familylife

National Museum of Flight

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mof 2I’m a bit late in posting this but I thought I’d let you know about our day out at the National Museum of Flight.

My husband purchased a deal from ‘Itison‘ in which he also had a birthday discount which brought the total cost to £20.70.  That was for two adults and one child ticket.  Our three year old daughter was free.

The museum is located in East Fortune Airfield in East Lothian.  It took us about an hour and a half to get there from where we live near Glasgow.  We travelled in pretty bad weather (remember storm Ophelia when the sky was dark and it looked like the end of the world??).  I was worried that we were travelling a fair distance and wouldn’t want to stay long because of the weather.  Luckily it cleared up with only light rain showers appearing throughout the day.

mof bad weather

Initially, I wasn’t sure if my girls would like a museum about aircrafts as they haven’t really shown much of an interest in aviation apart from my three year old likes to watch Superwings.  However, there was a cafe and a gift shop so I knew all would be okay.

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I didn’t know anything about the museum before I arrived and I enjoyed learning about the history of the East Fortune Airfield.  The stories about the training school were fascinating.

My husband and I really, really wanted to see the Concorde.  It was difficult to explain to the girls ‘what is concorde?’ but they were just thrilled to see inside the aircraft.  It was certainly different to what I had imagined.

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We spent lots of time exploring the different hangars and looking for the little lego people which would lead the girls to a reward at the end.  They were really engaged and didn’t complain about being bored at all, which is unusual for them!  There was plenty of interactive things to do which kept them entertained.

We brought a picnic with us which we ate in the car due to the weather.  However, there are picnic tables available and a cafe which we visited for drinks before we left.

mof car picnic

The girls also enjoyed some ‘flight’ themed stories told by the talented storytellers that were available, probably because it was a school holiday.

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Overall, we had a great day and would certainly visit again.  It was worth the travel time as we arrived at 11am and didn’t leave until about 3.30pm, so we managed a good full day out.  I would definitely recommend here as an enjoyable and interesting, family day out.

 

 

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Center Parcs – Part 2

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I pre-booked plenty of activities for us to do beforehand which you are strongly encouraged to do.  On the day of our arrival, the only booking I made was for dinner at the Lakeside Inn.  After we unpacked, we had a good look about and a then a drink at the Village Centre.  It wasn’t long before we had to make our dinner reservations.  We enjoyed a carvery dinner and the girls exhausted themselves at the soft play area.

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The next day we headed to the ‘subtropical swimming paradise’ which you don’t have to book or pay extra for.  I absolutely loathe swimming pools when they are busy but this was so big and spread out that it didn’t seem too busy.  It was also lovely and warm which is just made it so much more pleasant.  We all had a great time in the pool and would have stayed longer but we had more activities booked so we had to go.  Next time I will make sure we have more time to spend at the pool.

I booked the girls into a Chocolate Chef Academy at the Activity Den.  It was an activity that suited both their ages (6 & 3) and did not require a parent or guardian to stay with them.  Bonus!  The activity lasted three hours which meant the adults could enjoy activities of our own (table tennis at the Sports Plaza).  The Chocolate Chef Academy was quite expensive but it was worth it.  It was three hours of childcare and I felt confident that my kids were being well looked after as it was extremely well organised.  As well as all the chocolate treats they made to take away, they got a Chef’s hat and apron to keep.  The staff found out it was my daughter’s birthday and gave her a card and balloon and sang happy birthday, she was as pleased as punch.

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The girls did a similar activity on the Sunday, a Princess and Pirates Party in which they were able to dress up.  Again, it was three hours of childcare so hubby and I headed to the tennis courts.  We had a good laugh and the girls had a great time at the party.  Win, win!

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The final activity we booked was the mini tree trek.  My eldest was perhaps on the old side for this activity but she is not the most confident child when it comes to heights so she really enjoyed that she could do this by herself and wasn’t scared.  If your six year olds are confident and adventurous, then this might be too easy for them.  My girls loved it and the staff member who assisted was great.

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We were all sad to leave on the Monday but have since booked again for next September weekend.

Things I’ll do differently next year:

  • Have dinner in the lodge. Meals out were pretty expensive.  Restaurants were good but I’d rather eat out at lunchtime and relax in the lodge in the evening.
  • Spend more time at the pool.  By not making dinner reservations, we’ll probably take the opportunity to swim later in the afternoon/early evening.
  • Reserve a lodge closer to the village centre.  You have to pay extra for this but my mum struggled a bit with the walking so for us it will be worth it.  If it were just me, I wouldn’t bother as I enjoyed the walk.
  • Go to the spa.  It looks amazing!

 

Holiday weekend

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So it’s the September weekend which means I’m off work until Tuesday. I can’t remember the last time I went away for this holiday so I’m really excited to be heading off tomorrow with my girls, hubby and Mum and Dad. One of my New Years resolutions every year is to spend more time with family and get out there and do things. I hate to just let weekends and holidays pass by without doing something. There have been times where I’ve spent holidays like this cleaning the house and catching up with work instead of doing the things I really want to. I’m beginning to realise more and more that, life is short and we should live in the present, not wait until tomorrow.

I’ve been a bit stressed at work this week as I’ve a presentation to do on my first day back next week as well as a few other bits and pieces. I knew that I would have to be prepared so that it wasn’t going to be hanging over my head all weekend and have lots of work to do on Monday evening when I get back. I’m glad to say I’ve pretty much done everything I have to do so I can truly relax and forget about work for a few days. Usually I end up doing work over the holiday weekend or leave it to the last minute and panic about it the day before. Going away has forced me to clear my desk and I’m so happy and relieved. Now I’ll need to begin planning for the October break.

Hello world

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Well this is me having a go at blogging.  I really enjoy reading blogs and they give me lots of inspiration whether it’s fashion, fitness or family.  I’m not sure if I’m going to inspire anyone but I’ll give it a go.  That being said, I’m a teacher (of about 13 years) so it’s my job to motivate teenagers, at the very least.

My goals for this blog is mainly to motivate myself and my family life.  I love food and cooking but sometimes I feel in a rut buying the same products week in week out.  I plan to share some of my recipes here and hopefully this will help me to be a bit more creative in the kitchen.

I also like working out and feeling and looking fit.  However, I can also be a bit up and down with my fitness regime and I want to be more consistent.  I want this blog to help me stay on track and document my progress.

Finally, I want to take more photographs, better photographs as a family.  After our first daughter was born, my husband and I bought a not so cheap SLR camera which was used often in the beginning but then we got tired of lugging it about and now it’s quick shots with the phone.  I often see beautiful family shots on blogs and instagram and feel a bit guilty that I haven’t captured my girls in they ways.

Anyway, thanks for reading and I’ll be posting a recipe in the Alona eats section very soon.