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Family invasion, round 2
Aug. 12th, 2016 05:47 pmMy sister and three nieces have been up to visit this week. The girls were really looking forward to it, and had been going on about how much they love Sheffield for ages. We had a really fun week. There were mostly games and hugs and laughter, and only a few strops and tears, so hopefully it didn't disappoint! :o)
They arrived Monday lunchtime and we had the traditional lazy first day. They settled in, we ate, then went to play in the park - finding our first elephant en route.
On Tuesday we hit the city centre to go elephant hunting properly. I'd got everyone a trail map and Herd of Sheffield pen to tick them off. It's a shame the weather wasn't as good as forecast and we had to keep sheltering indoors. We bumped into Ju and Jamie on Fargate but failed to meet up with them again in the Peace Gardens. We made it there later and Carly and Lauren had fun in the fountains (although Sophie sulked), then I went on the swing boats with them all. That broke up our elephant trail quite neatly before we resumed to find more. I was impressed with the girls' stamina and enthusiasm - I'd planned shorter routes but we kept going and found 26 large elephants and five little herds, making 60 elephants in total! Afterwards we went home, played with Lego (I'm very pleased they're all converts to the ways of the brick now) and cooked bolognaise for dinner, before settling down for a big screen evening (Zootropolis).
Wednesday was an epic adventure day at Magna. The girls loved the outdoor play area and spent ages climbing everything. They'd have spent all day out there if we'd let them. They also enjoyed all the hands-on stuff in the pavilions inside. Carly was a dab hand with the digger arm. Again I was impressed with how long they all lasted - we got there about 11:30am and didn't leave until closing time (which unfortunately meant we hit rush hour traffic). Lauren had her (early) birthday presents from me in the evening - more Lego of course!
We had planned to take it fairly easy on Thursday, which we did, but still managed to pack a lot in. We went swimming in the fun pool at Hillsborough in the morning. The Chivers (back from their holidays - Carly had been asking after Evie and Toby all week!) came round after lunch. We went to the park again and met up with Ju and Jamie. It was great to see the six kids getting on so well together, for the most part. I notice the three mums left nearly all the kids with me while they stood and nattered... In the evening we all piled back to min for an impromptu Chinese food and movie evening (Despicable Me 2 this time).
This morning we really did take it easy, with the kids lying in untilnearly half seven, which is extraordinarily late for them! I did a cooked breakfast for everyone. We did a petrol run, packed up and loaded the car, and they left around half twelve.
Already planning the next visit! :o)
( Photos )
They arrived Monday lunchtime and we had the traditional lazy first day. They settled in, we ate, then went to play in the park - finding our first elephant en route.
On Tuesday we hit the city centre to go elephant hunting properly. I'd got everyone a trail map and Herd of Sheffield pen to tick them off. It's a shame the weather wasn't as good as forecast and we had to keep sheltering indoors. We bumped into Ju and Jamie on Fargate but failed to meet up with them again in the Peace Gardens. We made it there later and Carly and Lauren had fun in the fountains (although Sophie sulked), then I went on the swing boats with them all. That broke up our elephant trail quite neatly before we resumed to find more. I was impressed with the girls' stamina and enthusiasm - I'd planned shorter routes but we kept going and found 26 large elephants and five little herds, making 60 elephants in total! Afterwards we went home, played with Lego (I'm very pleased they're all converts to the ways of the brick now) and cooked bolognaise for dinner, before settling down for a big screen evening (Zootropolis).
Wednesday was an epic adventure day at Magna. The girls loved the outdoor play area and spent ages climbing everything. They'd have spent all day out there if we'd let them. They also enjoyed all the hands-on stuff in the pavilions inside. Carly was a dab hand with the digger arm. Again I was impressed with how long they all lasted - we got there about 11:30am and didn't leave until closing time (which unfortunately meant we hit rush hour traffic). Lauren had her (early) birthday presents from me in the evening - more Lego of course!
We had planned to take it fairly easy on Thursday, which we did, but still managed to pack a lot in. We went swimming in the fun pool at Hillsborough in the morning. The Chivers (back from their holidays - Carly had been asking after Evie and Toby all week!) came round after lunch. We went to the park again and met up with Ju and Jamie. It was great to see the six kids getting on so well together, for the most part. I notice the three mums left nearly all the kids with me while they stood and nattered... In the evening we all piled back to min for an impromptu Chinese food and movie evening (Despicable Me 2 this time).
This morning we really did take it easy, with the kids lying in untilnearly half seven, which is extraordinarily late for them! I did a cooked breakfast for everyone. We did a petrol run, packed up and loaded the car, and they left around half twelve.
Already planning the next visit! :o)
( Photos )
