Out with the old, in with the new

Yesterday we’d managed to leave ourselves with a couple of things to do due to the bank being closed on Saturday when we’d driven there and me putting off the month’s food shopping for feeling too drained to trek round the supermarket for an hour or more. So, when we eventually got ourselves together and out of the house we went into town and parked up. We did the bank, wandered round looking at a few things in the sales but didn’t actually buy anything other than a very cheap artists pallette for Tarly who has been coveting Davies’ so when I saw one in WHSmiths for 75p I got it for her and 10 cards for a quid from the cheapo card shop so we have a stash of cards for people’s birthdays.

We’d parked right on the seafront and got back to the car with 20 minutes or so still to spare on our ticket so walked down onto the beach for a quick explore. We found a big fish being picked over by a seagull and lots of different seaweeds. We love the beach 🙂

We then went to Asda where we got Davies’ blue trousers for Beavers and a new jumper for him (he has suddenly, finally grown and is desperate for new tops) in their sale. Then on to Sainsburys for the proper food shop. I think we’d all had enough by then really so we missed loads of things off my shopping list which I’ll have to pop out and get later this week, coupled with Sainsburys having no bread or milk 😯 but we got the bulk of the food and three more tops for Davies in their sale so he is clothed up again :). Just need a black skirt for Tarly for Badgers now.

We got home, had the unenviable task of putting away a whole months food shop (I hate putting food shopping away 🙁 ) before finally settling in for the night. We all had baths and then followed a nice relaxed evening with cava, lots of nice food, music, DSing and no guests :). Scarlett guzzled some cava, danced with me to Amy Winehouse and then fell asleep about 1130pm – she goes from wide awake to fast asleep in literally moments that child :lol:, Davies danced with me to some Take That around midnight and then went off to bed after wishing my parents Happy New Year on the phone.

Today was a lazy start, certainly for Davies and I at least. Ady is back to work tomorrow so we felt we should try and do *something* today and getting out of the house always feels good so by the children’s request we went over to Drusillas. We had a late breakfast of pancakes (as did various other families I think :)) and watched The Little Vampire first so it was nearly 1pm by the time we got there. We had a walk round all the animals, Ady and the kids posed at all the designated photo shot places and we went into their little sideshow of endangered species stuff where the man staffing it leapt upon us (it was very quiet there today, I think he was desperate for company!) and showed us elephant tusks, snake and crocodile and alligator skins, various big cats, zebras, chinchillas and even a grizzly bear skin. Davies amazed him (and me, if I’m honest) by butting in when he stared to tell us the difference between crocodiles and alligators and telling us himself (it’s to do with their teeth and the shape of their noses) and then again by knowing what rain makers are made out of (cacti with the spikes removed from the outside and put inside the hollow middles) :shock:. I was very proud of him, as was Ady. Perhaps more so at his utterly unfussed about how amazing general knowledge and delivery of the facts 😆

We finished up at the play area and I think Ady was all set for helping up rope ladders, pushing on swings and so on but Davies just said ‘race you to Monkey Kingdom Scarlett!’ and off they ran! We sat and watched, I went and got us hot drinks from the cafe and then Scarlett made friends with a little girl called Lucy, who was ‘four and three quarters’ and they played together on the see saw and the swings while Davies headed off and palled up with someone called Angus who was ‘just seven’ in a wild game involving the fire engine there. We could overhear some of Tarly’s conversation and it was so cute and funny to listen to them bonding. They talked about their favourite colours, what they got for Christmas, what their friends were called and various other little girl trivia. We exchanged smiles and odd words with both their parents respectively and fortunately all seemed to be ready to head off at about the same time so no one got dragged away leaving anyone else behind. It was really nice :).

We finished up with a ride round on the train and then came home via my parents to drop off an anniversary card to them (36 years today!) but they were out and their house was deserted.

Once home we took down all the Christmas decorations so the house feels almost big again now. All the presents have made it out of the lounge now, just need to sort the playroom out but thanks to not too many presents there isn’t that much to find homes for thankfully. I’ve kept out a couple of things to do with the children tomorrow. Although we planned an early night it was about 8pm before the children finally went off to bed and Davies was still awake at 10pm so I think a fairly quiet day here is in order for me and the children while Ady returns to the real world once more.