"Knox in box. Fox in socks. Knox on fox in socks in box"

Do you remember the time when things were this simple?

Being able to chose whatever vehicle you wished to travel in and jetting off to whatever secluded and glamorous location you liked, not even been confined to this planet. Long distance travel wasn't an issue because you could go in to hyper speed or even teleport if you wanted to. There was no need to moan about the price of fuel going up because your transport ran off Orange squash, or Lego and as you can see from the photo above accessorising your outfit to go with your ride was a breeze (its like a cardboard fast and the furious).

Its amazing how much entertainment the boys can get out of cardboard. We've been attempting to de-clutter again so have been listing our unwanted items on eBay and filling up our local charity shops. Mrs M kindly brought home some boxes for packaging up but as i expected most of them didn't make it that far because big boxes in our house are like gold dust and on sight the boys are all over them.

The boys spent most of the afternoon playing in their new cardboard creations, one minute they were in rockets, then a motorbike with a side car. With the help of a coat hanger being attached to the front Seth's became a racing car and right before we left to pick Mrs M up from work they were on a boat that had hit an iceberg and they were desperately trying to rescue all of their toys from the dangerous currents of a violent sea. I couldn't help but think 'i wish we had a boat big enough for me.'

As the boxes had become flavour of the day and the sun was out we asked the boys if they wanted to take their new custom vehicles outdoor racing down some hills, I'm quite sure you can guess what their response was...

It was a lovely evening so we took a slow drive down to somewhere hilly to make the most of the cardboard super cars. On the way Seth reminded us of a snowman hedge that he had spotted the last time we had passed through so Mrs M jumped out to take a picture.

Sadly on arrival the boxes barely even got a look in as Mrs M's PT Gareth donated a very slippy Gym mat to the cause and it soon became the favoured hill sliding companion. As soon as the boys got on it the boxes were a thing of the past. It was early evening when we headed out so it was quiet and we made the most of our dry slope sledging activity. Even Mrs M got in on the action.

 

We left our sledging escapades in high spirits and were all having a great chuckle on the way home so just before getting back to ours i drove to somewhere that had made me laugh the day before. A house we had driven past a few times had given their already tacky lions at the end of their path a touch up. Orange and Red? really? i honestly don't know what possessed them but Mrs M found it equally as funny.

It was another great mini adventure for me and the troops and ive really enjoyed the making the most of our time after Mrs M being at work. Its been a great de-stresser for her too. I feel so lucky to have a great family and with next week being the last full week that Seth has off for the holiday we have a lot of cramming of fun stuff to do.

Spins a web any size, loves the swings and the slides, watch out, herecomes the Spider-man

I love it on days when we leave the house and Opeie decides he wants to take a specific toy with him, the kind of day where that toy goes everywhere with us. It was Spider-Man's turn to be on buddy duty which I love because the red and blue poser is very photogenic plus he was always one of my favourite characters growing up (and still is). After dropping Mrs M and Seth off at their destinations we headed off to the park, it was a warm and bright morning with a slight breeze (just the way I like it), plus we didn't want to head straight home as there was housework to be done, booooo....

Spider-man was in full spirits and joined in with all of the activities, He joined Opeie on the swings...

 He had no choice but to tackle the slide when Opeie launched him down from the top...

He then got a little bit cocky on the rope climbing frame, come on Spider-man nobody likes a show off!!

 He even took part in a spot of hide and seek but lets be honest that costume is hardly the peak of camoflage attire.

Opeie was most excited that we found a giant spiders web for him to take a rest on after his hectic morning playing, The wall crawler looked quite at home.

It was a great way to fill a couple of hours and Spider-man even came with us book hunting after the park, I'm thinking we should have done the park after though as the boys found a lovely story time chair in the park. Its lovely watching Opeie treat his toys like their his best friends, he's such a caring and thoughtful little boy, it reminds me of how i used to be with my toys.

An hour at the park after school

 Just a few pictures from the park today...

A few hours with mini friends.

Fun in the park with Seth, William and Matthew..... I don't think i need to say much more!!

"But friendship is the breathing rose, with sweets in every fold."

Ive said it many times, but having great friends means so much to me, they are the people that make up for the family that i am missing and for that i am forever grateful. Saturday was such a fun day, we had planned to visit our friends Chris and Michelle earlier in the week and after Seth had been to Tae kwon do we headed in their direction. Chris had mentioned an old fashioned sweet shop and also said the word park, two key words that are always going to get the boys interested in the days events. We had a chat and a cuppa when we got there and then headed to a park in Lichfield. The park was really busy which i thought might put Opeie off but the boys were really excited and couldn't wait to run about. Chris had brought his fancy camera so while me and Mrs M devised a plan for it to go walkies and come home with us Chris snapped away.

It's great having an extra two pairs of adult hands and meant that me and Mrs M could relax a little more than usual. The boys love Chris and Michelle which is great and they made the most of the extra playmates. Opeie said "weeeeeee" over and over to let us know going down the slide was his only agenda and Seth was happy dragging Michelle along behind him on the pirate ship.

 

We played pirates on a pirate ship, had a ride on a train, climbed some rocks, rode a skateboard on a rail and climbed to the top of a rope climbing frame, which Seth was very proud of (even if i did almost fall off). So all in all a fun packed trip to the park was had by all.

After the park we headed in to town to find the sweetshop, Seth enjoyed picking his pick n mix and Opeie shoveled down rainbow drops like they were going out of fashion. We all sat down and had a coffee and then headed to a toy shop that we had been to earlier in the afternoon. Seth got to spend his pocket money on a new Lego kit which we got to build as soon as we had walked through the door at Chris and Michelle's. After a lovely indoor picnic prepared by Michelle and some great conversation we headed home with two very sleepy boys.

We never did get that camera but were very thankful of the 300 or so pictures that Chris took, thanks guys as always we had a great day.

Check out Gingerjamphoto for Chris' take on the day.

"round and round the garden, like a teddy bear, one step, two step, tickle you under there"

I had a lovely day planned for me and Opeie but it didn't work out the way i expected. The inevitable falling asleep in the car kicked off proceedings (Opeie not me, that would have been a different post all together). Then silly me not having ANY change for the car park (because despite running about packing a suitcase sized bag with everything Opeie needs i ALWAYS manage to forget something) which ended in us going home. Opeie slept for 2 hours which isn't like him at all, he was obviously shattered and hes not been feeling great this week with his poor teeth.

I made him a nice lunch and then we headed to the park. Opeie loves going on the swings. When your older you tend to forget how exciting going to the park was. My dad used to take us pretty much every sunday which was always nice. My favourite part was playing frisbee with him though, which i look forward to doing with Opeie.

The most appealing thing about the park (apart from the big smile on my sons face) is the fact that there is no need to spend any money. Lets face it the summer holidays can end up getting quite pricey. Its nice to be able to break up all the activities that cost with good old park time.

Remember the time when a stick or even a rock could bring you none stop enjoyment? how i miss those days. Opeie spent quite sometime investigating this piece of bark, I'm not sure why that piece stood out from the rest and he didn't let me in on his findings.

This is a bit of a lazy post i know but i had the camera with me so i thought i would snap away. We had planned to go and see Mrs M's folks before going to get her from work so we were just killing time. Opeie did the usual and started trying to steal my accessories so i just left him to it today (thankfully he didnt break my glasses).

 I guess he just wants to be like his dad, hopefully he will manage to keep hold of his hair for a bit longer than me though. We left the park and Opeie was shattered, after an hour and a half at the inlaws he had had enough and dropped off in the car (again) on the way to pick up Mrs M. So not quite the day we had planned but we got to spend it together. First thing tomorrow i will be filling the car with car park change.