Summer Holidays

Summer Holidays away in the campervan have given us some of the greatest memories any family could wish. This year will be our third summer with the Van and our furthest expedition to date. As with any older vehicle ,it takes a while to build your confidence that the van will make it beyond the end of the road. So our first camping expedition was to the intriguingly named "Strawberry Woods " Campsite a record breaking 12 miles away..ha ha. It was a great success and spurred us on to go farther a field that summer. Last year we did a grand tour of Wales, through some amazing countryside and up some steep mountains (slowly) followed later in the summer with a jaunt down to the Isle of Wight.

This year however we have set our sights further afield ....FRANCE.. Gulp. Now with such an expedition planning is the key to ensure a successful trip. So I employed the services of friendly travel specialist.....other wise know as the Mrs.... Laura just loves trawling the internet looking for the best deals, places to stay and visit and all that insurance malarkey.

All I have to do is ensure the Van is up to the trip and with that in mind I will be doing several jobs over the coming months in preparation for the "Grand Tour". So tune in next time to read about some of the jobs to be done on the van in readiness for "France 2011"

A Change of Priorities...

A few years ago before Erin and Joel were born our lives were totally different. Both of us worked full time and though we were never "Well off " life was comfortable. We were both involved in pastimes that took considerable time and commitment, but we had been doing them for so long we never realised how limiting they could be. However when you have children to begin to look at things in a new light and realise that things you thought were important , really aren't.

You tend to review your own childhood and analyse the decisions your parents made and how those choices 20 or 30 years ago are still effecting you today. So what has this self examination revealed?.... Well we won't live our lives through are children, but we will help them to make there own choices in life. Our priorities are now totally different to that of our own parents and this no doubts will cause some raised eyebrows and tutting but that's fine by us.. The most valuable gift you can give your children is .."Time"..which is also the one thing you can't buy....

So if you are a parent (or planning to be one ) spend as much time with your kids as you can , doing fun things. As when they grow older these will be the memories they cherish and hold dear to...

Enjoying the Simple Things of Life..

Part of the ethos of owning a Campervan , is getting back to a simpler way of life. All of us yearn in one way or another to escape the rat race , hence the popularity of Campervans. But you don't even need a van to enjoy many simple pleasures in life. Take today for instance. We live near the centre of town but are fortunate to live next to a beautiful park. This park has rolling hills (great for sledging )a small lake full of fish and birds as well as the formal gardens around the bandstand and kids playground...ect ect.

This morning was a glorious Spring day so I took my four year old for a stroll in the Park, which he loves to explore. I sat on a bench near the lake basking in the warm sun whilst Joel was trying to catch the Doves ( mission impossible) and all I could hear were the birds and the laughter of Joel. It was just one of those moments you want to put in a box and the best thing about it was that it was free!!!

Some times when I'm out shopping I'll drive into the Park instead of going home and park at the edge of the car park overlooking the lake and make myself a brew...and just kickback for half an hour.

So forget your I phones/laptops / 24 hour TV and get out there and enjoy the simple and free thing in life...........