February half term

by Leyla [Thisdayilove] - 13:39

We received complimentary passes to both Lotherton Hall and Thwaite Watermill, words are my own opinion

How have the February half term holidays been and gone aleady?

My children's sports clubs did not stop during half term so we spent our days juggling those whilst making the most of our time together. Having one of their sporting activities close to the cinema meant it would be rude not to go during half term and with the girls really wanting to see the LEGO movie that is exactly what we did.

Little Man impressed me [kind of] whilst we were there, as he asked to go for a wee. It also meant he kept asking every 20 seconds to go for a wee so I actually didn't get to see much of the film but what I did see I enjoyed. I can confirm that the toilets are there given we seemed to see more of them than the film itself!

My eldest daughter swam 800m, I played naughty Mummy and told her she had only done 8 [she had really done 16] so she swam more knowing she needed 16 lengths for her 400m badge. It meant she did 800m. I knew she could do it and wanted her to see that she was capable of it. I am incredibly proud of her. She even managed her swimming lessons again later that evening but was then very tired. As a treat we had a hot chocolate and a round of adventure golf.

Lotherton Hall is somewhere we have only ever visited at Christmas so we decided to head over for their Love birds themed sessions. We were very kindly gifted tickets to visit and it was really different visiting outside of Christmas and in daylight for a change. We had never seen the playgrounds that are there before and the girls spent hours playing in them. There is so much open space for kids to run around in and play and it was such a lovely day. We even took a picnic and had it in the winter sun!

Lotherton is also home to a great variety of birds. We never knew these were even here! Flamingos , parrots, peacocks and penguins to name a few. We watched the penguins at feeding time, and giggled as they swam past the windows. The girls even got to make bird feeders to take home with them. It was a beautiful day spent in the sunshine.

I still had to work during half term so had a few photo shoots booked in. The girls and Little Man were really good and even helped with a few of them. Training is tricky during half term but I did what I could, often leaving very early in the morning or going out once the kids were in bed.

We visited Thwaite Water Mills in Leeds for the first time too. The weather was beautiful and it was nice to stroll down the canal. The girls asked lots of questions about the canal boats and were surprised to find people lived on them! The mill has working wheels too, which were a little noisy for Little Man, I found them fascinating to look at. My youngest daughter was also really taken with them and loved learning how to make Putty!

On Thursdays Thwaite Water mills also has science sessions so the girls got to make and paint their very own fossils. They really enjoyed doing this and have taken them to school for show and tell. Thwaite is also dog friendly so it meant J could come along, which is also a welcome change for us. It was a really peaceful place to be and we loved exploring. We shall certainly be back to visit again.