I started my new job at The Learning Pool today. They had sent me a new M5 MacBook Pro which I got up and running with my setup after the upgrade. I had a day of meetings and forms to fill out. I am looking forward to new challenges.
Dad came over today to help on the garden. We started off by laying all of the new boarder blocks and then haunching all of the blocks that we had laid before to stop them from moving. Dad then relayed the slabs while I cut out all of the dead grass and replaced it with new turf. We also lowered the manhole that was sticking up in the garden so we don't trip over it.
Ethan and I went to March House farm today to go on their 165m slip & slide. We had a fantastic hour going down the slip and slide on 1 person rings, 2 person rings and bodyboards. The sun was out so we didn't get too cold either, we would definitely go again.
Today we went to the Cosmic Golf Experience at Leicester Golf Centre. The course was quite new and had a dyed river running through it. Once of the holes was really cool as you got to hit the ball into the stream and then it would be filtered out near the hole.
When building the pergola I had ran some 4 core armoured cable, so today I mounted 2 5.25inch Herdio outdoor speakers and ran the cable to them, I then got that cable into the garage and wired it up to a 300 watt rack mounted amplifier. I tested it out and the speakers sound great.
I ran an armoured power cable to the pergola and mounted a waterproof double socket to it so that we can have lights there. I also wired up some lights in the soon to be seats. Once I had connected the cable up to the existing outdoor armoured cable I gave them a test and they all worked.
Jul
27
For my new role I will be using a Mac, so I needed to update the cables in my office to support mostly USB-C. I ran 3 new USB-C cables to the monitors and then a 4 port hub for the microphone, webcam, external graphics card and the 2.5gb network dongle. Getting all the cables in the wall was difficult but with the help of my cable rods, I got them all ran. I also got myself a new black Apple Magic Mouse and an Apple Magic Keyboard with TouchID.
Dad asked if Ethan and I wanted to go with him and Thomas to Click City Action Park in Nottingham to go on all of the slides. We had a 1.5 hour session and we got to try every slide once and then choose our favourite ones to go on again. You get a mat which you take with you onto every slide and there are some which you take off a ramp at the end which are really fun.
As it was our last day we were up early to pack our suit cases and after dropping them off at reception we walked into EPCOT. We first went on Journey Into Imagination With Figment as we hadn't been on it yet this trip and then had lunch in Starbucks. Our final ride of the trip was Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros as the queue was small and we enjoy it. We walked back to the hotel, got ready and then got a taxi which had a TV in the back so we could watch a film while heading to the airport. I had a burger from Shake Shack before getting on the plane and flying home.
Jul
22
It was our last day in Magic Kingdom and we hadn't been on its a small world, so we did that first. We then went on Pirates of the Caribbean, had some lunch before going to Mickey Mouse at Town Square Theater for a photo. We then headed back to the hotel to enjoy the pool for a few hours. In the evening we were back to Magic Kingdom to the The Crystal Palace restaurant. We then went on Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin, where I got nearly 1.8 million and got a Galactic Hero badge. We then had a night time photo. Ethan and I stayed in the park, went on Haunted Mansion, had a Rapunzel Lantern photo, then a photo with the castle before going to the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor show.
Jul
21
It was our last day at Hollywood Studios so we had an entrance photo, followed by Meet Disney Stars at Red Carpet Dreams photo. We then went to the For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration, then Ethan and I went on Star Tours – The Adventures Continue before having lunch. In the afternoon we went on Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, then just made the last performance of Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! In the evening we went to Magic Kingdom and then caught the monorail to Chef Mickeys at Disneys Contemporary Resort which is where we had dinner. We took some nice photos of the sunset before heading back to the hotel for some swimming.
Jul
20
We walked to EPCOT this morning and went on Remys Ratatouille Adventure, we then had a look in the Japan store and then had some photos. We had lunch and then went on Spaceship Earth. We went back to the hotel and Ethan and I went in the pool with our goggles so we could explore the pool more. In the evening we went back into EPCOT and had dinner at the Garden Grill Restaurant. After dinner we had some night time photos, went on the Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros and then watched the show Luminous The Symphony of Us.
Jul
19
Today we went to Magic Kingdom and started the day with Pirates of the Caribbean before going on Under the Sea - Journey of The Little Mermaid. We then had a photo in Fantasy Land and then had a photo with Stitch. I then went on TRON Lightcycle Run and then met everyone for lunch. After lunch we headed back to the hotel to have a nice swim. In the evening we went back to Magic Kingdom and then got on the boat to Wilderness Lodge to go to the Story Book Dining at Artist Point with Snow White. It was nice being back at the hotel and while i was there I got myself a Wilderness Lodge Loungefly backpack. We then headed back to the hotel and Ethan and I went night swimming.
Jul
18
This morning we started off by renting a Surrey Bike from Disneys BoardWalk Inn and taking 2 laps around the lake, it was hard work getting up the hills but great when you got to go down the other side. We then walked to EPCOT and got some lunch. In the afternoon we watched Awesome Planet, went on Living with the Land, then Soarin Across America before heading back to the hotel for a swim. In the evening we headed to Magic Kingdom, had a photo on Beasts Castle Bridge before having dinner at Be Our Guest Restaurant. After dinner we went straight back to the hotel where we had an ice cream sundae from Boardwalk Ice Cream and watched Stitch at the outdoor cinema.
Jul
17
Today was our only day at Animal Kingdom. We had a Tree of Life photo when we arrived and then Meet Favourite Disney Pals at Adventurers Outpost photos. We went to Pandora and went on Navi River Journey and then a Lion King photo. For lunch we had a pizza a Pizzafari. We then went on Kilimanjaro Safaris. It started to rain a bit so we headed to Finding Nemo: The Big Blue... and Beyond! show, then onto Zootopia: Better Zoogether! before going to the Festival of the Lion King show, which was great. In the evening Ethan and I went to D-Lux Burger before heading to the H2O Glow After Hours at Disneys Typhoon Lagoon Water Park, which was great, even though it was a lot busier than last year.
Jul
16
It was an EPCOT day today. We started the day off with Test Track before Meet Beloved Disney Pals at Mickey & Friends photos. We then had lunch and got another photo. Ethan and I then decided to go to Disneys Blizzard Beach Water Park for the afternoon which was good fun, we managed to get on a lot of the slides we wanted to go on. We then went to Blaze Pizza for dinner and on the way home we got a cake slice from The Cake Bake Shop Bakery at the Boardwalk which we took back to the hotel to eat.
Jul
15
Today was a Magic Kingdom kind of day. We went straight to Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin when we got there before getting a 360 photo and then a Meet Mirabel at Fairytale Garden photo. For lunch we had milkshakes from the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor. After that we had a photo outside Pirates of the Caribbean before going on the ride. We then headed back to the hotel for some swimming. In the evening we got the bus back to Magic Kingdom to go to Cinderellas Royal Table restaurant which was a great experience. We then watched the night time parade Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away before getting a good spot to watch the Happily Ever After fireworks show. It was extended hours so everyone else went back to the hotel and I stayed to go on Space Mountain, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and then another go on Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin before I headed back to the hotel.
Jul
14
Today we headed to Hollywood Studios on the boat and when we got there had a photo in front of the Sorcerers Hat. We then went on Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway followed by Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. We then had lunch and then I went on The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. We headed back to the hotel for swimming before heading back to Hollywood Studios later to go to Hollywood & Vine for dinner. I then went on Rock n Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets which was great, before heading over to watch the Fantasmic! show with VIP seats we had from booking a dining package.
Jul
13
This morning we walked to EPCOT, had a photo and then went on The Seas with Nemo & Friends. We then went on Frozen Ever After as Ethan really likes it before heading for lunch. Ethan and I then had a Guardians of the Galaxy photo, then we went on Spaceship Earth before walking back to the hotel to have an extended session in the pool. In the evening we walked back into EPCOT and went to Le Cellier Steakhouse, which was a really good meal. We then watched the Luminous The Symphony of Us show. Everyone else then went back to the hotel and I stayed as it was extended hours and I went on Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.
Jul
12
Today we headed to Hollywood Studios by boat which you can catch right out the front of the hotel. When we arrived we wanted to make sure we went on Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance as I had gone on it last year and really enjoyed it. We then seen they were doing Lightsaber photos, so we all had some taken which was really cool. Next we went on Toy Story Mania! which is another ride that I really enjoy. We then headed Starbucks for lunch before going to The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure which is a show that we hadn't been to before but it was really good. We then went on one of Ethans favourite rides Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway, after this we caught the boat back to our hotel and went in the pool to cool off. In the evening we caught the bus to Magic Kingdom and then went on the Monorail to the Polynesian Village where we had dinner at Ohana restaurant. The food was nice and the hotel was lovely. We had a walk round the hotel afterwards and had some photos taken on the beach.
Jul
11
This morning we were up, had breakfast in the room and then caught the bus to Magic Kingdom. We had some photos taken on Main Street and then headed to one of our favourite rides that has just been updated Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin, the updates were great and made the ride even more interactive. Next we went on Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover for a nice slow tour of Tomorrowland. We then went on a ride we hadn't been on before Astro Orbiter, it was good and you got some nice views. We then had a photo near the rock and a zoom photo before heading Starbucks for lunch. In the afternoon we went on Pirates of the Caribbean and then the Jungle Cruise before catching the bus back to our hotel where we went swimming. In the evening we went to the Grand Floridian to the 1900 Park Fare restaurant. On the way back to the hotel we had a photo at Magic Kingdom.
Jul
10
This morning we were up early for our first day in the park. As we were in walking distance of EPCOT we headed there. The first ride we went on was Remys Ratatouille Adventure which was great, followed by having the photo outside. We then headed to Japan to have a look round the shop. We then headed to Italy and had a photo. We then went to Mexico and had a photo with Donald. We then headed on the Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros which is great and had a nice short queue. For lunch we headed to Starbucks for some nice frappuccinos. After lunch we then went on the new Soarin Across America which we enjoyed. We then went on Living with the Land. We then took a boat back to the hotel and went swimming in the amazing Stormalong Bay pool. For dinner we headed to Disney Springs and went to D-Lux Burger.
Jul
09
We had stayed over night in the Radisson Red Heathrow to avoid the stress of trying to drive down early. We got a taxi to the airport and got checked in nice and early before heading to get some breakfast. Our flight was at 12:30 and went smoothly. I managed to watch quite a few films and ate a lot! Once we landed we got a taxi to Disneys Yacht Club Resort. We got checked in and got really lucky with our room having a nice lake view. We then headed to Disney Springs so we could get some dinner from Blaze Pizza. We then headed back to the hotel and went bed.
It has been super hot here so to get out of the heat and because the film looked good we went to the cinema today to see Toy Story 5. The film was really good and was emotional at times, but well worth a watch.
Today was the TNC Summer party. We had 2 hours of private access at the Roxy Ballroom, where you could bowl, play pool, etc and then there was food and free drink. We then went to the Forum Cafe & Bar where we had the outdoor area. There was burgers which were nice and they also had an ice cream truck which I went back for 2nds and 3rds to.
Grandma and I went to Kilworth House Theatre to see Anything Goes. I had no clue what it was about before going, but it was all set on a ship and was a fantastic performance!
Happy Fathers Day! Ethan got me the Shrek Lego Brickheadz which look really cool and I am looking forward to building them.
Rachel took part in the Loros Glow and Glitter Walk this evening. Ethan, Joy and I went to meet her and her colleagues from the school at the finish line. She raised a lot of money and we are really proud of her.
I have been slowly chipping away at the garden every evening this week, getting the skip loaded up, digging out for the path, clearing up and carrying blocks round. This morning I put some type one down on the path and then wackered it down before barrowing loads of sand round to bring it up to the right level. Dad then worked on bedding the blocks on to make the path and I worked on block paving the pergola base and the circle, with Dad dropping behind me to do any cuts required. We then finished off at the end of the day by putting down the kiln dried sand, sweeping it in, giving it a wacker and then sweeping more kiln dried sand in. Im really happy with how it looks.
We are going to relay the slabs at the back of the house, so we decided to jetwash them clean before doing so. We hired a big industrial jetwash and it was really powerful and got all of the dirt that were on the slabs and block pavers off. They have come up like new!
