Sometimes just a silly little comment can bring an unexpected joy. This was one of those moments when we were walking in the forest and the children spontaneously skipped with exaggerated moves when we asked them to explore ahead. Of course, we all laughed out loud and everyone enjoyed that little moment of humour.
So we’ve been sofa shopping this weekend and trying out newspaper shapes and sizes in the lounge. The criteria for the sofa was that it needed to fit all four of us so we can cuddle up and watch films together. Our choices are quite limited as the room is open plan, one wall has the playroom door, the other the windows and the third a fireplace. I originally thought a L shaped sofa would work best but having seen it in the shop and the paper shape, I think we’ve agreed on a different design in a blue which looks amazing. The newspaper trick definitely helped our decision.
Despite it being September we are still enjoying some cracking days and are having fun seeking out every little outdoor opportunity. We’re just back from a morning at the skate park where tricks, turns and slides have been practised under a bright blue sky.
Whilst I went back to school on Monday, my two had another 2 days of holidays. On Tuesday morning Mr S sent me a little video of the children shooting a few hoops and dribbling with a basketball. It was a bit of a surprise as when I had left a couple of hours earlier we didn’t have a basketball post and hoop! The three of them had been planning a morning of chores and on taking some things to the dump (aka Recycling centre) they had discovered this basketball post in the upcycling corner. I don’t know if this is a feature of most dumps but at our centre anything reusable is put in a section for people to take as needed. Over the years it’s been a great place to leave things that were useful but just not suitable for us anymore, stair gates, table, chairs etc.. It is amazing what you find in the upcycling section, it is a great community initiative and benefits our environment.
So we are now the owners of the basketball post and it has given us so much fun this week, I’ve been going old school and practising my netball moves whilst we all are finding hard to resist a shot as we walk past it. A freebie which has brought a smile to us all this week.
Today we had a lovely family trip out to pick blackberries. It was only a few minutes walk down the lane from home but it was something we were all doing together on a gorgeous hot and sunny morning and all appreciated just having fun in the moment. We did really well collecting blackberries and the children and I then made a crumble for tea with our pickings. Sometimes it’s the simplest things which can give so much joy.
Im afraid that there wasn’t a photo last week as the WiFi in Cornwall was intermittent. However here’s a photo from Newquay taken on Monday. Whilst there were plenty of surfers on the beach to provide us with lots of entertainment I chose a photo of the little suspension bridge between the large rocks above the beach. I really liked the set up of the photo the symmetry of the rocks, the bridge, the sea and sand.
The combination of the summer holidays and a few grey days mean we’ve been creating cosy corners and settling down to read this week. I have read some excellent books, Notes on a Nervous Planet and This is Going to Hurt whilst the children are working their way through their books for the summer reading challenge, Mischief Makers. As part of the challenge this week they also attended a workshop at our local library where they learnt to draw cartoons and write a comic story. The reading challenge is a always a lovely little project and has become a summer holiday tradition.
This weekend we are at our family’s happy place, Butlin’s. In 2011, it was our first family holiday and we have continued to visit ever since, I think this is our 11th visit and we’ve been here for Easter, Christmas, Halloween as well as other times during the year. For us it’s just a happy and safe place where we get to play and enjoy our time together. As the years have gone on, our activities of choice have changed, it’s much more adventurous this break with High ropes and Nine bots but it’s still about a feeling, a warm, sparkly feeling of very special family times.
We finally broke up this week and it was time to say good bye to Years 3 and 5. It’s been a good year at school, some challenges but some wonderful experiences, an outdoor sports residential, a musical show, arts weeks etc.. We’re now looking forward to the holidays and six weeks of fun.
A pair of character shoes are a little clue to my week, we’re on the countdown to the big ballet show next week. As I’m a matron I’ve been at rehearsals this week with Little Miss too to get to know my cues, my children etc.. oh and then there was an Ofsted inspection in the middle of my working week too. Next week will be dominated by the ballet show, 2 dress rehearsals and 5 performances at the theatre 🎠the show looks absolutely amazing and I can’t wait to see it. The end of term is so nearly here too, despite it feeling like the whole country has broken up we have two more days and then it’s lazy mornings and beach days.
Seaside Sparkles 