Rollercoaster Mum: April 2014

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Sunday 27 April 2014

Silent Sunday #MySundayPhoto

seaside train rides on Hayling Seaside Railway




Saturday 26 April 2014

The Year 2014 in Photos - Week 17

I really haven't taken many photos this week so it's a bit sparse after last week's overload. We were away at the in-laws over Easter which was really all about seeing relatives, although we did squeeze in a mini Easter egg hunt. Since then it's been one of those long short weeks trying to adjust back to the normal routine of school and work. Bigger Miss has gone off on another Brownie weekend so Little Miss is enjoying Mummy and Daddy to herself again and we are enjoying a slightly more peaceful house!

The most exciting event for me is that I am co-hosting a linky on this blog for the first time ever - the lovely 'Let's Have an Adventure', so if any of you have any posts for adventures, big or small, old or new we would love for you to link up here if you have a moment. xx

Chocolate always makes me smile - Easter Egg Hunt
Bigger Miss tried to pretend she was too cool for school with the mini Easter egg hunt but this photo proves she was secretly enjoying it! 

Dobble the excitement!
The weather wasn't that great on Easter Sunday so a lot of the day was spent playing games - here is the very noisy but lots of fun - Dobble! 

being ladylike - drinks in the garden
Easter Monday was a bit better weatherwise so after a trip to the park the Misses were being ladylike, taking their drinks in the garden! 

#Paddington Bear's Huffkins
Little Miss got Paddington Bear's cookery book for Christmas and we had yet to make anything from it so I promised we would make something one night after school. These are Mrs Bird's Huffkins. 

raindrops on Blueberry flowers
Some ubiquitous flowers. I can't go through a whole week without taking at least one or two pics of flowers and I got my old camera out again for some macros. I loved the raindrops on these Blueberry flowers. Lets hope for a bumper harvest later in the year. 
treasure hunting on Hayling Island beach
Today we took Little Miss to the seaside as Bigger Miss was away and we had a typical British seaside experience with a blustery walk along the beach, fish and chips, a trip to the playground, a train ride, a funfair and an ice-cream. What could be better! 

colourful Beach huts Hayling Island
Colourful beach huts on our seaside walk.
For some more inspiring weeks pop over to the wonderful the Boy and Me:

TheBoyandMe's 365 Linky

Let's Have an Adventure - Five find a new Favourite Place

The girls and I love going on little adventures, whether it be in familiar places like the nearby ranges or exploring new ones, as we did with some of their friends one day in the Easter holidays when we discovered the National Trust's Waggoners Wells- our new favourite place. I'm super excited to be sharing this one with you as I am also co-hosting the 'Let's Have an Adventure' linky this week with the wonderful and talented photographer Gingerlillytea and her equally lovely and talented best friend All of My Days with You. This in itself is a bit of a blog adventure for me as I have never hosted a linky before either so please do join in or just enjoy exploring with the Rollercoasters and all the other adventurers. 

Enough waffle - let's go have an adventure:

All about the National Trust Waggoners Wells
One day in the Easter holidays with four girls, rather than the usual two it was definitely a day for exploring. I had been recommended nearby Waggoners Wells by a friend and so off we set to see what adventures we could find. Little did we know the myriad of delights and fun that we had to discover. This notice near the entrance tells you a little bit about it all so I don't have to! 

Lashings of ginger beer at National Trust Waggoners Wells
As soon as we arrived it was time for the picnic  - not exactly lashings of ginger beer but at least it meant that I didn't have so much to carry. We found a perfect spot near a huge fallen tree - a flat spot for the rug and a tree to sit on.
great view for a picnic at National Trust Waggoners Wells
For some reason four of us needed to take our wellies off *ahem* but at least they didn't spoil the view.

always time for a paddle at National Trust Waggoners Wells
Luckily it was deemed sensible to put wellies back on before going for a paddle in what looked like a miniature ford. 

look who's King of the Castle at National Trust Waggoners Wells
Look who is 'King of the Castle' ..

releasing faires through a fairy door at National Trust Waggoners Wells
There were hundreds of natural fairy doors and the two youngest girls had lots of fun 'releasing fairies' into the doors.

balancing act at National Trust Waggoners Wells
Whilst the younger ones were releasing fairies the older ones were practising their balancing skills. 

The beautiful and mysterious middle lake at National Trust Waggoners Wells
And the oldest one (me) appreciated the scenery like the beautiful and mysterious middle lake

yellow Kingcup reflections at National Trust Waggoners Wells
and the reflection of the Kingcups on the water.

balancing over the water at National Trust Waggoners Wells
Bigger Miss struck out on a limb over the water in search of the ducks.

resting Mallard ducks at National Trust Waggoners Wells
The ducks however were all gathered together for a quack on a nearby branch.

Tree root climbing frame at National Trust Waggoners Wells
There were literally squeals of delight on spotting this natural climbing frame and it took me hours to tear them away.
caves made from tree roots at National Trust Waggoners Wells
Not only were the tree roots made for climbing they also made brilliant caves.

wooden bridge at National Trust Waggoners Wells
I got a bit bored and started taking pictures of our beautiful surroundings.
Tennyson's poem by the Wishing Well at National Trust Waggoners Wells
We very nearly turned round and went home after the climbing but something made us go on and we stumbled on this Wishing Well which all four girls were fascinated by. 
paddling in the stream at National Trust Waggoners Wells
Just down from the well was a beautiful babbling stream - perfect for paddling. 
playing Pooh Sticks at National Trust Waggoners Wells
We found a perfect bridge for a game of Pooh Sticks before turning for home.
trees with faces at National Trust Waggoners Wells
Little Miss found a tree with a face and big chubby cheeks - can you see it?

Signs of spring - shhots and flowers at National Trust Waggoners Wells
True to form I was often to be found taking pictures of the flowers and leaves. 

Mallard ducklings at National Trust Waggoners Wells
The final delight was spotting a little family of fluffy ducklings, complete with mum and dad.

I literally had to drag the girls home - we had spent 3 hours exploring and we are already planning our next visit. What an adventure! 

gingerlillytea

Also linking up with Country Kids at Coombe Mill.  

'Let's Have an Adventure' is a monthly linky posted on the 26th of each month. It's open for brand new adventures or old favourites. Keri-Anne and Hannah (and of course the Rollercoasters) would love to have you join us and our merry band of adventurers and please check out everyone else's and give a bit of comment love if you can. Thank you xxx.

   
   


Sunday 20 April 2014

Silent Sunday #MySundayPhoto

jumping the plank, Pirate Ship, Alice Holt Forest

Saturday 19 April 2014

The Year 2014 in Photos - Week 16

Despite Little Miss taking a few days to properly get over last week's vomiting session (thankfully the rest of us seemed to have managed to dodge that one) we had a better week. First up was Bigger Miss's belated birthday treat to do Tree Top Junior and go for a pizza with a friend. The car was finally fixed on Monday (albeit not cheaply) and so we were able to meet up with some friends for a walk and a play. We survived looking after a friends kids for two days and found a new favourite place for outdoor adventures - all helped by lots of sunshine. We even managed to fit in a little bit of Easter crafting. Can't wait for a rest and return to normality next week!

Go Ape Tree Top Junior, Alice Holt Forest
I took loads of pictures of Bigger Miss on her Go Ape adventure so I just has to do a collage. She and her friend had a great time and managed 5 rounds in their alloted hour. She loved it and it was a real treat.

beautiful chalk stream, Alresford
Little Miss on the beautiful walk around Alresford with some friends. She was actually watching a duck but the cottage is pretty cool with it's rooms crossing the chalk stream.
picnic at Waggoner's Wells, National Trust
Our new favourite place - we had a picnic and spent all afternoon outside exploring.
Wishing Well and climbing roots, Waggoner's Wells, National Trust
There was so much to explore, three lakes, tree roots to climb, wishing wells and bridges to play pooh sticks - we will definitely be going back (and there will be a Country Kids post at some point!)

duckling family, Waggoner's Wells, National Trust
We even saw the most adorable family of fluffy ducklings.
Spring flowers- narcissus and pink blossom
And I had to take some flower pics - loved these narcissus and the glorious pink blossom. 
Homemade cards and Easter crafts
Your eyes are not deceiving you, these are Easter crafts (well some are!) The girls made Easter bonnets and we used Red Ted Craft to try and make some egg carton chicken egg cups (not as easy as she makes it look!) The top picture is of the birthday cards that my very clever (and far better at crafting than me) Bigger Miss made for all the family birthdays this week

For more sunny Easter holiday adventures head on over to the Boy and Me and all the other lovely photo mad peeps dong 365's...

TheBoyandMe's 365 Linky


Friday 18 April 2014

Country Kids - A Cycle Ride and some Swans

When Bigger Miss went off on her PGL Brownie weekend, we decided we should give Little Miss a bit of a treat too so she got to choose whether we went swimming or cycling and as it was a lovely day she chose cycling. Now, although she is getting better at her cycling rough ground is still a bit of a challenge and as we wanted to have lunch out afterwards we decided to go into the local town and ride around the big pond there. There is a track all the way round which is perfect for cycling and a playground for a bit of variety. Plus it meant we could head off to Pizza Express to refuel afterwards. It was a lovely day and I think I may have to go back on my own one day to get some better pictures as we spent most of the time running after a bike!

Cycling with the wind in your hair!
Here is Little Miss with the wind in her hair cycling around the lake - she went so fast at one stage we lost her which was a bit of a worry! 
sleepy mallard duck
In contrast the ducks were happily snoozing in the sun.
fun racing on the playground horse
Finally we caught up with her as she stopped at the playground - the rocking horse is always a favourite.
cycling for fun
After a brief stop at the playground she was off again- enjoying the freedom on her bike! 
cycling down hill can be scary!
She wasn't quite so keen when Rollercoaster Dad made her cycle down a hill. I had to laugh at her expression of pure terror! (She was fine by the way, did not fall off and the hill wasn't that steep!)


rippling water reeds
I sneaked in a couple of lake photos - I loved the rippling reeds on this one.


pussy willow flowers
I love pussy willow - so pretty and fluffy so I had to try and take a picture. 
Birds on the water, Coot, Swans and Egyptian Geese
I managed to capture a few of the birds on the water including a Coot, some Swans and I think the other birds are Egyptian Geese.
treat time at Pizza Express
After all that strenuous cycling it was time to walk into town for a lunchtime treat at Pizza Express! 
holding hands
And on the way home past the lake it was time to make the most of being an only child for the weekend and hold Daddy's hand. 
Little Miss is now looking forward to Bigger Miss's next trip away - luckily for her only a couple of weeks away!

Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

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