Uncle Will (formerly known as 'Uncle Woo' by Rhiannon, now pronounced by Tryfan as 'Uncle Wow') came to visit this weekend! Great excitement! He arrived on Friday night and so then today we decided to go into Brighton for the better part of the day.
None of us had ever really been to Brighton (the Dept of Motoring office doesn't count) and it was a spectacular day of light and contrasts at the beach. We could have happily stayed at this spot next to the pier throwing rocks in the water all day but eventually we did move on.
We walked along the Brighton pier all the way to the end and back. There are all sorts of distractions throughout - rollercoasters, candy shops, arcade games and much more. We 'had' to play a car racing game and we also let the kids choose one ride to go on. They chose the bouncy slide which they got to spend 4 minutes on racing up and sliding down.
By the time we were done on the pier, we were really DONE on the pier. Tryfan was thirsty and started to really melt down. We bought them a bottle of water to share (which Tryfan interpreted as actually meaning it was HIS bottle) and a stick lollipop each. Here they are in front of the pier - Tryfan's scowl is only just starting to be visible but was about to evolve into a proper screaming, crying, stomping around experience.
From here we wandered into the heart of Brighton and discovered these narrow little lanes with neat shops and all sorts of places that looked fun to explore! But we didnt have much time left on the parking meter and T was in a bad way so we headed back. Along the way, Tryfan and Rhiannon finished the water bottle and I didnt want to buy another one because we had loads in the car. I found a blue recycling bin and took the opportunity to properly dispose of the plastic bottle. This turned out to be a Major Problem because it didn't look like the plastic recycling bin we have at home AND the bottle which formerly held water in it was put into this bin. Tryfan turned into a real little banshee, angrily catastrophically screaming "THAT'S NOT A RECYCLING BIN" (and me trying to comfort him without laughing and also without appearing to 'give in' to his tantrum). In the end, Tryfan and I sat at a bus stop together and waited for Rhodri, Uncle Wow and Rhiannon to come pick us up in the car. Good times.
We rounded off the day with a stop at a pub on the way home and discovered a new board game called "Shut the Box!" which is excellent fun and can even be played with little people just learning their numbers.
And reading Pippi Longstocking to the troops before bedtime:
And then on Tuesday morning he took Bentley for a walk and visited our Forest School session
But then he had to say goodbye and go to the airport to fly home :-(
Thanks for coming to see us, Will!
None of us had ever really been to Brighton (the Dept of Motoring office doesn't count) and it was a spectacular day of light and contrasts at the beach. We could have happily stayed at this spot next to the pier throwing rocks in the water all day but eventually we did move on.
We walked along the Brighton pier all the way to the end and back. There are all sorts of distractions throughout - rollercoasters, candy shops, arcade games and much more. We 'had' to play a car racing game and we also let the kids choose one ride to go on. They chose the bouncy slide which they got to spend 4 minutes on racing up and sliding down.
By the time we were done on the pier, we were really DONE on the pier. Tryfan was thirsty and started to really melt down. We bought them a bottle of water to share (which Tryfan interpreted as actually meaning it was HIS bottle) and a stick lollipop each. Here they are in front of the pier - Tryfan's scowl is only just starting to be visible but was about to evolve into a proper screaming, crying, stomping around experience.
From here we wandered into the heart of Brighton and discovered these narrow little lanes with neat shops and all sorts of places that looked fun to explore! But we didnt have much time left on the parking meter and T was in a bad way so we headed back. Along the way, Tryfan and Rhiannon finished the water bottle and I didnt want to buy another one because we had loads in the car. I found a blue recycling bin and took the opportunity to properly dispose of the plastic bottle. This turned out to be a Major Problem because it didn't look like the plastic recycling bin we have at home AND the bottle which formerly held water in it was put into this bin. Tryfan turned into a real little banshee, angrily catastrophically screaming "THAT'S NOT A RECYCLING BIN" (and me trying to comfort him without laughing and also without appearing to 'give in' to his tantrum). In the end, Tryfan and I sat at a bus stop together and waited for Rhodri, Uncle Wow and Rhiannon to come pick us up in the car. Good times.
Most of the kids Rhiannon talks about are boys actually, especially one in particular who is in Year 6 (i.e. 6th Grade)! She had invited him to her birthday party too but fortunately he didn't come. Anyway, we are trying not to worry too much about this sort of thing. In this area there seems to be vastly more boys than girls so maybe its just an artifact of statistics...
We went for a walk on Sunday along the South Downs. It was a VERY windy and cold day, better known in these parts as "refreshing". We walked down the leeside of the hills.
Actually some of us ran down the leeside of the hills! Rhiannon was already in the clump of trees halfway to the bottom in this picture that shows Tryfan running to catch up.
Rachel, JJ and Gaz
One of the consequences of running down down down all the way to the bottom of the South Downs is that then it can be slightly less fun going back up. Good thing I brought a bag of sweets to provide encouragement along the hike back to the top. Here are the troops with mouthfuls of jellybeans.
Actually just as we set off for the windmill (which is on the horizon not very visible in the below picture), Tryfan just took off at a trot. I guess he just figured he would head straight for the windmill! He ended up in a clump of gorse and heather and so Rhodri rescued him. Tryfs is the tiny blue speck ahead and to the right of Rhodri below!
We found that we had to sort of jump across a little waterfall, and that was pretty exciting.
Rhiannon was fascinated by the smooth clay mud patches. She kept wanting to stop and draw with her fingers in the light colored mud -- a welcome distraction on an uphill slog.
Finally at the windmill, and it started raining just as we got here. We had a quick snack and started our way back to the car.
Sunday was the most beautiful January day - cold, clear, low angle light, frozen puddles even at noontime! Tryfan insisted on wearing his Superman outfit although I did get him to wear a couple of layers underneath. Here he is mid-frozen-puddle-stomp:
And back on the bike for the short ride home. We only went a little ways into the forest across the road from us, and mostly so that Bentley could have a scamper.
Then later that night Bentley started licking his paw which must have stood on something sharp. Tryfan and Rhiannon felt sorry for Bentley's pain and so Tryfan offered Bentley to borrow his special blanket for a little bit. So sweet :-)
We went for a walk when we got Bentley back on the Monday holiday (3 Jan). It was a good feeling to be back in the Ashdown Forest sploshing through mud and exploring the heathland.
We went back to the laying-down tree and Tryfan did some good climbing up the roots.
