether it was safe or not knowing the'll be a surge in cases. However, the kids wanted to go back to school to see friends and interacting again with their age group kids. Both have now started new schools nearby. Lucky hates hers (for the moment) and today was Mahi's first day so I won't know how his day went for another hour or so. 

Fingers crossed for the new term and a mess-free academic year!