One Day Holiday Challenge

Over the Summer holiday I was set the challenge by a Ocean Finance to stick to a strict budget of £100 for a day out or days out. This was named the 'One Day Holiday.' The reason the challenge has been set is to help show that its not needed to spend a fortune to have a great day out.

With the money I originally intended to go to Bristol International Balloon Fiesta. I filled my car up with fuel, brought snacks and hit the road. By the time we got to the balloon fiesta the hot air balloons had already taken off and landed so that scuffled our plans for the day.

The view from the road.

After taking a few moments and a google search for what points of interests were nearby we ended up heading to Bristol Zoo.

Bristol Zoo

Once at Bristol Zoo it felt like we were the only people there. We weren't, but it was very quiet till about lunchtime and then the crowds were flocking in. 

TJ and I started looking at the lion area, to begin with we didn't see the lions until we got to the second half of the enclosure. Once at the glass the lion was at the front of the enclosure observing all the people passing by and watching them closely.

So close to this one amazing animal.

 The next animal we went through the enclosure and looked at the flamingo's. 

Tj commented on the color of their wings and body as they were such a brilliant pink.

On to the Gorilla enclosure. Again it was amazing to be so close to these beautiful and powerful primates. When we arrived at the enclosure they had just been let back into the house for their breakfast. It was amazing to see the 32st Silverback Gorilla picking at bugs and what looked like large nuts off of the floor.

The Gorilla house has recently had £1 million over haul and the fantastic 180 degree views.

The penguin enclosure was beautiful, its been a long time since I've been up close to one but this little one definitely stole the thunder from all the rest. I named him Dudley although that's not his official zoo name. 

He was such a lovely character and even poked his beak through the cage allowing me to stroke his head and bill. I don't recommend doing this to anyone as they can have a nasty nip.

The above animals were just a select few in the zoo. Every enclosure was well kept and well looked after. 

The shots below are a select few of some animals within the zoo that I found interesting and one which I've not seen before.

This seal was yelling and posed for a photo!

A very rare TJ turtle 

Another rare human Joey

Captain Pug the cutest story I've read.

My little light reading has turned into me being obsessed with the book that I've finally managed to start reading.
From the second I started reading the bright orange, blue and white pictures drew me into the story. All the colors throughout the book are these 3 bright colors and fantastically drawn.
The main character is a Pug named Pug which is Haystacks favourite breed. With the googly eyes that seem to watch your every movement right down to the curly tail he just loves them.
The book follows the life of a rich Pug who has his own wardrobe. (I'm in awe as I wish I could put hats and ties on my Lab, yes I realise that it's a book but a lady can dream).
In the first book he visits a boat donning his very cute sailors outfit and sure enough mayhem is soon behind him. From t

he boating lake to ending up in a much bigger pond the story is full of giggles especially as Pug is afraid of water.
Pugs owner Lady Miranda is a young lady who knows what she wants and when she wants it. When I was younger I wished I'd have servants but alas I only had an older brother. (It's all good I have nephews now ).
TJ and I have both enjoyed reading this book and haven't wanted to put it down.
In fact I didn't even when TJ fell asleep!
Bad mommy, but I was enjoying it too much.

I don't want to give away to much of this fantastic little book but you can find out how much fun it is yourself by heading to

http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/captain-pug-9781408866375/

Blokpod - For all the Lego lovers

This week between the bugs and germs that have spread about my house' I was lucky enough to receive an awesome new product that's gone on the market called the 'Blokpod'. The product is available on Amazon currently at £44.99.

TJ is a big fan of Lego so this was a perfect gift for him to help sort out his many thousands of bricks out without having to do it by hand.

The main part of is made up of 4 round plastic chambers, 3 various sized grates and a lid.
the idea of this device is to empty a large amount of Lego into the top chamber with the largest grate, place the lid on and give it a little shake. The smaller pieces of Lego will fall  through the holes and go to the next level down, where once again when you shake it will fall through to the next level and if it's small enough to fit through to the base chamber.

Tj loved every second of this from the dismantling and looking at each piece to putting it back together bit by colored bit. We both liked the shape and found it was easy to maneuver with the handles being in built in to the lid. We've stored it under his desk with Lego pieces still inside and when he feels like he needs to have a little shake whilst doing his homework, well why not after all it was designed to be shaken and not stirred.

Disclaimer: I received a Blokpod in exchange for an honest review on the product. All opinions are my own.


If you sign up today you can receive a 20 % discount and when you register you have a 15 year warranty.

TJ received his Little passports letter.

This morning TJ received his second little passports letter through the post, the only other time I've seen him so excited to see post come through was when he was getting ready to open a Disney parcel. I love seeing this look of excitement in his eyes.

          Inside today's parcel came from Brazil 

• a letter
•  a couple of stickers
•  an amethyst stone
•  a post card
• quiz pages ( for use with the map)

After inspecting each piece and reading through the letter twice TJ cracked on with the questions.

bringing the map down off the wall and placing it on the table. The first thing TJ asks is how do you unscramble letters.

Taking his time to work out the puzzles he soon finished, and worked out where our little friends were going next to eat.

 Each month is a new country and we love to research a little bit more then what we receive in the little passports package.

Next month is Japan.