Lanzarote 2011

Hi all,

Well we have just returned from our fantastic holiday in Lanzarote.  I used to think holidays were relaxing but holidaying with kids is anything but.  Luckily we had help on this holiday as (Craigs mum) Barbara and John, and (Craigs' brother) Alan and Amy came with us.

The place we went to was great, Papagayo Arena, we had great rooms which had huge beds, large balcony and a fantastic sea view.  I used to think all inclusive holidays were expensive but I am now a convert.  I spent £2.20 on a cup of tea on the plane and that was it.  The food was good, and not having to cook it was even better, getting drinks as we pleased was top... especially the cocktails....ha ha.  The hotel had 5 pools, decent restaurants and cafes and the most amazing of sea views.

We have taken the kids on holiday every year but aside from eurodisney last year this is our first time abroad with our little people.  Both Tom and Katie were great and seeing how other peoples kids behave makes me appreciate how good our two are.  That said having our little ones travelling with us was a little bit draining sometimes.  I never realised how much Katie talks until I was sat with her for three hours on the plane (I had to swop places with Craig for the last hour).  I know that she is someone who prefers to be with others rather than play with toys, but I have a new appreciation of how great Tom is at amusing her all day (bless him).  She did manage to get the other passengers laughing when she pointed to the "Brocolli" she could see on the ground when we took off (had us in stitches).

The other highlight of the week was Wednesday night (our last night) when had a chinese for tea and got to the bar later than usual.  Most nights we managed to get seats outside but on wednesday it was busy so we went inside and sat by the little stage.  Now I know me and Craig can entertain the crowds sometimes but our kids put us in the shade.  In a nutshell they decided to play together on the stage and for the next couple of hours managed to put on a show that incorporated other kids from a variety of different countries.  We had dancing, acting, playing mummy and daddy to a baby girl, teaching another little girl to dance and setting each other a challenge to throw their lanzarote camel teddys (from Nanny and Grandad) as high as they could and also walking around the audience with their hats held out to collect pretend money.  Hilarious!

So as you can tell we had a great time and would highly recommend the Papagayo if any of you fancy a trip to Lanzarote.  Back to the real world now and facing a huge pile of washing plus housework to tidy up from Craigs' birthday party which was the weekend before our holiday.

Craigs Birthday.

As you have now come to expect, we don't do things by half so Alan took Craig to watch the football on his birthday and we had people round Saturday night to celebrate his birthday.  Yes I have to admit my hubby is my toy boy as he has just turned 31, and I'm at that age where if someone asks me how old I am I have to think...what year is it?  I was born in 1974 so I must be....ahh 37.

Anyway for those of you who are regular visitors to our house you know we always have a good party but it being so close to our hols we didn't want to get lots of food in so for a change we ordered a chinese takeaway....for 30 people!  Boy that is a heck of a lot of food.  Craig, Cal and Phil went to the chinky on the corner and luckily managed to find a tesco trolley in the car park which they used to get the takeaway home....there was a lot of food and a huge bag of prawn crackers.  Great.

Well as usual it was a great night but having just got back off our hols we have come home to a pile of bedding to wash from those who stopped over and a full bar of bottles in the kitchen.  Luckily Ken next door put our bins out and we managed to recycle...that said we still have a tesco trolley in our front garden.  Ha Ha.

Well now its back to the real world (not that being retired in our 30s feels like the real world) but we have little people preparing for school and uniforms to buy.  Katie starts in her first year this September so we are looking forward to getting our days back now that we will have more that two hours a day to do stuff.  Craig is looking forward to getting back into his golf and I am setting myself a challenge to lose some weight by finding some form of excercise I can tolerate.  Having reduced my steroids I am eating less but need to work off some of this weight gain somehow.....I also may even venture up to Warton for lunch with the ladies when both kids are in school full time, (will sort a date in Sept).

Well time for my bed now (it is 12.30am) but I will be back in touch soon to update you on our activities which are likely to include our next barge trip and another holiday....this one with D&D and no little people.

Enjoy the rest of this very wet summer.

Tx