"Follow the yellow brick road"

This sunshine has really been putting a spring in my step, I love how this weather  gets me motivated to get out and do stuff and when I heard the words "daddy can we go on a scooter adventure?" I couldn't wait to get our wheels out of the boot. Opeie has become quite the Micro-Scooter enthusiast over the last few weeks. Being able to scoot about has been great for his confidence but what I have loved about it most is that his scooter has given him the independence to go a further distance without having to struggle and put pressure on those little legs.

So we got ready for our adventure, packed a lunch, toys, books and of course shades and sun cream before heading out on a glorious day. On the way we had decided we were going to see how many 'yellow' things we could spot a long the way. With the sunshine warming up the ground the flowers were on bloom and Opeie spotted many lovely yellow plants (even if the daffodils were looking a little worse for wear).

With no shortage of yellow things on route, Shropshire was keeping us well entertained as were the scooters. It was the perfect day for adventuring and we were taking full advantage of the glorious sunny weather.

We've been doing lots of activities lately about emotions after reading 'My Many Coloured Days' by Dr, Seuss. I love how a colour can stimulate our moods and this 'yellow' afternoon is making us very Happy.

Opeie had worn his yellow minion backpack specially for our colour spotting game and he informed me that he wished his scooter was yellow (orange and yellow are his favourite colours). I knew where we were heading but i thought it was a lot closer when we had driven past in the car. going anywhere without the car and with a 4 year old can lengthen a journey but Opeie did great at long distance on his own. The only downfall was all the bumpy paths, gravel and grassy areas, which is why i'd love to give the Micro Flex Blue scooter a try for the air filled tyres.

We reached our destination and parked up. At Opeie's height he didn't have the view that i had but when i picked him up he was greeted with all the yellow he could possibly need for his micro adventure.

Crisps are yellow...Amazing!!!

As was the lettering on one of our books too! being a stay at home dad is amazing and something i will never take for granted. Having the chance to jump on our Micro-scooters on a sunny day and then ride somewhere pretty to eat lunch, read and play with toys really is the best way to spend our afternoons.

After reading, eating and running through the beautiful yellow rapeseed field we found a quiet spot for Opeie to play with his toys. Taking toys outside was one of my favourite things to do as a child. I always had my star wars figures zip wiring into the garden from my bedroom window and while the weather was nice i could always be found making tree top bases in the evergreens in our back garden. Opeie's Ninja Turtles got the same treatment, being hung from plants and hiding in the long grass.

Those versatile Micro-scooters also served as great mobile bases for the figures and me and Opeie had loads of fun making up stories and playing them out.

We had a great afternoon in the sun and being able to get fully involved with your children's adventuring because of having the Adult Micro-scooter is so much fun. I cant wait for the poppies to be out or even the snow drops later in the year. Get a Micro-scooter and get out with your children in the sunshine, you'll be amazed at how much it opens up your children's world... and yours if you let it.

Until our next adventure, happy scooting.

"Raphael is cool but crude (Gimme a break!) Michelangelo is a party dude (Party!)"

After our last LEGO Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles review we received some really great emails about the comic style review that we created. So when we came to review this new TMNT movie kit i planned on making a sequel, but as i went rooting through our LEGO looking for props i may need i had a great idea for something a little different that may or may not have worked, either way though i knew it would be fun. So the night before building i set our morning LEGO fun up. We had some spare boxes in the house and i wrapped them all in white paper and created a little blank canvas area for building. When Opeie woke up he found an intriguing blank space, the new LEGO Turtle Van Takedown kit (79115) and a selection of pens, pencils and crayons. Opeie looked very excited and quickly grabbed his Michelangelo mask and Nunchucks ready for action.

We've really got in to the TMNT kits since reviewing the Turtle Sub Undersea Chase kit and my inner geek was really excited about seeing the new kits, mainly because i had seen the Turtles new look for the coming movie and i wanted to see what LEGO had done with that. I expected them to look a little more aggressive but LEGO have done what they do best and the minifigures look amazing, Personally I'm a little unsure about the positioning of the shells but i can see they have done that to fit in with the movie style.

Opeie wasn't sure about the Minifigures at first and asked for the older characters out too but soon decided that he loved them. There was a little disagreement over who was the real Michelangelo but that arguement was soon sorted...

Usual household building rules apply, we never go by the numbered bags, we just empty them all out so that the boys can build the minifigures first because apparently they are the most important part.

This kit is the smaller of the three released for the new movie but at 368 pieces it's a great size kit especially for the younger builders who may lose interest after a while. With four minifigures (Raphael, Michelangelo, Vern and a Foot soldier) , a vehicle, barricade to blow up and a bed with mechanical arms for taking a hostage, there is everything you need for your very own Turtle adventure.

When we had finished building the kit it was time for us to start the second part of the mornings LEGO activity, Creating a play area for our Turtles. Opeie got stuck in and drew some great circular patterns so I politely ask if I could add to it and transformed his lovely drawing in to the very fitting Technodrome.

After decorating the walls with a sewer scene and a pizza shop it was time to play. The turtle van looked great with rockets to shoot and a retractable hook for pulling down buildings. We even drew a lake for our previous kit the Turtle sub to go in too.

We included all our Ninja turtles kits but realised we were missing a few key characters so we now have our eyes on the other two kits from the movie sets, Big Rig Snow Getaway (79116 so that we can get April O'Neil) and the awesome looking Turtle Lair Invasion (79117 because we need to get hold of a splinter). I did manage to build us a custom Shredder from the parts we had though (not a bad job if i do say so myself).

 I love how all our LEGO kits fit together and there really is no limitation to your play adventures if you have a great imagination. We ended up playing in our purpose built TMNT play area for most of the morning, Opeie comes up with some great stories to act out.

 

Of course as always me and Mrs M found ourselves in the usual hostage situation with no way of knowing if we would make it through the terrible ordeal...

...but we can always rely on those brave boys of ours (with the help of the Turtles of course) to come to our rescue and save the day.

I'd be shocked if i ever had a negative word to say about LEGO and again the Turtle Van Takedown doesn't disappoint. Its a great kit with excellent minifigures and a cult status that will entertain children and parents alike. The Ninja turtles were huge when i was at school and thanks to LEGO they will live on for even longer in the toy stores.