A Day at the Zoo

Twycross Zoo had a wonderful promotion on over half-term, so since the Podlings had filled their marble jar again we decided to take them to the zoo for their treat. The last time we went to the zoo, Alex was only a year old, so he wouldn't have remembered it. He absolutely loved it and loved the giraffes and the penguins the most. Emma adored the lorikeets and was thrilled to have three of them land on her arm at once in the lorikeet aviary. It made her day! Lily was slightly less keen on the one that landed on her head! 

We met up with Mark's parents and his brother Greg and his family in the morning and we had a lovely day out together. You can probably tell from the photos how cold it was, but we were just thankful it stayed dry as rain had been forecast. We were able to warm up with our picnic lunch as Twycross Zoo has a very civilised heated indoor picnic area.

We all had a really enjoyable day out and managed to listen to most of 'James and the Giant Peach' in the car on the way there and back. Audio books are wonderful for longer car journeys and we are particularly enjoying our Roald Dahl set at the moment. All in all, just a really lovely day that I am sure we all remember with fondness.

Lorikeets - Emma's favourite

That's a lorikeet's on Lily's head

Watching the elephants

I love owls!

Mark and I were rather enamoured of the bush dogs!

Everybody loves the penguins!

Alex really loved the penguins and spent ages watching them, running between the underwater viewing window and the wall where he could look over and see them walking and swimming about.

A treefull of cousins. I gave up trying to get a good shot1

Alex enjoying a ride with his cousins Taylor and Freddie

A trip to the museum

Emma dressed as a maid

The weather on Sunday was somewhat less pleasing than Saturday, so a trip to the Brampton Museum in Newcastle-under-Lyme seemed a good way to pass a rainy afternoon. We love it here. It is quite a little museum, but very sweet and the Podlings particularly love the toy gallery. It was a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Emma loves to play with the dressing-up clothes in the toy gallery.

Alex loves the display of vintage toy cars. He would dearly love to play with them!

I fell in love with little Nelly, a well-loved toy elephant from the 1920s. She seems a little sad to be shut in display case all by herself. I wonder if she dreams of the little girl who used to play with her.

I love the Victorian artefacts on display. The Victorian era is a particular favourite of mine.

A Day in the Lakes

We took advantage of the lovely spring weather to take a day trip to the Lake District. The Lake District holds a very special place in our hearts and is so beautiful in the spring. Our first stop in the Lakes was Townend house at Troutbeck. A farmhouse belonging to the Browne family for over 400 years, this delightful home really captured our hearts. The house and its contents were left to the National Trust by the last occupant, George Browne. A successful farmer, he was able to retire early and then took to carving the contents of his home. The house is filled with his intricate carvings, right down to the little chairs he carved for his children. The house has so much personality and I just loved it!

After Townend we took a lovely walk in the nearby St Catherine's Wood and, as ever, finished our day at Wray Castle where we enjoyed tea and soup at dusk on the shores of Lake Windermere as the bats flew over our heads in the darkening sky. Such a lovely day and such lovely memories.

Those curls! He melts me!

A Visit to the Aquarium

 

A visit to the Sea Life Centre in Birmingham on Saturday was a real treat for the Podlings and a special reward for filling their marble jar. We award the Podlings marbles for kind and helpful behaviour and take them away for unkind behaviour and disobedience. Their collective good behaviour fills the jar, so when the jar is full we agree on a special treat that the whole family can enjoy. A trip to somewhere like this (i.e. somewhere expensive!) is very rare for us and therefore even more special. The day was much anticipated by the Podlings and we had some excited little people in the car at the start of the journey!

 

They were a little more subdued by the time we had driven the hour to Birmingham and navigated the city to find the car park Mark had sought out beforehand. We tend to avoid cities and the Podlings were fascinated by the tall buildings and the general business of the place. Fascinated, and I am pleased to say, slightly horrified! We are definitely happier in the countryside! The aquarium was absolutely heaving when we arrived, which Tom found hard to cope with. With hindsight, we should have chosen a quieter time to arrive, but not knowing how long it would take us to go around the aquarium and given how much it cost we wanted to make sure we had plenty of time. We will know for next time, although given how expensive it was I am not sure when that will be!

 

Gradually the crowds spread out and we all started to relax and enjoy what we came to see...the fish! We had a lovely visit and we all particularly loved the walkthrough tunnel at the end where the fish (including sharks!) swim all around you. Alex still talks about the fish swimming "under our toes". I loved watching Alex taking it all in and the older Podlings all delighted in showing him everything and lifting him up so he could see better. Lily, Emma and Alex had a play in the small soft play area at the end of the aquarium before we went to the gift shop where they were allowed to choose a souvenir. The final part of the treat was KFC for tea, which all four of the Podlings absolutely love.

 

We loved our special day out, though I think we all agree we would prefer to visit at a quieter time. Emma was crying at the end of the day because she had had such a nice day and was so sad that the day was over. I hope it will be one of those pleasant 'Do you remember...?' days we will all look fondly back on in future years. It was such a lovely day.

 

Excited Podlings at the start of the journey (yes, I did adjust Alex's shoulder straps before we set off, in case anyone was worried!)

They loved that the fish swam underneath them