Last week this time ...

... we were sitting around the camp fire. We took another long weekend to go camping in Dorset with the Jacksons. We ended up in a remote field on an organic farm almost at the end of the road this time. At first we were a bit apprehensive about no ablutions in close proximity but it turned out okay. The peace and tranquility of the location was awesome and it was a perfect spot for exploring the rugged Jurassic Coast. So we got in some quality beach time again!

Our camp

Eype Beach

The Farm

Lyme Regis

Lulworth Cove
Durdle Door
Man of War Bay
Rescuing Dad
(the speck in the left corner)
Building a dam
I always used to take photos like this
Now my preferred subject matter is my boys
Can you blame me!?!

Tropical Zoo

The other day we went on our annual outing to the Tropical Zoo. As usual there was great excitement as the kids got to handle all sorts of creepy crawlies. Once again I was amazed at how brave they are. It would take a lot to convince me to touch some of those creatures. As with all outings like this, every time we go the boys take something different away from it, so it's great going regularly!

It's a good excuse to look back at the past
(2008, 2009 and 2010)

For me anyway!

Ice Painting

Janine sent me this link for a cool idea on a hot day. So we waited for a hot day, yes, even though it's summer the proper hot days are few and far between. Nicholas and I had fun making the colourful ice cubes using food colouring and then we invited Phillipa for some messy fun. They all had a great time painting with the ice cubes and then blow painting once the ice had melted afterwards. Besides being fun and artistic it was educational too!

Science Museum

The Science Museum is full of fascinating exhibits and shows and the shop is filled with such interesting gadgets too. They have something for all ages, even for the little ones, everything with a scientific twist. The Pattern Pod and The Garden special sensory galleries designed with under 5s in mind so we spent most of our time there. We also stumbled across a bubble workshop which was loads of fun especially when they made a gigantic bubble around each child. The boys usually like all the space related things so we squeezed in an interactive show about the Russians and Space. We got some cool, some what risky, ideas that we'll definitely try out at home sometime!