I feel like dancing...dancing in the park!

The bank holiday weekend wasn't the best for us, Daddy really wasn't well, he had picked up some sort of flu/virus and it took him several days and a lot of sleep to feel even a bit normal. On Sunday he decided he needed some fresh air and the as the girls seemed to have some energy they needed to use, we headed off to a park that we like to visit, along with Nanny. 

When we arrived there were lots of people heading from the car park with blankets and bags, we could hear music and headed towards the bandstand to see what was going on. Sometimes they have events but we hadn't heard about this one.

As we got closer we could see that there was a jazz band playing and lots of people sitting on blankets, we stopped to listen briefly while the Little ones pottered around the trees looking for pine cones and squirrels.

Little 1 liked the music and started dancing, she danced for ages, smiling and posing for me as I took some photos (she really does love to pose and is always dancing and looking at herself in the mirror), I did do a rather cute video of her getting her groove on but Little 2 was shouting her name in it so I haven't put it in.

Little 2 joined in the dancing as little 1 reached her finale, then off they ran together to look for ducks to feed.

We found a few ducks that might have been followed a bit by the Little ones until they were all back in the water (!) We wandered over to the lake and found a pair of swans with three cygnets. They were so cute and really very fluffy.

We went for a stroll around the lake, the Little ones found the spring that runs down the footpath and walked through it to the top, there were a few wobbly moments and Little 1 almost ended up sat in it!!

Looking all grown up all of a sudden!

We stopped off at the park for a quick play, and walked along the walls and tree stumps on the way back to the car, we had a lovely hour or so getting some fresh air and exercise, everyone felt better for it. I wonder what events will be on at the park over the summer?

I'm going to BritMumsLive

Name: Sarah Humphreys

Blog: Loving Life with Little Ones (www.lovinglifewithlittleones.com)

The Little Ones and I

Twitter ID: @lifelittleones

Height: 5 foot 2 (alright 1.5 and the half matters!)

Hair: Shoulder length dark brown, naturally curly but always worn tied back or straightened.

Eyes: Blue

Is this your first blogging conference?: Yes, first of many I hope, I have only been blogging since January and I'm already hooked.

Are you attending both days?: Yes, I will be making the most of two child free days and taking in as much as I can. I will miss my girls though.

What are you most looking forward to at BritMums Live 2014? Meeting all the lovely people behind the blogs I read in person and putting a name and face to all those twitter handles.

What are you wearing? Comfortable nice casual, most likely jeans/trousers with a top, I will be wearing a t-shirt with my sponsor, Tiny Discoverers, logo on it.

What do you hope to gain from BritMums Live 2014? I hope to learn lots, I am very new to blogging and have a lot to learn especially computer jargon and how to create things like badges and edit htmls and such. I hope to make friends and find new blogs to follow too.

Do you have any tips to pass on to others who may not have been before? No, I don't but I am hoping to pick up plenty myself.

Linking up on the 'I'm going to BritMums Linky'.

Water bead play

There seem to have been quite a few posts around recently of other bloggers children having fun with water beads and knowing how much the little ones like to get their hands on anything tactile and messy, I thought we would give it a go too. If you don't know water beads are those things that you put in your vase with your flowers instead of water, they start off tiny and hard, suck up lots of water and end up looking like marbles made of gel. they are non toxic, cheap and relatively mess free so I bought some and off we went.

I bought a tiny packet for the bargain price of 55p (good old ebay) and soaked half of them overnight. I put them in a medium sided bowl with water and came down in the morning to beads all over the worktop and the floor as they had swelled soooo much they had overflowed the bowl, 1/3 of the packet would have been enough, so plenty left for another day.

As it was a sunny day and anticipating some mess, I set the bowl up in the garden with some utensils to encourage the Little ones to scoop, tip and fill (which they love to do at the moment) and maybe play a game of tea parties too.

I then let the Little ones loose and boy didn't they get stuck straight  in...

I can only describe it as if you were putting your hand in a bowl of frogspawn, they feel slimy, cold and wet. When I pulled my hand out I expected it to be slimy or smell but it was just damp and there was no odour. There were comments of 'it's wet', 'oh squishy' and 'can I pop them?' We found out they were very bouncy when Little 2 grabbed a handful and dropped them into her bowl.

The Little ones then spent ages spooning and scooping, filling bowls, cups and a teapot. Little 2 was very methodical and concentrating hard on scooping, she played like this for ages. 

Little 1 loved plunging her hands into the beads feeling the textures and digging for the various utensils she had hidden in the bowl.

We then had a go at colour sorting and pretending to make dinner and cups of tea.

I did finally give in to Little 1's desire to pop the beads, they were made of some sort of gel that looks like jelly when it is broken up, it was quite hard to pop them as they were very slippy and they tended to jump out of my fingers, she did put a lot of effort in to trying to pop them!

We had a lot of fun with the beads and played for a good hour, both the Little ones enjoyed it and have already asked when we can use the rest. I am glad we did the activity outside as a lot ended up on the floor and got trampled into the grass but they disappeared in a few days. We shall play with them again soon, I wonder what I can use to make the activity different next time? Any ideas? 

The beautiful bluebells one

Last Sunday we were invited for a yummy roast at Granny and Grampy's house, so fresh from Little 1's hockey club (Yes, the uniform is lime green but it does look nice in the pictures!) we headed over to their house, before dinner there was time for a walk up in the woods to admire the carpets of gorgeous bluebells.

The sun was shining, the trees were bright green, the bluebells were everywhere and it all looked beautiful. The girls were in their element, they love nothing more than being free to run and roam especially Little 2 who loves to feel the wind in her hair! Little 1 immediately ran ahead after spotting dandelion clocks that she loves to pick and declared it was 3 o'clock. 

As we meandered up through the woods the Little ones were on the look out for some 'special things'. They love to explore and collect bits and pieces like leaves, feathers, twigs, pine cones, daisies and buttercups and always bring home handfuls of 'treasures' from any stroll, even up to the supermarket. After loading their pockets and mine they spotted some wildlife, a ladybird that Little 1 was keen to pick up. She played with it on her fingers for a bit and then watched it in wonder as it took off and flew, I'm not sure she has seen one fly before.

Time for a photo, hands full of 'treasures'.

We strayed off the path and into the bluebells, the girls were keen to take a closer look and smell them up close, all around us was the scent of fresh bluebells. They were quite engrossed looking at them, 'They look like bells, Mummy' said Little 1.

We continued on up, racing each other to encourage little legs that were beginning to tire, and came across a den that we had to have a peep inside...

Little 1 was keen to run along some felled trees and practice her balancing and jumping skills, I tried to capture the shot but alas my old camera was not quite up to the job and the shots were a bit fuzzy, a new camera will definitely be on my christmas list this year.

We took the opportunity to look for some more mini beasts by over turning one of the smaller logs, we found a slug and lots of woodlice as well as a centipede. Little 1 wanted to hold a woodlouse, 'It's tickly' she said . Little 2 shrieked and dropped it when it walked on her, she didn't like it! We were sure to put everything back as we found it afterwards as we moved on.

By this time Little 2 was getting very tired, Granny and Grampy helped keep Little 2 going with a swing game that took her mind off her achy legs. Soon we were back down and heading for our dinner.

A walk filled with lots of smiles and laughter, mini beasts and pockets full of 'treasure', a great time was had by all and who wouldn't with amazing views like this.

After hopping over to the Centre Parcs blog, our entry was inspired by Center Parcs' seasoned snapper, Rich Heath's tip:-
Squirrels, deer and swans are all residents at Center Parcs - why not see what nature is living right on your doorstep.

This is my entry to the Center Parcs and Tots100 May challenge. If i'm chosen I would like to visit Longleat Forest.