Peter Rabbit's Post Office #CountryKids

Today we made our way to Limpsfield Common, a National Trust area, to see some very special little dwellings! I'd first seen them when a friend commented on a photo on Facebook and as they're only a 20 minute drive from us we had to go and see for ourselves! What am I talking about? Well some lovely volunteers have been creating some very sweet little homes on the Common, amongst them Peter Rabbit's Post Office, the Owl House and Fox Villa. 

The car park gave no clue as to where to go to see these treasures so we set off on a walk and I took some photos of what we found. The kids loved it and found it really exciting coming across each residence. When you find Peter Rabbit's Post Office you can open the door and there's a box you can leave notes or keepsakes. Isla left a little picture she quickly drew. It really was a lovely way to spend an hour or so of our time and we know we'll definitely be back when it's warmer for a picnic and it also looks like in a few weeks time there will be a multitude of bluebells. 

Big Birthday Weekend with Bezerkaz Circus!

So this past week has been all about the birthdays! First it was Noah's, he turned 2 and then it was Isla's and she turned 4. I feel like it's a bit of an end of an era with Isla as she starts school in September and so this is her last pre-school birthday. I also feel like time has gone too fast. As parents we're always looking to the next milestone, wishing they could do this and do that but actually we should celebrate the now more. I absolutely love the age she is at now. She is fun, she is sweet, she is loud, she is cheeky. She's a challenge at times, she can be a bit over emotional, she hasn't got a hint of self consciousness yet. All that said, I am looking forward to school coming up and watching her blossom and learn about the wider world.

We've done loads of fun things for their birthdays but I'd say the best bit was on Saturday when a good friend of mine came over, he runs Bezerkaz Circus and gave Isla and Noah and their best friends a circus party in the garden. I've known Shaun for over 20 years, so it was really lovely to get together with all our kids and have some fun and see what he does for a living these days. There was juggling, plate spinning, unicycle riding, giant bubbles, accordion playing, diablo, acrobatics, face painting, balloon modelling and last but not least fire juggling and fire eating! It was all really exciting and we all (adults included) were wowed by the giant bubbles!

Here's are the photos from our day: 

You can read about Bezerkaz Circus in my previous blog post and check out their website here. AAAAND there is a rather exciting Summer of Adventures competition on the Nick Jnr website at the moment to win a Bubble Workshop with Bezerkaz Circus. Give it a go as I can say with much enthusiasm that the kids loved the giant bubbles on Saturday and so did the adults! 

This is not a sponsored post, I've not been paid to write about this, it was just a really brilliant afternoon spent with talented friends who know a thing or two about entertaining little ones!

Learning to Fly a Kite on Kenley Common

This weekend myself and my Other Half took a 3 night trip away to the Cognac region in France for a good friend's wedding. We had an amazing time hanging out with friends, talking uninterrupted, eating, drinking and laughing ALL THE TIME. Here we are on the day of the wedding. 

It was wonderful but we did miss the kids a lot and so when we got back we were really grateful for the extra day we had booked off work so that we could spend the day with them. They had been well looked after by their Grandparents for the weekend but I know that they were so happy to see us. So happy in fact that Isla was awake at 5.30am the first morning back - I'm not going to deny that I did wish I was back in France getting a lie in at that time!

The weather must have known we had the day off as it decided to play ball and the temperatures hit around 20 degrees. It was blue skies all day long and I decided that we would check out some local woods that we have never visited even though they are on our doorstep. I got the heads up for the Visitwoods site when I was sent a Poppy Cat Mystery Trail Pack. Visitwoods is partnering with Poppy Cat this month to launch an outdoor campaign to get families out this Spring in the woods and connecting with nature. 

As a gift from France we bought the kids a kite. So we packed up some stuff and headed to Kenley Common. It was lovely. We had a steep climb up the steps to the common. First of all Isla did some bark rubbing, she really got into that. 

Then she was desperate to balance on some tree trunks that had recently been felled. 

We also saw a few gliders, some of which felt like they were swooping quite low. 

Then we got the kite out and this caused much excitement. Isla and Noah were running around like mad things. Mainly trying to get the OH to hand over the controls - he was determined to keep it up in the air and didn't want to hand them over that easily! It was great fun and I'm ashamed to say the first time I have ever properly tried flying a kite.

Next we headed off into the woods and played hide and seek - a game that Isla and Noah both love. We also spotted the tracks of horses - big horseshoe prints in the ground, and the tell tale signs of horse manure...The woods were lovely, loads of yellow butterflies flitting about. Some really great hiding places with logs covered in moss - as thick as a carpet. 

We came across another grassy field where there were some more felled trees, we picked the leaves off them and used them to practise counting. Isla said she wanted to make a skirt like Tinkerbell's with them. We spotted a tractor and a big truck carrying more logs, but Noah didn't like those, because he said they were too noisy! So once we'd had a snack and drink it was time to go home and have some fun in the garden. We'll definitely be back to explore Kenley Common again as there is still so much more to check out, with grazing cattle and the aerodrome close by too.

All in all we had such a good day and I'm really enjoying the age that my two are now. They are starting to have lots of fun together (arguments too) especially more so when we're out of the house.

Below Freezing Birthday Farm Fun!

Yesterday was FREEZING. Literally -1 all day. However we had a birthday party to go to at Godstone Farm so off we went wrapped up warm with hats, gloves, scarves and wellies. No sooner had we got out of the car there was a casualty of the mud - Isla fell over on the way in and her Sheepy got the brunt of it and was covered in mud. Cleaned up as best we could we then headed to the play barn for some birthday soft play for the kids and hot drinks for the adults. Fortunately the play barn is quite cosy and the kids had a great time. Following that there was a ride on the tractor round the farm which the kids loved!

Next up birthday lunch and cake in the barn which was a bit parky and then a walk around to see the new additions to the farm - piglets, lambs and ducklings! I particularly liked being in the warm near the baby ducklings...... My favourite bit was watching Noah stroking the rabbit and getting right up close to it's face and saying "Hello Rabbit!". Not sure the rabbit was as happy as Noah was!

A lot of fun was had despite the cold and the kids snoozed for a good 90 minutes on returning home. I on the other hand suffered from a terrible cold weather induced headache and took a good 2 hours to thaw out, helped by lots of tea and biscuits!

I've linked up this post to the Coombe Mill Country Kids Linky for the first time. For more outdoor adventures and ideas click the badge below: