All good things come to an end

What a lovely week off I've had, it's been super relaxing and everything I could have hoped for. Cornwall turned out to be the perfect choice for a week away - not too far to travel, brilliant weather all week, lots of time to kick back and relax with enough things to do such that no-one got bored (well, apart from Glenn who always gets a bit tetchy after more than 3 nights away from his own bed!).

We each choose something to do while there - I went for the Eden Project (which we did at breakneck speed as although everyone committed to come with me, apparently there was nothing in the agreement about how long we needed to stay there!). Despite this I saw some beautiful flowers and almost got to read a sign or two. Izzy chose the Aqua Park which was brilliant fun as ever and much cleaner than the Reading one near us which is full of duck poo.

Abi's choice was to hire kayaks but in the end opted for snorkeling and swimming in the sea which meant I had to brave the cold water without the wet-suits they had on! Finally Glenn chose to go to Fowey and hire a boat which meant we got to motor up the estuary where we were lucky enough to sea a seal!

Apart from this we spent almost every afternoon at the beach, soaking up the sun and paddling in the rock pools, eating ice cream before heading back to the house for a quiet evenings of hot tubs, board games and books (or in the kids case, iPads). 

Both Glenn and I managed to brave the coastal hills - me by walking the coast path every morning and even running in on one or two occasions, and Glenn by getting out on his bike. All in all it was a lovely week and just what I needed. Thank goodness the weather was kind to us - it has certainly made me think twice about going all the way to France next year.

We ended up coming back on Friday, partly to miss change over day and the traffic, and partly because we were all ready to come home and see the dogs / get back to our own beds. The kids were also getting withdrawal symptoms from their friends who they immediately phoned and disappeared off to! This meant we got to stop at Mum and Dad's for lunch for tea, cake and a chance to see all the work they've done on their house - it's looking amazing already and the real magic is still to come.

So after a lovely weekend and a nail biting afternoon of sport (who knew the Cricket World Cup could be so dramatic?!) it's back to work for me tomorrow and off to Angies for Abi for her first week of work. I've packed for her so I'm hoping she has what she needs. She has a fan (the caravan will be horribly hot no doubt) and plenty of extra food bars (they get very hungry in the afternoon) so should be OK. If not, it's only 5 days and we can rethink for next week. I do have to keep reminding her that by doing this it does mean she will struggle to see many of the people she wants to over the holidays but so be it - we'll take each week as it comes.

While Abi is doing her riding, Izzy is lining up plenty of socialising. She has a couple of sports camps to do weith friends, but also plans to spend time with all of her friends and from what I can tell, half of Abi's - it still makes me laugh that when Abi's friends are told she isn't available they often ask for Izzy instead! Glenn no doubt will encouraging as much socialising as possible - I'm not sure he's looking forward to 8 weeks of hanging out with the kids!!