This day I love.......: day trip

We were kindly provided with 4 tickets to visit the zoo. No other compensation was received.

I had never heard of Ponderosa Zoo until the email landed in my inbox, given how close we live I was pleasantly surprised to learn of a new place to discover with the children. Visiting a zoo in winter is not something we had done before and so this trip was full of new experiences. After a short drive we arrived at Ponderosa Zoo and wondered if we were in the right place, the car park was very empty.

Luckily we had found Ponderosa Zoo and we decided to take part in the Christmas themed hunt looking for pine cones hidden around the zoo. The pine cones were actually very well hidden and it took us some hunting to find them. The zoo was very quiet and we only saw one other family all day, this actually worked to our advantage as we almost had a VIP experience.

We happened to fall on the keepers feeding their animals and so given how quiet the zoo was the keepers spoke to us in great detail. We learnt quite a lot about each animal and the girls got to ask lots of questions too.

Ponderosa Zoo has lots of play areas. The first we came to had two areas to climb and explore, one for older children and one for the under 5s. There was also a separate slide and a zip wire. There was a smaller play area with swings near to the lakeside restaurant and round the back was a large sand area and pirate ship. I can imagine in summer it is lovely to let the children sit and play in the sand. It was a little too wet for us though.

The cafe was closed and so we cannot comment on having food here, the lakeside restaurant was open but we happened to stumble upon it during breakfast with Santa. The staff were lovely and really accommodating for us.

Ponderosa Zoo is really beautiful and made for a lovely day out. Visiting the zoo in Winter gave us a VIP experience that we might not have got otherwise. Whilst some of the animals might have been a little harder to spot due to the cold weather they were all still there and we saw all of them. We shall certainly be visiting again, thank you for inviting us.

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I was provided with 4 complimentary tickets to visit the National Forest Adventure farm. All words in this post are my own personal opinion

My youngest daughter absolutely loves unicorns, although I don't think she is alone in this. Imagine her surprise that for her birthday we would be visiting the National Forest Adventure Farm and their special Unicorn Daze event. It was our first visit to the National Forest Adventure Farm and so we had no idea what to expect.

The journey was really easy and National Forest Adventure Farm is well signposted off the A38 making it easy to find our way. Car parking is free and we were directed were to park. A short walk to a very small queue and we were soon inside ready to begin our adventure. It was raining when we arrived and just a little before lunch so we decided to make the most of the restaurant and indoor soft play.

The selection of both hot and cold food was good and we had no issues finding a table, it was rather busy with the wet weather but we still managed to all get seated easy. After lunch it was time to tackle the soft play. There were three birthday parties happening at the same time as we were inside but that is nothing unusual to a soft play area. Little Man didn't want to go in the under 5 section instead he wanted to follow his sisters.

The main soft play has 2 drop slides, well three really but two are together and one rainbow slide. For one and half hours I spent walking up the stairs carrying a mat and repeatedly taking Little Man on this rainbow slide. He absolutely loved it. My girls got braver and eventually tried the drop slide. My eldest now hooked on adrenaline she wouldn't stop and kept going down the drop slides. Once was enough for my youngest who kept perching her bum on the edge and then changing her mind.

A break in the weather meant we could go outside and do some of the unicorn related activities. This was a special weekend event and whilst we were there we looked at some of the events coming up including a dinosaur one I am sure Little Man would love and the Christmas one looks magical. National Forest Adventure Farm also have pumpkin picking and potato picking and this week they shared a photo on their Facebook page of them sowing the seeds.

Our first unicorn related activity was to meet the unicorns. I was informed the unicorns get to wash their hair in a special horse chalk to help keep their colour.

The queue to meet the unicorns was only short, perhaps we timed it right, and we never felt rushed or pressured to move on. The girls gave the unicorn a stroke and then we we headed out to try the unicorn fortune trail. Our fortune seemed to be on the positive side, which is always good.

As the weather seemed to be holding we decided to stay outside and visit the animals in the field. You can feed the animals if you want to and all the animals seem to be aware of this, coming over the the gates for a closer look and to see if you had food.

All the animals had plenty of outdoor space to walk around in and they all seemed very friendly too.

We had wanted to watch the sheep racing but we couldn't figure out how to get to it, even though we could hear it so instead we played in the giant sand pit with the diggers and took on the climbing wall. It was nearly time for our tractor ride. Little Man was very excited and I can't quite believe I got a photo of all three of my children all looking and smiling at the camera!

The tractor ride lasted around 10 minutes and drove around the fields of the farm. We had to spot the scarecrows that were in the fields and when we did we had to shout very loud. Little Man seemed to really love this game and was smiling from ear to ear.

Included with admission was either a balloon or face painting. Little Man was too young for face painting and opted for a balloon, the girls however both had their faces done.

The weather seemed to finally be easing so it was time to venture outside and explore more of what National Forest Adventure Farm had to offer.

There was still so much of the farm to explore and I am glad the weather held so we could. The kitchen garden was really colourful and fun to explore, the Frisbee golf however drew all three kids straight over.

We've never played before and there was a slight wind. My eldest took to it straight away, my youngest daughter however seemed to develop a skill at throwing the Frisbee backwards. It was really good fun and even Little Man got involved.

The splash zone was closed due to the weather, and the girls decided to watch the football shoot out and not take part. After playing in the adventure playground we headed over to the bouncy pillows, everyone always loves those. In fact we spent so long on them we lost track of time and missed collecting the hens eggs and helping to groom the horses.

All three children were having lots of fun but we had one final activity to do before we went home, feed the newborn lambs. The girls were incredibly excited as we made our way over to the animal barn. After looking at the animals in the barn we watched the Jersey cows getting milked. It was then time to feed the lambs. Little Man was too shy to do so, at only three I can understand but the girls however absolutely loved it. The lambs loved their milk and what an amazing experience for the girls to take part in.

The weather was starting to turn again so rather than play adventure golf or ride the pedal cars again we decided to have half hour on the slides before heading home.

We stayed right until closing and no one wanted to leave, my youngest even said she had had the best day ever. Little Man fell asleep in the car before we had even left the car park. It really was such a fun day and we shall certainly be back to National Forest Adventure Farm.

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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.

I think it is safe to say we had a very fun and very busy half term, I cannot wait for the Easter holidays now

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An invite to visit William's den arrived in my inbox, I hadn't heard of William's Den before but a quick google search gave me a good insight. A brand new adventure attraction that promised to give families the best day ever. If the best day ever was on offer, I had to go and experience for myself.

William's Den is located around a mile from South Cave in Hull. I am always worried when I visit somewhere new as to if I will find it ok, but actually it was really easy. Incredibly close to the A63 and it took us just under an hour from South Yorkshire. The buildings of William's Den are very sympathetic to the surrounding environment. As you drive down the country road the large teepee of the outdoor play area could be seen over the horizon and the new buildings built to represent the old grain stores.

The buildings have all been designed and built to be sustainable with solar panels on the roof, a rain water flush system in the toilets, biomass boiler and recycled materials for heating, insulation and building materials. I have to mention the toilets as they were fab, sorry not something I normally mention but I really have to. First there is no Male/Female toilet, instead they have toilets with baby changing facilities inside. Meaning a single parent visiting on their own, be it male or female, can change their child. There are extra wide cubicles so those with pushchairs can get in and special adapted cubicles with additional facilities for those that might need them. You can tell they were designed by parents.

We had arrived at lunch time and so our first stop was 'the Kitchen table'. My youngest ordered a den dog, I think that is what it was called, and my eldest a pizza. I also ordered a kids pizza to share with Little Man. Pizza is cooked in the wood fire oven and was just delicious, I wonder what the secret is to the dough they make? My youngest food arrived and I was impressed. It was proper food, and clearly not mass produced. There is an enclosed outdoor seating area with toys and play equipment to keep the smaller children entertained whilst you eat too.

After lunch we could get stuck into playing. First we tested the indoor play area. Little Man loved that he could go on with his sisters and that I could accompany him too. Everything in the den has been designed for the whole family to go on together, from the ages of 2 and up. All made from natural materials, there were large cargo nets, balance beams and wooden steps.

Little Man was chasing after his sisters and laughing as he did. He crossed the bridges and balanced his way across the wooden beams. We played the wooden drums and instruments and got lost in the den.

We found a hidden hideaway and looked out of the large glass windows over the stunning views. I would have loved to have had a sleep over here as a kid, it was the perfect setting to do so. After exploring the upper play areas we slid down the metal slide to the sand below. The girls found a tunnel and grass, pretend grass, to run over. A tree to climb and a rope swing to swing on.

Little Man then discovered the stream, his shoes and socks came off as he went for a paddle. Climbing the rocks and then climbing into the metal trough. He was splashing and having a really good time. He narrowly missed a drenching from the rainmaker, other children eagerly stood underneath awaiting the shower.

His sisters were busy in the sand, filling buckets to carry to the top before pouring them down the chutes to fill the bucket again. Little Man came over to join in.

My children would have happily spent an entire day in this indoor section and I actually had to persuade them that they wanted to see outside too. I am so pleased I did. The views over the meadow were beautiful and whilst we could have explored the meadow of wildflowers or the woodland we opted to stay and play.

Zip wires, tyre swings and a dedicated area to build dens with large sticks. Another playground with water and sand to explore. The girls however had spotted the tunnels and 'hills' and were running across the field to play and explore some more. Little Man running after them. They ran past the wooden beams tower and the tower of rocks to climb and instead spent their time running over the mountains and through the tunnels. My youngest then spotted something in the distance and ran once again.

She had found the mud kitchens!

That was it, Little Man was in his element. He had dirt that he could play with. All three of them started playing and using their imagination, apparently making chocolate brownies.

This was play as it should be. Three kids with the freedom to run around and explore and get dirty. Three kids happily playing together and using their imaginations to be creative. Three happy children.

This freedom, this ability to run around and explore and this flexibility for each of my children to adapt the environment to their own unique ways of play reminded me so much of my childhood. Exploring fields near by, climbing trees and playing in streams. This to me was what William's Den was all about. It was made even more special by the fact I could join in with my kids. I didn't see height restrictions or age restrictions. I just saw the freedom to play and the freedom to let kids be kids.

It was time for a treat, before playing some more. William's Den make their own ice cream and have won an award for their vanilla ice cream so it was a must have for us to try before our day finished. Given the speed at which the girls ate theirs I can say it was delicious!

As we were heading back outside to play my daughter spotted this sign, and given it was the day before her birthday she decided it was written especially for her!

Whilst we were invited to visit William's Den I would have happily paid to take my children and am in fact looking at when we can next go. They genuinely all enjoyed themselves. I would highly recommend taking a change of clothes and a towel, just in case. It was such a wonderful day out and one where we created lots of happy memories!

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I could play it cool and pretend I didn't shriek with delight when the email landed to say I had been invited to the Harry Potter studios tour in London. I could, but I won't. I think the shriek would be similar to that of me receiving an acceptance letter to Hogwarts, or my children receiving one. Whilst I can keep dreaming on that one, the reality of visiting the studio tour had me rather giddy.

Every since the studios opened I have wanted to visit. I was one of those kids that read the entire book on the first day it was released. I watched the films as close to opening night as possible and well just loved the whole Harry Potter franchise. It was time to finally visit the studio!

Our visit was on a Friday evening so I picked the girls up from school and made the 3hour car journey down the M1 to the M25. We were really lucky with the traffic and arrived early. The girls had some knowledge of Harry Potter, we had read the first book together and watched the first film, and Little Man can just about work out it is him in the mirror so he was just happy spending time with us. I was really excited.

The girls ran across the courtyard to the giant statues in front of them. Not knowing what they were, but mesmerised all the same. I knew, I was awe struck. The chess pieces from wizards chess. They were huge, I honestly didn't think they would be that size. I was itching to get inside and let the tour begin, but first we had to solemnly swear that we were up to no good.

We had passport books to collect stamps as we made our way around. The girls eagerly looking for the next stamp and Little Man giddy with all the new things to see. Our tour started with a brief presentation looking over the history and an explanation of what to expect during our tour. The girls listened intently and I could see the excitement beginning to build.

We made our way into a cinema presentation where the girls sat and watched the presentation very carefully before we made our way to the Great Hall. I was now far too excited and could not wait for the doors to open. I had decided to wait to the end to enter mainly because I wanted to get a photo of at least one of my children in front of the doors. It was worth the wait!

Plus waiting until the very end meant I also managed a photo of the Great Hall with no one else in it! We soaked up the details before making our way out.

Little Man seemed to love going from exhibit to exhibit as he looked at all the bright colours and details on the different props and sets. Some areas are set up as the original set such as Professor Albus Dumbledore's office and the Gryffindor common room. Within each are props that were used, costumes and other artefacts that went into the films. The girls asked lots of questions as they went around. I think seeing the studio tour sparked a desire to learn more about Harry Potter, read more of the books and watch more of the films.

Many of the exhibits are interactive. You can use magic to stir potions in the classroom, and wash pots in the Weasley house. Your magic came in handy with learning to fly broomsticks over Hogwarts and of course we learnt spells at wand school.

I was actually really surprised at how much my children at 7,6 and 2 really loved the tour. Given their limited Harry Potter knowledge they really enjoyed themselves and took everything on board. After a trip through the Forbidden Forrest, which has two routes one with spiders and one without, we tried butterbeer before heading into the outdoor area of the tour.

Here the girls saw the Night Bus, rode on Hagrid's Motorcycle and of course visited Harry Potters House.

We were now approaching the final section of the tour. I loved learning about all the animatronics that had gone into the film. Looking at the concept to the final design. There was an interactive Dobby which the girls loved making him floss [You will have to watch the YouTube video on my channel] and it was then past a wall full of the different hats that appeared in the film before heading into Diagon alley.

Our tour lasted around 4 and half hours but it flew. The girls and Little Man never got fed up, OK Little Man did get tired at times but that was more down to the fact it was his bedtime. They loved it and as they walked around their fascination with the franchise grew more. I could have taken the pushchair but knew he would have got in and out of it so opted not to.

Sometimes when you have wanted to visit somewhere for so long the reality doesn't meet expectations, this wasn't the case here. I was blown away. I had been worried that the girls and Little Man might not have enjoyed the experience, but the girls have come away with a new love of Harry Potter and are now reading the books after watching all the films. I think it is great that the tour has inspired them to want to learn more and to read more. They point parts out in the film that they have seen, which is a brilliant way to get them to talk about their experience too. Even though we have visited the tour I would love to go again, to see how the tour changes and see new sets as they feature in the tour.

Thank you to Warner Bros studio tour for inviting us. We were not asked to write a post or produce a video but I wanted to document our experience.

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Our Easter holidays seem to be flying by. The first few days the girls have been at football school, something they have been asking to attend for some time now. Wednesday saw them have a break and with that we headed to the seaside with Grandma and our friends. The weather wasn't the best, it was cold, windy and rainy but the week before it had been predicted snow, so in some ways we counted our blessings.

In all my years visiting Scarborough I have never seen the sea as rough or as far in during the day. I was surprised to say the least. The girls were equally as surprised but yet watching the waves crash and spill over the defence walls was mesmerising and something we could not step away from.

Easter holidays seem to be staggered over the country and as a result Scarborough was incredibly quiet. We hardly saw any other people as we walked around the parks.

With many of the usual North Bay attractions closed due to the off peak season we were incredibly happy to see the North Bay railway was still running. It was a bit of a dash as we rushed to make the last train of the day, but Little Man absolutely loved every second.

Whilst he has been on the train before he was only a baby, this time he laughed and smiled. He pointed at the sea and he went choo choo every time the train blew its whistle. He smiled so much, I have never seen him smile as much before and it was just lovely to see.

After exploring the North Bay we headed over to the Sealfe centre, which had come under invasion. Claws.

The new exhibition to SeaLife Scarborough features hands on learning and fact finding.

My daugthers, aged 5 and 7, walked around reading each of the exhibits. Finding out if they were as strong as a crab, what the smallest creature was at SeaLife or even learning about armour.

In addition to the new Claws invasion all the other attractions at SeaLife are open and we spent a good 2 hours walking round, it was no wonder the kids wanted to put their feet up.

Little Man was simply having the best day. First trains and now fish, he even found a playground to play on.

After watching the Seals we headed back inside to look at the fish and marine animals again.

Some of them hiding and others I had never seen before were out and about. Some of them were a lot easier to spot than others.

We had spent a whole day in Scarborough and at 7.30 decided it was time to make the journey home. The kids in their PJ just in case they fell asleep on the way home, Little Man did but the girls did not, and dinner in the car on the journey home.

We always have such a wonderful day out when we visit Scarborough, and this time was no exception. Whilst we may have visited SeaLife several times before it was still great to go again and see the invasion and to get hands on with the new exhibits. I am looking forward to our next trip to Scarborough when hopefully we will be able to play on the beach too!

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