Breakfast With The Easter Bunny

If you are fed up with chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate at Easter then I have the solution for you!!

Instead of giving the kids an Easter egg, why not treat them to either breakfast or afternoon tea with the Easter Bunny??






Wyevale Garden Centres are offering you the opportunity to have either an amazing cooked breakfast or delicious afternoon tea in their homely tearooms along with Easter cookie decorating, colouring activities and a visit from the gift bearing Easter Bunny him/herself.

And with over 140 centres spanning the country you are sure to find a centre near you. Check HERE to find your nearest centre, and HERE to book your place.





Our Experience 


We were greeted by the lovely Gemma who showed us to our breakfast area; a section of seating away from the main area of the restaurant which was styled in an Easter and Alice In Wonderland theme. Pretty pastel coloured table decorations with hanging `eat me`, `drink me` and playing card bunting. A little table in the corner was decorated with spring flowers, giant tea cups and cute little rabbits and lambs.

`Alice` was our waitress for the morning and took our food and drink order, whilst we were waiting for our breakfast the kids were given colouring in and activity packs to do which went down very well.

Only a few minutes later our amazing breakfast was served. The children had scrambled eggs, baked beans, hash brown and toast. Us adults had a full English which was so tasty, the bacon was so thick and tasty and I loved the idea of the baked beans being served in a tea cup as not everyone likes there entire breakfast covered in baked bean sauce.

Once breakfast was over with it was time to decorate a shortbread Easter egg biscuit. Each child was provided with a selection of toppings with a massive piping tube of icing...the kids went a bit crazy with the piping tube!!

After the kids had decorated the biscuits to their liking (and eaten half of the toppings!!) the Easter Bunny made an appearance. S/he spent some time with each child allowing them to show off their creations and then returned with a basket full of goodies for each of them...a choice of stuffed teddy, a tub of chocolate eggs and a Lindt chocolate rabbit.

This whole Easter breakfast experience has been amazing from start to finish and definitely worth a lot more than £9.99 per child and £7.99 per adult for a full English and £3.99 for a coffee and pastry.

A huge thank you to Gemma and the team at the Wimborne centre for such a lovely experience..I loved it so much that I have booked in Ben`s 2nd birthday party at their soft play area in a few weeks!!

This is my honest review of Wyevale event services in exchange for a free Easter Breakfast experience for myself and family.

Free (Or Very Cheap!) Activities for Autumn Half Term 2014 Dorset

Next week is half term for the kids in Dorset and I don`t know about you but the pennies are very, very tight at the moment. Lavish days out are unfortunately off the books this holiday so I have been on the lookout for some free or very cheap days out.

Here is what I have found so far, and hope that the list may of be some help to you xx

25th October - Bat Walk, Upton House, Poole  - 5pm, meet at the kiosk at the back of the house.

Join the Dorset Bat group for an evening of Halloween family fun. Arrive at 5pm and follow a batty trail to test your knowledge. Be prepared to walk in the woods looking for bats using bat detectors. Bats can fly in the dark but humans can`t so please bring a torch with you. Wear a Halloween costume if you dare!!

£1 per adult/50p per child

http://www.uptoncountrypark.com/events.html

26th October - FREE Family Circus Fun Day at the Lighthouse, Poole. 11am - 4pm

Learn all the tricks of the circus trade in this family fun day, with trapeze and juggling lessons, face painting and much more. Some lessons will require booking on a donation basis.

http://www.lighthousepoole.co.uk/family-circus-fun-day-2

27th October - Bournemouth Stour Valley Halloween Activities FREE, meet by the barn 11am - 3pm

Go along to the Stour Valley Nature reserve and see what spooky activities the RSPB have in store for you. Will you complete the trail and become a deadly detective?? For more information please call 07703 607630

http://www.primarytimes.net/dorset/listings/bournemouth-stour-valley-nature-reserve-23013


28th October - Poole Museum 11am - 3pm FREE

Pop into the museum and make an amazing nocturnal animal mask to take home. This is a FREE event and no booking required. For more information please contact Sarah-Jane Buckle on 07703 607630.

http://www.primarytimes.net/dorset/listings/poole-museum-22990



29th October - Dorset Museum, Dorchester 10.30am - 12.30pm FREE

Victorian Halloween Customs and Crafts.

http://www.whatsonindorset.co.uk/eventdetails.aspx?p=11737








30th October - The one day I couldn`t find an event for so I highly recommend visiting the Treasure Island Play Area in Canford Cliffs, Poole, just off Cliff Drive. Free parking on the road.
A lovely pirate themed play park with some amazing climbing frames, this is one of the Wood clans favourite free places to visit. Weather depending why not take a picnic and then take the short stroll down the hill path that leads directly to the beach for a lovely walk long the seafront.

31st October - Radipole Lake, Weymouth 10am - 3pm FREE

Dare you venture into the weird and wonderful world at Radipole Lake?? There will be a trail for you to follow but be on the lookout for the wildlife peeking out from the natural habitats. For more details please contact 01305 778313.

http://www.primarytimes.net/dorset/listings/weymouth-radipole-lake-23021

1st November - The Greyhound Inn, Corfe. FREE 7pm - 9pm



Enjoy a FREE fireworks display set against the spooky backdrop of Corfe Castle. Please contact The Greyhound Inn to ensure the event is taking place on 01929 480205

http://www.greyhoundcorfe.co.uk/index.php/events




I hope that this list makes planning this half term a bit easier for you.

If you know of any other events happening this holiday let me know and I`ll add it to the list. xxxx

Farmer Palmers Has Grown!!

One of Dorset's biggest tourist attractions, Farmer Palmer`s Farm Park, has just got even bigger!!!

Today saw the launch of their new play barn; Little -Farmer`s Fun Barn. 

Situated next to Straw Mountain, the new play barn is any little persons paradise!!

The new barn is tardis of little play areas, suitable for all ages 0-8 years. 

There is a soft play area for toddlers, which was an instant hit with Ben!! A `barn within a barn` that has giant Lego to play and create with and wooden musical instruments to bang about.

The mini farm house is adorable, with its lovely wooden kitchen and decorations, what child wouldn`t want play in there?? 

There is a tunnel from the farm house leading onto the start of the climbing frame, a rope bridge. The climbing frame wraps around almost half the barn raising and dropping several times before ending in a spiral slide.

Underneath the climbing frame you will find a sensory tunnel filled with fairy lights, and projectors.

The floor is covered with lovely soft artificial grass so is soft and non-slip, great for the kids to be running around on.

There is a huge cow statue for the kids to climb on and by the look on Ben`s face in the photo below, you can tell he wasn`t too sure about it!!

All of my 3 boys loved the new barn and it was a hard job to get them to leave!!

Make sure you pay the new barn a visit next time you are at Farmer Palmer`s

Are you scared of heights?? Rock Reef will sort it!!

Last week we were lucky enough to be given the chance of trying out Bournemouth`s newest indoor attraction Rock Reef, an indoor climbing centre with a difference.

Situated on the end of Bournemouth Pier, the location is unique, the concept is unique...in fact the whole of Rock Reef is unique!!

Rock Reef gives you 4 attractions in one place, bringing the great outdoors indoors.

The 4 elements of Rock Reef are -

• Clip`N`Climb challenges - the new climbing concept taking the world by storm. You wear a harness and are clipped onto a belay - an automatic safety device which keeps you safe at all times. You are then free to climb to hearts content in the knowledge you cant fall!!! There are 25 different designed walls to challenge even the most experienced climbers.

• HighLine - an indoor aerial obstacle course designed to test your nerves. Hanging above the ground with nothing beneath your feet but a few ropes and logs for you to make your way around the course.

• The Pier Cave - delve into The Pier Cave with its twists and turns, ball pits and grottos. Make your way through the cave with or without the expert help of the guides.

• The Pier Zip - opening mid August 2014. The worlds FIRST pier to shore zip line experience...launch yourself from the top of massive launch tower and zoom down to the beach. But dont forget to take in the amazing views of the Bournemouth coastline.

We arranged to go to Rock Reef with my fellow blogger theprmummy and her family. The kids were so excited they ran up the pier giddy with the idea that they were going to be climbing a wall!!!

On arrival we filled out the obligatory safety waiver and then we were ready for our Rock Reef experience.
Our guides for the evening were Georgia and DJ; I have to say they made the experience so much more enjoyable as they put us all at ease and had a way with the kids to keep them involved and alert during the safety talks.

We all got kitted out with some rather fetching safety harnesses and were off. Georgia and DJ showed us over and over again how to clip ourselves onto the belay so we could do it ourselves. Showed us how to climb the walls and then left us to do our own thing at our own pace, they were always with us in case we needed them but never felt watched.

Now I have no upper body strength so assumed I would struggle but actually found it fairly easy and OMG so much fun!!!!!

Look at me!!!

The kids completely astounded me as they were naturals; up the walls at lightning speed and had no fear in leaning back off the wall and letting go so the belay could bring them back down slowly.

The two youngest of the pack, Jacob and Myla had a few hairy moments when they were not sure if they could do it but soon overcame their fears.

Do I look sexy??

There are two additional activities you can do whilst at Rock Reef; the Leap of Faith and the Vertical Drop Slide. Of course hubby had to both!! He had to wear a boiler suit and helmet for the Vertical Drop, which we all thought was hilarious as he was melting in the suit and the heatwave conditions!! You hold onto a bar whilst you are pulled up as high/long as you can hold on for then let go and slide down.

The Leap of Faith is a vertical climb up to a platform which you then jump off of to try and catch a punch bag and hold on......there was no way I was going to try that!!!!



Check out the videos of what he did.

Next came the HighLine.....from below the course didn`t look too high up and quite an easy task to complete.....OMG how wrong was I???? I have never had a panic attack in my life but I have to say that I was on the verge of having one that day!!! Alfie went on in front of me and kept sating `come on mum its ok` so I couldn`t let him see my fears. I was literally dripping with sweat due to the nerves. Even though I knew I was harnessed in and couldn`t fall I just couldn`t stop shaking. It was mine and Emma`a hubby's turn to watch the babies so were giving us support from ground level, still that honestly didn`t help much!!



About 5 minutes in to the course Alfie did freeze with fear and would not budge so Stan the crazy man harnessed himself up and came to help him, he was amazing and helped Alfie get over his fear by telling him step by step what to do.

This has to be one of the scariest things I`ve ever done!

30 minutes later and 1 stone in weight loss later due to sweating I made it round, I have never been so glad to see a solid floor!!!

Emma too made it round in one piece and am so proud of her for overcoming her fear of heights.

How happy do we look to of finished the HighLine??

Sadly we didn`t have time to try out the Pier Cave experience but will definitely be back to give it a go and try to beat our times on the climbing walls!!

Visiting Rock Reef is a must, yes it is a bit pricey but it is definitely worth what you pay. Where else are you going to be able to say that you have climbed 25 different walls and taken the Leap of Faith???

Rock Reef gets 5*`s in our book and would say that you NEED to visit!!

A huge thanks to Juan, Georgia, DJ and Stan for making this an experience that we will never forget.

Our amazing team of instructors, Georgia, DJ and Stan.

Our trip to Legoland Windsor Day #2

Day #2 of our Legoland visit was as amazing as the first; as we had done half of the park the day before were in no rush. Because of this we were able to properly take in all the amazing Lego sculptures that have been loving created over the years.

We got to the park just after 10.30am and started our assault on the attractions.

Both the boys were desperate to go and get their driving licenses in the Lego Traffic area, so headed there first.

We didn't realise that they would not be able to do the driving together as there are two mini driving areas, age and skill dependant. In the end I think it was for the best as thinking about it, it wouldn't of been the best of ideas having 3 year olds driving around with 12 year old speed demons!!

Once in the right age section each of the boys had a mini briefing on how to drive the cars and road rules then were off!!

It is safe to say that they both thoroughly enjoyed and were so proud to get their licenses

The boys digging up a storm

Unfortunately the thing that we spent doing the most on our visit was queuing. Now I am a normally a patient person but after queuing for almost an hour for every ride my patience had started to wear thin. The worst and slowest que was for the Digger challenge; I wouldn't of minded if after queuing for over an hour that the ride was of a decent duration but was not amused at less than a 10 minute go!!!!

You can purchase a Q-Bot, which is a hand held device allowing you to book a specific time for your ride or if you purchase the top level Q-bot you can eliminate queuing completely and just walk on your chosen ride in front of everyone else that has been queuing for hours!!!

If we could of afforded a Q-bot for all of us I definitely would of got one arranged and strongly advise anyone going to consider getting one. With our two days entry we managed to cover the whole park but only just. If you were going for just the day I honestly cant see how you can do all the rides in the opening times without missing a few rides.

Miniland with Alfie pulling some stupid poses!

MiniLondon

On the submarine in Atlantis

Duplo Valley Fairy Tale Brook

Squid Surfer splash time

The Wood clan had an amazing 2 days at Legoland Windsor making tonnes of amazing memories, we are definitely planning on going back; maybe when Benjamin is old enough to enjoy it too.

Read our first days adventures at Legoland here.

This blog post is a true account of our visit to Legoland Windsor, and were not compensated in anyway for writing this post.

Our trip to Legoland Windsor Day #1

After months and months of nagging, sorry asking politely, from Alfie and Jacob to go to Legoland Windsor we finally gave in and booked a surprise weekend away for them.

We decided to book a combo deal which gave us a two day ticket with an overnight stay in the hotel of our choice, we chose the Premier Inn @Heathrow. After lots of advice from friends who had been there previously a two day visit seemed the best option.

So first thing Saturday morning we told the boys we were off on a long journey...they were so excited to be going on a long journey as our new car has inbuilt DVD screens in the headrests and we told them they can only be used on long journeys!!!! They didn't even ask where we were going until about an hour and a half into the journey as the film had run out. It turns out it was perfect timing as we were getting to the point in the journey where the sign posts for Legoland were appearing.

Their faces when they figured out where we were going was priceless!!

The boys were literally running up to the entry gates and had to grab them to stop them trying to run through the turnstiles. Once inside we grabbed a map and started to plan what order we would do the park in over the two days. I am so glad that we went for the two day option as I don't think we could of done the whole park in one day, there was so much to do and see!!           

I`m not going to waffle on as to which rides we did in what order but am going to show you a small collection of my many photos (over 600 photos taken over the two days) tell you our story and show how much fun we all had.

The boys enjoying all the Star Wars characters

Waiting to have a go on the Fire Academy 

These photos dont show how much fun we had and sadly I didnt get a photo of us on every ride as some where water rides and I daren`t get my new camera out and wet!!!

My review of our hotel for the night and day #2 of our Legoland trip to follow, pop back and see how day 2 went xxxx