Viking re-enactment at Castle Rising

This is a day out from last August, we all had such a great day that I wanted to share it on the blog, the re-enactment usually happens every year and last year was the first time the boys and I went.

We were hoping to attend again this year but with coronavirus going on, I'm not sure it will be happening.

We went with my friend Sarah and her two boys, Zack and Harley.

We arrived at the start as we weren't sure how busy it would be, the boys were all excited to see all the different re-enactors dressed up in their costumes with an array of different weapons.

Not only were the Vikings there, but there were also many different armies around with guns and canons.

We found a nice space on the grass to set up our picnic and then let the boys explore the castle whilst it was still quiet.

They loved running around finding different doors and stairways.

The last time we went to Castle Rising was the winter that we moved to Norfolk and it was very cold and very misty and the boys were a little bit too young to get the full excitement from an old castle grounds. So it was nice to see them fully get excited about it this time around.

Ru was keen to go to all the parts Alex and Oscar shied away from as they were worried the ground would fall away if they went and stood on it.

After they were done with running around the castle we went and looked at the Viking displays of armour and clothing.

The boys were all pretty impressed they got a chance to have a hold of some of the swords and shields.

The Wuffa Vikings were very friendly and talked them all through what they were all used for and how they were made, not that I'm sure the boys were all that bothered, they just thought they were awesome!

Before all the re-enactments started we got stuck into our picnic, the site wasn't as busy as I thought it would be which was nice, we were sat by the Viking set up and we could watch them go about making and living their Viking life.

Once we were finished we decided to head out to the tea tent and treat the boys all to ice creams, though on our way the boys had to fight the Vikings to get off the bridge!

This really made the boys day, the twins turned into martial art ninjas and kicked their way through the shields!

It was very amusing and I'm not sure the Viking guys were expecting that.

Freeeeedoooooom

We bumped into one of the Vikings after our ice creams and the boys pretty much wanted him to become their new best friend!

They were all over him asking what everything was, and he was so nice and patient with all of them.

Watching the re-enactment was amazing, the guys really were awesome and we loved seeing all the different characters.

After the boys fight with them earlier made them prime targets for the shouts from the Vikings when they were running around, and this made the boys so happy.

Rather than just sitting and watching they all got involved and loved shouting back at them!

 

Poor Mummy 

Before we left the boys all begged to have their photo taken with their favourite Viking!

Even Noah had his picture taken too.

                                  

It was an amazing day and if it does happen to go ahead this year we will definitely be there!

The Vikings were from Wuffa Viking and Saxon Reenactment Society and they do displays around Norfolk and Suffolk.

Rainy Day Walk In The Woods

With me feeling under the weather recently we haven't been out as much as normal and we were all starting to miss the fresh air. 

For our woodland walks, we always go off to Wolferton but have found since Sandringham started charging for parking Wolferton has become much busier than normal, especially during sunny days. We have turned up only to find no space to park and the small roads overcome with parked cars in any spare space.

So we have been staying away and going to a closer by woods that is only really used by locals, but with Monday morning a bit of a washout and the dog really needing a walk we decided to coat the boys up and just head off to Wolferton.

I had to dig about for coats as I had just recently binned a few old winter coats and raincoats they've grown out of but I managed to find a few strays at the back of the cupboard.

When we got there, we were the only ones there which was a nice change. 

The boys all dashed out the car and headed into the reserve.

We are normally faced with a few 100 'I don't wanna walk' or 'Do we have too?' normally from Noah, but this time there were no moans or groans, definitely a bit of a win.

The only one who did get huffy was the dog, as he isn't a fan of the rain!

Even though it was raining it was still warm, and the views with the moody grey skies were lovely.

The boys all went hunting for bigfoot ..... apparently, he lives in Wolferton now.

Ru had a pair of old wellies on so was on the hunt for muddy puddles, it didn't take him long to find some and he was away having a whale of a time until he splashed too much and got it all up his front!

They definitely all need some new forest school kits!

I recently got a phone upgrade and I know have the portrait option on the camera, so I had a go with using it, unfortunately only Oscar and Ru happily posed for me. Noah is completely anti photos these days and Alex was too far in front of me to have his picture taken.

We found a few new dens in the woods, some had log seats in and some were still in the early stages of development.

The boys all loved checking inside the dens to see what was in them.

x Stay Safe x

Potion Making, Trampolines and Lockdown.

Life has been at a bit of a standstill for the last few weeks now and we haven't really left the house other than to venture out to Tesco's, I've been under the weather and haven't had the energy.

We have however been enjoying the weather and the garden, the twins got a trampoline for their birthday, something all the boys have wanted for a while but we've never agreed to have one, but with the lockdown in place and wanting them to get off their games consoles we decided that a trampoline may be the best way to go about getting them out in the garden more, we weren't wrong and they've been on it pretty much every day since it was built.

During the heatwave, the paddling pool came back out and the boys were constantly in it splashing about and finally getting their pasty white bodies a slight tan, so now they look a bit more healthy and their freckles are out looking lovely.

While I've been under the weather I've been trying to use my time wisely, so I treated myself to some new watercolours and have been practising a few technics, nothing to show off just yet though.

I've also pass my second part of my 1st year at uni, I was very pleased with my results and I can't wait to start my next module - Telling Stories: the novel and beyond.

Ru has been enjoying potion making in the garden this week, he's loved running around finding different things to mix up, usually, it's the wildflowers that are growing that he likes to pick and other times its just grass and mud. 

It's lovely seeing him use his imagination and get creative and not being scared to get a little dirty.