Sunday 26 June 2016

Day 20-26....30 Days Wild

Here are a few of our wild snaps from this week....

Freddie was invited to a 'Muddy Feet' birthday party which was very wild and lots of fun




 
The boys were part of a school carnival which was so colourful and exciting.
 Despite the threat of rain the show went on and it was great!




We ended the working week with a trip to a lovely pub by a river where
we sat and watched boats go by and spotted lots of ducks and birds enjoying the sunshine.
 

Sunday 19 June 2016

Day 19...30 Days Wild

Today has been quite wild. It has been our oldest sproglett's birthday so we had double the celebrations for him and Father's Day.

We love a good picnic, so got the family together and had a lovely day at the beautiful Wollaton Hall. Football, cricket, nerf guns, bike riding, ice cream and lots of fun surrounded by these stunning creatures...












Saturday 18 June 2016

A not so wild week...

Well the weather has seriously put a dampener (sorry) on our ability to be wild this week. We are the kind of family that try to get out and about whatever the weather but in all honesty when work/school and general busy Mon-Fri life is happening rain is just inconvenient and annoying. I virtually got trench foot at work on Monday after an extremely soggy school run in completely inappropriate footwear.

However, I appreciate rain can be pretty wonderful and I have been thinking about occasions when rain hasn't been that bad and definitely not stopped the fun. Here are my top five rainy moments that stand out in my memory...

1. Lost in Geneva
After I graduated from university a friend and I travelled around Italy by train which was an amazing experience. We flew to Geneva to star our journey and were staying there for a night. We checked in at our hostel and left to explore. We got a bit carried away with the sights and sounds of things and didn't pay much attention to where we were going (in all honesty we were both pretty useless with directions which probably didn't fill our parents with a massive amount of confidence). As we wondered like lost sheep around Geneva a summer storm erupted and the rain poured down on us. Slightly scared but rather exhilarated we were laughing about it that night (once we found our way back to our room that is)


2. Robin Hoods Bay

This place is fabulous whatever the weather and when the boys were younger we once stayed in a caravan on the outskirts of the town. We used to walk down to the beach with the littlest one in the papoose. I have a great picture somewhere of me sat under an umbrella on the sand as it chucks it down with the rain and the boys are loving it.

3. Surfing in Cornwall

We used to go to Cornwall a lot growing up and I remember once when we were staying at our usual campsite in Newquay we visited family who were staying in a cottage elsewhere in the county. The cottage was overlooking the beach and as the rain came down us 'kids' grabbed the wetsuits and went body boarding anyway and it was epic.

4. Dinosaurs at Universal Studios Florida

Last year when we were in Florida we had a few tropical downpours one of the days we were at Universal. We spent the whole day on and off water rides so didn't care one bit about the rain and escaping from Jurassic foes felt even more realistic in the storms!

5. School camping in the lakes by Ullswater

I went camping a couple of times in the Lakes when I was about 12/13 years old with school. I remember the weather being atrocious one year but we had the best time. I have a memory of my buddy and I sitting by Ullswater throwing pebbles in as raindrops fell on the lake and just taking in the absolute beauty of our surroundings

Sunday 12 June 2016

Days 11 and 12....30 Days Wild

 
 
As we were having a bit of a garden sort out on Saturday
I found this little fella. I once put a pair of boots on when I was
still living with my mum and dad to find there was something
squishy at the end of one of the boots. Fair to say the fact that it
was a frog gave me a bit of a surprise. This one stayed at a much more
respectable distance.
 
 
 

Today it has rained and rained and then rained some more. However for a brief moment there was sunshine
this morning so we seized the opportunity to have a sausage cob and a coffee outside whilst
the big lad was playing cricket! Now that's a proper outdoor Sunday morning breakfast.
 


Saturday 11 June 2016

Days 9 and 10...30 Days Wild

Today this happened...


 

We have a rule in our house, outside it's your territory creepy
crawlies but you enter the house at your own risk.
However in the spirit of everything wild I released this
funky looking green fella back outside, but it made me
pull this face...

WTF........













We didn't get chance to be out in the wilderness today, although the boys did have a picnic on the field at school to celebrate our Majesty the Queen's 90th birthday. We did get stuck in some pretty horrendous traffic and the smallest member of the clan discovered the art of the selfie the results of which are pretty wild...












 
 

Wednesday 8 June 2016

Day 7 and 8...30 Days Wild





 
Days are so busy sometimes but I'm finding even just taking a moment to appreciate something wild around us is quite therapeutic. The view from our bedroom.
 
 
 
Today we painted insect houses after school!

Creative homework for school as well as something wild!
 



Monday 6 June 2016

Day 6....30 Days Wild


I wasn't sure I'd have anything to put for our Day 6 of 30 days wild as Mondays are always hectic and then I snapped this...

Magpies have got a bit of a bad rep but they are quite stunning (as long as they stay a respectable distance away!)


Sunday 5 June 2016

Days 4 and 5...30 Days Wild



This weekend, as usual for us has been action packed. There is usually an opportunity to be outdoors and get a bit wild and this weekend was no exception!









We had a lovely trip up to Yorkshire to celebrate a special birthday. We met at a great pub called the Strafford Arms near Wentworth Castle and had some delicious grub.

We also got the chance to play outside and take in the stunning views of the surrounding Yorkshire countryside.


















Today we had a family picnic celebrating another birthday in Matlock. Again beautiful views (helped by the gorgeous weather of course) and lots of playing outside.

All in all a pretty wild weekend.





Friday 3 June 2016

Day 3...30 Days Wild

Today we have been looking at birds on our garden. Magpies have got a bad rep really haven't they but they really are quite beautiful. We saw this one devouring a homemade bird treat Samuel made at Beavers and decided to buy a proper bird feeder...
 
 




Thursday 2 June 2016

Day 2...30 Days Wild





 
Do you believe in fairies?

Today we have been looking for fairies in trees!








 


And throwing helicopters as high up in the air as possible!

Wednesday 1 June 2016

Day 1....30 Days Wild


I'm not sure how much our half-term trip out today falls within the category of this months challenge but this is about random acts of wildness and I think the random is very important. Do whatever you want to do! 
 
 
 
 

This morning we visited our local working  Greens Windmill and got to stand inside the windmill near the top as the sails soared past. The noise from the sails and the millstones was exciting enough but then the person who looked very much like he was in charge explained how he starts the sails going and how he was changing the type of grain being used to make flour  and let us watch. The boys and their friends also got the chance to make delicious cookies at the centre using flour from the mill.
 
 
 Our not so little anymore little one has made a book to record 30 Days Wild and today he wrote a poem about nature, this is what he wrote:
 

Oh trees so big and tall

I love to hear your call

Oh rivers you are high and low

But I do see you overflow

Oh sky so big and wide

Clouds make you hide.