Salcey Forest - fun above the tree tops

Last weekend we spent the morning at Salcey Forest in Northamptonshire, I had never been before but had it recommended to me as a nice place to take kiddies for a walk.

It really was lovely, Squiggle got her wellies on and went on a puddle hunt. It didn't disappoint - there were muddy puddles galore and lots of trails to explore. She had lots of fun following the pink signs on elephant walk until we found the treetop walkway. This is something we don't get at our local woods! S loves any kind of bridge/ pathway she can run along so this was a huge hit! It gently slopes up and up until you are above the treetops with a fantastic view. We were hoping to spot a squirrel down below and we did! We also discovered tadpoles, pond skaters and water boatmen in one of the ponds. We really had such an enjoyable family walk!

We then headed back to the parking area for our picnic as there is a lovely wooden playground full of things to climb. There is also a cafe there in case you don't pack anything or it rains!

Entry is free but it's £3 to park for the day which was great value we felt.

All in all a great time for a budget morning out in the fresh air!

Support your country at the Olympics and you could win a fantastic Lumix!

This competition has now closed.

Random.org selected number 1 which means Gemma Mills you are the lucky winner, congratulations I'll be in touch!

Has anyone noticed quite a big and very exciting sporting event going on at the moment??!! My family (like most of us) are completely gripped, it's such an exciting time and so inspiring to see all our athletes doing so well!

So if like me you are feeling all over excited, why not head over to facebook and have a go at the great fun Panasonic Flag Tag app. You can take a photo or select a fun one from your archives and then chose which flag you want to use to decorate your face.... and no mess! My girl loved seeing her picture decorated with the Union Jack. It's great fun for all the family to have a go, what do you think of ours?!

And what's even more exciting? If you have a go and come back and share your creation you'll be in with a chance to win a fantastic Olympic themed Panasonic Lumix camera here on my blog.

If you would like to enter just head over to the app, create you flag tag image, then simply come back and leave a link to your image in the comments below. You can find the app here:
http://www.facebook.com/
PanasonicUK/app_316244828451255

I'll pick a winner at random from all the valid comments after the closing date, please remember to leave a way for me to contact you (twitter handle, email etc.).

If you'd like to follow my blog or follow me on twitter you'll be the first to hear about the winner and any new competitions. It won't get you any extra entries but it will put a smile on my patriotic face!

Good luck and have fun, I can't wait to see the photos!

The details:
Competition closes 9th of September 2012 (just after the Paralympics).

Winner chosen at random and details passed on to promoting company.

The promoting company will send out the prize to the winner in the next 2 weeks following the closing date.

Non-UK entrants may enter but for postage reasons will receive a same value Amazon voucher instead. UK residents will receive the camera.

One entry per person.

The pictures will appear on the giant screen next to the Olympic stadium in Stratford

Organix 'Veg & Oat Bars' review

We are huge fans of Organix snacks in our house, my daughter's favourites have to be the fruit bars, so I was really interested to find out what their new savoury versions were like.

It's a great idea, I never leave the house unless armed with some kind of snack (bribe) but I don't always want to be giving S something sweet - the savoury options are a lot more limited! Organix very kindly sent us two boxes of their Veg & Oat bars to sample and here is what we thought...

First up was tomato and carrot:

Squiggle recognised the packaging straight away and was very excited, I explained to her what flavour they were and she said "yum I like carrots"... Her review was... "They taste nice, they taste like tomatoes, the smell like tomatoes, I like tomatoes..."

And that pretty much sums it up! She did like them but she also said I could have the other half. She does quite like sharing food with mummy, but she would NEVER share her fruit bars!! I had some too and they do have quite a strong tomato flavour. I think she would have liked them even more when she was younger and was a real fan if those strong flavours, she is almost 3 now and knows what she likes!

Our second box were sweetcorn and red pepper flavour:

Again these are both flavours that she loves so she was excited and these went down even better. The texture and quality of the bars is up to the Organix brand's usual high standards and of course they have the no junk promise to put your mind at ease!! I think the bars are well worth a try, some kids will love them. I remember being at the earlier stages with squiggle when I was trying to avoid sweet treats, I would have stocked up on these. In bribery terms I have to confess I'll probably still reach for the Organix carrot cake bars instead. She really enjoyed the savoury bars but she begs and pleas for the fruit ones!

Has anyone else tried them? I'd love to hear what your little ones thought? Well worth a try I'd say!

Please not we were sent these to review but my thoughts are my own.

Very very tiny planes, trains and automobiles

This is my post for this weeks The Gallery theme 'planes, trains, and automobiles'. This photo is of an wonderful place where we had a fantastic family day out – Bekonscot Model Village & Railway in Buckinghamshire. Here we found the tiniest railway where the trains stopped at the stations, boats that sailed round the harbour, and it's very on teeny tiny airfield. It has it all so just seemed perfect for the theme. I could barley drag Squiggle away from the station, I think she could have stood and watch the trains all day!! It's a lovely day out, and a good one to take Grandparents along to. There are lots of lovely details to look at with little jokes thrown in to keep easily amused adults like me happy!