We have a stormkettle for boiling water and cooking soup and it uses small twigs so I collected lots of sticks and twigs for it and put them in the top when the flames weren't coming out of the top. Once I put a stick in the water by mistake.
When we got to the wood we moved all the stones in the fire circle and hunted for minibeasts. We found a frog which I chased it until it disappeared in the ivy and Mummy told me to leave it alone as it was scared. We found spiders with egg sacs and their nests and lots and lots and lots of baby woodlice and grown up woodlice. There was a slug and a millipede and a worm too.
We put my tent near to Mummy and Daddy's tent so that I could call them if I needed them at night and didn't have to shout too loud. I could open my tent all by myself. I slept on a campbed that filled up my whole tent even though it should have had two people in. So I could only take Tulip & Lavendar (invisible friends) in with me. I had a sleeping bag liner that I called a Sleeping Pocket and it had a space for a pillow but I put my head under it.
My last night in the wood Mummy woke me in the middle of the night and took me to the cottage where Nanna & Grandpa were staying and put me in bed again. She woke me because Daddy was poorly and had to go the the hospital (Ysbyty in Welsh) as he had appendicitus. The doctors didn't operate they gave him tablets to make him better and Mummy got him from the hospital for me to cuddle.
Whilst Daddy was at the hospital Nanna & Grandpa took me to the Snowdon Railway. The train pushed us up the mountain and pulled us down. It was the same train and the same driver too. It was a busy train and we sat at the front of the green train with
red carriages (the colour of strawberries outside). I sat on Nanna's lap all the time.
We were in clouds at the top of Snowdon. On the way down we could see out of the right side but we were in clouds on the left side.
It was cold and wet and I was a little miserable at the summit because of the weather. Nanna and Grandpa took photographs of us at the summit and Nanna had to sit on the steps to take her pictures.
On the way to the wood we went to an archery shop and bought a bow and some arrows and a target for me to use in the wood because Daddy and Mummy won't let me shoot in the garden in case I hit the chickens. Daddy also bought a bow and arrows like mine for him to use as he wanted to shoot in the wood too, he called it field archery but it wasn't in a field as there were cows and sheep in the fields near us.
Daddy showed me how to shoot and talked to me and Mummy said to pretend there was someone behind me that I was trying to elbow so I would keep my elbow up. Grandpa put one of Daddy's arrows on the floor so that I knew where to put my feet because you have to point them away from the target and point your arm to the target. I held the bow tight with my left hand and the string with my first fingers on the right hand and stood up very tall. My first arrows bounced off the target, some wobbled and hung down and two arrows went over the top and Daddy & Grandpa had to hunt for them as they went quite a long way. My final arrows all went in the target and I hit the gold but not the very middle of the gold. I enjoyed archery a gigantic bit and want to do it again. At first I was scared because I thought I would shoot myself but now I know I won't. Mummy and Daddy still won't let me shoot in the garden because the neighbours have rabbits that don't know about archery but I think my chickens would be OK. Daddy says he is going to talk to his archery club so that I can shoot there but I won't shoot as far as Daddy does until my bow is much bigger.
We drove onto the beach at Black Rock Sands and parked the car on the sand. It was so windy that we couldn't throw the frisbee because it kept blowing away and we had to chase it across the sand. Grandpa had bought a beach ball but it rolled so fast that Nanna and I couldn't catch it despite running as fast as we could. Daddy ran even faster and chased the ball into the sea and managed to catch it and carry it back to me and we put it in a bag and in the car to keep it safe. Daddy's trousers were really really wet and Mummy thought it was funny and laughed a lot.
There was so much sand that we had to walk a really long way from the car to find the sea and I wanted to swim to the other side but it was cold so I just paddled with Daddy and splashed him and Mummy.
As we walked along the beach we looked in pools of sea water and at shells and things and we found crabs and worm poo and seagull poo. All the crabs were really little and dead and I could pick them up. I had to be careful where I walked because I had barefeet and there were lots of razor shells.
I left footprints and so did Daddy. Muumy's shoes left prints that looked like crabs.
We saw seaweed in different colours. There were shells that looked really funny and they were sea urchin shells but they broke really easily so we spent a long time looking for whole ones. When we had finished hunting for shells and paddling we went back to the car to find the picnic.
Grandpa said we should picnic on the sand dunes to shelter from the wind but they were slopey so we put blankets down and I sat at the front. There was a cheeky seagull that watched us eating our picnic and Grandpa scared it off but it kept coming back. After the picnic we drove along the beach to the other entrance. I haven't driven on sand before.
It was a good holiday and at the end I went home with Nanna and Grandpa because Daddy was still ill with his appendicitus and Mummy had some pottery parties to do.
Bore da Bethany,
ReplyDeleteYour holiday sounds great fun. I hope Daddy is feeling better, give him a big hug from us. What was the name of the beach that you were paddling at? Well done with your archery. I have found an old book of mine about the sea coast that I will send you for next time you are at the beach. You and Mummy and Daddy can use it to find some of the names of the animals and plants you find.
I would love to come and stay in the wood with you - camping is one of my favourite things to do.
Max Cat would love you to stroke him, he is a big softy but very shy until he gets used to new people. He will arrive in the UK in early December, he has to fly by himself all the way from New Zealand, what an adventure as he is just over 4 years old.
I will call in and see you sometime around Christmas or New Year and then when we are settled in our new house I will be able to come and see you more often.
Aroha nui,
Debs, Franklin and Max Cat xxx
Bore da Debs,
ReplyDeleteThe beach was Black Rock Sands. The beach book sounds good thank you. Camping is one of my best activiies too but the very best bits are having my own tent and toasting marhmallows.
Will the belt Max Cat wears pinch his skin when he flies? Will he be lonely with no-one to cuddle him?
I will be grown up at Christmas because I will be 5 and at Mummy School. I think it will be funny to see you because we laugh together. Do you remember sleeping in our loft, nad me being asleep when Mummy collected you from the station and when you fell off the dragon bouncers at the park. Laugh please, thanks, bye bye.
Love, Bethany
PS Mummy thought Aroha nui was Maori so she looked it up. She calls Daddy big love and me little love so I told her to call Daddy Aroha nui when he comes home.