Tragically my Dad died from Myeloma, a cancer of the blood, back in 2000. Since then, as a family, we have been raising money for Myeloma UK. The funds help with everything from treatment and care, through to education, research and raising awareness. (www.myelomaonline.org.uk)
This weekend my sister and her best friend (who lost her Mum to this disease only a year ago) decided to organise a charity fun day.
The location was a local Scout Camp and over 80 people turned up to compete in a day of ‘competitive team activities’, there were also a BBQ, homemade cake stall, games and raffles to enjoy.
Our first challenge was ‘Earth Ball’, which involved pushing a large inflatable ball up and down a pitch in an attempt to get it into the goal, against an opposing team trying to get the same ball into their own goal at the opposite end of the pitch. This was not for the faint hearted – needless to say the kids had a go when the adults were recovering!
Afterwards we tried rifle shooting and archery – I didn’t know my brother-in-law was such a good aim! Orienteering and the assault course were also great fun. The latter involved crawling under rope bridges, over cargo nets and through tunnels.
We even tried Quad biking. Ben and his friends were delighted that after watching the parents try and complete a course without being voted ‘Driving Miss Daisy’, they got to have a go with the assistance of an instructor.
The sun shone all day, new friendships were made, and I believe over £2,000 was raised for charity. I was so proud of my sister and her friend for organising such a brilliant day. We’re hoping it will become an annual event… training starts now!

The adults playing Earth Ball:

Ben having a go at Quad Biking:

Molly and cousin Harry enjoying the sunshine:

Molly in her pushchair:

Uncle Matt and Cousin Harry relaxing after all the activities!

We have just returned from our summer holidays in Portugal.

With Benjamin now in school having to travel during the school holidays was a first for us. Portugal is somewhere we have been to a couple of times before, so we knew that it was ideal destination for families with short flight times, easy driving, good weather, large sandy beaches and great fresh food.

To save on the cost of travelling in peak summer months I can really recommend planning your trip independently. We booked cheap flights several months in advance, found a small villa for private rent on the internet and arranged our hire car through a local Portuguese firm.

It was so lovely to spend 10 days all together. We enjoyed simple things such as eating breakfast outside (so much easier to clear up Molly’s food debris!) playing in and around the pool and escaping from the heat to catch up with ‘team GB’ in the Olympics on TV.

We met up with friends on a couple of days and enjoyed BBQ’s and drinks and a trip to a large water park. Ben’s swimming really improved and even Molly showed that she was happy to be in the water and even to go down the small slides!

The most fun Benjamin and Molly had was going down onto the beach, after dinner, when the crowds and the heat had gone. They loved paddling in the sea and building sandcastles and of course Ben had plenty of space to practise his Power Ranger moves and perform cartwheels to his heart’s content. For Molly the sand provided soft landing on which to refine her walking technique!

I have to say not one of us was keen to come home – I think we’ll book at least 14 days away next summer!

Ben and the Simpsons at a Sand sculpture exhibition 

Fun by the pool

Ben on the Kamikaze slide

Ben and Josh contemplating a slide

Molly lunching in the shade