This afternoon Libby came home from school and announced that she would be going to the National Sea Life Centre Birmingham next month on her first ever school trip.

A trip to the National Sea Life Centre

This seems like such a big milestone, the first time she’ll be going away on a coach. Taking her rucksack with her packed lunch and heading off for the whole day. I feel quite reassured that she’s going to somewhere that she knows so well. We might even go there ourselves before her trip, there’s so much going on I’d hate Lia to miss out.

This half term, the National Sea Life Centre is gearing up for Halloween with a spooky seas theme. The focus will be on the ghost-like jellyfish and the whole place will provide a family sensory experience. When Libby goes, her class will be taking part in a behind the scenes tour. Hopefully they’ll be able to see the brand new baby blue-spotted stingrays. These have been bred here for the first time as part of their breeding programme that aims to protect endangered sea species.

I feel so excited for Libby and the rest of her class about their first ever school trip and a brand new adventure.

A day in Bristol

Lia’s week has been a little more sedate but she’s starting to get used to being on her own. She went out for the day with her dad on Monday, which gave me the opportunity to spend the day working.

It may be partly to do with this that I’ve started to feel a lot more on top of my work this week. I’m getting myself into a good routine where I’m managing to spend time on both my freelance work and my blog without feeling overrun.

I’ve even managed to get back into exercise now that I’ve recovered from my ultramarathon. I’ve fitted in both running and swimming this week, and I’ve particularly enjoyed the misty autumn mornings walking the dogs. Our Thursday photo #127 is from our day out at the National Forest Adventure Farm on Saturday. It was lovely for the girls to have a day together, they’ve been missing each other a lot since Libby started school.

For me, it was great to spend the day with them and it has made me even more excited about half term which is just around the corner. I can’t believe how quickly the last few weeks have gone. We’ve finally settled into our new routine but I can’t imagine a day when I won’t long for the next holidays so I can spend more time with them.

Our Thursday Photo #127