the dubai debrief

We've been home from our holiday in Dubai for over a month now, and I feel like it's taken me that long to come down from the holiday high and be able to put the whole thing down in words. It was just such an adventure for us, and such a fantastic experience, that I'm conscious of wanting to do the whole thing justice.

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a wonderful weekend in norfolk

We love a mini break. There is something about the simplicity of a short break, something which doesn't require a ton of planning, but which gets you away from the grind of being at home. We really enjoy weekends away as a family somewhere lovely, where we can be just as happy relaxing together as going out to explore. Somewhere that holds all the creature comforts of home, without all the chores that home holds.

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our day at paultons park

Paultons Park has long been our favourite family theme park in this country, because it offers so much for our young family. Peppa Pig World is obviously a draw for anyone with a preschooler, and so much of the Paulton's Park theme park as a whole is so accessible for small children which we love; no saying no when they don't reach height requirements, no missing out on rides for the grown ups. 

With the addition of Lost Kingdom they have widened their appeal again. It's perfect for a family who is growing beyond those Peppa Pig years, and I'm sure it will keep people coming back to Paulton's Park for years to come. With some serious looking rollercoasters for the thrill-seekers, but with relatively low height restrictions, meant that our little daredevil Dylan could ride everything in Lost Kingdom... and he did! And at the same time there is still plenty for the whole family to enjoy even down to the youngest members.

We were lucky enough to be invited along to a preview day for the new Lost Kingdom, part of the Paulton's Park theme park. This is a little mini movie of our time there.

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capturing the end of an era

We love an adventure. We've had a year packed full of them so far. So when Channel Mum asked us to "capture autumn" and showcase the Panasonic HC-W570 video camera while we were at it, an Autumn adventure in the woods seemed like the perfect thing to do. 

So we donned our wellies, layered up, hopped in the car and we headed to one of our favourite places; Thorndon Park. Home to the Gruffalo trail which the kids adore, and a nice easy going walk for a heavily pregnant mama, plus we know from previous years' visits that it is totally beautiful in the autumn. 

Little did we know that this would turn out to be our final adventure as a four. Because a couple of days later our newest addition made her arrival. And it's strange how weird it already seems to watch footage of us as a four, to see footage of myself pregnant... because that feels like another lifetime now. And I guess it is another lifetime ago really; a certain little lady's lifetime. 

But it makes me very glad that we unknowingly captured that very last 'adventure for four' on video. We had such a fun day out together, meeting the characters from our favourite books, kicking the fallen leaves, and generally enjoying some time together. 

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farewell to the summer

Just because its summer. And because there is simply no such thing as too much beach spam if you ask me. I bring you yet another beachy adventure. This time lady luck was seriously on our side, because we booked our 'farewell summer' beach hut day back in the winter and while the days either side of our little trip were overcast, wet and a bit cold, the day of the trip dawned with blue sky, bright sunshine and it was so hot that I think we were definitely in the best place; enjoying the coastal breeze with natures paddling pool a few feet away.

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a 'just us' weekend

We are a seaside family. It's our happy place. And I say it all the time, but it just makes us all smile to have sand between our toes and a nice salty breeze in our hair. 

At the moment we are in that strange limbo stage while you wait for a new baby to arrive, where it feels like an era is ending; and while we are all so excited to become a five, it also makes us desperate  to cling onto these memories of life as a four. And where better for a beach loving family to make some lovely simple memories, than a weekend at the seaside.

So we borrowed my Nan's static caravan on Mersea Island and we had the loveliest time together. Mersea has to be one of our favourite places; we just love spending time together there. It is the quintessential seaside town, but so unspoiled and so beautiful, with the added touch that it gets cut off from the mainland during high tides. It really was the best kind of weekend. We played, we ate ice cream, we paddled our feet, we saw crabs, we hunted for shells, we took lots of sunshiny walks, we counted boats, we spotted jellyfish, we went out for breakfast, we met a friendly seal, we rode on a boat... and we came home with that sun kissed skin, windswept hair, sandy toes and suncream smell that tells you you've had a perfect weekend.

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a favourite place

I love that we live where we do. Not necessarily our specific home or street, but the area. Because we are utterly spoiled with being surrounded by some beautiful parks and gardens and pretty spots, as well as being equidistant to the bright lights of London, and the calming air of the coast. We can be at either with 45 minutes, and I think it gives us the very best of both worlds.

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a beach hut birthday {52 adventures}

When you are seaside and beach hut obsessive like me, there isn't really a better way of spending your birthday than enjoying those two things. Add to that the fact that the sun came along to play (which practically never ever happens on my birthday) and you have a recipe for a lovely adventure.

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rhs hyde hall {52 adventures}

I am going to start this post by saying that, if I were to right a list of the top things I love about living where we do; Hyde Hall would be one of them. It really genuinely is one of my favourite places to visit, it's just beautiful. But despite a few visits last year, I was still yet to drag Rich along to this little piece of heaven nestled in the Essex countryside. Until this particular adventure...

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in amongst the bluebells

Bluebells are something of an annual adventure for us. We've made a trip out to the woods to visit those beautiful purple flowers every single Spring, and it's always one of my favourite adventures. This year was definitely the best yet, with two bright and inquisitive little people searching for wildlife among the flowers, talking about bears and Gruffalos that may be hiding, and generally making the whole event into an even bigger adventure. 

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{the disney dream} my 25 tips for a perfect disney break

I think the key to making a success of an action packed holiday like Disney is to plan ahead. I'm a natural planner anyway, so I like to know what I'm going to be doing when, and having a rough plan definitely helps to keep things running smoothly, stops you from wasting time, and helps you get to do all the things that you want to.

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{the disney dream} walt disney studios

Walt Disney Studios is the 'other park' at Disneyland in Paris. While the main Disneyland Park is packed with all the magical parades, character themed rides, and lots for little ones; Walt Disney Studios is a little more grown up and is also a smaller park. It's not totally grown up by any stretch of the imagination... there is a whole section for Toy Story, and rides themed from Aladdin, Finding Nemo, Ratatouille and Cars as well, but it just has a slightly more mature feel in whats on offer.

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beach hut days

After a very big and exciting eleventh adventure, I knew that we were going to need something to cheer us up on our post Disney holiday come down. So a little while back I booked us a day at a beach hut for the week after our holiday, I thought it would be a nice little kick start to the Easter break, I crossed my fingers that some nice Spring weather might come our way, and figured that whatever happened at least we'd get some fresh air and I could feed my beach hut obsession a bit.

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{the disney dream} disneyland park

The Disneyland Park is your quintessential Disney park, and for me, is always the one which holds the most charm. It IS Disney. It has the castle, it has the gorgeous old-fashioned Main Street USA, it has all the different themed 'lands' with all the different rides, you can watch shows, you can meet and greet the characters, it has the beautiful parades, it has the magical fireworks. It is what Disney is all about.

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the disney dream

The Disney dream is something that just sucks you in. The familiar songs, the well known characters, something about the charm of place where anything is possible with dreams and love and pixie dust... it is pure magic. The kind of magic that I still fully buy into as a fully grown adult.

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a stroll along the prom {52 adventures}

It's been at least a few weeks now since we last had an adventure involving a nice bit of sea air and water and boats, so with the sunshine coming out to play we went on a lovely adventure to walk along the prom at Maldon.

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a birthday in london {52 adventures}

You only turn four once... so it pays to do it in style. Birthday days out are kind of a family tradition of ours, and we absolutely love them. Nothing quite celebrates a birthday like an adventure with your favourite people. And for the beautiful boy's fourth birthday he had very clear ideas about what he wanted to do to celebrate; he wanted to go to London, he wanted to ride the underground with his Uncle Matt, he wanted to go on a ferris wheel, and he wanted to have lunch at Planet Hollywood. Well we gave him all those things, and we threw in a boat ride and a wander around Docklands in the twilight for good measure.

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a little piece of heaven

Time alone as a couple becomes really priceless when you have children. Between dealing with the wants and needs of two young children, work commitments and the general chaos of life; Rich and I have to really grab any opportunity for some valuable "us time" with both hands. Last year we celebrated my 30th birthday and our fifth wedding anniversary with two lovely nights away and having never really been 'mini-breakers' before that, we are now total converts to the beauty of a night away from reality just remembering what came before the children... us.

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new friends

There is something so beautiful and precious about the ease with which children make friends. They don't even need to exchange names and they'll happily play together, laugh together, and comment afterwards on what lovely friends they made. Somewhere along the line making friends changes, and it isn't always so easy to make new ones.

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fun with friends

Holidays aren't always that much of an actual break when you have small children.

You can't switch off, even for a second, 

because that tends to the second that they find trouble to get themselves into.

But from having a few holidays with our friends now,

it's definitely a good way of spreading the load a bit;

the children have built in entertainment,

and there are more adults too which means you can get precious moments off every now and then.

We've been on a few holidays with our friends the Ellisons now,

and when we are together, something just clicks.

We all get along swimmingly,

there is always a lot of laughter and fun.

And I know we all feel lucky to have found each other,

and to have another family that we can share these memories with.

It's just so easy to have fun when we are together,

and I know this won't be the last of our holidays together.

This our second trip to Center Parcs together

and it's really just reaffirmed our love for the place.

It's the perfect spot for an exciting family holiday,

especially when you have water babies like we do.

Nobody was ready to come home,

and I think that the sign of a truly brilliant holiday.

You can see my video from last year's trip here
it's scary how much the children have grown in that time.

Go and check out Katie's blog because she's posting about our holiday today too,

there's another little video to be enjoyed there too.

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