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.
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.
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.
Dad, Ethan, Thomas and I went to Ninja Warrior today. We had great fun trying to get across all of the courses and then we spent quite a bit of time in the inflatable area playing hide and seek.
Dad and I worked on the shed again today. We built a feature wall which turned out amazing. We then added skirting and architrave around the room in the same 6x1 that we used to clad the outside of the shed. I built a bench and Dad fitted the rest of the guttering. Its really coming together now.
In preparation for adding a feature wall in the shed, I collected enough wood that I could use to make a nice pattern and bought it inside the shed. I then planed the wood to remove the top layer and get down to the bare wood. I then stacked all of the wood with space between so it could dry out properly over the next week.
Today we went to Rebound Inflatable Park in Ashby-de-la-Zouch. We had great fun having races through a course of obstacles, sliding down the slides, climbing up walls and trying not to get knocked off by the rotating machine. We were there for an hour and were worn out after it.
This evening I wired up the sheds consumer unit to the power from the house and got everything working. It was great to have lights, sound and heat in there without the need for an extension lead back to the house.
I started wiring everything up today, I got all of the sockets cut out, back boxes in and the sockets wired up. I then did the same for the speakers and amp, heater and the thermostat and finally the lights.
To make the shed strong, I ordered some 2 inch thick x 200mm wide boards at 4.2m long as the flooring. Dad and I levelled up the floor and secured the 22mm under floor before putting down the new boards, fixing them together with biscuits and glue. We then screwed each board into the floor joists. In the afternoon we built a wall and added the shelving. Just before the end of the day I built a work bench.
Ethan and I were up and out early this morning to paint the inside of the shed. It took us a couple of hours and we got covered in paint splatter but it was good fun with the music on.
We went out for dinner this evening with my parents and Grandma to Las Iguanas for a late birthday meal. It was great to see them and we had a really nice meal.
Dad and I worked on the shed today, insulating all of the walls and ceiling, we then boarded it all and filled any gaps with expanding foam. Its all starting to come together now.
