Is it just me or are the holidays absolutely flying by? I can’t believe we’re into August already and looking at our calendar we really don’t have that many days without any plans before we go back to school. I mean some of those days only have things like eye tests, or swimming lessons and the rest of the day is free but it still feels pretty chocka!

Since I wrote my post last week I spent a few days in the Netherlands with my mum. We went to watch Andre Rieu in concert – it was a trip my mum and dad had booked pre-pandemic which had been postponed to this summer, and rather than my mum cancel it and miss out I offered to go with her. Andre Rieu isn’t really my cup of tea ordinarily but it was a great concert with a fantastic atmosphere!

While I was away Barry and the boys collected our new car. Toby was a bit sad to say goodbye to our old car – I think he was about three and a half when we got it so it’s the only car he can really remember ever having. He was soon cheered up by our fancy new car but still wanted a photo with the old one so he wouldn’t forget it!

Yesterday we got to try out the new car on a bit of a longer trip to IKEA. Swedish meatballs are both Toby and Gabe’s favourite food so we have a trip to IKEA every six months or so to stock up the freezer (they sell big bags of meatballs, and their famous gravy comes in packets to make at home too).

The boys might be getting older (9 and nearly 7 now) but they both still love cuddly toys, especially Gabe. We’ve got a few of the massive animals from IKEA already but they both wanted to add to their collections. Toby bought a giant snake and a T-Rex, and Gabe bought this super cute mummy and baby koala…

The boys both have their own debit cards now (Hyperjar ones which I would thoroughly recommend) which have all their birthday money on them so they were quite happy to buy their own toys at least!

We’re off for another weekend camping with friends tomorrow so hopefully the weather will be kind and we can have a relaxing few days away together. And it’s the first big test for the new car – the main reason we chose it was because of its ginormous boot so I’m hoping we can fit everything in without having to use the roof box!

This is my ninth year taking part in this linky celebrating childhood, based on a poem by Kahlil Gibran, “You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth” .

If you’d like to see the rest of my Living Arrows posts you can find them all here.