Bring your own uniform day at the fire station

My boys love fire engines. They have so many toy ones and I have to pass the fire station whenever I am driving through Croydon so they can check how many engines are in that day. When I drop Big Boy off at summer sports camp we pass the fire station about 4 times and Baby Boy gets terribly excited. Mostly because last week we made a special trip to see the station with a lot of friends from Big Boy's school.

It was such a lovely sunny afternoon when we made our visit and we went straight outside to see the engines in action. The officers on duty were kind enough to let the children play with the hoses and sit in the driver's seat.

The Mums were invited to take part and Lucille was keen to get involved - as you can see. I ended up in the full fire kit - less said about that the better really ! 

Big Boy has been to the fire station a few times and he likes to go in his own fire officer outfit. I think he looks very professional. 

He insisted on holding an axe from the back of the engine - a tense moment for all the adults, but he was fine and very careful with it. 

Then we went inside and watched a re-enactment of what happens when a fire is reported. There is a lot of noise then the fire officers slide down the fire poles. 

This was Big Boy's favourite bit - he loves to pretend he's on a fire pole. Being allowed to go on a real one was the most fun. 

Then both boys raced off to see who would get to help open the big doors. 

Big Boy is taller so he won this time. 

Thanks to the lovely staff of Croydon Fire Station who made us so welcome when we visited. We all had a great afternoon. 

This post is being shared as part of the #countrykids linky hosted by the lovely Fiona of Coombe Mill - our favourite family holiday destination. 

  

Half term adventures by road and river

Half term is always a bundle of laughs in London with road closures and diversions as standard - I know it's easier to do this work when the kids are off school, but it's still very annoying ! I'm not sure what possessed us when we decided to go into central London for a day out with the boys. It turned out to be the day before the state opening of parliament and also the day of a protest by London taxi drivers. To say it was eventful would not be an overstatement.

As we arrived at Victoria and went to collect our tickets for the Big Bus Tour the boys were very excited about riding an open top bus. Big boy has been on one before, but baby boy hasn't so he loved hanging over the side - which gave my arm muscles a workout holding onto his legs to keep him from falling - I didn't want a Michael Jackson style incident ! There are different tours and you can take a circular tour and you can also hop on and hop off at points of interest. It was a lovely sunny day, but we had already decided we were going to take a boat trip so we got out at the South Bank / London Eye stop. Originally we were going to take the boys to the London Eye and The Aquarium, but I'm glad we didn't as both were heaving with half term kids and tourists.

Instead we boarded a big boat under the London Eye - a city cruise is included in the ticket for Big Bus Tours and as we had a three day ticket we were able to travel all the way to Greenwich. City Cruises aren't guided trips, but you can buy a recorded guide in a range of languages if you want to. We were accompanied by Dean who gave us an amusing commentary on the sights en route.

Greenwich has very special memories for me as I lived there in my early childhood and when I was younger all the museums and sights were free so we used to visit the Observatory and the Naval College during school holidays. I remember rolling down the hills in Greenwich Park with my friend Nichola and riding on the boats in the small boating lake. I hope the boys have lovely recollections of childhood when they grow up. There's a photo of me and my brother standing at the base of the rudder of the Cutty Sark. After a horrific fire a few years ago the tea clipper has been restored to pristine condition and you can visit again. There's even a cafe inside these days.

As we made our way home we decided to walk from Westminster Pier as the taxi protest was well underway and the vehicles on the roads were immoveable. We had clearly made the right choice with our river travel. As we made our way to Victoria Station to take the train home we spotted this bus sculpture. You may recall an earlier adventure featuring these bus sculptures so it was lovely to see another one. 

We're hoping to take a grown up night tour to make the most of the three day ticket. I highly recommend Big Bus Tours as a great way to see London by road and river. The guides are knowledgable and helpful and it's a great way to learn about the city even if you have lived here for years - like me - or if you are visiting from elsewhere. If you would like to book tickets you can find out more and book online here

Disclosure: The lovely folks at the Big Bus Tour London gave us a three day ticket for two adults (the children were free)

This post is being shared with the fab Country Kids link hosted by the lovely Fiona of Coombe Mill. 

  

Skateboarding, sunshine and searching for dinosaurs...

I've mentioned before that big boy really wants a skateboard. Ever since he watched Firehouse Dog the first time and he saw Shane (Josh Hutcherson) riding on one he has asked if he can have one when he's older. When we were staying at Coombe Mill he saw skateboards belonging to the bigger children and desperately wanted to have a go on them. I've always said he has to be at least 8 before we'd consider it, but I may reconsider this previous decision. 

On Saturday there was a skate demo in a local park where children were invited to try out skateboarding and to have a go at doing some tricks. The idea was to introduce them safely to the skills, but also to show them how to use the facilities in the park including ramps and jumps. 

Scooterboy

As our boy is more used to his scooter he tried that first then had a tutorial on the much longed for skateboard. He did really well and continues to amaze me with how incredibly brave and daring he is, trying new things without fear. I think he really looks the part doesn't he ? 

My little skateboarder

What a professional !

Then on Monday I took both boys to Crystal Palace park to see the dinosaur trail. Big boy has been to the park before, but he hasn't seen the dinosaurs so he was quite surprised to see so many of them lurking around the park. Little boy was less impressed, but he still enjoyed being outdoors on a sunny day with his brother. 

Dinosaurs in the water 

Dinosaurs hiding amongst the trees

As you will know from previous outdoor kids posts big boy is really into climbing trees right now so he made an attempt to climb onto this one, but it was too high up for him to reach.  He still enjoyed trying and I suspect it won't be long before he is tall enough to reach. 

Big boy - bigger tree

It's not only the boys who have been enjoying the sunshine this week - Neo has also been making the most of the weather and taken to sunbathing on the front doorstep most of the day. Here is a rare image of him awake and communing with nature.

Nature cat

This post is being shared with the fab #countrykids linky hosted by the lovely Fiona of Coombe Mill

  

Getting a green workout before the Easter carnage begins !

At the weekend we were hoping for good weather. With the start of the school holidays we didn't want to be stuck indoors with bored children and chores to do, so it was great that the sun made an appearance on Saturday morning and we were able to take the boys to the park for a play.

Playing with shadows

All the boys love football so when they spotted a group of young men having a kick around it captured their attention. At this point they had their backs to the swings, slide, climbing frame and roundabout. Ah the magic of the beautiful game eh ? 

Watching the footie

In a lot of our local parks we are lucky enough to have 'green gyms' provided by the local authority. They offer gym equipment in local parks for community use and my big boy loves them. He asked when we arrived at the park if he could go on the gym machines and we told him he could before we left.

Spin-a-disc

In the early days he was too small for most of the kit, but now as he is much taller he can actually reach the handles.

Ski training

His legs are pretty long too, but they need to grow a little bit more before he will be able to properly use this one.

I just need slightly longer legs

Finally he found this tree trunk and insisted on climbing it. I can't believe how much energy he has, but I'm glad we found a place to run it off. He certainly slept well afterwards.

Tree climbing made easy

I'm not for a minute saying that any of this activity will in any way counteract the sheer gluttony that typifies Easter, but at least we made an effort :) 

This post is being shared as part of the #countrykids linky hosted by the lovely Fiona of Coombe Mill.

  

Christmas at Coombe Mill: Part one

After our summer holiday in Cornwall we were so taken with Coombe Mill that even while we were still here we were talking about when we'd come back. As we knew our boy was starting school in September that ruled out certain dates. However, Fiona (the amazing farmer's wife and brainchild behind #countrykids) mentioned that Coombe Mill is open at Christmas. Seed planted we went home and the more we thought about it the more it seemed the perfect decision for us. 

So, on Thursday we arrived here at lunchtime and it was like we'd never left. The weather is a little cooler, admittedly a lot cooler, but it's still located in a beautiful valley with the sound of the River Camel flowing just outside the door. We have a larger holiday home this time and our boy has a whole play room upstairs that he's loving. 

Santa Express 

Choo choo ! 

Keen to make the most of our time here Hubbie suggested a trip to Lappa Valley railway which was such a hit in the Summer. It is somewhat different in the winter with Zebedee transformed into the Santa Express train. We went to see Father Christmas and the boys rode the express train a few times while I stood taking in the sunshine. Yep, sunshine in December. 

farm helpers 

The following morning it was our first feed run of the holiday and the boys were all prepared for the weather with wellies and suitable attire. The advantage of being early arrivals is that the boy had little competition in the race to drive the tractor with Farmer Nick. This is one of his favourite things about being here - a close second to the railway that runs every afternoon driven by Guy (the farmer's son) at the helm. The train has also undergone a seasonal makeover and is now a glittering festive feast for the senses. 

Today we went to Padstow for a fish and chip lunch - well one of us had dinosaurs and chips, but I'll let you guess who that was (clue: not me).  We even found a playground for the boy to let off steam and he had a great time. It wasn't the warmest day, but we did get some lovely lunch, bought some fudge and even did some pasty research. Hubbie is on the search for the ultimate Cornish Pasty and the place he is convinced does them was closed today. The search continues ! 

Tomorrow it's the Eden Project where we will meet Father Christmas then we're going ice skating. I'm so excited ! 

This post is the first in a series and is featured as part of the #countrykids linky hosted by the lovely Fiona of Coombe Mill 

  

Scooby Dooby Doo it's an Autumn rainbow adventure

So, this has been our first half term holiday. My boy has had two weeks off school so it's been a bit of a mission filling the days. The first week we went to visit grandparents and he stayed over with them. This week he met Scooby Doo, did some Halloween themed crafts and had a spooky face tattoo:

The best thing of all, however, was the visit to our local fire station. My boy is obsessed with fire engines and wants to be a fireman - I may have mentioned this one or twice before. We went with a few of his little friends and as it was such a nice sunny day - in October, I know !! - they let the children have lots of fun learning to use the hose and creating rainbows. Did you know that firemen can make rainbows ? No we didn't either, but they can. The staff at Croydon Fire Station were absolutely amazing and made a real effort for the children.

Training with a real fireman

It's a real rainbow !! 

Making sure the hose is really empty

This has been, by far, the most enjoyable out of everything we've done this holiday. My boy has plenty of special memories to tell his class about on Monday at school.

I'm sharing this post as part of the #countrykids linky with the lovely Fiona of Coombe Mill.

  

Sunday, Monday Happy Days :)

Since our boy started at 'new nursey' l he has been very tired after school and at weekends. We try to do fun things to keep him busy as he is so full of energy, but until he gets used to the new routine of school we are keeping things quite local and short. So this weekend my sister sent us an invitation to a vintage inspired event not far from where we live. It was being hosted at a drive thru Krispy Kreme doughnut shop that I didn't even know existed ! They had a DJ playing fifties music and some dancing inside the store while a cavalcade of vintage cars were proudly displayed in the car park.












Our boy loves cars of any sort, but he especially loves minis so this was just the best thing he had ever seen. Every time we see a Mini on the road we all cheer and there is a local driving school that teaches learner drivers in minis - I suspect he will want to learn with them eventually. One day we will show him The Italian Job and I'll film his face as he sees all those cars - it's going to be magical !!

We also have a love of camper vans and Beetles in our family so we did have a great time inspecting these ones up close. As you can see Hubbie was having a good old nose inside this one while the boy wandered round checking out the gleaming paintwork. 

A visit to Krispy Kreme would not be complete without a special doughnut so the boys had one each (I had a cup of tea) and they even gave our boy a hat to wear. He loves it :)














We had such a fun time it was just like being in a real life 'Happy Days' - not that the boy has any idea what that is !

This post is shared with the #outdoorfun #CountryKids linky hosted by the lovely Fiona of Coombe Mill.