Bike riding and a visit to school

After our camping trip it was all back to normal this week. On Monday afternoon we went swimming. Both Evie and Isla were in arm bands and liked having a splash about. Isla went to pre-school on Tuesday. She walked to the primary school with the other older children and had a look around their class room for next year. She was very excited when I picked her up, saying "Mummy I like school!!!!!!". She told me about the mud kitchen and the different things that were in the classroom, as well as how she likes her new teacher and played with some of the older children that she knows.

On Wednesday we went to visit Isla and Evie's Granny Margaret and Grandad David and had a brilliant time playing with Daddy's old cars, playmobil and mask toys. They liked looking out for trains and sliding down the hill on the sledge. We all ate lots of cakes that Grandad David had baked.

On Thursday Evie had a trip to the shoe shop and now is the proud owner of some brand new shoes. She also enjoyed visiting the library and buying some tomato plants and cat collars at the shops. In the afternoon Isla and Evie's Granny Ilene and Grandpa arrived so we have had a brilliant few days with them staying. Granny Ilene's rhubarb crumble was yummy.

Isla has a new bike. It has her name on it! It has pedals and no stabilizers. She spent a little bit of time getting used to her bike by pushing it along herself with her feet just as she does on her balance bike. Then we spent a little more time going round and round the garden holding her under her arms while she pedalled and steered and started to balance too. Then finally we took her bike up to a large open space where she had a bit more practice pedalling with us holding on before we let go a little and she was riding her bike all by herself!! It was a very exciting thing to see. She is now very fast. It only took about an hour of trying until she got the hang of cycling!

Practising in the garden, round and round and round:

 Evie on the piano:

Zooming around Grandpa on her balance bike:

Evie has got a lot out of the scuttlebug and calls it her bike:

Isla making rainbows:

A rainbow with Granny at the end:

Learning to ride her Islabike:

Having some ice cream at the ice cream parlour:

Milking a cow to get milk for the ice cream:

Having a bit more practice on our bikes:

Riding her bike!

Making an aeroplane (and saying 'cheese' for the camera):

Here is a video of Isla cycling:

And another one too:

Camping and burning things

Isla and Evie have been outside most of this week! They've been out in the garden and also at the park. We made rocky road chocolate squares, which involved a lot of chocolate-spoon-licking, and they went for a ride on Thomas at the supermarket. They have really been enjoying each others company by playing at picnics, doctors and journeys together. I think Evie will miss Isla a lot when she is at school everyday.

We went on a big adventure this weekend - Isla and Evie's first camping trip under canvas! We went to Thistledown Farm in Nympsfield, Gloucestershire. We pitched our tent at the bottom of a field near some oak trees and spent a brilliant weekend around the campfire and running about on the grass. Isla and Evie went off on little adventures together to find things around the field and also to find sticks (which were handy for the fire). We played a lot of cards and 'Guess Who' and walked around Woodchester Park nearby. There is a gliding club near Woodchester Park and we could see lots of gliders in the sky. We could hear them taking off while we were at Woodchester Mansion. The glider winch made spooky sounds that Isla thought were Scooby-Doo ghosts in the gothic building. There were lots of paragliders in the sky too. At the end of our stay we had an exciting ride on a little tractor back up to our car, where there was a lovely pink tractor that Isla and Evie had a go at driving.