13 June 2004

Staying close Today we spent most of the time on the camp site and walking on the cliffs and small beaches.  Stephie decided she was going to write an illustrated book, so on one of the long walks we took 50 or so photo’s with the other girls all acting out parts.    file:///H:DebbieDebbie's%20PicturesWales%20-%20WestStephies%20Book   Its was really cute as Stephie described each child’s character in the book and they all practiced as we walked along so they could all look “realistic”.  For a small break we all went to a slate works where we got a look at how slate is mined and machined.  We all got the chance to chisel out a design on a small slate block.  Debbie’s was the best of course, a 36 for Brian and Elena’s house.  5:15:13 PM      comment [] Snowden We had a fantastic day today in the Snowdonia national park.  We saw Snowden, but the highlight for me was a walk through one of the Forests in the national park with Stephie and Jen.  We walked for about 2 hours and it was a very rough track but the kids were fine, they even managed to cope well when we got lost and we had a lot of laughs, (we really did!), trying to find our way back onto the tracks.   We also went to one of the electricity pumped storage generators, it was impressive but nothing compared to the natural beauty of the region.  When we got back to the camp Stephie and I went out for a long walk along the sea cliffs.  The cliffs are only 15 minutes walk from the Caravan, and amazingly picturesque, with lots of small rocky coves that are fairly easy to reach and lots of safe cliff top play areas for the girls as well.  Yesterday the beaches were covered with Jelly fish, but these have all cleared now and the little beaches are pristine. 5:13:08 PM      comment [] Portmeirion Portmeirion was created by an architect who wanted to demonstrate that it was possible to enhance a beautiful natural landscape though careful development rather than detract form it. He created a fantasy village which is sustained by tourism and for my money he proves his point. We walked for a couple of hours in the wild gardens and spent a while photographing the village.  The kids took turns with the camera so we should have some interesting results. We arrived back at the Caravan at about 14:30 and had a snack and a bit of reading time and then went swimming. The adventure pool was the best we have been to but it was VERY noisy!   Debbie and the kids have just dashed off to a rabbit farm leaving me to do the washing up. There are loads of rabbits on the site as well. Stephie is keeping count but they are up to about 90 so far. 5:11:55 PM      comment [] Great Site! We arrived in North West Wales today at about 14:30 . The campsite is huge but very well maintained. The caravan is excellent. While Debbie unpacked I took the kids round the site and down to the beach which was small but very rocky and interesting.  The beach was covered with tiny Jellyfish but we still managed to have a good explore and paddle in the sea. The kids loved it. After tea Debbie took Anna, Jen and Stephie back to the beach and they found a dead Dog Fish which made their night Tessa decided she wanted to stay at the caravan with me but soon decided she wanted to go out for a walk. Eventually she managed to drag me to a bouncy slide and £1.50 poorer I read “10 secrets of abundant happiness” whilst I watched her, as if proof were needed of how easy it is to be happy with the simple things in life.   We all arrived back at the Caravan at the same time and for supper, the kids had Apple and After Eight mints! We got the Twins showered and off to bed and then the big girls Debbie and I settled own to watch “Maid in Manhattan” on the tablet. This went pretty well.  All this written freehand with the new TIP, very impressive once you get the hang of it. 5:08:46 PM      comment [] Getting ready is an event in itself!! The kids went away with their Grand Parents last week and so arrived home with a mountain of washing. Everything needed to be unpacked washed and repacked with lots of extra stuff added as well. The house also needed to be tidied and tidied again and then cleaned before we went. Poor old Debbie seems to have done nothing but prepare for the holiday for days while I have tried to keep the kids out of the way I think that’s why a couple of holidays a year is enough for me! Its probably also why I love living in a holiday resort all year around. We can be on holiday after a 5 minute walk to the sea front! 5:06:57 PM      comment []

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