A farm park trip out

During school half term we ventured out in the rain to our local farm park - Cotswold Farm park it is a fantastic place about an hours drive from where we live. The weather certainly kept most visitors at home, so we nearly had the place to ourselves. Henry and i went with one of his friends from school.

Henry loves animals, and so the touch and

cuddle area was a BIG hit!

Henry started with a very fluffy bunny....then moved onto a very small yellow cheeping chick!

He thendecided that the pen full of ducks looked like they needed some loving, so he asked if he could hold one. Judging by the assistant's response it was obviously not a regular request! But she managed to catch a very large duckling/small duck......and Henry loved it. Fascinated by its webbed feet and the fact it had small claws on the webs.

During the rest of our trip Henry fed a VERY LARGE lamb by bottle! Chased piglets,fed goats and drove electric tractors for about an hour! We also checked out the nature trail in the wood, and took a trip round the farm by tractor and trailer.

Altogether, a FANTASTIC day out!

Orienteering with the National Trust

Kevin thinks that i have finally admitted to being middle aged!....I have joined the National Trust. I would like to point out that i joined to gain access to the amazing gardens and estates for walks and exploration; not to spend hours looking round inside boring houses!

So our first National Trust property was Dyrham Park, near Bath. A huge country estate with large house in the valley, it is a stunning place to visit. Our specific reason for visiting however, was for a family orienteering day.

Armed with clipboard, map, compass and instructions, we were about to see if we could find our way from the top of the hill to the main Hall at the bottom of the valley.

Whilst i tried to remember how to use a compass (good thing instructions were included) Henry headed off to find the first clue with the use of the map.

At each clue we had to either write or draw the clue answer - animals of one sort or another. Henry & i took it in turns to record the 6 clues (to maintain Henry's enthusiasm levels!) In finding each clue we were making our way down the hill to the hall.

Our final clue found and my reward to Henry was an Ice cream as we explored the beautiful formal gardens of the house. A quick game of croquet on the lawn and then we made our weary way back up the very long hill.....good thing they had a shuttle bus....there is no way Henry would have made it back to the top after 3hrs of exploration at a fair pace!

A fantastic venue and great activity.

Meeting a lobster!

My parents live close to the coast, and as a result we have taken a number of visits to the coast whilst we have been staying with them. This one was a little different.

All togged up in several layers, we took a trip to Orford in Suffolk to catch a small boat called "Regardless" to go and see what is caught in lobster pots. Detailed as an 'excursion for the family', the boat was full of kids and accompanying adults - 23 of us in total. It was run by Orford Marine services.

The trip is all about seeing what comes out of lobster pots, and getting up close and personal with the catch of the day! On request we all chanted "lobster, lobster" as the pots were lifted...assured by our skipper that this would ensure the catch included a lobster!

We got lucky on the first pot and actually had a lobster on board the boat in the first ten minutes. The deck hand was very good at explaining about the lobster and quickly banded its claws so that it could not hurt anyone! That done, the lobster made a trip around the boat numerous times, and hit the deck several times as well. All the kids got to hold it. Henry was pretty unsure of it, but eventually we held it together, and he looked pretty proud that he managed that.

In addition to the lobster there were crabs of all shapes and sizes. We were shown how to carefully pick them up without getting nipped, then it was all hands on crab. There were hermit crabs, regular crabs and a velvet swimming crab, which actually felt like velvet to touch. How to tell the male and female crabs apart was detailed, as was the fact that they shed their shell every year.

The whole trip was extremely educational and informative, and fun. At an hour long it was perfect for the kids, and the boat was small enough so that everyone got to hold and touch whatever catch was available.

At the end, everything is returned to the sea, and a crab throwing competition ensued, even Henry threw a very small crab over board, returning it to where it belonged.

Looking a little wind blown - Debbie, William, Henry and I.....daddy was there, just behind the camera for once.

A ride in a combine harvester

Henry is in love with John Deere tractors!....Well anything John Deere actually. When back in Chicago, we drove over to Moline in IL (over 3 hrs drive) just to visit the JD tractor museum for the day! At the museum, Henry got to climb in and out of full size tractors and harvesters of all sorts, which he thought was just great. However, his god mother Debbie totally topped this, getting him a ride in a combine harvester, actually harvesting the crop.

Henry is in the combine harvester in all these pictures, some you can spot him, others not.

The anticipation you could feel coming from Henry as he watched the combine harvest around the field was completely exceeded as it turned towards us and we told he he was about to get a ride in it.

With a bit of help to get up the steps, he and William took seats in the cab and began their trip around the field harvesting the barley crop. On the way round the combine was working to cut the crop, but the boys also got to see the tank emptied into the tractor and trailer travelling along side.

Tractors and combine are fitted with satellite guided harvesting equipment, so the driver has to do very little steering except around the corners and changing direction, so the boys were fascinated to watch the computer screen and harvesting details.

Paul, the driver was so patient with the boys, that they actually circled the field twice and cut the headlands a fair bit, spending about an hour out in the combine. Needless to say he asked if either of them ever stopped talking...ever!

Henry had a fantastic opportunity to experience something i have never done, and I'm sure he will have sweet dreams about it for many a long summer evening to come!

A Knight for the day!

Henry has a love of all things castles, knights and of course the weapons! So it was with great excitement that we found a local castle offering "knight school and battle reenactment" for school age kids.

Framlingham castle in Suffolk is a fantastic old castle that has been well preserved and offers a great experience for adults and children. We visited during school holidays and as a result there were lots of activities aimed at kids of all ages.

Henry and i started with a walk around the ramparts of the castle. He really enjoyed this. We discussed what the slitty holes in the walls might have been used for (shooting arrows). We looked at the chimneys and the views around to see where an attack might have come from.

Back on the ground, Henry took part in 'knight school' - learning how to fight in battle! I spend all my life at home telling him not to hit anyone with anything, and there i am on the side lines shouting "hit him Henry" as my poor son tries to attack a 10 year old with a blow up sword! He really was not sure he should be doing it, but soon realised everyone else was hitting him, so he might as well join in!

There are great grounds around the castle, and you can actually climb the hills to the bottom of the castle walls, then encircle the castle by walking in the dry moat. We did this and had a lot of fun climbing up the hills and rolling back down, and climbing all over the broken down parts of the castle.

Back in the castle, there was just time to try on some of the original armour worn by the knights in battle, before Henry took part in a reenactment of the battle of Agincourt!

About 60 kids became the English army, ready to take on the French (the parents). Henry and about 10 other smaller children were the knights on horseback, who rode through the battle scene on regular intervals! He had a lot of fun, although seemed to have got the idea of sword fighting no problem as he battled with those in his own army while they awaited orders!

A really fun afternoon, we shall look out for other English Heritage events near us.

Niagara Falls - A road trip

How can you live in the USA and not visit Niagara falls? Well, we nearly managed to miss it, but with 6 days till leaving the USA to move back to the UK we managed a road trip from Chicago to the Falls.

Taking my VW Taureg on a road trip was no hardship.....however, the 12hr journey across was a little longer than expected. However, we all remained in high spirits, Kevin & i shared the driving and Henry caught up on his sleep, and a large number of DVDs.We left Chicago on a Thursday morning, and arrived in Niagara on the Lake early evening. Our first night was at a great B&B called Hoppy's B&B. Although self publicised as more of an adults retreat, our hosts were really welcoming, coped with Henry's exuberance brilliantly and provided him with a great roll out bed in our room. I can highly recommend it for families...just check with them first at booking. A swim in the B&B pool and dinner at a great pizza bistro saw us fall into bed exhausted!

On Friday I'd like to say the day dawned bright....however it didn't. All day it rained. However we knew we would be getting more than a little damp so were not put off!

First stop, a walk along the river from above where the Canadian falls make their drop all the way to opposite the Ame

rican falls. T

otally stunning, but very wet with all the rising mist.

The Maid of the Mist was the next activity. Having seen the boats from above, we were fairly excited about this one.

You know all those times you tell the kids never to play with plastic bags....this was the first activity of three that required us all to climb inside a bag (otherwise known as a poncho) and have it well over our heads! To say we got a little wet is an understatement, however it was fantastic. Up under the falls it was like being in a very cold shower, you couldn't even open your eyes. Henry coped great though and was very brave.

We took a walk behind the falls as well on the first day, which was good....and wet!

A trip back to Niagara on the Lake for dinner (to escape the awful touristy location that Niagara is) was perfect with a horse and carriage drive around the beautiful town.

Back at Niagara (where we stayed the second night), we enjoyed the fireworks display & illumination of the falls.

Our last day saw a trip to the local souvenir shop for photo opportunities, then a few hours at Fort George, near Niagara on the Lake which Henry thought was fun to explore.

We broke the trip home up by stopping at Port Stanley on Lake Eerie for the night. Arriving home the following evening after another day of driving.

A trip to the beach

I love a trip to the beach, Henry loves the beach, so it doesn't take much persuading for us to make a visit.

Back in the UK now, beaches are rural, unspoiled, hardly populated and COLD! Still, an opportunity to dig in a giant sand pit, jump a few waves and dig a sand castle is still a lot of fun and a great way to get fresh air, time with the family and learn a few things along the way.

Toady our trip to the beach started with fish and chips...a real English tradition. Just on cue, as we sat and ate our lunch, a fishing boat was winched up the beach. Henry was intrigued by the process and wanted to see what they had caught. Unfortunately it took so long to winch the boat up the beach he lost interest before we had chance to find out about its catch. I plan to do a follow up exercise on this one.....something to do with fish and chips.....keep your eye on future posts.

A spot of sandcastle building, stone throwing and exploring the beach for stones to decorate the castle followed.

Despite the water being pretty chilly, Henry wanted to jump some waves, which he did for about 30 minutes! Lots of exercise was followed by a quick change into dry clothes.

To round up the beach visit we all had 99 flake ice creams...another real English seaside tradition....Another follow up project possibly.

Henry managed to smuggle half the beach back in the hood of his sweater, which we stowed in a bucket for the trip home. At home he had a great time filling up small containers with the small pebbles. At bath time, we selected some of the larger pebbles to go in the bath, which he tried balancing on the ducklings in the bath.

A holiday in Oregon

Henry and i took a 4 day trip over to Portland in Oregon, USA to see our good friends Celina, Cory, Julian and new baby Will.

Despite not having seen each other in over a year, Henry & Julian got on great for the whole stay.

We did a lot of fun activities.

A drive over to Hood River was great. A lovely pub lunch then a trip to a lavender farm, which was just beautiful. Watching the kids run up and down the lavender plants was lovely.

Next stop was a cherry farm, where we all got to work picking the most amazing tasting cherries i have ever had. At $1 per pound, great value as well. On the was home we stopped for a look at Multnomah falls.

On another day we took the boys to the Chinese gardens in Portland. Trying to hush two very wild boys in a place of tranquility was a bit of a job though, so this was quite a quick visit! A trip to Voodo Doughnuts followed which was just yummy!

Our last day was spend over on the coast at a town called "Seaside". Despite being a little chilly we spent a couple of hours on the beach with the boys.


We had thought the weather was too chilly for swim gear, so left that at home; good thing we brought change of clothes though, as both the boys found the water warm enough to sit in fully dressed! Lots of fun in the waves, sand excavating and ice cream made this day a great hit with all of us.

4th July celebrations

For our family, the 4th of July was one last chance to spend time with our friends and party before moving back to the UK. So this year we did it in style!

On Friday the 3rd we started with a trip to Arlington Park race track to watch a couple of races and then wa

tch the fireworks. We went with friends of ours and Henry's great mate Derek. When Henry & Derek get together, you can be guaranteed high jinks will follow.

Given the confined space we managed to secure at the race track, Henry, and 4 other kids all under 5 managed their boredom very well. Glow sticks and lollipops were a great help.

The fireworks were fantastic, Henry realy enjoyed them this year, and we eventually rolled into bed at 11pm.

On Saturday 4th we watched the Arlington Heights parade with more friends. Henry loves the spectacle of it all, and the fire trucks were a big hit.

After the parade we walked over to the Frontier days fair, where Henry had a blast on the mini roller coaster, dodgems, slide, and he & Kevin even managed to get me on a very whirly waltzer ride.....Henry enjoyed it far more than i did!

The afternoon saw us at another party on our street, which eventually saw us home at 11pm. Needless to say we all slept in late most of the weekend.

When Henry is old enough i look forward to explaining to him about the 4th July, i'm not sure we will get away with the celebration when we get back to the UK though!

Polar bear encounter

I just wanted to post this, purely for you to see the photos I took today of Henry up close & personal with a polar bear.

At Lincoln Park zoo in Chicago we visited Henry's favourite animals; giraffes, penguins and now polar bears!

We shall add an entry with follow up activities, but for now, just have a look at how close Henry got to this bear, and the amazing wonder of this huge

animal swimming so gracefully.

Peggy Notebart Nature Museum - Trip Out

One of our favourite museums in Chicago is the Peggy Notebart Nature Museum. Packed full of kid friendly exhibits and experiences it is a real treat.

Today we struck lucky and had an amazing visit.

The butterfly house was great, and Henry was far more relaxed as they fluttered by in close proximity. We went hunting for Henry's butterflies friends the painted ladies, but saw so many more. Check out the great slide show of some that i caught on camera at the bottom of this entry.

Although the butterflies are the main draw to this museum, every day, an animal that can be petted is normally on show as well. However today we found three, just waiting for us. Hen

ry, much to my amazement showed no hesitation in getting up close and personal with all three!

First he was intrigued by a HUGE python. He stroked it and described it as "warm and smooth".

Next he got down in amongst some very long suffering tortoises! He picked them up, turned them over, checked out their legs, eyes, tail, and shell. He even tried out his own experiment to see what happened when he put them on their backs....needless to say my intervention on behalf of the poor tortoise was needed at this point!

A lizard was also sat calmly (did not move a muscle) on an arm chair, so Henry checked that out "hard and rough". I'm not sure he believed me that it was real though, as it was so still.

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