Sunday 1 December 2013

Okehampton Show 2013

Okehampton Show 2013



Okehampton Show 2013
In August we took the family to the Okehampton show.

The show is held on the outskirts of Okehampton in West Devon, just off the A30. Okehampton is an old Market town and the show has been held on the show ground for some years.


There are a whole range of different animals at the show along with farm machinery and exhibitions and competitions.

As you can see it was a lovely day at the show and our kids had a wonderful time looking at all of the animals.






okehampton show
There were cows, sheep, horses and all sorts of smaller animals for the children to look at along with craft and food tents.

The kids found these orange looking sheep most amusing.


llama at okehampton show



The llama was also quite funny. The kids had never seen one before and were very impressed. He did look a little grumpy though!
Okehampton show sheep


There were lots of sheep!

Some very woolly like this one!

















And some lovely smaller animals for the kids to look at including some beautiful rabbits like the one below.
Rabbit at Okehampton Show
If you get the chance to visit Okehampton show in Devon please take the opportunity. It's a great event and lots of fun for all the family.
Sheep at Okehampton Show

Thursday 28 November 2013

My Top 10 Driving Related Pet Hates!!!!

Welcome to my top 10 driving related pet hates!!

I've been meaning to write something about driving for some time as there are lots of things that annoy me that are related to driving.

Here is my Top 10 but if you can think of any others that annoy you, please feel free to comment.

10) Those who drive too fast in wet weather and don't think of others!

9) When you've parked in a massive car park which is empty and someone else chooses to park right next to you even though there are hundreds of other spaces to choose from.

8) Supermarket trolley/car door related dents in your car be those who clearly cant see!

7) Those people who park too close and at a silly angle next to you in a car park and then forget to leave you a tin opener to get into your car!

6) People who don't acknowledge the fact you have let them out/past!

5) Drivers who don't understand the filter in turn arrows and attempt to stop you from joining the lane!

4) The people who moan about speeding in the neighbourhood who are generally the ones who speed in their neighbourhood!

3) People who don't know the size of their own car and therefore drive down lanes leaving 3 feet one side forcing you into the hedge!

2) Roadworks with no one working at them!

Here is my number one driving related pet hate!

1) Potholes Potholes Potholes!!!  Potholes that stay in the same place and when repaired become Potholes again within a few weeks. Damage to my car, damage to your car and it's not like we don't pay enough road tax for them to be fixed.

If you have any specific driving related pet hates please comment!

Monday 4 November 2013

Swimming!

Today we did something we haven't done since our camping holiday in France and that is to go swimming.

Now all three children have swimming lessons every week to make sure they can swim and have fund doing so but due to my wonderful (NOT) shifts there never seems to be enough time for us to go swimming as a family.

Our youngest could not come with us as he was at nursery but the other two had a BAKER DAY. For those not old enough to remember BAKER DAY's it's a day that teachers go to school but children don't.

We all ventured off down to the pool fairly early and what a great time we had. The eldest swims like a fish and just enjoyed being thrown into the pool by myself. The best one was where i managed to get my hands just under his legs and launched him high into the air. On landing in the pool he must have gone at least a foot or two under the water and came up with a massive smile on his face.

Our middle son had just as much fun. He's only recently started to learn to swim and yet he loves jumping from the side of the pool either into my arms or just straight into the water. He has however learnt to shut his eyes and mouth just prior to hitting the water although after entering the pool he always emerges spluttering and shaking his head in a manner that reminds me of our dog Stan.

We all had such a great time it makes me feel a little sad that we can't do it more often. My only complaint would be the quality of cleanliness of our local pool. I don't know how often they are meant to clean the floors but i would suggest the probably don't follow the guidelines going on the state of the floor this morning!!

Wednesday 30 October 2013

Groundhog Day - HELP!!!

If you've every had to work night shifts then you may be aware of the problem i am currently suffering from!!

My night shifts generally run from 9 or 10 pm until 7am getting home and into bed at around 7.30am.

I have no problem with the shifts themselves and can stay awake throughout the night however!!!!!

When it comes to sleeping in the morning i appear to have a massive problem in that i wake up at around 1030am without fail.

Now it may be 1030, 1031, 1032 or anything up to 1039 but for some strange reason my body decides that 1030 or thereabouts is a great time to wake up.

It doesn't seem to matter how tired i am when i go to bed or even if i leave getting into bed until 8, i still wake up at around 1030.

I have also tried not eating before going to sleep, eating before i go to sleep, kalms and other herbal medicines which made me feel sick etc etc etc but whatever i do the clock still shows around 1030 hence my post title of groundhog day.


When i wake i have that dreaded feeling of whether to look at the clock or not. When i find the urge irresistible i turn over to find the clock showing around 1030 again.

Now sometimes i can go back to sleep for a couple more hours and sometimes its only for an hour or so but it's really starting to get to me that for some reason my body clock is so messed up or on time as the case may be.

I would love to hear from anyone else who has the same problem and any things you may have tried.

Tuesday 22 October 2013

My Favourite Photo

This has to be one of my favourite photos which was taken of my youngest son during our family holiday to France.

As he walked along the beach looking for stones and shells there was no place i would have rather been than there with my wonderful family.


Tuesday 15 October 2013

Camping in France - Our Family Holiday

We had booked our family holiday, camping in France earlier during the year to a campsite called Le Clarys Plage in St Jean de Monts in the Vendee region which lies on the west coast.

As our summer holiday approached the whole family became very excited about going, with the children asking week in week out when we would be travelling.

We chose the campsite based on it's location to the local beach and the quality of the on site swimming pool complex and we were not disappointed and booked with Canvas Holidays.

The beach was only around 500m away and was wonderfully long and very sandy. You can always tell the quality of a beach by the number of locals that visit it and Les Mouettes beach was certainly busy and packed mostly with French families.

Les Mouettes Beach


Unlike the UK, there was a car park with direct access to the beach which was FREE and the best thing was that you could stay as long as you liked.

The beach was just great for children with a gently sloping sandy beach meaning that you had to go a fair distance out before you got out of your depth.

We spent a lot of time on the local beach building sandcastles and boats in which all three children would sit until the tide came in and washed it away. All three also spent a lot of time searching for and collecting a wide variety of shells and stones, which unfortunately ended up coming home with us (three buckets worth) that now seem to have taken pride of place in my garden!!

The campsite itself was, in my opinion one of these best we've visited.
The play park at Le Clarys Plage campsite

There were plenty of things for the children to do, from the wonderful play park to the great water slides and dragon splash park.


Le Clarys Plage pool complex

The dragon splash park



The area of St Jean de Monts is perfect for a family holiday, although I wish we'd taken our bikes with us.

The area has a whole range of cycle tracks which run throughout the region making getting around for children both fun and exciting and although we have taken their scooters, bikes would have been much better.

We all loved our family holiday and are looking forward to planning where to go camping next year which i will no doubt inform you all of soon!!!






My Return Home

Well, apart from a small hiccup at the start of the stag do you'll be pleased to know that everyone returned unscathed.

We all had a great time!

I have to admit though, leaving the three kids was surprisingly difficult this time. My middle boy was very upset on the day i set off for Spain with a few shed tears and unfortunately he was still a little upset when i called whilst away.

I made sure i phoned home every night to speak with them and was pleased to see that on my return they were all still very happy to see me come home.

Unfortunately though no rest for the wicked as back to work today!


Thursday 10 October 2013

Weekend Away!

This weekend is one of my friends stag weekends and where are we going?

SPAIN!!!

I didn't believe when we first discussed it. A weekend in Cornwall, Swansea, Cardiff or London was surprisingly more expensive than 4 nights on the sunny coast of Spain - All Inclusive!!

The next time I blog it will be on my return from this wonderful weekend.

Over the next few weeks as well as some general ramblings, i will tell you all about our summer family holiday when we went camping in France.

Anyway, packing to do and then off to sunny Spain!

Wednesday 9 October 2013

This is Stan!

This is our beloved dog STAN!

He's your typical Labrador but with a twist!
The last in the litter, it was love at first sight. Although slightly mad and a bit stupid he is the most lovable dog I have ever met. 

He adores children and has put up with all three of ours climbing on him at some stage or another and has never once complained.

His DAD's dog through and through, Stan is beginning to show his age. With stiff joints and whisps of white hair appearing on his face and chin he is growing old like Devon Dad. 

Saying that he quite often runs around like a lunatic when he gets excited showing off the wonderful puppy he once was and the special dog he still is today.

A mans best friend Stan certainly is a great dog and I could not wish for any more...


Where we live!

I have to say that i am very lucky that we live where we do.

Having live in a city for most of my life a move to a Dartmoor town around 10 years ago was the best move we ever made.

No more being stuck trying to get to and from work and plenty of lovely scenery too!

As the season change so do the views that we are so lucky to have meaning that walking our dog is a pleasure and not a chore.


From the leafless trees....

















To the wonderful snow fall we often get during the winter!












We truly are very, very lucky to live where we do!

Shift Work!

As you will discover my posts will and can come at any time of the day.

I am a shift worker and unfortunately they aren't the same shifts every week. This means that Devon Dad is quite often tired and awake or asleep at times of the day that the rest of the family are not.

Although quite often a pain, I do quite like shift work as it means I get time to myself when the rest of the family are at school or at work.

This means that tasks such as decorating, which could, as we all know be a pain when others want to help!! or not as the case may be, can be done more quickly and efficiently.

What's the problem with shift work?

My main problem with shift work is not the lack of sleep, it's not even the strange hours and times of the day I work!

No, my main problem is how it makes my three children feel!

A few years ago when my eldest was around 4 or 5 he began to notice more, the times of day i was leaving for work.

Then came the horrible question which made me feel quite sad.

DADDY ARE YOU GOING TO WORK AGAIN?

I had never even considered it before but when you work a normal day job you're normally at home of an evening to see the children and put them to bed etc!

This very simple question struck a bit of a chord as my job involves working several evening or nights on the trot.

Why am i writing about this topic, well my middle boy has just turned 5 and started school and what question did he come out with this week?

DADDY ARE YOU GOING TO WORK AGAIN? 

The only difference this time was the particularly sad face which was pulled along with a further depressing comment of I DONT LIKE YOU WORKING!

All i could think of saying was NEITHER DO I, followed by us sharing a smile and then off to work i went.

Shift Work - Great sometimes but also slightly depressing, not looking forward to the youngest one coming out with similar comments in a year or two!

Monday 7 October 2013

Why Blogging!

Why am I blogging?

It's a question i've asked myself and to be honest i'm still not quite sure.

I started writing online a couple of years ago as part of a couple of projects. Although i tend to ramble on I have found that i really do enjoy writing about this that and the other.

Most of my posts will be about my family life and the things we love and get up to. You will however find out quite quickly that i sometimes write whatever comes into my head and however i am feeling at the time!

I hope you enjoy reading my posts as much as i enjoy writing them and please feel free to comment!