Summer 2014: Day 5 – Fun in Luton

Yes, you did read that title correctly, and no it’s not one that I ever expected to write either.

When I started keeping track of what we’re getting up to this summer I did realise that we couldn’t go out and do an amazing day trip every day, and nor did I want to. Sometimes the simplest of things can be the most rewarding, and sometimes something that might have appeared very mundane actually turns out to be quite exciting.

We started today without any real plans and the only things that we had to get done were to get some food shopping in and to buy a birthday present for a little boy whose birthday party we’re going to tomorrow. I decided to kill two birds with one stone and do something a bit different so we all headed off in the car to Luton where I knew I’d be able to find our local branch of Toys R Us and also an Aldi supermarket.

Now when it comes to buying toys I tend to shop in our local independent toy shop most of the time and I just don’t let on to LMC about how many toys are actually out there. Today though she got an insight into what is really available and to say she was blown away was an understatement. Before we went in I’d given her very clear instructions that we were only going to come home with a gift for her friend and nothing else and she actually kept to that really well, but there was just so much for her to look at and marvel at. I think we were in there for over an hour in the end and if it hadn’t been for Master C getting a bit bored (only because I put him back in his buggy as he kept trying to run off) I think we might still be there. I too was pretty blown away by some of the huge Lego sets they had. Maybe I could start writing my own list for Father Christmas.

Then on to Aldi – after a bit of a detour when my SatNav took me to the wrong end of a very very long street. Here I have to say that I feel under the influence of the famous middle aisle and so when we came home our garden had a bit of a new attraction in it.

Still – the kids had a ball. I got to go somewhere new (can you tell I don’t get out much?) and actually they were both incredibly well behaved too. Master C seems to be going through a huge development spurt right now and it’s fascinating to see his behaviour and communications develop every single day. He’s turning into such a little boy and has been quite delightful today.

LMC’s also starting to really enjoy all her time at home and being able to have more time to play with her toys and generally do what she wants. This afternoon she opened the Play-doh that I’d bought in the morning (to replace our dried out supplies) and decided she wanted to create the car on the packaging. Bearing in mind her age (and ignoring the fact I made the wheels) I’m really rather impressed with her end result.