Family day out to WWT Slimbridge

As mentioned in a recent post we've decided to make one day a week to a family day, and to try to visit as many fun and new places as possible over the next year. This weekend we went for our first outing to WWT Slimbridge. I had never been before, but my husband visited for school trips and said it was great. We thought it was a great place to start our adventures, as it's not far from home (closer than I thought!) and meant lots of fresh air for a lovely day with our little man.

We had a lovely welcome from the volunteers before heading outside. I'll be honest and say I was a touch skeptical to whether or not we'd actually see any birds, but that was me being silly! There were lots and lots of them as soon as we stepped outside the door! We bought some bird feed as we got there and several birds actually ate it out of my hand. There were more than just your normal ducks and geese, with my boy loving the flamingoes more than any other bird! He was, however, a little bit more wary of them after one touched him with a wing as it flew away from me after it finished the food I had given it.

My boy's favourite part was, however, Welly Boot Land. A little play area with a stream of very shallow water running through it. We understood quickly where it got its name from! And quickly regretted that we had left little man's wellies in storage... But we let him run around anyway, thinking we'd go inside for lunch and a play before heading home, so wet feet didn't matter. He absolutely loved it! He ran through the stream stamping his feet, went on slides and roundabouts, and then stamped some more. The sheer joy on his face made soggy feet worth it. Because they were soggy! Both his shoes and his socks were soaking wet, but it didn't matter! Next time, however, we will bring both wellies and spare clothes!

We went inside for a quick look at the toads they have indoors and a spot of lunch. It may not be the cheapest place to eat, but at £25 for a family of three it's far from the most expensive either. And the food was delicious and plentiful, so when wanting to warm up after getting soggy and chilly in Welly Boot Land, it's definitely worth it. There's also a lovely little soft play area, albeit small, it's a lovely indoor space for little kids to run around. 

Out first trip for Project:Family Adventures was definitely a great success. We loved it enough to sign up as members, and will most definitely be back several times in the next year! And I can't wait for more adventures!

House move is finally imminent!

It's been a long process, though not too painful. We knew from the start that it would take a long time. We sold our flat back in October, though with some stuff that needed to be sorted out with it before exchanging we were expecting it to take a few more months. When we found a house we were told the sellers were buying a newbuild that wouldn't be ready until the end of March, so again we knew we were looking at a few months. We have finally exchanged on both properties, and we even completed on our flat. We moved out in the first half of February and have been living with family since - thank heavens for nice and welcoming family!

What we would've done without my dear grandmother-in-law I do not know. We've gotten to stay local, been spoiled with anything housework related (that's going to be a shock to the system when we move back out!) and most importantly our little man has absolutely loved it! He has always adored her (I'm pretty sure he'd choose her over either me or my husband most of the time!), and it's been amazing to see them together over the past month. I'm pretty sure the cat is plotting to kill us in our sleep (or at least the little Viking), but I'm hoping treats and loving (after little man's bedtime) will buy us enough time to move out. Because that is happening soon! 8 more days until we complete on our new family home, and we can have our own space back. As much as I love my grandmother-in-law and as much as we've enjoyed and appreciated her hospitality, we do also need our own space back. To get back into our proper routines, to get back into our meal planning, and to get back to having some evenings just as a couple.

A week and a half and we should be more or less sorted in our new family home. With a garden for Boy to run around in, with a nice big kitchen for the family to gather, with parking just outside our front door for both us and visitors, and with space for our family to be ourselves again. A new chapter in our story.

At least someone can't wait to see the back of us!
Staring at each other through the cat flap.