Sandcastles, Seals and 2p Shovers….. a very British Holiday

So we are home after our first holiday as a family of three and we had a great time. It helps that Norfolk is a very beautiful county, our accommodation was excellent and that the weather was kind with the sun even making an appearance.

Going away with my family is always fun. We aren’t geographically close meaning there are very few occasions when we are all together so having this time away is a rare treat. It was really lovely to see the girls playing with my niece; they are all close in age and play really well together. And even with the chaos that ensues when there are three small girls, I think we all managed to find some time to relax.

We took the obligatory trip to a Seaside town and played on the 2p Shovers, ate fish & Chips and got blown about walking along the sea front.  The highlight of the week was a boat trip to see the seals. IK and I don’t have sea legs but the trip round the bay was calm and seeing the Seals so close was wonderful. It was CJ’s second birthday whilst we were away and the sun came to the beach with us to celebrate. All three girls had a great and very very sandy, time digging, building and rolling around the beach. My dad and brother constructed a fairy princess sandcastle, complete with a working moat and flags which I’m sure they enjoyed doing more than the girls (actually I’m not sure if the girls were allowed to help!) We had a picnic and ice-cream (some of which was eaten, most was dripped down tops and smeared around faces – is there any other way to eat an ice-cream when your little?) It was a lovely day for my littlest lady which we finished off with a chocolate birthday caterpillar.

My family is into food in a big way and we ate…a lot. I dread to think how much weight I have put on in a week, the seafood was amazing, the fish & chips were great and we found some lovely cafes and deli’s to eat in. First job for tomorrow is a run, closely followed by fruit for breakfast and salad for lunch, then off to the gym…. For the next month

Whilst we did have a great holiday, it was hard at times. My family were all very helpful (my dad and brother even looked after the all the girls so my mum, sister-in-law and I could go for a spa treatment) but I am the only single one in the family and it was hard not to feel alone sometime. But we made some amazing memories, and although I’m sure a week, minus the children, in an exotic sunny location would have been less stressful, far more relaxing and involved much more wine, I would take my week with my girls in a slightly colder, sometimes damper Norfolk any day. Seeing their faces watching the seals, or covered in sand and ice cream, or feeding the fish at the sea life centre was priceless. They are the moments that make the heartache, stress, tantrums and tears all worth it. They are the moments I would not miss for anything.

So I am very grateful that I have a family who wants to holiday together, and that we can get on for a week! Our family trips to Norfolk seem to becoming a bi-annual event and the girls and I are very much looking forward to the next one