Beach, sun and vet visits...

 2nd - 13th September 2020

First week and a half back at school.

School has been good. Isabella likes her teachers and have been enjoying being back.

Tabby had another really sicky spell while we were away and he luckily already had a vet appointment for the day after we got back from the beach. With all the vomiting he had stopped eating too so the vet decided to keep him for the day, giving him fluids all day as well as doing more blood tests and an ultrasound scan to try and determine why he has been vomiting so regularly for so many months now. For some reason I did not realise his belly would need to be shaved for the scan so it was a surprise when we got him home! It was interesting to see his stripe pattern showing on his skin! He was a little sleepy and very cuddly for a day after and then quickly bounced back to normal. Although sadly only for two weeks before having another vomiting kind of day again today. We're keeping everything crossed that the new hypoallergenic food he is on now might help.

Meanwhile our garden has continued to produce some lovely fresh veggies. There are still lots of tomatoes which will hopefully ripen while the sun is still out, plus more carrots. Courgettes, corn and cucumber seem to be finished now.

Some time back we received some succulent leaves from a friend to propagate. They're doing really well and we've now transferred them into pots to start getting their roots under the soil. The mummy leaves will stay to nourish them until they're all wrinkled up.

This weekend we've had beautiful weather so yesterday we went for a walk at Virginia Water. We did nearly 10km of walking!

Today we went to the beach with friends. Making the most of this weather while we still can! It might have been our last warm beach day!

6th and Final week of summer holiday 2020

 24th August - 1st September

Weather: The usual bit of everything

Andre and I took this week off work too. We enjoyed just spending some time at home. Isabella had one wish, to visit a petting zoo/ farm. It was slightly challenging as most places which usually allow petting of the animals, aren't allowing it at this time. I did find a lovely little farm near us who's animals all welcome attention and love! So we visited Miller's Ark Animals. It's not a huge park where you would spend all day, but it was really lovely. Friendly staff everywhere and we were able to go into all the animal pens and spend time with all the animals. It was limited to an hour and a half which was the perfect time needed there. Afterwards we had lunch in the barn/ tea room.

Baby donkey!

Look at this upside down heart on this donkey!

To end off our family holiday we spent three nights in Mudeford's Sandhills Holiday park. This is the third year we've stayed there and it's just perfect for us. Lovely caravans, we've had a different one each time and all have been fantastic. And the best part is it's just a very short stroll to the beach. The holiday park is right on the beach with just a beach walk way separating it from the sand! The heated outdoor pool was open and we booked an hour slot each day to use the pool. Slots needed to be booked this time to limit the number of people at a time. Isabella loved being able to swim in a pool again. It's been half a year at least since she's been able to do that! The rest of our time was spent on the beach, paddle boarding, and just relaxing at the caravan.

Final morning above, warm milky and tea while watching the sunrise.

Now I'll have to see what we have to blog about next now that school has started again...

Fifth week of summer holiday 2020

 17th - 23rd August 2020

Weather: A good British mix of everything

Last week we went camping! Since our road trip to Germany, which we were so looking forward to, got cancelled we decided to get ourselves organised with camping gear and give UK camping a go. We decided to not travel too far from home for our first camping experience here so booked at a campsite in Swanage, about two hours from home. We can't compare since this was our first time, but I'd say it was a small-ish camp site and basic although really lovely. Green grass and clean toilets and showers. That was all we needed. Plus being able to walk to the beach, we didn't want to have to drive anywhere.

Part of the fun at this site was that you can't park your car next to your tent (it's actually on a golf course) so you get given a wheelbarrow to wheel all your many stuff from your car to your camping spot.. Luckily Andre brought his small unicycle so when packing up he managed to do the trips to the car much quicker on electric wheel rather than on foot and wheelbarrow-wheel!

Arrival day was very rainy and we actually decided to leave home later in the day so we'd miss most of the rain. We were lucky that it was only drizzling very slightly when we arrived and then mostly dried up while we were pitching the tent. First night it did rain really hard, or sounded that way from inside the tent. Our second day though was a perfectly sunny day. We walked down to the beach, Isabella and Andre spent quite a long time in the sea and playing on the sand. We had ice creams, went for a walk along the coast and cliffs and then had late fish and chips lunch before heading back to the campsite.

The second night was very windy, but as we were expecting it Andre chose a very good wind protected spot for the tent so we didn't feel the wind much inside the tent and all slept well. Our last morning there was still windy and clouds were looking a bit dark so we packed up early after breakfast and headed home. Not sure about Andre, but Isabella and I were also eager to get back to Tabby! First camping trip was a success, although with all the packing we decided to not do it again this week already! Planning another weekend camping in September before winter sets in.

Our garden looking bright and sunny with these Rudbeckias.

Pancakes for breakfast and Tabby supervising.

Nap time in the dolls house.

Each night after I've put Isabella to bed, Tabby likes to be picked up for a cuddle.

Current favourite toy: paintbrushes.

Ending the week with a walk around a nearby lake and a drink in the pub afterwards.

Fourth week of summer holiday 2020

 10th - 16h August 2020

Weather: Hot!!

We've had another hot week, which ended with thunderstorms to cool us down. We really made the most of it this past week with lots of outdoor swimming in the lake and even the sea.

Both Monday and Tuesday afternoon we went swimming at the lake with friends. Note the very loose but still hanging in there tooth!

The tooth fell out on Tuesday while mummy was at the office and Isabella and daddy were playing.

Isabella wrote a letter to the tooth fairy and we managed to capture her on camera when she came by to collect the tooth!

Wednesday we went to the beach with friends. It was another amazing day and felt like an island holiday! We spent most of the time in the water and the rest of the time building sand castles. Isabella got to try out her body board in the little waves.

On Thursday Isabella finally got to have her hair cut. Like a real big girl she went in to the salon by herself. I dropped her off at the door with her handbag with my contactless card in it too so she even got to pay herself. She was a little nervous before, but afterwards asked if she can go in on her own every time from now on. That haircut was a bit overdue, but with lockdown and our hairdresser booked up when they were finally allowed to open again, we had to wait a bit. We'd rather wait than go anywhere else though!

Tabby enjoys playing Barbies with us. Here he was being the airplane-safety-checker-person-I mean cat.

One of Tabby's nap spots- by the back door surrounded by shoes. He has a bit of a thing for shoes!

And then Tabby turned one! Isabella spent a lot of time on the preparations and decorating his cake. We reckon Tabby had a great time. He must have been exhausted by all the excitement as he slept the rest of the day!

Looks just like him, don't you think!

Isabella blew out the candle and made a wish on Tabby's behalf, then told him what she wished for him. She didn't tell us though, we have no idea what it was.

Camping preparations! The rain stopped enough on Sunday for us to put up our newly purchased tent in order to have a test run and make sure everything is there.

And that was it. Now to pack the rest of our camping things and hope for dry weather!