As I sit here typing away there is a little sadness to this post, our summer is over and a new school year awaits for the little ones tomorrow. To me the sadness is the passing of time, summer is my favourite time of the year, I’m a summer baby and it’s always been a time of celebration, birthdays, relaxed time with family and friends and new experiences. It ends with the new school year which before our family signalled a new start professionally and now only emphasises how quickly my amazing children are growing up. I read we only have 18 summers with our children, we lost some before our little ones came to live with us, so that’s nearly half of Little Miss’ family summers gone and that does make me sad. I have so enjoyed our summer holidays together, nearly seven weeks of just being together and having fun. The weather has been pants but it hasn’t spoilt our time, we’ve just changed our plans to suit the day. My favourite activities of the holidays are actually some of the simplest. The wild, wet and windy walk along the beach to see the Antony Gormley sculpture was brilliant. It was exciting and exhilarating and we really laughed, imagined and played. My other favourite was doing the Shaun the Sheep trail with Grandma, again a free activity but one which had us exploring Bristol and allowed us to just spend time talking and being together. Both prove that it’s not expensive experiences which create memories but special people and precious times.

The summer has been brilliant and full of fun activities. Spain was fantastic and thankfully a hot and sunny break in an otherwise very wet and miserable summer, our best times are the four of us relaxing and playing together. The bucket list was a great idea and one I’ll definitely repeat next year. We didn’t achieve everything but I’m content with what we managed and there’s no reason why we can’t finish off the last few items in the coming weeks.

1. : ( Go horse riding – The weather was so unpredictable that I was reluctant to book in advance for the holiday club, hopefully the weather will improve in the next few months and then we’ll book a weekend trip.
2. : ) Watch the ballet at the theatre – Little Miss and I loved the ballet, Sleeping Beauty, in her words it was “twirling, elegant and smooth”
3. : )  Play putting – this was a family treat on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon.  Mr S’ golf skills shone through but we all found it fun.
4. : ) Go to Grandma and Granfer’s –This was lovely.  Once my parents moved we got to visit and stay in their new house which is so nice and welcoming, a real family hub.  One evening, we went on the pier and had hot doughnuts and played air hockey and the machines, magic.
5. : ) Find Shaun the Sheep in Bristol – Stunning, one of my favourite things of the holiday
6. : ) Play on the beach – whilst we’ve not had the best weather we’ve been on the beach as soon as the sun has shone.
7. : ) Have a picnic on a long walk – This was the Gormley sculpture walk and a picnic in the car as the winds and rain whipped around us.
8. : ) Go to the farm– This is a local farm and outdoor play area, the children loved their day here.  It’s a place they have always loved and we have many photos from over the years.  It was brilliant but it was bitter sweet, they are getting to an age where they are growing out of the attraction and it may be one of our final visits.
9. : ) Do a bike ride – Little Man has made brilliant progress with his bike, we’ve not ridden on roads abut have cycled around our local park.
10. : ) Do the library reading challenge – Done and the medals have been awarded.
11. : ) Get the paddling pool out – On the first glimpse of a sunny day we had the pool out and made as much of a splash as we could, we managed three hours before the weather turned.
12. : ( Make real lemonade – not quite managed this but we have made some great hot chocolates.
13. : )  Discover dinosaurs – this was a brilliant afternoon last Thursday at a local country park led by a highly enthusiastic and passionate guide.  We did some crafts but handled real fossils, dug for fossils in the sand and made dino footprints.
14. : ) Watch Inside Out at the cinema – I did like this film and it was a good wet afternoon activity.
15. : ) Watch the Minions at the cinema – this was the first thing ticked off the list when Mr S took the children to the cinema when I was still at work in the first days of their holiday.  They loved it!
16. : ) Play with our birthday presents and toys – with the rough weather we’ve done lots of crafts and playing inside so another ticked off.
17. : ( Sit down on the grass and sketch – another one to do, although we have done a lot of pictures and other art work inside.
18.  : ( Do messy play, play with gloop – I have the ingredients we may save this until half term and do some spooky fun.