Family holiday - the highs and lows

I know its been a while since we got back from holiday but I though I would write a short post about the holiday highs and lows. This was our first real family holiday, as in a holiday that didn't involve staying at one of the parents/grandparents houses. Yes we've done a holiday where we met my parents at a holiday home in Oxford, but we spent the whole week with them, so I don't really count that as a family holiday in the same way.

So what were the highs and lows of the holiday?

Ill start with the lows, mostly as they were not many of them. The main low was one that ran through most of the holiday, the temper tantrums. Now, the little man isn't really one for tantrums, we've be lucky with that, most tantrums were caused by tiredness. On the holiday they became a regular thing, be it wanting to the TV or ipad (Grandma's I might add), not wanting to eat lunch/dinner, not wanting to do what we were planning, not getting to play with the bigger boys or being left behind. Pretty much everything invoked a tantrum at some point or another. Since we've been back, the tantrums have disappeared again, which is good. Whether it was just the change of scenery or routine that caused it, I don't know but it was a pain at the time. The other low point that sticks in the mind, is some of the vocabulary that the little man picked up! Some of the other kids (read older boys) were, well, typical older boys, bigger and more boysterous and with some questionable vocabulary. A few of these words appeared to rub off on the little man, although again he seems to have forgotten all about them.

In reality, there were not many lows to the holiday, which was quite surprising. There were quite a few highs though. Pretty much everyday held a high point of some sort or another. Seeing the bairns playing with new children and experiencing new things, such as the aquarium. The activities played on Toby the holiday place were also pretty good, some more so than others. Pond dipping and survival skills were real hits, bat watching ( too late at night), low ropes (still to high!) and team games less so (mixed ages groups and parents taking over/cheating, not in a bad way, just a little to enthusiastic).

Watching the pair of them getting so excited over the little creepy crawly bugs during the pond dipping or seeing how enthusiasticly they collected branches for shelters building was really amazing, almost as amazing as watching them toasting marshmallows over a fire for the first time. Some of the other activities we did in the afternoons were also just as good, crabbing on Plymouth harbour, where we caught several crabs, was another high point I wobt forget in a while.

It was in many senses a trip of firsts for the bairns, although I think the little man will have got more out of it, as I'm not sure how much the young lady will remember.

Overall, I think the trip was a massive success and were planning another trip next year, although we won't be going as far as we did this time!