"Forget the past; look forward to the future, for the best things are yet to come."

Day 113:

Every year for as long as I can remember my birthday has always felt like just another day of the week, this year was different though. There was a feeling in the air that I wasn't expecting on the build up and as it got closer I felt myself feeling all warm inside. Opeie had been busy doing some top secret prep for weeks and my unexpected warm fuzzy birthday feeling was definitely coming from their excitement. By the time the big day came today I felt like I had already had my birthday twice over because of the first two days of the three day celebrations.

You know you are on to a winner when not only do. you receive a thoughtful toy from your childhood but also new patches for that magical toy (which are always battered because of their age). And Opeie couldn't be any cuter, knowing exactly what to get me because he is so bloody awesome. By the time we were ready to head out I was feeling like a princess.

As we drove out of the road to start our journey to Lake Vyrnwy, I spotted pictures of myself all over the place, Opeie had clearly been having a blast getting ready for today. I liked to think that everyone one on our road thought I was a young dad but now they all know that I'm a crusty 40-year-old.

Lake Vyrnwy was a little busier than we expected but we found a quiet spot to have a picnic and a good stomp while Opeie took photos for his next comic. On the way home all I could think about was that delicious looking backed cheese cake that Opeie had made. Today was perfection, it was so nice to have a clear head for a few days. Hopefully next year the world will seem a little calmer. 

"Watch him wiggle! See him squirm! Hip, hip, hooray for SUPERWORM!"

The weather has been awful today and because of it its pretty much been a day in the house playing. To cheer myself up this evening though I've decided to catch up with a post about a sunnier part of this week. Opeie had been asking me for days if we could go on an adventure and visit the sleeping Gruffalo. If you are a regular reader of the blog you may remember that last year we went Gruffalo hunting thanks to the amazing sculptures dotted around the country at the forestry commission sites. They were due to be removed last year but we were emailed a while back to let us know that the Gruffalo was staying for now (i wouldn't want to try and move him either).

We packed up the car with important things like snacks, scooters, a mini Gruffalo and of course Rose the cat (Opeie's trusted companion). When we arrived Opeie's little face was all smiles when he noticed that the Gruffalo trail had been replaced by a Super worm trail, what an awesome surprise.

The great thing about the trails in Wyre forest is how easy it is for children to get around and find all the clues to get to the final destination. Opeie loves that he is in control too and was excited guiding me around.

So off we went...

...and with every clue found a fun activity to go with it.

Super hero? Opeie of course went for Flying, fighting skills and invisibility.

"Daddy! that grumpy tree looks just like you!" thanks Opeie.

"Dad that tree looks like a worm monster bursting out of the ground"

I love just pottering about in a forest, there's so much to look at and Opeie's imagination can run wild. The afternoon was filled with questions, who lives in that hole? whats that noise? How many different kinds of leaves are there?

The trail is great for kids and anything that gets Opeie excited and running about in the fresh air is great as far as I'm concerned. It would have been nice to take the scooters through the forest but i don't think the wheels would have dealt with the uneven ground. Anyway back to the trail...

 Opeie was getting very eager to find the Gruffalo and was doing a great job of getting us there by himself.

Eventually we spotted the sleeping monster in the distance and Opeie crept up very slow to make sure he didn't wake him. He was feeling a little tired from the walk and asked if he could have a sleep on the Gruffalo's nice warm tummy.

Then we sat against our sleeping friend and read books and ate our lunch, it was the perfect way to break up our forest adventure before continuing our Superworm trail.

We got talking again about rhyming words as we do most days and i told Opeie that we couldn't leave until we had found two things that Rhyme with Rose (Opeie's best friend). After a short deliberation Opeie came up with Nose and Toes, so off we went on our adventures.

We got round the trail in a couple of hours and i thought Opeie might be tired but no, we had to jump straight in the car and find somewhere to scoot for a couple of hours. It was a perfect afternoon of adventuring, reading and learning with the best company i could ask for.

Opeie may have been full of beans but after an early morning wake up i was feeling the strain. Until next time readers...

"We cast a shadow on something wherever we stand."

I love how excited Opeie gets about EVERYTHING, it would be amazing to be him for a day. When your an innocent child of 2 many of the things you experience on a daily basis are completely new to you, going through that again would be amazing. In the kitchen today while we were cooking there was a small Moth like insect flying about low and it blew Opeie's tiny mind. He was running about and screaming excitably shouting fly with a big smile on his face.

Today was also the first time Opeie has really paid full attention to his shadow, the school playground became the perfect play area for him and his over sized silhouette, as he chased it about, it's such a shame that as an adult most of us become hardened to the simple fun things that happen day to day.

Here's to being a big kid myself.