Summer Holidays

The last time I blogged was in May. Goes to show how busy you get when you're actually allowed to see your friends and family and go on "holiday"/vacation. Where to start?? JUNE June was a hot month. We spent lots of days wishing we had air conditioning and sitting in front of fans. We were happy to be blessed with the sunshine and it encouraged gathering outdoors with family and friends as we were now allowed to do. We purchased a splash pad and kiddie/paddling pool for the garden/yard to cool down.

I enjoyed my first proper "tea" with my sister in law and cousin.

We did a day trip with Emme and her little cousin Olivia to a really cool forest/trails/Gruffalo trail park.

We enjoyed Father's day with an all you can eat breakfast OUT (first time taking Emme to a proper restaurant in about 6 months) and we went to see Peter Rabbit 2 in theaters. (Emme's first cinema experience!!) We also hosted a BBQ for the Dad's in our lives here in England.

JULY July went like a flash. We had plans every single weekend and lots of celebrations were in order. The first weeked of July we hosted an American themed party at our house celebrating the 4th of July amongst our Lockdown Quiz Crew. Most everyone came in costume/fancy dress and or dressed American Patriotic. It just so happened that England played their Semifinal game in the Euro Championship which really made for an interesting night! England ended up winning 4 to 0 which supported our spirits and our good times. We made it as American as we could by doing BBQ food, s'mores over a fire pit, and of course games. I think it may just be an annual tradition.

The second weekend of July Daniel, myself and Daniel's brother and his girlfriend all went away for a night to a town called Bournemouth. It is a town on the sea with good shopping, food, and nightlife. We booked a place at a hotel walkable to all things and the beach. This was Daniel and I's first time away from Emme overnight. She did well and stayed at home with our cousin, Sara. We shopped and ate in the day, had some drinks and a walk on the beach, then went out to dinner and drinks in the night. It was a nice time to get away and have a proper chat amongst grownups without our littles at our beckoning call. (ALthough we do still love them dearly :)

The third weekend of July was my birthday as well as Daniel's brother's 18th Birthday. 18 is the age you are an adult and can also drink in this country. It is a big milestone birthday. We had a joint party at our house filled with pizza, cake and games. It was a hot evening of BAGS and Beer Pong (I felt 18 again, haha).

The last weekend in July we took a step back and had some chill time as a family of 3. Went swimming at the local indoor swimming pool and did some shopping. AUGUST We had booked a seaside caravan park holiday back in April hoping and wishing the restrictions would allow us to go. We were so pleased that all of us were well and no restrictions in place against us going. We (Daniel, Emme, and I) and Daniel's brother's family went together and spent 5 days at the Caravan Park. It was located in Challaborough Bay in Devon, England. As an American I did not see the big hype in driving 3 hours and staying in a caravan/trailer, however, I was pleasantly surpised! I was really pleased with how clean it was and how comfortable it was. It was on a site with lots of other caravans just within 1 minute to the sea/beach. It had its own private beach as well as restaurants and an entertainment venue. It was much like going to an all inclusive resort in the way it had everything you needed right on site as well as nightly entertainment. Emme still goes on about our time at the Caravan park and asks frequently when we can go back. Our first day was the drive down which was about 3 hours and we were lucky to hit no traffic. We arrived around noon and it was a sunny warm day that we happily spent on the beach. We checked into our caravan, settled in with our stuff, then went out to eat at the restaurant. Afterwards, there was a kids show that had lots of singing, dancing and games that Emme really really enjoyed.

The second day, Kayleigh and I took a beautiful walk overlooking the sea in the morning and afterwards we all went swimming in the indoor pool. We spent some time on the beach in the afternoon then hit the arcades and had take out fish and chips while watching the kids show, playing bingo, then watching the late night entertainment/games.

The third day was our favorite day. We took a walk from where we were staying over to a place called Bigbury on the Sea. It was stunning. We had cream teas/sausage rolls/cakes/coffees at the cutest cafe on the side of a hill overlooking the sea. We then walked from Bigbury on the Sea across the beach to Burgh Island. It was quite a cool place as there are two times a day that you can walk from Bigbury over to Burgh. The tide/sea parts in the middle where water normally is and it leaves a nice sandy beach to walk across. Any other parts of the day you can only get across by a boat. Again, it was a beautiful hot and sunny day and we enjoyed the walk over and then climbed to the top of the hill to see the castle in ruins at the top. We took some photos, climbed back down, crossed the beach, walked back to our caravans and had some chill time. Shortly after we were back down to the beach to enjoy the rock pools that the tide provided. It was an eat in your caravan night and an early night for Emme.

The fourth day rained all morning. We were happy that we had timed it right and booked in for another indoor swim session. We went to the arcades after and then Emme had a nap and it afforded us some downtime as well. It brightened up in the afternoon for our last day on the beach and we even all got in the freezing cold sea for some boogie boarding. We had dinner while we watched the kids entertainment that night (Emme won best dancer, haha), played some bingo, played some games and went to bed after the late night entertainment.

The last day was our drive back. We did spend some time going for a walk in the morning and playing at the park on site. 3 hours is how long it should have taken us to drive back, but unfortuately it took us about 6 hours. The traffic was awful heading back and this was the only real downside to the trip. We were patient, however, as it was a friday and we had nothing to 'get back to' necessarily. Thankfully, Emme napped through the last couple hours--although she missed out on Stonehenge.

All in all, first caravan experience was a good one. We definitely will want to go again! Last weekend we had Emme's 3rd birthday!!! We spent her birthday in a place called "Southsea" that had a pebble beach, arcades, fun fair, aquarium, and park. WE DID IT ALL. The next day we had a birthday party amongst the immediate family and played some games, had a tea party, opened presents, and ate some cake!

Lastly, a little update on normal life here in the UK. Daniel is still working for the Pool and Spa company here and really enjoys it. I still do some at home work for the Test and Trace COVID team and I also am starting to pick up more hours at the private clinic assisting with the Pediatric Service. We are adding more doctors to the service and it is making me more and more busy. I enjoy keeping my skills up and working with the Pediatric population. My contract with the home job ends in March and we will see where I go from there. Staying working with the Clinic is something that I definitely see myself doing more and more. In the upcoming months of fall we look forward to Emme starting her second term at her preschool as she starts back this week. She learns and grows everyday. We still have some big milestones to meet with her in terms of potty training, so hopefully that eventually happens nicely?? Over the summer she has enjoyed going to a babysitter/childminder 3 days a week. The childminder has a little 9-10 month old who Emme loves to help take care of. She has reached the point in toddlerhood of frequent meltdowns and tantrums but also becoming a little mother hen who can be sweet as can be. For the upcoming months we also look forward to some time off for myself (we get SO MUCH TIME OFF HERE), 2 weeks in October and 2 weeks in December as well as some time off that Daniel plans to take so we can do some days out with Emme. She really wants to go on a train, so we may take her on a train ride somewhere. She also wants to see castles, so we will look into maybe going to Warwick Castle or something. We don't plan to go abroad yet, as the COVID rules are still in place at the moment in terms of travel. We hope to look into some trips for next year.( I still have like 3weeks vacation to use up!) Before we know it, it will be Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas! Wild how fast this time period has gone compared to the slow crawl of the first half of our year here. It will be one year since moving here on October 16th and we still have so much we would like to do and see.