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Not Quite the Birthday We’d Planned!

Today was LV’s birthday. He finally turned 9! I say finally, he hasn’t actually had to wait any longer than the year that every one else is allotted. But as his birthday is in the summer holidays he has watched all his class mates, bar one,  turn 9 before him.

crocodile sculptureThe day started out brilliantly with the obligatory present opening, he had a few Nerf guns that he’d requested specifically, he even showed me Youtube tube videos to make sure I bought the right ones, which was lucky because names like sidestrike, sledgefire and double strike all blend into one when your shopping on Amazon at the last minute! A couple of books that are suitable for boys, because all ours that are for his age group are about fairies and fluffy kittens! A new minions money box and some minecraft minifigures.

He was lucky to get an extra gift of a steelseries controller that we were sent recently. This handy wireless controller connects with an ipad, iphone or ipod (ios7 or later) and allows him to play his games much easier than with the on screen controller, it is pocket size too, which makes it really easy to take with you anywhere!9th birthday haul

And then things started going downhill.

LV hadn’t planned what he wanted to do, so after breakfast we made a last minute decision to visit Cantref Adventure Farm. The two L’s had visited with school last year and haven’t stopped raving about the place yet. So, as you do, we popped the name into Lee’s iPhone and set off on our merry way. We ended up in some very narrow lanes that eventually brought us to some even narrower lanes where someone had kindly placed a sign that said “No Entry To Cantref”!

Of course, being in the middle of Wales, we had no mobile signal to then search for the right directions so we ended up driving around for well over an hour and a half and still couldn’t find the place. Let’s just say we were all getting a bit hot under the collar, as well as hungry, so we stopped off in McDonalds to grab some lunch and also take advantage of their free wifi! 

We should have taken a minute to read the website before we left. 

“Please use SAT NAV with caution because it can send you on very narrow lanes  and slow your journey.  Our post code is LD3 8LR (Please use Postcode only – do not use our name)”

You can see how many times we went wrong here, each colour change was a new direction we took, we started as the dark green and ended as the blue (apologies to any colourblind readers for this image) As you can see we were aiming for MILES away from where we needed to be!!!routes to cantref

So we gave up and headed home, stopping into Margam Park on the way, which is only 17 miles from our house, but it had basically taken us 4 hours to get there (including stopping to eat), that was one hell of a scenic route!!!

It wasn’t the day out we’d expected when we got in the car this morning, but the kids had a great time anyway. Here’s just a selection of images I took today. Margam has lots of space to run around in, very handy for practicing your vamipre killing moves too, apparently. Even Dr Who likes to pay a visit occasionally.

mushrooms at margam park

playing 'buffy the vampire slayer'

autumn already

Is it autumn already?

margam house

tardis at Margam Park

I have recently discovered Geocaching and have the app on my phone so for something extra to do, I had a look to see if there were any caches at Margam and we managed to find the Margam Mushroom one. It is the first we have ever found! We were expecting a nice little plastic box with some funky stuff inside. Instead there was what looked like a McDonalds toy bag with the log book pages, which were all full, a stone and a 10p piece. I added a new piece of paper and a pencil, hopefully someone will replace the container soon. I hope the next one is a little more exciting!

Of course we ended the day with cake! A minion cake to be precise, and delicious it was too.

Happy Birthday LV xxx

minion birthday cake

Have you ever gotten as horribly lost as we did today? I’d love to hear about it!

***Disclaimer: We were sent the game controller to try out before choosing to add it to this blog post***

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11 Comments CATEGORIES // Days out, outdoors, Raising boys TAGGED: children, getting lost, parenting problems

Comments

  1. Zoe dunn says

    August 16, 2015 at 12:28 pm

    not what you planned but still sounds like a fab day out together. #sundaystars
    Zoe dunn recently posted…What a CorkerMy Profile

    Reply
    • mami2five says

      August 16, 2015 at 1:00 pm

      It did turn out as a great day, will teach us not to depend on modern technology for everything lol

      Reply
  2. Harry's Honest Mummy says

    August 16, 2015 at 1:21 pm

    My husband would have blown a gasket too! Your photos are lovely and I am glad the day turned out well in the end for your son’s birthday. It’s often the unexpected situations that are the best. #MySundaysStars

    Reply
    • mami2five says

      August 16, 2015 at 1:26 pm

      Thank you, it really was a nice day. Eventually! Next time we will make sure to check we are actuallyaiming for the right place before we leave home!!!

      Reply
  3. Erin @Yorkshiretots says

    August 16, 2015 at 2:00 pm

    Well done for not letting getting lost ruin the day. It sounds really frustrating but a great time had by all in the end! I have been wanting to try geocatching with the kiddos – I bet it’s pretty exciting to find things even if your cache wasn’t quite as exciting as you had hoped!
    Erin @Yorkshiretots recently posted…4 more creative & quirky Yorkshire cafes for families by Teacups & ToddlersMy Profile

    Reply
  4. Kirsty Ralph says

    August 16, 2015 at 3:47 pm

    Although it didn’t go to plan, it still looks like you have had a great time and sometimes not having a plan is better!

    Reply
  5. Dana Andersen says

    August 16, 2015 at 4:27 pm

    Sometimes the best days out are the ones you weren’t expecting! You’re pictures are lovely and i’m glad you all had such a great day <3

    Reply
  6. Astrid says

    August 16, 2015 at 7:54 pm

    Oh, I’m so sorry you couldn’t find Cantref and it took you all day to even find something to do. I hope the kids also enjoyed the geocaching. #SundaysStars
    Astrid recently posted…The Color GreenMy Profile

    Reply
  7. Sarah Christie says

    August 16, 2015 at 11:03 pm

    OMG that is a nightmare but I am so glad it all turned out well in the end. Happy Birthday LV x
    Sarah Christie recently posted…Late Afternoon Sun On Turks And Caicos BeachMy Profile

    Reply
  8. Karen says

    August 20, 2015 at 8:45 am

    Margam looks like an amazing place – I love that the TARDIS is there too.

    Reply
  9. Mrs H says

    August 21, 2015 at 9:50 pm

    Wow, you did end up going out of your way, didn’t you?! I sometimes think that GPS cause more trouble than they are worth. We always end up being taken off road or into an industrial estate. But I am glad LV still ended up having a fab birthday. Your photos are great. Thanks for linking such a fabulous post to #SundaysStars. Hugs Mrs H xxxx
    Mrs H recently posted…Vlog Club – My top five beauty productsMy Profile

    Reply

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