This day I love.......: explore

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If you have followed this blog for a while you will know that I like to be outdoors. I like to be active and explore and the current weather has limited my opportunities to do so. Now that Little Man is getting older he is wanting to walk more and explore more too, which often means we do not take the pushchair.

His little legs do get tired though and he does still want a rest, but the pushchair really limits as to where we can go. When the girls are at school Little Man and I often take J for an adventure and we leave the pushchair behind, in fact all we need is our Kiddy Adventure Pack.

I had a Kiddy Adventure pack with the girls and used it as part of my training for the Yorkshire 3 peaks. I even wrote a review on it. To be honest not much has changed between the style I had for the girls and the new style. There are additional features like slightly larger storage pockets, so you don't need to take an extra bag and a handy cup holder too.

The Adventure pack is comfortable to wear even when Little Man isn't in it, so I use it as a normal rucksack and then when he is tired it is quick and simple to put him in so he can rest his legs.

Just like his sister used to do Little Man plays with my hair and rubs my neck in the carrier. I also get lots of patting as he wants to point things out to me.

He loves been up high and spotting things in the distance. Talking to me and telling me all about what he can see.

We have taken the adventure pack on loads of adventures so far. Everywhere from the seaside to the forest. Unlike a pushchair we are not restricted by terrain and can explore off the beaten track.

In fact we have even been onto the 'tops' to explore.

The adventure pack lives in my car boot so that no mater where we go I always have it with us. Little Man is safe and comfortable and enjoys exploring with me.

Although sometimes on our adventures it all gets a bit too much and he falls asleep!

I cannot wait for the weather to improve so we can get out and about even more!

I was sent the adventure pack in exchange for a written post, all words are my own opinion.

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Last weekend was simply amazing!

Every Saturday starts with a parkrun for me, unless it is race day and this Saturday was no different. The girls wanted to join me in my duties as tail runner and so they came along with me. We were greeted with gorgeous blue skies at Nostell Priory and headed for our pre race briefing.

I love running Nostell parkrun and volunteering there. The views as you run around or walk around are just fantastic, especially with the sun shining.

My youngest really was not feeling the run, but my eldest kept zooming ahead. There was only one way to reward all their hard work, an ice cream!

The girls went to see Grandma and I had a nice steady run to meet some friends to run with Emily and her #PeoplePowerRun challenge. It was such a lovely afternoon run with some great company.

Sunday was race day and I awoke with aching legs, not the best start to a race. The last time I completed Leeds 10K was in 2015 and the morning of the race I had discovered I was pregnant with Little Man. I was excited and nervous to be doing the course again.

Leeds 10K is a fast course, mainly flat except from a lovely hill at 9km. The roads are closed and really well marshalled and supported. It is an out and back route starting in the city centre and running along Kirkstall road before heading back into the Headrow.

It was an incredibly hot run and I was grateful for the water stations at 4k, 7k and 8k. The water spray and sponges also went down a treat. I once again ran at a comfortable pace, not wanting to pass out, and my plan was to keep the 60 minute pacer behind me. Just past the 6km mark you turn around to head back into the city and it was here I noticed the gap between me and the 60 minute pacer. I kept up the same pace and at 8km took the first glance at my watch, 44minutes. I worked out I could do this so began to push.

Whilst I couldn't quite manage a sprint finish I did work really hard in the final 1km and came away with my first ever sub 1 hour 10km. A new PB of 55.57 and one which nearly a week later I am in shock over!

With a free medal engraving on offer I had to get my medal engraved before a celebratory drink!

I love the runners high it is such an immense feeling and becomes very addictive. I could not sit still so took the girls, Little Man and J for a walk into the woods. I had Little Man on my back so we could explore and J ran with the girls. I loved watching them play and use their imagination. Exactly what childhood should be about.

It was such an incredible weekend and one which is going to take some beating. I even managed to have 3 children asleep at a reasonable time!

This day I love a weekend of running and fun

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Last weekend we had a very early start, but we had a very important task to do. Our mission was to take place at Dalby trust, which is part of the Forestry commission, and our goal was to spot the Gruffalo.

The girls were armed with their scooters, ready to follow clues and see if they could spot the Gruffalo.

Prior to leaving I had downloaded a free app to help us with our Gruffalo spotting. As we walked around the trail we had to look for footprints in the wood, as we held the app over the footprints magic would happen.

Out of nowhere the creature, whose footprints we had found, would start to appear. The girls would watch in amazement as the animals came to life on my phone via the app, but in reality there was only their footprints in the wood.

The app allows you to take photos directly from within, so you can get your children to pose either side of the characters. This did involve lots of instructions shouting across to my two to try and get a picture!

We had 2 creatures which had gone shy and simply would not come out to play on my phone, and a Gruffalo who was very tired and refused to stand up but non of this seemed to detract from the fun both girls were having.

As we found each of the creatures in the deep, dark wood we were given a little fact card about them and even an activity to do to be just like our found creature.

This was a nice little touch as the activity was a great way to encourage more imaginative play when out in the woods. It also got the girls to think about each animal and how they would behave. Once we had completed our walk around the deep dark wood, and found the Gruffalo we were awarded with an Astounding certificate!

I can see in the future this technology could be used to bring to life fairies, or other magical creatures within the woods. Personally, getting out and about in the woods and spending all day exploring is a way to spend time as a family and to put away technology. However given that the majority of us at some point then get out our phones to take photos whilst we are out exploring, sees this as no different to getting the phone out to make a character come to life. Encouraging families to spend time together and explore the outside, can only be a good thing. Plus it helps to create wonderful memories such as these

This day I love Gruffalo Spotting

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