"We ape, we mimic, we mock. We act."

Sometimes we have a quiet weekend where we just spend time together around the house playing, reading and enjoying each others company and Other times (like this one) we have the kind of weekend that will be permanently etched into the boys memory as two days full of fun and adventure. It all started Saturday morning, we were up bright and early and it was one of those mornings where everyone pulled together to get everything sorted so that we could get out of the door on time, I really wish school days were as effortless as that. 

Our plan for the start of Saturday was to spend our morning at Delamere forest, high up in the tree's. We had visited both Wyre forest and Cannock chase and both times the boys were mesmerized by the children at Go Ape walking through the trees above them. If I am honest (and I feel so bad for thinking it now) the only reason I had not booked us on the course before was because I though that Seth would back out at the very last minute. We had attempted an indoor course similar when we were in Florida a few years back and as soon as Seth had walked up the starting steps he had a meltdown and we had to come back down. I guess I didn't want to put him in that position again.

We arrived at Delamere forest and it was freezing, Mrs M wasn't attempting the course due to her fear of heights and I wasn't sure our camera lady was going to last long outdoors as she really feels the cold. When we arrived at the main cabin a lovely lady called Laura booked us in and took us through the health and safety list, before sending us on our way towards the Tree Top Junior course.

 I'd just like to point out first that the staff at Go Ape are amazing, friendly, welcoming and most importantly extremely patient when it comes to the kids. A very friendly chap call Joe got us fitted with a harness each, explaining what he was doing and then walked me and the boys around the safety course. The boys really paid attention and when they were quizzed before going on, about the amount of climbers on a platform at a time etc, Seth jumped in excitedly to answer. So, the moment of truth, we walked towards the stairs and despite the excited faces on them both I was still expecting Seth to have a freak out and change his mind, I couldn't have been further from the truth.

Seth, without a care in the world didn't even give himself time to think about what he was about to do. He was off like a rocket, I really thought his muscle issues would hinder him slightly but there was nothing slowing that boy down, I was so proud of him. Opeie surprisingly did not want to go and started to get a little upset. I did my best to get him to attempt the first step but he definitely wasn't going to budge for me, he just wanted a cuddle. Then like some sort of tree climbing super hero Joe calmed Opeie right down by attaching himself to him with a Carabiner. He was still a little dubious about what he was doing but Joe talked to him all the way round. It seemed like Seth had been waiting for ever for us at the Zip wire, he must have whizzed around the course. At the zip wire another member of staff (unfortunately I can't remember the guys name) explained what to do and again Seth just threw himself off, It was awesome to watch. Opeie had a bit of a wobble again but then 'DER DER DERDER... Super Joe to the rescue again to talk Opeie in to feeling confident, what a guy. Opeie was soon shooting down the wire shouting 'WOO-HOO'.

 

*Mrs M saved the day right before Zipwire #1 by popping to the Go Ape store to get me some gloves, I had managed to pack some for the boys but not myself and my fingers felt like they were going to snap off, Go Mrs M!!!

Time to hit the course again, this time though I was going to be the super hero and when asked if Opeie wanted to be attached to someone again Opeie said "No I'm going to go on with Daddy", take that super Joe! Seth disappeared in a blink of an eye which was fine as he was securely attached to the course and I think it did him some good for his confidence to not have me checking he was okay. So the moment of truth, Opeie and super dad on the first obstacle....  Sadly he wasn't going anywhere again, I used to think I was good at those father/son motivational speeches but here I was up in a tree going nowhere. Yes I bet you can guess what happened next, below us on the ground came a voice. Super Joe was at it again and managed to talk Opeie across the first 2 obstacles, was there no end to this guys powers? After that it was smooth sailing for me and Opeie and he was having an amazing time.

We made our way to the end of the course again and hit the zipwire like a pro, Well Opeie did, I ungracefully hit the ground like a sack of spuds every time, dragging my bum through the dirt.

It was clear at this point that Seth was eager to attempt the harder course, so while me and Opeie went round the easier course again, Seth with this new found confidence set about his mission. As me and Opeie went around the course I was watching Seth and he was doing great. He did manage to loose his balance early on during the course and was sitting on one of the platforms but he picked himself up and continued along, what an awesome kid.

Me and Opeie completed the course again and he let me know that he had had enough. There was 10 minutes left of our visit so I was going to call it a day and just watch Seth. I spotted two kids get on after Seth that looked like they were eager to get round the harder course and Seth looked like he was in a spot of bother so I clipped on to the harder course and followed them round thinking I could at least calm Seth down a little if he got stressed out. There was one obstacle that Seth really struggled with because of how wobbly the platforms were and he ended up on his bottom again. I think he'd have been fine getting up if he had been left to his own devices but the two boys behind him were putting unnecessary pressure on him to get moving which made him struggle a little more. Thank fully Super Joe was on hand again to climb across and help him up. Seth got round the harder course and that little twitching smile in the corner of his mouth told us that he was really proud of what he had achieved and rightly so, he had blown me away and I was so proud of him.

It was an amazing morning for us and the boys didn't stop talking about the experience all day. For confidence building and excitement I cant recommend Go Ape enough. The course was fantastic but aside from the excitement and pride on the boys faces, what really made it for me was the staff. Go Ape is definitely an experience we want to have again soon.

“When life brings you mountains, you don’t waste your time asking why; you spend your time climbing over them.”

I spend pretty much all day every day with a big smile on my face. Getting to hang out with Opeie and watch him develop into the tower of awesomeness that he is is so rewarding. Although I am completely smitten and smiling from ear to ear, some days my little side kick takes that smile of mine to the next level.

We'd not had a great session at Opeie's Rock climbing last week, there was lots of moaning and "I can't do it". I'm not the sort of parent that pushes and pushes but I will continue to encourage him until it's clear he doesn't want to go any further in whatever he was doing. As I listened to a parent in the car park outside from the class before, telling her child he was basically useless, made no effort and they won't be coming again it just reinforced that I'm doing the best for Opeie. I put the session down to an off day (we all have them). He was still looking forward to the following session though which was great.

When this weeks session came round Opeie was feeling pumped but was a little deflated when he found out his climbing buddy had chicken pox. When we arrived though it turned out that we were the only people there which was great. There were no distractions and Opeie was like a climbing machine, up and down each wall with not a single "i can't do it". he was having so much fun that as he was climbing he started humming himself a James bond style theme tune which was so funny.

With all the children's climbs done there was still time to spare so Neil asked Opeie if he would like to try the grown ups wall which Opeie was very excited about. I didn't think he would climb that far but he was in the zone and just went for it, it was so lovely to watch.

Starting climbing has been one of the best things we have done so far as it has given Opeie so much more confidence. Its great seeing his determined little face as he makes his way up, assessing his position and thinking of each move. I'm really hoping it is something he sticks with as i would love to give it a go myself at some point soon and it would be s nice to be able to do it together somewhere down the line.

"You cannot push any one up a ladder unless he be willing to climb a little himself."

Opeie has never really been the physically adventurous type, he loves to run about and is one of the happiest children I know but he's never really shown interest in attacking the climbing frames at the park or shooting up trees. Obviously that's never going to be an issue but secretly (and it seems ridiculous to me now) I had always wished he was a little more that way. As I lay in bed writing this it has come to my attention that my reason for feeling like this is because of how I was when I was younger, what I am only realising now though is that this memory of myself like that is around the age of 7 and Opeie is still only 3 (for a couple more weeks anyhow).

We had tickets to go to the theatre for us all yesterday but Mrs M had to work and Seth wasn't with us so we asked our friends Emma, Wilberforce and Waldon if they wanted to join us. Emma mentioned that Wilberforce had his second rock climbing class and would Opeie be interested in joining in? My first thought was 'there's no chance he'll do that!' But I booked it anyway on the off chance.

I told him all about it and he'd seen the pictures of Wilbs on Facebook high up the wall the week before. He was really excited about going (I was sure he wouldn't make it two feet off the ground though). We arrived at the climbing place and Opeie entered with a loud 'Wow!'

Wilberforce and his troops followed us in and the fun began. Neil the instructor was a top bloke and really made Opeie feel at ease as he attached the harness. Opeie was chatting away which was great as usually he would seem a little anxious at going out of his comfort zone. I on the other hand was getting very anxious. It looked like so much fun as Wilberforce shot up the wall and I really hoped Opeie would give it a try.

Opeie's turn and as he climbed up the wall I was left at the bottom in complete awe, thanks to Neil's support and motivational words Opeie clearly felt at ease and made his way up without over thinking what he was doing. It was amazing to watch and his enthusiasm and strength blew my mind.

Opeie didn't quite make it to the top on his first attempt but for the second attempt Neil put a monkey at the top and explained to Opeie that he was stuck and Opeie was the only one that could save him. As Opeie climbed, Neil told him to say things like 'don't be scared monkey, I'm coming to save you' and before he knew it he was right at the top clutching the monkey, I was so proud of him.

It wasn't quite the save the monkey had hoped for when Opeie threw him down and then landed on him on his descent, it did make us all chuckle though.

The class was for 30 minutes which was more than enough time for a couple of hardcore rock climbing three year olds. 

Opeie had completely shocked me and I was left thinking 'what else can I throw him into' because as a doting parent I got as much out of the experience as he did. The best part of it for me though was the excitement afterwards and how much throughout the day I heard "daddy I've had such a fun day" and "I'm so proud of my rock climbing". 

Children are amazing! And Opeie had shown me a side of him I'd never seen before, I couldn't be more proud. We're all looking forward to class next week and it's another chance to hang out with his partner in climb (ba-dum tis) Wilberforce.