"Just living is not enough... one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower."

The sun is out, the sky is blue (well at least it was on when I took the photos) and for us that means that the Micro Scooters are going to be hitting the streets. The scooters have always been a great distraction from any work we are doing at home and it's always fun to take our learning to the great outdoors, investigating an area or doing some sort of scavenger hunt. Today's hunt was to spot as many different flowers as we could, as we had downloaded a really interesting app called PlantNet where you can photograph plants and the app will tell you what you are looking at (Shazam for horticulture fans).

Considering we were only out scooting for an hour or so we managed to spot so many different varieties of flowers and it made for a really interesting Micro adventure.

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing"

Recently, while going through a huge folder of photos I realised that there was an ongoing theme throughout the photos from the last 3 years. LEGO was obviously a big one but it occurred to me, just how much of an impact Micro Scooters have had on us as a family. It's amazing to think that these awesome wheels have become such a big part of our day to day outdoor fun. As I scrolled through the pictures it was lovely to see Opeie on his old Mini Micro and although Seth isn't on as many of our Scooting adventures it was great to see some older pictures of him on his scooter with a big smile on his face. 

The sun is out again now and hopefully that is pretty much the end of all of the wet weather we have had here in Shropshire. The scooters have definitely been out a lot more over the last week or so and with the easter holidays here I thought I'd put some of my favourite Micro Adventure images together for a little scooting inspiration to get you all out and about over the holiday. 

Happy scooting ya'll.

Look, it’s the Batsub!... the Batzeppelin!... the Batkayak!... the BatMicroScooter?

While watching The LEGO Batman Movie last week, Dick Grayson was walking through the batcave spotting all of Batman's obscure vehicles (the Batzeppelin, the Batkayak) and Opeie was left thinking there should have been a BatMicroScooter and asked me I'd make one for him. You know me, I don't need my arm twisting when it comes to LEGO so got building. I'm not sure he'll outrun any villains on this but he definitely looks awesome on his new wheels.

"I know it is wet and the sun is not sunny..."

"The sun did not shine, it was too wet to play.

So we sat in the house on that cold cold wet day..."

Obviously, we weren't going to let the rain get us down though, despite the fact that we were desperate to get out scooting.  In keeping with our World book day preparations, Opeie asked if there was any chance that we could decorate his Micro Scooter ready for our trip to the library to drop off his card and gifts to the lovely staff on Thursday.

We always have extra copies of the books that we love lying about, I tend to pick them up from charity shops when I spot them as they come in really handy for craft ideas. While I was searching for something in the boys room, I spotted a copy of the Cat in the Hat missing its cover and had an idea. We had some extra plastic piping from when we made Seth's hockey goals and some clear sticky sheets, so we created a sleeve for Opeie's scooter that can slide on and off the main post easily. The perfect quick craft session for an excited book-loving boy.

“People say graffiti is ugly, irresponsible and childish... but that's only if it's done properly.”

Making the decision to homeschool Opeie wasn't something we just dived into without thinking a lot about it. There was a huge build up to taking the plunge and many things that were steering us in that direction. Both Mrs M and I have very strong views on how we wanted Opeie's learning to be during his formative years. In my opinion (and I know I'm not the only one) there is far to much pressure put on children at an early age and I strongly believe that the education system in this country is failing these amazing little minds.  Home Education gives us so much freedom to adventure and it is this kind of organic learning that is the reason why we have a 5-year-old who is always happy and excited about learning.

The last few weeks have been exceptionally fun as we have visited a few museums that we've not been to before. It's been a while since I have been to Walsall but while I was online looking for interesting places to visit around the Midlands, the new Art Gallery popped up. As it is only 40 minutes drive from ours, we loaded the Micro Scooters into the car and set out on an arty adventure.

When we're out investigating places we don't know well, the scooters are a must. They are great for manoeuvring around quickly and if we do happen to get lost a distance from the car then it takes the strain off of those little legs if he's been walking around the museums etc. The great thing about visiting art museums is listening to Opeie's opinions on each piece. I've got to admit that the two exhibitions that were on (as some of the floors were closed) were really not my cup of tea at all, apart from some of the Idris Khan pieces. The gallery was somewhere different to visit though and even if you have a negative opinion about certain art or you simply just don't understand what is going on, it sparks conversation or debate which is great for learning.

While walking around the gallery we passed a window and noticed some graffiti covered walls out back. So after looking at the exhibitions, we headed outside for more Micro Scooter adventuring. Graffiti is definitely an art form that interests Opeie more and I can see why. The vibrant eye catching colours in places that you don't expect them is really fun. We had tried some graffiti at home on slabs a while back during an 'Art week' and I think it is something we will be looking into again very soon.

Opeie was really excited to see a Pokémon piece on a wall as we scooted by and couldn't wait to get a picture with Gyarados to show Seth when he got home.

Our scooting adventure then hit the streets and we continued looking for things of interest, all the while Opeie was asking question after question, it was the sort of effortless home schooling day that I love. We passed a war memorial while scooting along the street and Opeie stopped and asked if the statue was of the same person who is in St Peter's Gardens in Wolverhampton as they wore the same uniform and hat. It was great that he had remembered the memorial so we checked online and it turns out that both Douglas Morris Henry HARRIS A.B., R.N.V.R. and John Henry Carless VC sadly lost their lives in 1917. I was genuinely impressed that Opeie had paid that much attention to both memorials.

As much as I loved visiting the art gallery, sometimes we get so much more out of investigating a city on our scooters. Home education opens up doors that state schooling can not offer and in my opinion being outdoors and learning from experiences for some children is so much more productive and natural. If I had had this style of learning from a young age I think I would have been a lot more focused and motivated. Like many children, school never interested me, I didn't feel inspired by my teachers and that was something that I feel hindered me at the start of my adult life. Things are definitely different these days though and Opeie's home schooling is opening my eyes to many things I never thought I'd be interested in myself.

Scooters and Home education go hand in hand and I can't wait for our next adventure.

"Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory."

I'd purposely not weighed myself in over a year because I'm disappointed with myself for letting my exercise come to a stand still. I still get out walking with the boys and play a lot of Hockey with them but I used to go out walking and sometimes running and it was part of the reason I lost over 3st a couple of years back. It's so easy to let things slide and although I've said in the past 'I don't have time'  and 'I just want to relax of an evening ', I am the only one to blame for the weight that I have put back on.

When I received a surprise package just before Christmas and was also told that one of the main aims for micro scooters during 2017 was fitness, I knew it was time to make a change. It's no shock to anyone that I love scooting, if you are local to us you probably see me and the boys whizzing about the streets and we can regularly be seen adventuring around the streets of London, museum hopping. I've never really pushed myself on the scooter to use it for proper workouts, but 4 weeks ago that changed.

It all started one evening when I had nothing to do. It was dry outside and I'd picked up some lights so I thought 'what the heck I'll go for a scoot'. There is something so therapeutic about scooting, just me, the wheels and some great music to keep me motivated. I scooted 6 miles that night and although I tackled some pretty steep hills and had been out of breath a few times, the last leg back home had 10 minutes of flat, making it the perfect wind down, which meant that I was completely relaxed by the time I reached my front door.

It's safe to say that I was hooked from that moment and my evening scoots have become a regular thing. After arriving back home after the 6 miles I realised that I could have actually scooted a lot longer. So when I went out again I changed my route and added a little longer to the journey, coming in at just under 9 miles. This was then extended to a 10.7 miles route and then to 13 miles.

So this is what I've stuck with as it's the perfect route with a great variety of up hill, down hill and flat. Sometimes my route is a little shortened depending on how brave I am feeling as there is 0.5 miles of unlit road in a quiet area and sometimes I just don't feel like chancing it. Other times though I find myself with a little more time in the evening if I have started out early, so I scoot for longer. My top distance so far has been 15.3 miles and what is really interesting is that even after that I probably could have carried on, because scooting doesn't put the same strain on your legs as running.

 

This solo scooting fitness adventure started on the 5th of January. I weighed myself that morning and I was pretty disappointed by the fact that I had put on 2.2st over the last year or so. It was all the motivation I needed to make this change.

I weighed myself last week and was shocked to see that my evening scoots have taken 9lbs off of my weight which is a pretty amazing start I think. I cant wait to weigh myself in a few weeks to see if there is much change again. The great thing about this exercise is that I love scooting, so it's not a burden and I'm not having to force myself out of the house of an evening. Scooting with the boys on our home-schooling adventures has been a huge thing for us over the last few years and now these solo evenings are something to look forward to with a weight loss goal that is getting closer with each evening scoot.

"It is better to travel well than to arrive."

Booking a holiday, as exciting as it is, can also be very stressful! With so much to organise before you actually board the plane, the build up can be quite a daunting time. As a parent, I am thankful for anything that makes the trip that little bit easier on everyone and this year before heading off to Florida my favourite company came to our aid, helping with something that worries us every time we go away. There is a lot of walking involved at the airport, which I guess I don't really notice that much because I am so focused on getting from A to B with all the bags etc. For Seth though, all this walking can be very stressful due to the effect his muscle condition has on his legs. 

If we have to walk long distance while at home, there is a lot of stopping and starting so that Seth can relax his legs before starting the next leg of the journey (haha). A few years ago we started an ongoing adventure with a company that has changed our lives in so many ways and helping Seth get to his destination quicker and with a little less strain on his legs was one of them. Being able to push and roll gave Seth much more confidence getting about and really changed our outdoor play. So much so that before heading out to the states, Seth, along with all of us in fact, were talking about how much we wished we could have taken all of the Micro Scooters away with us.

As much as we would have loved to take the four scooters away, it was Seth that could have done with one the most and Micro (being the AMAZING company that they are), had a very special scooter, suitable for our needs, taking the strain off of Seth and giving him the confidence to be on his feet a little longer than he probably would have liked, while turning heads and giving him a huge amount of street cred! 

The ladies were swooning as Seth scooted by...

The Steve Aoki Micro Luggage Scooter is an awesome bit of kit, with its colourful quirky design it had everyone taking at the airport as Seth whizzed by. Being able to maneuver from baggage, through to security then to the shops before making our way to the departure lounge on wheels made all the difference to Seth's legs, and the smile on his face as he did so was contagious. With certain points of the airport being too busy to scoot, due to the number of people about, being able to turn the luggage scooter into a trolley to pull along made our journey even more productive.

With a 26 litre capacity, the Micro luggage scooter is perfect for hand luggage, which means your wheels can stay with you throughout the entire journey. This was great as I don't think Seth wanted to let it out of his sight. If the look, feel and fact that it revolutionalises your travel isn't enough, the SoundtoGo sound system included (yes is has a speaker built in!), easily connects to your phone via Bluetooth making it possible to listen to your favourite music as you scoot along. 

While reading the box when the scooter arrived, Opeie informed me of who Steve Aoki is and his favourite Aoki remix (yes our 5-year-old is that cool!).

"On Purple Days I'm sad. I groan. I drag my tail. I walk alone."

Do you ever wake up in the morning and instantly feel like you are on the brink of tears?
Emotions are funny things and although I have a very happy life and can nearly always be seen with a big smile on my face, every now and again I have one of these 'out-of-character' days. I have no idea what causes it and definitely have no control over it. A friend informed me that it could be something to do with the new moon??? but I will put it down to just being a pretty sensitive guy.

With the 'Man Up' campaign doing its rounds at the moment, highlighting the importance of expressing our emotions as a male and encouraging men to Cry in a bid to raise awareness of male depression and suicide, it seemed like an important and relevant campaign to mention. I however have absolutely no problem shedding a tear! Put me in front of 'The Holiday', 'Serendipity' or 'Love actually' and you will see this bald, bearded man weep! like I said... sensitive!

This post isn't meant to bring anyone down though. This is actually about what I do to get myself out of this unexpected funk. When I wake up on these rare mornings and have a generally off day, I make sure that on the evening, I give myself some time to pop my headphones in and hit the streets on those amazing wheels of mine. A solo scoot in the moonlight is all I need to sort out this uncontrollable mix of emotions and whizzing about on my own, with great music can really clear my head and make me feel a lot more productive. 

Micro Scooters have changed my world in so many ways and continue to shape the time I spend with the boys. I imagine that it will be quite some time before I have one of these random emotional days again but I can be safe in the knowledge that my wheels are not to far away.