Thursday photo #224

There’s a constant dilemma in the school holidays. A tussle between giving them time to relax or packing in exciting experiences. We’ve been so busy for the past few weeks that this week was going to be all about relaxing. But the problem is, relaxing and being busy are somehow the same thing.

What does relaxing mean anyway?

For a short period of time, we’re all ok with watching television or reading. The children are happy to play at home, making up their own games on the trampoline or doing crafts. But soon enough, we’re all itching to get out of the house. It’s something I’ve always beaten myself up about. The girls don’t get enough downtime, they’re tired and always on the go. But recently I’ve started to get a slightly different perspective on it.

While we were in London, we hardly stopped for a moment. We’d be up and out of the hostel first thing in the morning and we didn’t get back until bedtime. I worried that the girls would get tired and out of sorts but in fact, the opposite happened. They were on top form for the entire few days.

So when we came home last week and tried to take things easy, it didn’t go to plan. The girls were bored and griping at each other. It wasn’t long before we needed to get out of the house again. And so, we’ve fallen into our own sort of routine. The girls are cycling every day and we’re swimming a lot and going to the park for picnics. Not what many people would regard as relaxing, but it works for us.

Testing out the SUP

As a family, we all love being around water. At the moment, we’re swimming in the pool several times a week and I’m open water swimming whenever I can. We have inflatable kayaks and my husband has been trying to persuade me to buy a SUP for ages. I was determined I didn’t need one but after my SUP lesson, I had a change of heart.

So on Saturday, we all headed to Croft Farm water park with an inflatable kayak and the new SUP. I was really impressed with how happy the girls were to wade into the lake. They were in wetsuits and life jackets, but the water was quite chilly and they didn’t mind at all. My husband and I took it in turns to use the SUP, while the girls messed about on the kayak. Much as I hate to admit it, buying the SUP was probably the right decision. I think we’ll get hours of fun from it.

The girls have spent loads of time this week cycling and swimming. I share lots of photos of them cycling because they do it so much. So, here they are showing off their new swimming costumes – and their flying skills.