Summer Emotions

This weekend my girl turned 11; her last birthday before heading off to secondary school in September. These two events are in no doubt causing me to be very emotional at the moment. Year on year the children's birthdays set me off on a path of mixed emotions and I become an absolute nightmare to live with whilst I deal with it. We are also at the start of the last week of the school year and I'm getting emotional about everything; the girl's leaver's assembly on Thursday, finishing this academic year of yoga teaching, realising the holiday is only a week away and I'm meant to be running the Norwich 10k race in less than 3 weeks and I can only just walk on a knackered achilles, realising that, despite a positive physio appointment 2 weeks ago, I will have to shelve the planned marathon in September. Then I think to myself that in the grand scheme of things these are only little stresses and I should do the simple thing of 'snapping out of it'. Sometimes I can but sometimes I can't. I am quite an emotional thing with quite a fiery streak - just ask the husband. As cliche as it sounds, running is my therapy - well one of them, yoga being the other. Running gives me time, it gives me fresh air, it gives me exercise, it clears my mind, it makes me feel great. Simply put, not being able to do it is really getting me down. Now I could just leave it at that but I do have a positive side to me. I am telling myself it could be way worse than having to shelve some races and take it easy. So I'm going to now look ahead to the summer and think of the positives!

In less than two weeks we'll be taking our annual trip down the A350 to Dorset for the tenth installment of Camp Bestival! This will be our eighth Camp Bestival and that simple fact obviously means it is an event that as a family we would highly recommend - here was last year's review.

I may not be running there this year but I'm going to take the annual trip east along the joyous M4, M25 & M11 to my home county of Norfolk - the thought of the Norfolk coast is already making me smile!

   

The wide open space of Greenacres needs to be booked for some family chill-out camping time.

Soul Circus gives me my yoga festival hit for the summer. I am so looking forward to three days of rolling out my yoga mat in the amazing tents and chilling in some pure indulgent me-time. Last year's inaugural event was fantastic and I reviewed it here.

And there is also the simple fact that alarm clocks can be switched off, school bags can be hidden under the stairs and we can just chill with the family.

So, and I do need to remind myself of this, there's a lot to be positive about.

x x x

Yoga Festivals ~ Summer 2016

Last Tuesday I went to my weekly yoga class to be met by my yoga teacher who looked calmer, more chilled out, smilier and generally floating more than usual. The reason? She had just just returned from a weekend spent at a glorious yoga festival called Yoga Connects.

Here she had experienced a range of classes and workshops with like-minded people and listening to her positive words got me fired up with excitement ready for the summer ahead. Six weeks of summer holiday ready to be filled with fun times with my children, new memories made for my little family, a new yoga festival and fun festival times at Camp Bestival. At the latter I will be escaping for a little 'me time' in the Slow Motion area which, coincidentally, is ran in conjunction with the team behind Yoga Connects - so how perfect does that sound?!

Limoges, Limousin {France}

Today the sun shone.

It was a day to explore.

In Limoges, about 40 minutes from our base at the in laws in France, we found beautiful gardens to admire.

Live jazz music accompanied us as we took in the colour of the flowers and enjoyed the simplicity of just playing with the water in the pools and fountains.

The museum - Musee Beaux Arts - was appreciated, possibly more by me than the children.

And time was spent exploring the Old Quarter with its intricate doors and historical exteriors.

It's been a lovely break but sometimes a challenge getting the balance across three generations on days out.

Give and take seems to be the best bet.

Appreciating the outdoors and linking up with Country Kids...

x x x

 

Dyrham Park {National Trust}

 

Sunday was a day for me to unwind and blow away the cobwebs with the children at the National Trust's Dyrham Park.

Deer were spotted and I got some time to relax.
We kicked off our shoes and felt the ground beneath our feet.
The boy ticked off no.2 from the 50 things to do... list - twice.
The bees were out and about enjoying the sunshine and the alliums.
And what better way to treat yourself after the walk back up the hill than a Marshfield Farm sorbet?

x x x

Garden Camping

In preparation for the fast approaching Camp Bestival we decided to give the tent an airing and have a garden campout.
The children had also put this on our Summer 2014 Bucket List so nothing like killing two birds with one stone. I'm a multi-tasker me.
I did myself proud and erected the tent in solo style - all good preparation as we are leaving the man of the house behind.
The children sat helplessly, partially due to the narrowness of my pitch space, whilst I swore under my breath that one year I will go full glamping style in a pre-erected yurt.
For now though this will have to do.



The tent is a perfect size for the three of us and once we add on the front tunnel porch there is plenty of space to unwind.
We picnicked in the sunshine and I discovered what a perfect footstool a six year old makes. Bunting was added in true festival camping style and after some bat watching and ukulele playing we settled down for the night. A freshly delivered cup of tea from the house the next morning definitely beats having to roll off the air bed and make it yourself.
Despite the luxury of garden camping we cannot wait for our trip down to Lulworth in just 5 days time. Just need this sun to keep on shining.

x x x

 

For all our Camp Bestival experiences from past years click here.

 

 

Disclaimer: I am receiving family tickets for Camp Bestival 2014 in return for previews and reviews of this year's festival. As always, views and opinions are my own.



Summer 2014 Bucket List

School is nearly out for the summer and it is time to make some plans!



 

Last year we made our first Summer Bucket List and crammed it with a mountain of things to do - maybe a few too many!?

 

Armed with our glittery card we set to work making this year's poster. We went for a pictorial look this time to represent our wishes and ended up with far less on the list than last year - some of which are already planned so cheating a little bit there! We still have a bit of a challenge though to make sure the rest of the things happen.

 

Maybe this time we will tick them all off.

Watch this space!

 



What's on your 'to do' list this summer?

x x x

Happy July!

A new month.
The sun shines on.
The holidays to look forward to.
And new shoes!

What's making you happy this July?

x x x

365 #24 {Signs of Summer}

Summer was finally here this week.
Days of sunshine from dawn to dusk always makes the world a happier place.
This week saw another birthday so more cake.
Something else to smile about.

365 #24

 



Day 159
A day to catch up with some outgoing happy mail and some time to doodle.
Day 160
A look around the garden for some flowers but this was all I could find - chives and something I'm unsure of.
Day 161
I'm enjoying the school run again, especially on sunny mornings.
Day 162
A warm Summer evening and I thought I would snap the Californian poppies but they had closed up for the night - the potato plants are looking good though.
Day 163
Incoming happy mail today. The note was light hearted and not as heavy as the image might suggest.
Day 164
The husband's birthday and a second attempt at the cake as I managed to burn one the night before - I blame the faulty timer.
Day 165
Afternoon drinks with friends for the husband's birthday. Our pub of choice was closed for a wedding reception so we went elsewhere. They were also hosting a wedding reception but were still open to the public so we could gate-crash discreetly. Back home now for a BBQ and aiming to stay up for the football. We shall see.

Linking up with The Boy and Me...

x x x

Summer Bucket List 2013 {update}

So, the summer holidays are over and I thought I would see how much of our Summer Bucket List we actually achieved. We gathered our ideas back in June with the idea being if it was on the list it would get done! Well, did we do it?!
Here's some evidence...
Go to Camp Bestival:

 

Camp at Greenacres:

Go stargazing:

Go to a beach:

Go to Norfolk:

Fly a kite:

Watch the sunset:

Visit a castle:

Go on a nature walk:

Build a garden fort:

Visit a museum {The MShed, Bristol}:

Here are the facts!...

22 smileys vs 13 sad faces. Not too bad but not great.
The excuses?!:
Of the sad faces some were financial as I left these to the end of the summer and my holiday budget was kind of gone. Also have you seen zoo prices? They are high!
The camp fire was bad planning on my part - forgetting to book a fire pit at Greenacres.
Camping in the garden didn't happen due to this and being too shook up to camp out there.
The rest? Well, we have had such a jam packed summer I'm not feeling too bad about them and some can easily be passed over to an Autumn Bucket List!
How was your summer? Do everything as planned?!

Update: I've just looked back at our achievements and realised they are pretty much all outdoors. So, because of that I'm linking this up to the awesome Country Kids. Go check it out!

x x x