CBeebies...

Last time I went to a festival in Weston Super Mare, it was T4 on the beach with pop stars, soap stars and famous presenters everywhere you turned. This time, it was for the CBeebies Big Day Out and although there were plenty of celebrities around, they were a lot fluffier than the ones I'm used to! Honey had a whale of a time at this free event, visiting the petting zoo (provided by Puxton Park), trying out some of the experiments and activities and racing up and down a bouncy slide. The highlight of her day, however, was the Rasta Mouse stage show which she clapped and danced through, despite never having watched the programme! There was plenty to keep a 2 year old and a 5 year old occupied all day long and with stewards, toilets and refreshments easily available at any time, it was a stress free experience for the grown ups too!

Honey wears... Denim jacket by Next

The outdoor life...

I"I wonder if there's a bookwhen for campsites" I said to my husband, who it turns out had been wondering the same thing! It turns out that there is and www.availablepitch.com led us to Widemouth in Devon where we spent a (windy) happy few days camping at John Fowler Holiday park. The local village had a lovely pub which served delicious food and we were close to Bude so had easy access to all the comforts of a large town. Honey and I made use of the local leisure centre and attended a lovely parent and toddler swimming session and we also treated ourselves to a delicious take-away pizza one night!

Honey wears... Spotty fleece by Mountain Warehouse

Alfie Outdoors

When the opportunity to review a book entitled Alfie Outdoors came up, it was just meant to be! Honey spends a lot of time on various phones (remote controls, calculators etc) speaking to her friend Alfie so I knew she'd love this book! 

Written and illustrated by the award winning Shirley Hughes, Alfie Outdoors is the latest book in a series all about Alfie's adventures with his family. Honey suggested we have our first read of the book outside in the garden and settled on the slide (as you do) to listen. Honey called it her 'special book' and I agree as the gorgeous, glossy hardback cover was such a treat and made it even more of an honour to read.

The illustrations are fantastic and so different from the (also lovely) cartoon style drawings in most of Honey's books. Honey was fully engaged in the story and added her own opinions by pointing at the pictures and saying "look Mummy naughty goat" when Gertrude was eating the washing and "that's a nice baby" when Annie Rose was introduced!

I can't help but agree with this quote from The Bookseller "A really gorgeous celebration of what children love about the outside world: getting muddy, making dens, playing and growing." Children can relate to Alfie because he's just like them. He has fun, helps out and most importantly, gets dirty! My only complaint is that Honey was so inspired by the story that she now wants to grow carrots like Alfie. I don't do gardening so that sounds like a job for Daddy!

*Although we were given a copy of this book in order to be able to write a review, all opinions expressed in this blog are my own.

Honey wears... Owl top by Toby Tiger @ Little Green Munchkins

It must be fete...

We attended the most Cotswold of Cotswold fetes this afternoon. Classic cars and craft stalls lined Naunton's cricket field and there were plenty of old school games, races and activities to occupy the children. Honey honed in on the toddler area straight away and enjoyed a spot of impromptu messy play using paint, rollers, brushes and LOTS of glitter! 

Honey wears... Ruffled vest by Mini Boden

Peppa Pig...

What a brilliant day! Things started well, with us being only the 10th car in Paulton Park's gargantuan car park. After scanning our digital tickets, we were sent to queue (yes the queuing started that early), but were rewarded by being only the second family to walk through the gates. We headed straight for Peppa Pig World after a conversation with a family who'd been many times, they gave us the inside information on which rides accumulated the biggest queues (Miss Rabbit's helicopters and Windy Castle FYI)! Honey wasn't the biggest fan of queueing and kept saying 'it's my turn now' but with short turns and quick changeovers, you could tell that the park were doing everything they could to keep the queues moving. We were lucky enough to visit on a beautiful day, so Honey was able to take full advantage of the Muddy Puddle water play area. Luckily, Honey's wonderful childminder had told me not to forget her sunsuit as otherwise we'd have had a very soggy toddler for the rest of the day as we definitely wouldn't have been allowed to miss it out! We also ventured into the main park and found loads of rides and play areas suitable for Honey, her favourite being a little seal ride which she had to go on by herself! Top tips from me would be: Try to go outside school holidays, our visit was busy but not as crowded as I imagine it will be in a few weeks time and there were lots of things that we didn't need to queue for. Arrive early, it's easier to remember where you parked the car and you get to be first in! Take lots of drinks and snacks to keep little ones going and to use as distraction techniques in queues. Keep calm, this is hard, especially when your toddler is whinging and moaning because they're hot/tired/want a go now but you will all have a much nicer time if everyone takes a deep breath!

Honey wears... Balloons playsuit by Little Green Munchkins

    Photo credit to Daddy