Back to school 2021/2022

 

Lilyjean starts her new school and Ezra starts P2.

Ezra is 5

 

Ezra - our number lover, colour lover, always got something to say, big hugger, player of random toys, loves animals and always wants to win!

Ezra goes back to school

This week all P1-P3 children in N.I. went back to school for the first time since Christmas. Out of our four kids it is Ezra who I felt was missing out the most by not being at school. He has a wonderful teacher and he loves school and P1 feels like such a foundation year for learning phonics and beginning to read. He is a bright little spark and thankfully picks things up easily but he did not like structured reading and writing with me.

World Book Day

 Without a doubt, Ezra’s favourite book is ‘Where’s Wally?’. He loves an activity based book much more than a story book. So of course we had to turn a potato into Wally for WBD.

I sent Calvin to choose his favourite book, he, unlike Ezra, loves story books and every day we read the same ones over and over until I can bear it no longer and introduce a new one. So it was no surprise that he choose ‘The night before Christmas’ as his favourite book, which we are still reading regularly in March!

Christmas 2020, Centre Parcs, Ireland

 We made it to Centre Parcs, Ireland! With all the changes due to COVID in the weeks leading up to Christmas, we were very unsure as to whether we would be able to go but I remained hopeful. It took us awhile to unwind, to put COVID and restrictions to the back of our minds, if that is really possible...but it was lovely to be away, a change of scene and no jobs to be done. Centre Parcs is not quite the same without the swimming pool and activities but it is still a beautiful place to walk, ride our bikes and chill out.

New parks at Gosford Forest Park, N.Ireland

The new parks are open at Gosford. They are beautifully designed, made and in a beautiful setting. The diffused light through the trees also makes it a great place for photos. Maybe the kids group shot will grace our Christmas card this year.

 

Back to school 2020

 

MJ Yr 8, Lj P7 and Ezra P1.

An evening in the park

It is so rare for us to be in the park after tea time. But tonight after picking up the groceries in Asda the boys were keen to go to the park. The weather was so warm and mild and burning off energy in the park sounded like more fun than heading home to kill a couple of hours before bedtime. 

It was warm, I was surrounded by foreign accents so I relaxed and imagined I was in Barcelona or some other Metropolitan city. I think it is the closest I’m going to get to international travel this year. Sob sob.

 

Walking with little ones, Trassey Track, Hare’s gap, Mourne Mts, N.Ireland

This weekend we took M up the mountains with us.

We parked at Meelmore Lodge, just off Trassey Road. I couldn’t believe how busy the car park, over flow car park and camping site were. We managed to find a spot to park and paid our £4 car park fee.

Our aim was to reach Hare’s gap, a stile on the Mourne wall between Sieve Bearnagh and Slievenaglogh. There are a number of small rivers to cross which was fun for the kids but made the journey quite slow and it felt like it took quite a bit of the kids energy to just get to the start of the Trassey track. Although it was a treat to watch the shepherds shearing the mountain sheep. The track follows the river and it was a balance to let the kids have fun climbing the boulders but also make some progress. In the end M and MJ went on ahead while Lj, Ez, C and myself went at a slower pace and enjoyed paddling in the ford at the base of the last big climb.

The nice thing about starting our hike at Meelmore is the facilities available. Good car parking, good toilets and a nice cafe. We enjoyed a hearty late lunch before heading home.

M enjoyed his trip and is already planning many more with us.

Walking with little ones, Butter Mountain, Mournes, N.Ireland

Our guide book said it could be wet underfoot and not to follow the signs for the ‘Ulster Way’...I’m so glad I read the guide AFTER spending the day on Butter Mountain rather than before!!!

Never the less, once we had embraced the wet feet and river hopping, due to not following the guide we had a great time exploring this mountain of spectacular views. At one point we could see right across N.Ireland to Scrabo Tower, Cave Hill, Lough Neagh and Dromara hills to name a few. Then as you turn and head back towards the start, the view of Spelga Dam is incredible.

It was a very quiet route which we started from Spelga Dam car park (which had the toilet facilities open). The climb is medium to gentle to the first summit and after that it stays reasonably flat until the descent. It is possible to let the children wander a distance ahead or behind as the visibility is good.

This has possibly been our longest trek so far but the inclines were more gentle. Again Ezra surprised me by his competency in the hills. I had to carry Calvin a fair bit due to the wet ground and so we could keep up with the other adults in our group.

It is exciting to begin to recognise the other mountains around from climbing them on previous trips. It gives us confidence that we are learning the lay of the Mourne Mountain land.