Tuesday
Gymnastics is still going really well.  Lilly N and myself are doing really well on the bars which have been my long term favourite apparatus.

Wednesday
First night of our year 5 & 6 leavers play tonight.  I was pretty excited about it all even though Mum and Dad weren't coming until tomorrow.  It went very well, can't wait to do it all again tomorrow.

Thursday
Second night of play, Mum, Dad and even Ned (reluctantly) were coming tonight.  Again it went really well, we were a well rehearsed unit this year.....can't wait to we're the stars this time next year!

Friday
School shuffle day today, when we get to spend a day with our new teacher in our new classroom.  Our new classroom is the other current year 5 classroom which we have spent a fair bit of time in already.  Our new teacher?  Not in school today....ha ha, so that was a bit of a let down.
Once we had dropped Ned off at football training we finally got to go and spend my Sports Direct voucher on my fancy new football I've wanted for ages.  We took it straight up the field and had a kick about which included a healthy dose of goalkeeper practice (still loving my gloves).

Saturday
I've been experimenting with having my hair tightly bundled up overnight, when I take it out on the morning I get some lovely curls:

In a hasty last minute arrangement we had Sasha and Lola around for the afternoon, we had a great time together, make up, gymnastics, arts and crafts, music and one unfortunate incident involving 6 Bunchems and Sasha's long hair.....oh dear.  Mum dealt with it very calmly, as did Sasha in all honesty, good work girls!
We carried straight on to Rollerskating which was great fun as I hadn't been for ages.  I haven't lost it.....but I think Dad may have a little bit.

Sunday
Chessington today, Mum really wanted to go, Ned and I wanted to go to Thorpe Park.  Having said that, the new Gruffalo ride had opened since our last visit on the site of our favourite the Bubbleworks so we were keen to give it a go.  It was actually brilliant too, maintaining all the bits about Bubbleworks we loved (the arcing water you could deflect at people) with a brilliant makeover of a story we secretly still love.

The Vampire was still as good as ever, with a queue as long as ever.  Rameses Revenge and the Chair-o-planes were in full soak mode, Mum was in full scream mode on Dragons Fury.

Monday
So here we are, the last week of term at long last.
It was a lovely sunny day so once school was done we saddled up and headed for the pool.  It turned into a bit of a get together with Auntie Christine and Darcey, Finlay, Millie, Chris, Kate and Andy too.

It was brilliant, my unicorn caused quite a stir once again of course.

Tuesday

We had a Visit to St Barts today.  It wasn't the best day out if I'm honest.

Wednesday
We had an end of term Football tournament after school.  The idea was a good one, year 5 and 6 girls against year 3 and 4 boys....our year 5 team got beat by both the boys teams but we did manage to hold the year 6 girls to a nil-nil draw.  We did enjoy it though, it'll be up to us as year 6's next year to keep it going though.

Thursday
Mum was going out for tea so we had a loose plan to hit Knightwood BMX track and then Asda café for tea....but the club were running gate practice and neither myself nor Ned fancied that.  Skateboarding down the park instead it is then!

Friday
Last day of term, it was the joint school picnic and the weather just about held out long enough for us.  I was very grateful to Auntie Christine for liberating me from my class until Mum could get here after work.
We played Newmarket in the evening, for money, my actual own money too. I think I broke about even at the end of the game which was mildly disappointing as I'd hoped to make a substantial gain on my investment.

Saturday
What a washout of a weekend.  We wrre supposed to be going to crazy golf over in Basingstoke but the weather certainly had other ideas.  We gave the gold a miss and when shopping instead.  We bumped into the queen of Amazingstoke herself, Auntie Trish while we were slumming it, eating a take away Greggs...oh the shame.  She gave us the low down on where to go and where to not go as we are such infrequent visitors to these parts.

We had a really good day:

But it was all a bit much for poor old Ned:

There was a bit of bad news, my earrings have had to come out on advice from a nice lady in the jewellers shop due to an infection.  In all hinesty 

I was only partly upset about it, it'll be quite nice to let them get back to 'normal' again.....

We sat and watched Moana all together in the evening, so that was quite rare and really rather nice.

Sunday
Wet weekend day two, we boldly decided to go to Bowood house house with Nate and Joel.

We did wobble a bit on the way when it just didnt seem to stop lashing it down but for some reason we ploughed on regardless.  When we got there it was actually eased up for long enough for us to decide it was worth paying to get in and have a play on the adventure playground: 

It was really good fun, even Ned loved it. 

The walkways went really high, Nate took Alan alll the way along and then did the drop slide...twice!!! We were very impressed with his bravery.

We had a picnic in a really cool shed, complete with tables and a ball pool, where we taught Nate a few tricks.

We battled on, trying our best to dodge the downpours before heading to the petting zoo for some rabbit fussing, chick bothering (including super cute just freshly hatched one) and a load of playful piglets with their harassed mum.

Alan rather rashly invited us round for a roast for tea.....delicious it was too!

Report on Joel for the day? Easy going but very cute!

Monday
Home with mum today, so a nice lie in and boardgames. Perfect!

We had a long walk around Greenham while Ned did team kennet, if he ran as fast as I talked he did alright!!!

Thursday 29th June
With sports day coming up tomorrow we decided on a family trip to the park at Wash Common for a bit of a warm up.  We took the vortex, a football, my new goalie gloves, a basketball and the skateboards.  We had plenty of equipment.  We had a lovely time too, even Ned wasn't quite his annoying teenage self and was actually surprisingly good fun and very encouraging of my efforts.

Friday 30th June
School sports day.  Lovely sunny day so at least it wasn't in danger of being cancelled this year.
The Juniors had their events in the morning, Mum came along to watch which was really good.  I won a number of my running races and obviously my throwing was on point.  I did really well actually.  I seem to be finding my feet a bit more with sport at the moment.

In the evening there was one of those street theatre performance things in town.  We took a wander down to see what was going on.  It started with a load of weird looking drumming blokes and a small light up puppet.  He danced his way up the street for a bit, before morphing into a much larger light up puppet.  I found it all a little bit unnerving to be honest.....but I warmed to him with his playful inquisitive nature as he made his way up the street.  He high fived people hanging out of flat windows above the shops, waggled shop signs and even sat on the bridge, dangling his legs over the canal.  He made his way to the market where he admired his reflection in a shop window:

Before moving into the square for a bit of a dance off with the drumming blokes on full tilt.  It was actually pretty good, if a bit weird and I even got to sit on Dad's shoulders for a better view despite him saying I was too big for that sort of thing nowadays.

Saturday 1st July
We had a bit of a lay in and then headed to Kingston for a spot of shopping.  Ned has lost his school shoes and he wanted some new trainers too.  I had a lot of birthday money still too.....
We had a picnic by the Thames, it wasn't quite as pleasant as we'd hoped, with the litter slightly marring the setting...it was certainly no Venice.  
The shopping didn't go according to plan, Ned got nothing.  I bought myself a lovely pair of Adidas Superstar Shell-toes in black and a collection of three small fluffy, cuddly rabbits.

Sunday 2nd July
Dad did another bike race today, I made it quite clear I had no interest in going to watch whatsoever.  Mum and I rode to the outdoor pool with a lovely picnic instead....much better.  Ned went with Andy to watch to bike racing so at least someone went to see him.

Monday 3rd July
So our garden seems to be quite the nature reserve this summer when we spotted this little cutie in the evening:

Even professional teenage bedroom dweller Ned came down for a few ohhh's and ahhh's.

Tuesday 4th July
I'd been hassling dad for another Skateboarding session and it wasn't looking good for this week.....but as luck would have it the Bike Park closed early meaning he and Ned came home early enough for another outing on four wheels down the park.

Wednesday 5th July
Another evening outdoor pool session.  We rode, took a picnic and stayed until we got thrown out.  It's much better going by bike, no parking stress and you don't have to worry about how long the parking ticket will last.

Friday 7th July
Top excitement today, time for a Camping trip.  Despite me really wanting to go to the place with the river we went to a couple of years ago, I was comprehensively out voted and Croyde it was. I didn't really mind though.
We left as soon as Ned was home from school and found ourselves sat in sticky traffic on the M5 once again.  It wasn't too bad though we passed the time chatting, my best remark being that Ned was lucky, as he'd had three years without me before I was born.  When I came home from hospital, he was already here!  We were soon at the campsite, passing through a rather bleak patch of drizzle on the way.  Fortunately it was dry and pleasant when we arrived which no doubt aided our camp deployment which we completed in record time.  45 minutes for the whole set up, including airbeds pumped up and made, tables, chairs, supplies installed, mood lighting and cuddly toys arranged.  This was greatly helped by our decision to pack the tent away with tall the rooms and ground sheet still attached last time we put it away.  Andy arrived just in time to wire up the plug for the kettle to go on for coffee and hot chocolates.
We spent the evening playing cards, listening to the light rain pattering on the tent.  I stayed up playing until midnight.

Saturday 8th July
Despite almost landing face first in the scramble to get out of the tent for a very early in the morning toilet visit we had a good night sleep.  Not surprising since I had a double airbed to myself, topped with my sheet, luxury furry blanket and sleeping bag.
Sausages for breakfast with a lovely sea view...check!

We had a visit from this cheeky little chap on the arm of the chair, looking for breakfast:

Down the beach with the spade to get creative in the sand....check!
The others all went surfing and sounded like they had a great time, I didn't fancy it though.  I made a lovely boat in the sand, complete with mast and rudder.

We then got involved in a rather fun game with Ned's frisbee which involved standing stock still with both your arms out.  There were five points on offer for hoop-la-ing either hand and ten points on offer for landing it over the head.  This took a lot of nerve/trust/stupidity on the part of the target person.......Mum turned out to be pretty epic at this game, it was a lot of fun and we all emerged unscathed.  Nobody managed a ten pointer though.

We headed back up to camp for lunch and a siesta:

And then we headed into to town for a brief shopping trip (Ned hadn't packed any pants for himself the fool) where I almost parted with some more of my birthday money on a longboard skateboard...

We admired the fish and massive waterboatmen on the river for a bit then headed back to base again, the boys went surfing again while us girls had a nice shower and hair drying session.

Barbecue for our evening meal of course, before a trip up to the playground where Dad got involved in a very ill advised race against Ned on the obstacle course.  He nearly caused us both to fall from a rather high climbing wall before skinning his leg trying to clamber through a hanging tractor tyre.  Ned had him well beaten of course.

Sunday 9th July
The little Robin was back for breakfast!

Another morning on the beach, this time I fashioned a lovely hut using the windbreak, a blanket, a spade, a bodyboard and some string.  It was quite a construction!

Ned went to get fish and chips for lunch, dressed in his Sunday best clothes:

While Andy and I had another game of the frisbee game.....I got it clean over his head, a ten pointer!

Sadly we had to start packing up, but it didn't take long really.  It had been such a good weekend none of us really wanted to go home....

Monday 10th July
The year 5 & 6  end of term play has been taking up a lot of our time at school lately.  I've be n really serious about learning the songs and getting the dance moves down.  We did a performance for some of the younger kids and a sprinkling of parents today which went well.....

Another biking jaunt while Ned was at team kennet:

It was a lovely way to spend a summers evening!

Tuesday 21st June

Heatwave time, and only limited badgering to get Dad to bust out the paddling pool.  It was seriously cold straight out of the tap but very refreshing!

Wednesday 22nd

Despite the paddling pool being a much more agreeable temperature today, we packed up a picnic and went to the outdoor pool at Northcroft instead.  It was lovely, and I finally got to christen my inflatable unicorn I bought way back in cold January.  It drew a serious amount of admiring glances, despite it being initially difficult to mount.

Friday 23rd

A real highlight of my school year, Den day!  Despite a little bit of trauma at home where my items list wasn't agreed fully with Mum and Dad, it was a brilliant day:

This year we upped things by featuring an upstairs section too!

Saturday 24th

The day of the outing I arranged with Owen, Thorpe park!
I was so excited, especially as Kirsty, Laura and Andy came along.

We got there in plenty of time, some might say we were almost early.
We racked up the rides at an alarming rate, making poor old Andy zig zag across the park with his dodgy foot.  Laura also put in an amazing effort, going on everything despite claiming to not actually like rides all that much?
We didn't get many pictures, Dad tried here, but Mum looks like she's doing a false start at the Olympics 100 metres final or something:

Notable highlights included all of us getting totally soaked on tidal wave, a trip on Swarm with some bloke off the telly called Geoff Stelling, Samurai tipping just about everyone but me over the edge and about 53 consecutive rides on Swarm at the end of the day when Ned and I kept looping round for another go as they tried to close for the day.
The day finished in spectacular style with a barbecue and dip in Owen and Kirtsy's new hot tub, soundtracked by Glastonbury Festival on the telly outside.  Stormzy and the Foo Fighters for future reference:

Sunday 25th

We didn't get home until after midnight, so today was a day of sleeeep

Although we did discover a visitor when we tried to empty the paddling pool:

He seemed really rather cosy in there:

We had sufficiently recharged by the evening and Dad and I went out for a spot of Skateboarding:

Monday 26th

So while the weather has been so nice we've been wandering around Greenham Common while Ned is doing his sprint training.  Well, Mum and Dad have been wandering, I've been riding my bike, and talking, mostly talking....but my bike riding is really improving.  I don't think my talking needs any improvement?

Wednesday

We had earned our 100 marbles class treat again, so it was bring your gadgets and wear your pyjama party in the afternoon.  I took my phone and decided against my laptop.

It was proper hot today, so once Ned was done at quadkids we headed for the outdoor pool with a picnic, brilliant.

There were a few people there, one of which was a man from mum's work who's son has just joined the same football team as Ned.  They had a great time leaving me with mum and dad all to myself which was really nice.  We dived and played ball, with the ball more often than not causing a menace in the serious swimmers lane......

We stayed until it closed at 7pm:

Thursday

We had a school trip the Faccombe Estate today, a farming place.  It was cool because we got to wear our own clothes (apparently white jeans are not a good idea?) but it was certainly not cool as I didn't really like it.  I understand that the animals are their products to sell and make money on, but I can't not see them as cute pets really.  The doggies were really lovely though.

Friday

Mufti day at school....another serious fashion decision to make!  Its a good job I've had a birthday recently and got plenty of good stuff to choose from!

Once school was done for the week we had an important mission on....Party shopping!

With just one day until my party we obviously hadn't left everything until the last minute.....not quite everything anyway.....haha.

We hit town, picked up the last of supplies we needed (including our very own chocolate fountain) and then sent Dad off on a solo errand so we could buy him some fathers day cards (all a bit of a panic after getting badly let down by an online retailer).

Once we were home we put the finishing touches to our home made limbo set....it was looking good!

We played up at the park while Ned did football training again, Dad and I did our best to maim ourselves on the exercise equipment while mum tried to take it easy in the sunshine.

Saturday

Party day was upon us.  How exciting.  I got Dad to work early doors making a massive batch of cupcakes, then put Ned to work with his nice new icing bag set I got him for his birthday decorating them....cakes done!

Meanwhile mum and I were blowing up balloons and the first inflatable guitars and microphones we had bought.  Next up we had to pack all the food and drink provisions, make sure we had the ipad with the music, the back up ipad with the music (thanks Ned) and about another three thousand bits and bobs we thought we might need.

We nipped out to the school summer fete for a bit, that was a bit of an oversight on our part in regards to party planning.  It was pretty good, as usual I was only interested in the lucky dip, oh, and the bouncy castle slide thing.

It was a scorching hot day, the ideal thing to do on an afternoon was surely to have a disco!

We had hired a place called Ace Space down in town, a couple of Ned's friends had parties there in the past.

It was surprisingly cool in there actually, and nice a and dark for maximum disco lights impact.

The man showed us around and we get set up, all four of us got busy and we soon ready to get going,  the DJ was raring to go:

My friends arrived in dribs and drabs and we got stuck in.

Our limbo set went down a storm, as did the balloons and the inflatable instruments.  

It as pretty warm so after all that activity and warm chocolate fountain action the ice lollies were a lovely  chill out session:

Before Ned's party bangers selection kicked off, he filled the floor, even the adults got involved (there were quite a few in attendance and I think some of them might have had a cheeky drink).

All too soon it was over, and everyone was getting picked up, hot and sweaty and squinting into the sunshine outside.

Nate hung on until the end which was cool:

I had an absolute blast, it was so much fun and went really well.  I'd like to thank everyone for coming, it was lovely to see all of you, I really do appreciate a get together!  We should do it more often.

I also got some great gifts too, thanks a lot everyone.  Special mention to my friend Jess for the custard Creams!

Ned had been feeling a little bit under the weather so had battled bravely on all day so we dropped him off at home to watch Iron Man 2 while the rest of us went to McDonalds for supper.....quarter pounder with cheese for me.

Sunday

Fathers day, we let him have a lie in, well Ned didn't surface for ages anyway.

We gave him some very insulting cards which we found hilarious.  We'd got him a longboard as a present as he's constantly badgering Ned to have a go on his.....and I can use it too!

We'd arranged a trip to Hollycoombe with Alan, Hayley, Nate and Joel.  Shame it was a steam fair on the hottest day of the year.......

We started off with the hottest picnic of the year, then on to the rides:

It was lovely to take Nate around and go on the stuff with him, we even took him through the ghost house!

The little railway was running for the first time ever as well:

We loved the big wheel, even if it was accompanied by 'I wish it could be Christmas everyday' how seasonal!!!

I wasn't allowed to drive home though....

I started on one of my birthday craft kits when we got home.....it didn't quite go to plan as I ended up with glue all over my face and in my eye?  This caused mild panic it has to be said.  Mum sorted it out soon enough though with no lasting ill effects.

Monday

Still scorchio....badgered Dad to get the paddling pool out.....result!!

Loved splashing about in it....cant wait until tomorrow as it was a bit too cold fresh from the tap!

Tuesday
Gymnastics badge week has seemingly been a long time coming round again? Woth the wait though as I have now gained the Silver Apparatus award.  I nearly lost it again as soon as we left the gym though as the wind my certificate clean out of my hands and blew it up the road.  I managed to bring it's escape bid to a halt by trapping it against a tree.....made it a bit dimply.

Wednesday
We did PE today, athletics stuff and then afterwards when back in class looked into the science behind our athletic actions.  Friction, wind resistance and all that sort of thing, I loved it.
While Ned was at Team Kennet I went for a bike ride around the Common, trying out the new cycle helmet I had for my birthday.

Thursday
We had a taster day visit to Park House school.  It was great fun, we did soem archery, made some tissue paper flowers and as it was a Japanese themed day we also did some yoga, meditation and learned to count to ten and beyond in Japanese using sign language too!

Friday
My trip down the park after school with my friends was cut short as we had to go and pick the car up from the garage so that was rubbish.  Ned is still doing his football club after tea, we discovered a whole load of that outdoor gym equipment stuff when we went to pick him up a bit early.  We had a right old laugh trying that out.

Saturday

The thing I very much wanted the most for my birthday was my ears pierced.....well, second most wanted thing, but i'm realistic enough to accept that there won't be a puppy anytime soon.  Mum rang the jewellers on Saturday morning and the lady said they had a slot available at 11 o'clock.  So we had to get our skates on and get down the town.  I was so excited to finally get it done.  I had to choose my first set of earrings form a reasonably small selection....so after a small amount of deliberation I obviously picked the largest, blingiest pair of studs on offer.

Then it was time to get in the chair and decide exactly where the holes were going to go.....this was decided by committee with me giving the final nod of approval from looking where the pen dots were positioned in a mirror....

So, we were all set, earrings chosen, position chosen......all that was left was the act itself.  The lady was very nice and asked if I wanted a countdown or whether she should just go for it....I told her I didn't want a countdown so she she just got on with it.

One then quickly the other and it was all done.  It did hurt, I won't lie, but it really wasn't that bad at all.  So that was it, all done a d a trip to the chemist to get some cleaning clobber and some micropore tape to cover them up for sport and I was all set,

Dad reckoned it would gurt like hell later......

We checked out an upgrade for Andy on the way home:

But apparently he's on the mend and out of his boot and off the crutches too!

We went out for a bike ride inthe afternoon, to explore a route for Mum to get to work along the canal.  We rode along the footpath taking in the sights, it was really quite lovely actually.. I loved exploring the locks and using them as bridges and scrabbling accross them.  We did find a route to Mum's work too in the end so it was a successful mission.  There was also a world war 2 pill box by the canal with a nice little gap over to a bridge that loved jumping across, Dad took some slo-mo video that i'm sure will surface here at some point in the future.

We started the ride home and things went a bit awry when I got my bike hooked up in a rut, fell off it and got the end of the handlebars shoved firmly into my lower stomach as I lurched forwrd and the front wheel rapidly swung to the side. Mit really, really hurt.....way more than the ear piercing! It was a bot of a slow and steady ride home afyer i'd picked myself up and dusted myself down

With all the usual Saturday night shows finished we ended up watching the film Iron Man, which at forst I wasn't overly keen on the idea of.  It was however brilliant and I loved it.

Sunday
We had a project to build a limbo dancing set, using two broom handles, a load of wooden dowels, a drill,a work bench and a hammer.  I decided to leave the bulk of the drilling to Dad while I made myself useful using the hammer to bang the dowels in.  Initial testing went very well and now we just need to work out how to make it stand up nicely.

We spent the whole morning outside just pottering about, it was lovely to be outside and use the picnic bench.

Nate and Joel came round in the afternoon, with my birthday present:

We had a lovely time with them of course, obviously the Nerf guns came out......

On e they had gone I got busy with the Hama beads!!!

Monday
Darcey came round after school for a bit, we played games and had a mini disco to road test some potential tunes for an upcoming event.

We haven't had an earrings picture yet have we?  

There, and despite Dad's continued concerns they still don't hurt!

I got stuck into the Hama beads again, my bedroom door is looking much better as a result!

Half term week was upon us, so it was the usual mix and match approach to childcare.....

Tuesday

A trip to the Cotswold Wildlife park with Auntie Christine, Laura and Darcey.  What a great day out.

We really enjoyed ourselves, the highlight had to be the very new puppy, oh, and entering the competition to name the baby Lemur.  I chose Leo and Darcey chose Lolly, we'll have to wait and see how we do.  We were having such a good day we were too late getting back to go to gymnastics.  Thanks girls!

Wednesday

We looked after Andy for the day, seeing as he's still off work with his leg.  It was a nice morning, we did jigsaw and generally just hung out, chattering and that.

Thursday

Cornwall trip? That sounds like a good idea! We waited until Andy had his hospural check up and took him along with us, only fair as we were lucky enough to get to stay in his caravan.  The traffic was good and we were soon down there, it was a glorious scene, a beach full of people enjoying the sunshine and waves.

We had a nice walk (or shared riding the mobility scooter) and then had a barbecue for tea.

Friday

We had a nice lie in before we finally got up.  A trip to Gary's, then on to St Merryn to grab a cake for tomorrow.......

Afternoon dip in the sea.

We had a drive out in the evening to Fistral beach, the waves were big and there were some really good surfers out which was great to watch.....for a short while.

Saturday

The big day was finally here.....my Tenth Birthday!

We were up a little earlier than yesterday, ahem.

I unwrapped my presents which Mum had wrapped and Dad had managed to shoe horn into the car along with all our other stuff.

It was a decent haul it has to be said.

Pancakes for breakfast....then onto the Go Kart track in an exact copy of Neds birthday a few months ago....it was all my own choice though.  I love karting:

Next up, lunch at the youth hostel:

Thrn back to the van for cake:

I did share it honestly....

Then we got out my present from Ned, Wet Head:

It's like Russian Roulette, you spin a spinner then do as it says....removing straws or missing a go or whatever.  One crucial straw though will cause the water stored I still de to empty.....over your head....and diwn your back.  It was great fun, we can't wait to t to play it again next time we have a get together on a warm day.

We went for a bit of a surf session.  It wasn't my greatest success it has to be said.....I got turned over twice and wasn't over,y happy.

What better way to round the day our than watching the Brirains Got Talent final, with a sweepstake and a £5 prize for the winner....Ned was lucky this time.  Still, cant have it all, even if it is your birthday.

Sunday

The Last day of our short break, another lay in then out in the sunshine for a wander.  

I also got this limited vely new green waterproof jacket from the surf shop.

We of course loved using Andy's scooter.....until it ranout of batteries and we had to push it back up the hill!

The boys went back in the sea while Mum and I sat on the beach, enjoying the sunshine.

Then it was all hands to the pump to get packed up,cleared up and head for home.....

Monday

Back to school....urrgggh.

Once I got home I assembled one of my presents, a dressmakers mannequin:

Then started to get creative:

After tea I got busy designing my party invites on my laptop, with a bit of help from Mum and a lot of help from Ned, who is something of a Word guru rather surprisingly.

Cornwall June 2017 from Part Time on Vimeo.