Lasting memories - Water Fun challenge (LM203)

We don't have a very big pool at home, but the kids still have fun in the baby one that we do have - these photos taken back in 2011 reminded me that it's still the simple things in life that the kids really enjoy!

Lasting Memories Challenge was to use water as a theme, and I thought this was an ideal layout to do!

Plenty of time still to enter too as the challenge is open for all of August.
kcclayoutchallenges-water-fun

Another Freaking Scrappy Challenge - August Prompt

Last year the weather wasn't that brilliant during the hols, but one semi-sunny day, after checking the tides, Mum and I took the 3 kids down to the beach to go crabbing.  They hadn't been for ages, so had great fun putting bacon on the ends of their crabbing lines and using their nets to capture the little beasts...

The pics were just perfect for this challenge as it really does stand out as a great memory of last summer for me, especially when the crab Alexander was holding nipped his finger!!

Plenty of time still to enter:
another-freaking-scrappy-challenge august-prompt-challenge

Tando - August Layers Challenge

The pics of the kids down at the beach last summer with their friends was just perfect for Tando's "Layers" challenge.

I used one of their little houses which I just love as I thought it went really well with the beach huts in the background of one of the pics.  Not sure the photo shows the white netting that I've used too, but it is there!

Still have the rest of this month to enter the challenge!
tando-creative-challenges august-challenge-lovely-layers

SJ Crafts - Theme and Supplies Challenge

Am enjoying my scrap time at the moment and these pics for a layout of my kids down at the beach last summer with their friends was just perfect for SJ Craft's Holidays/Travel challenge to use something new and something old...

The Project Life card and the little Tando house are indeed new but everything else I've had for ages!

Plenty of time still to enter as the challenge doesn't close until 6th September 2014.

sjpapercrafts august-challenge-theme-and-stash

S J Crafts - Start to Finish challenge

Just love this challenge - to take a picture of the basics of a layout - just papers and then to show what the layout looks like at the end.

Had the perfect pic of my son and I taken on Mother's day this year...

Have to be quick to enter as  the challenge closes on the 8th August 2014.
sjpapercrafts start-to-finish-new-challenge

Scout/Cub summer camp

Being a fairly new leader, I wanted to experience summer camp, so with a lot of logistical planning, the boys and I, together with 3 of the Duce kids, set off on Sunday to the UK's Scout headquarters of Gilwell.

The theme of camp was Harry Potter and lego and I had been nominated to be Head of Ravenclaw - Deena was Head of HufflePuff

 At the sorting hat ceremony, Alex was put into HufflePuff

 Nicholas was put into Gryffindor

Lots of activities had been planned with various badges in mind and the cubs were split from the scouts and took part in whatever had been organised for them each day. There was also "free time" each day, Nicholas loved the swing ball!

Sue had been tasked with the "Naturalist" badge and the kids loved looking for bugs and making bird feeders..  

 Then all the cubs went grass sledging!

 Meanwhile, all the scouts were pioneering - building a bridge!

On Tuesday, it was a trip out to Legoland where the scouts all got to go off on their own and the cubs were split up with a leader to do whatever rides they wanted to... To be honest, Legoland during the summer holidays is just scary - too busy, really hot and the queues were just too long.

  My group only got to do 3 rides, the cars included

But they enjoyed the splash water park, even if they couldn't really move about much due to so many people wanting to cool off in the water!  I came down with sun stroke on the way home and had to stop twice on the motorway to throw up - not good....

That aside, my badge that I'd been tasked with had been re-scheduled to the afternoon whereby the kids worked on their DIY skills by making a wooden boat, got creative with modelling clay and a huge box of Owain's lego!

 A game of cricket on one of the fields showed off the skills of catching and throwing

 Whilst other stuff was going on, I managed a bit of down time with Owain being creative with lego..

Toasting marshmallows is a must at camp  and sandwiched in between two chocolate biscuits makes them yummy!  A few camp fire songs rounded off the evening.

A game of Quiddich on the last day, along with making mandrakes and a Tri-Wizard tournament ended off camp nicely.

After dinner and the award ceremony everyone headed off home via alternative routes due to an accident on the M25.  After stopping twice for Alexander to be sick we made it home just after 8pm.

It had been a long week, but definitely an experience!  The time and effort that Carol, Simon & Kat and the other leaders put into planning and running the week paid off for all those kids that attended having a great time.

Annual week in a caravan...

I've been a bit lax of late in updating my blog, suffice to say the kids have now broken up and we've already been and come back from our now annual week away with Mum in a caravan.  I'd collected the ole tokens from the Sun Newspaper and booked our week away.  However, due to Alexander going into Year 6 in September, we were looking at Secondary schools at the end of July and Eastwood Academy's was the last Monday of term - the week we were due to go away.  Considering that it's the school that we would like Alex to attend and it's our catchment school, he couldn't miss it, so I moved the holiday and we ended up back where we spent last year at Havens "Wild Duck" in Gt Yarmouth.

Despite being involved in an accident on the way up (we were all okay, someone hit us up the back), we arrived early and headed straight to the pool for the rest of the afternoon until gone 5pm when we went and found our caravan, only to be surprised that we were in the exact same one we'd been in last year!

 Our first night was spent over at the venue...

The boys spent most of their time out in the arcades, but Cassandra is still young enough to want to see the show...

 Tuesday wasn't supposed to be as nice as the rest of week, so today we ventured out to Africa Alive!

 

That afternoon, my baby - my car that I've had for 8 years was low loaded away to be assessed for damage..

As we then had no car, a change of plans was in order and we simply spent the day by the pool...

 That evening at musical bingo, we WON!!!!  Cassandra got to go up and pick a prize..

One event during the evening entertainment was a "Bake off" - the first one of the season, where the kids had to bake/make/decorate a cake.  Alex was desperate to enter and even more so to win, however with no car and no cake making ingredients or equipment, we had to think outside the box...

 

That we did and his creation of chocolate fairy cakes as islands, surrounded by custard as the sea and various sweeties on top, secured him first place - he loves his apron!!!

 

 No morning was complete without a cuddle in Nannie's room..

Having been delivered a temporary courtesy car, we headed to the beach on Thursday where the sun shone all day and kids had great fun digging in the sand and playing in the cold sea!

 An ice cream rounded off the day nicely!

All too soon it was the last evening, where the kids changed up their tickets for prizes that I could of bought cheaper, but were happy with what they got..

We spent the last morning in the pool and started off for home just after lunch time.

Thanks to the weather we had another great week, spoilt only by the news when I got home that the insurance company had deemed my car beyond economical repair and were going to write it off :(