9 Years!

We didn't do much this weekend.  Tom was tired from the week's excitement and Matt was playing cricket on both days.  We have made up for it since.

Climbing Wall

 Monday we met up with Eli and Adam (friends from Enjoy-a-Ball) at the Lakeland Maize Maze. e had a really good time.  She also invited her friends Kate and Finn.  Finn is in Tom's class at school but I haven't really met him and have only said 'hello' at the school gates to Kate.  Kate was really lovely, very easy to talk to.  Turns out that she used to race, yes RACE, at the TT.  RESPECT.  I texted Matt who got very excited about it all - he can't wait to meet her.  He looked her up on Google and she is very well respected in the race community and did really well at a time when there were very few ladies racing.  Needless to say we were talking 19 to a dozen and time flew.

Rope swing

Kate and Finn had to leave early (school shoe shopping) but Eli and I stayed until 4.  The boys were having such a good time: there was an indoor soft play area, a fabulous climbing wall, go-karts, bouncy castle, trampolines, pedal tractors, out door play area and the maize maze, oh and proper tractor rides.  They didn't stop the whole time they were there.  They even ate their lunch whilst riding tractors!  I really like Eli - she seems to have a similar outlook on life and child raising - shame he is a school year below Tom and going to a different school.  I will try to keep in touch with them.  Needless to say Tom fell asleep on the way home.


Tuesday was our 9th Wedding Anniversary.  Matt took the day off, it wasn't raining so we decided to go to Bolton Abbey for the day.  Matt reckoned that it had been 20 years since he was last there and I had never been.  I didn't really know what to expect apart from some ruins, and was very pleasantly surprised.  First of all the village in which Bolton Abbey was in was lovely, bright flowers everywhere.  The grounds of the Abbey were gorgeous with the river Wharfe running past.

Down the tunnel

By The Strid

We had a look around the ruins, Matt walked across the stepping stones: I didn't think that was any sort of a challenge until I did them myself and discovered that the steps are farther apart than they look and the river quite deep meaning it was quite frightening - well I found it quite frightening anyway.  We sat down on the banks of the river for our picnic lunch, we were joined by lots and lots of ducks who seemed to be very tame and not take a shoo away as even a slightest hint to leave us.  To my amazement Tom didn't seem too fussed by them.  After lunch we had a good stone throwing session.  Tom then announced that he wanted to do the stepping stones.  No way was I doing them with him, but Matt was game, so I took hold of all the bags and they did the stepping stones, and they did them really really well.  I filmed it so once Matt's done his magic with it I'll put it up here.

Throwing stones

We then continued on to the Welly Walk which was really good, lots of obstacles along a path in the wood: slides, tunnels, rope swings, mazes, scramble net etc etc.  It was fantastically well done and kept all of our interest.  Tom did his usual thing of going shy and loosing interest when someone else was on a piece of apparatus but apart from that he did really well and enjoyed himself.  We had a quick stop for ice cream and then continued up the path to The Strid - a turbulent part of the Wharfe.  It was a nice walk and Tom did ok.  We stopped at The Strid for a while and then returned back and managed to get to the tea rooms just before they closed for a very welcome tea and a bun.  We then headed back home and stopped at the Craven Arms for dinner (in Giggleswick).  We hit upon another goodie.  Really good service and very very good food.  We all ate up well, so well in fact we had to order pudding.  Was a really good end to a lovely day.

At the end of the Stone Jetty

Wednesday Tom and I headed out to Morecambe for the day.  We had decided to go for a ride together.  This of course meant that I had to get my bike ready.  This is the part I hate.  First of all, I had to pump the tyres which deflated rather than pumped up - we don't have a normal pump - Matt had to show me how to use it!  Then I had to heave them into the car, then I couldn't find the car keys, all the usual stuff with loading up bikes that puts me in a bad mood.  Anyhow, we got there in the end, I drove to Morecambe and we parked up on the prom.  We then rode down to the stone jetty.  Wow!  Tom really is fast on his new bike, it was a proper ride and when he was going fast I had to work to keep up.  We might be getting into the realms where Tom's fitness is going to hurt me!  (In fact as I am writing this I am stiffening up!)  We rode happily to the Stone Jetty, had lunch and then continued down to the end of the prom before turning round and riding back.  Tom didn't seem to tire and was happy racing me.  He got quite a few comments from the oldies walking up and down the prom.

Eating a well deserved egg sandwich on the jetty

We then went to Happy Mount Park to the splash park.  I thought that as he had had such a good time in his swimming lessons he would be more confident, but no I was wrong.  I did manage to get him into a fountain (by getting myself soaked) but then he cried because water went up his nose.  Basically there was no way I was going to get him to enjoy himself or relax so we gave up.  I need to get him there with a friend, then I think it will be a whole different story.  We then had a play in the park.  Tom then requested a visit to Hest Bank, so we ended up there for a drink and sit watching the trains.

When we headed back home Tom fell asleep.  He was in the front with me so he must have been tired.