Ethan and I went to see the new Mario film today, we got in one of the bug screens at Vue, we thought it was really good.
This morning we went up early, packing everything away and loading the car up. Once that was done Ethan and I went swimming while Rachel took the car back to the carpark. We then had some lunch at Starbucks. Ethan and I then went on a nice bike ride going over all the bumps we could find and through the forest and around the lakes. We then had Family Karting booked which was great fun as we could all go on, we did time trials and just pedalled around. We started heading home about 4pm, got home at 6pm and had a Dominos pizza as we couldn't be bothered to cook.
Apr
02
This morning Ethan and started off the day with a swim followed by some lunch at Starbucks. We then went for a bike ride and went around the lake. We then went Roller Skating in the Sports Plaza, I had forgotten my skates, but the hired ones were ok and we all had great fun. After getting hot skating Ethan and I had an ice cream and a sit down. In the evening we went to Cafe Rouge for dinner and Rachel and I had the pie.
Apr
01
This morning Ethan and had Tree Trekking, which we really enjoy to do. Afterwards we went Starbucks for lunch and a donut. We then went swimming before heading back to the lodge for a rest. We then went out on the bikes trying to find jumps and hills to ride over, we found some and had a great time. In the evening we went to Bella Italia and I had a pizza.
Mar
31
This morning Rachel and Ethan went pottery painting and then we went t Starbucks for some lunch. Ethan and I then went swimming and then headed to the Sports Plaza to do some Curling which wasn't on ice, but it was really good fun. We then went for a bike ride before going for dinner at Hucks where I had the fajitas.
This morning we loaded up both cars and headed off to Center Parcs Elveden Forest, it tooks us a few hours to get there and we stopped for a Starbucks and some lunch on the way. We got there about 2pm and they let us go straight to the lodge with the car as we were so close to the carpark. We unloaded the car and then Ethan and I had a ride and then went to the Subtropical Swimming Paradise. It was great to be back in the pool going on the slides, rapids and the waves. We then had a ride back to the lodge and headed to Las Iguanas for dinner, which was lovely.
Happy Valentines Day. We all went out this morning to Congo River Crazy Golf in Blaby, it was quite quiet which was good as we could take our time on each hole. We then went for lunch and had a nice cake.
Dad and I have just come back from a week skiing in Nassfeld Austria. We stayed in the Franz Ferdinand Hotel which we had been to 8 years ago, in that time they have added a swimming pool which we made use of daily. We tried night skiing the first evening but the runs were just frozen slush, so we didn't go for a 2nd run. Over the week though we had great skiing with loads of snow which made some days like skiing off piste. Some days the visibility was really bad and we were skiing through feeling most of the time. We really liked the resort and would go back again.
Jan
25
The cars took a beating at the end of last season and needed some work. 3 of the batteries we originally bought had stopped working, so I ordered 2 new ones of a different make. We got new shells, new wheels and tyres and then replacement parts that had broken. Ethan and I went to my parents to spray the shells and Ethan did his himself which he wanted to look like Baymax and it turned out great.
It was Rachels uncles 70th birthday today and to celebrate they had booked an executive box at the Coventry Arena for the Coventry vs Leicester game. We got there at 10:30 and were shown to the box, we then had a 2 course dinner which was really good. We then sat outside and watched the game and Coventry won 2-1 which was great for them as both Howard and Robert support them.
It was Thomas 9th birthday party at Laser Quest today. We had never been to this one and it was really great. We played 3 games, the 1st one was just the Warners and I won with over 400 points. In the 2nd game we were on with a group of kids which made it more fun as there were more people to score point with and I ended up winning with over 900 points. In the last game we played as teams which was great fun. In the afternoon we went to my sisters for cake and some games.
We met up with Sam today at Sunnyside Adventure Softplay. We had great fun in the 5 floor soft play, playing hide and seek and just having fun. Sam and I managed to sit down and have a tea and a chat too.
Happy New Year! Today we drove down to Milton Keynes to go to the Lego store as new sets are being released today. When we got there we tried to join the queue but were told to come back at 11. By the time 11 came the queue was massive and we ended up queuing for 2 hours to get into the shop. They had lots of stock though and we managed to get everything we wanted. We had a drink, some lunch and looked around some other shops before driving home.
Today we went to Rebound Inflatable Park in Ashby-de-la-Zouch. It was busier than the last time we went, but we got on everything and were exhausted by the end of it.
Dec
29
Today Ethan and I went to Swadlincote Snowsports Centre with Sam, Thomas and Jenson. We started off with snow tubing which was a lot of fun and then we went on the toboggan. The first kart I had, number 20 did not want to go round the course properly, Sam had it on the 2nd go and he came off it! We had a great time though. On the way home we all went McDonalds for lunch and to warm up.
Happy Christmas! We started the day at 6:30am for stockings, before heading downstairs to open presents. We had Joy, my Parents and Richard for lunch and so we had setup a table in the garage so we could fit everyone in. We had a lovely day eating mainly, opening presents and playing games. I got some new Lego sets which I am looking forward to building.
It was difficult to see in the shelves and at the desk, so i got some LED strips for under the shelves and then a wall light for at the desk area. I wired a new double socket up for the LEDs which are also Tuya so can be operated from the app.
It was the Pepper family yearly afternoon tea today. We went to Coombe Abbey and we all had the Kights tea, which had mini burgers, fish and chips and lots of cakes, etc. We had a great time and it was lovely to see everyone.
For my birthday Rachel got us tickets to see Whitney Houston at Leicester Cathedral, but due to bad weather it was cancelled. The rearranged date was tonight, so we went into town and had a Zizzis before heading to the concert. The singer was great and sang all of her hits, we were sat behind the stage so we could only see the band but they were really into it and great to watch.
Ethan wrote his letter to Santa and then we scooted to the post box in the village to post it in time for Christmas.
Today I was in Sheffield for the company assembly day. After that I got checked in to the hotel and got ready and Christmas party. We walked to the venue which was The Hide, which is like an old building with a cafe and the front and a space at the back. It was a good night, there wasn't as much food as last year but it was still nice. I had a great chat with the team and then spent some time with the HR team.
The cable machine attachment I had didn't fit in the new shed, so I ordered a new cable pully kit that mounts differently. When it arrived it didn't quite fit as it wasn't designed for my rack, I got a drill bit the right size and made new holes for the bolts and got it setup how I wanted it. I had ordered some mounts for the wall to add all of the cable attachments to, which I put up once the rack was setup. I then got the weights and the bench in there. It all fits really well now and provides more space than I had in the garage.
This evening I took my Grandma to see A Holly Dolly Christmas at Kilworth House. It was a black tie event, so I got my tux on and Granma got a new black dress which she looked lovely in. The food was really nice and we were stuffed afterwards. Dolly was a great singer and really engaged with the audience. Overall it was a fantastic evening.
For Ethans birthday he wanted to go to the cinema and see Zootopia 2. We went to the Showcase in Coventry, which had some amazing Lazyboy style seats. The film was great! Afterwards we went to Costa for some lunch.
Dad and I went to Roller World this evening for an 80s and 90s evening. On the way we stopped off for dinner at KFC, which was very nice. The skating was great, not too busy and the music was good. We didn't stay too late but we didn't stop skating from when we got there.
Ethan is 10 today! He got to open his presents from us in the morning before he had to go school. When he got home he started building one of his Lego sets until I had finished work. We then went over to Nanas house and ordered a Dominos which was what he wanted for his birthday dinner. Ruban and Dylan came round and we played 4 player Mario Kart which was great fun.
Now the shed is nearly complete, it was time to start clearing up the garage, getting the bikes and scooters on the wall in the shed and doing some tip runs with anything we don't need or want anymore.
Dad came over today to finish off any jobs. We burnt a lot more wood, took down the log store, reworked the guttering to make it flow better and had a cleanup. We then built a ramp to get the lawnmower in and out of the shed out of some old railway sleepers and some decking I had left over. It came together really well and looks great.
When we fixed the floor down we countersunk the screws, so to fill all the holes, I used a plug bit and made a lot of plugs. Ethan and I then glued each one of them in place making sure to line up the grain as best we could. We then cut the tops of when the glue had dried and then sanded the whole floor. I then coated the floor in a clear matt varnish to give it some protection.
Nov
09
I worked on the shed again today. I started by wiring up all of the outside lights with their own fused switch, this was hard work with all of the cables being in the wall, but I got there in the end. I then mounted an old TV on the wall and put all of the cables in the wall for the clean look. I then added a new socket under the desk and made a mount to hold a mini PC which was wired up to the TV. The last job I did was to label the consumer unit and the switches.
