a weekend in the forest...

before we left there was a massive storm which then blew away and made the sky soo blue.
last friday at 4pm we all piled into the combi and took off south to new forest for a weekend of fun! as you can imagine it's pretty crazy in a combi full to the brim with camping gear, two kids, 3 adults, a dog and creedence clear water cranked on the stereo...

we got to the campsite, set up camp and then chilled out with a few drinks.

i'd say it ended up being a few too many as i was hurting a bit the next day...

we went camping with my brother and his girlfriend and our friend nick (who's b'day it was) and his girlfriend.

Saturday we didn't get going till late.

in the campsite there are horses roaming around and big forests surrounding the area.

we headed off to the coast for some greasy fish and chips and then we went to a special island that is a sanctuary for red squirrels. over here you always see grey ones which are an introduced species from america and which are so aggressive they kill the red ones which are now almost extinct. so we crept around the island with the kids trying to spot them (they are really shy) and ended up seeing 6 or 7! that was pretty exciting.

and then for the first time for lachie and i we went swimming off the coast of the UK! (near the isle of wight/bournemouth)

it was chilly but so exhilarating! we jumped and whooped and laughed for as

long as we could (about 10mins) before we got out.

and headed back to camp for a night of FUN!

all saturday holly and i had been organising a treasure hunt for nick that had him end up in the middle of the forest with a big leather trunk full of party goods-blanket, champagne, stereo, cds, cake, party poppers, candles and lanterns. we had big branches pointing as arrows and compass and maps and champagne glasses to help him get to the destination of fun.

we cooked hamburgers, drank and then when the time was right we gave him his first clue. once he was out of site we ran up into the forest in the pitch dark all holding hands (for alcohol induced support) and hid behind a tree near where he would end up.

when he finally got there (after his head torch died and they couldn't figure out the clues)

we came out singing happy birthday and then had a full blown party in the forest till late into the night. with lightning flashing every few minutes and the lanterns and the music in the pitch black forest it was all very exciting and spooky and mystical.

(sharon has all the amazing fun photos from that night that i'll share with yall another day as paul and sharon are in Pisa right now.)

there was a MASSIVE storm in the night and the next day we were all a little slow but so happy with our fun day. we packed up and headed home around 4. home by six, unpacked and ready for another week of job and house hunting...

feeling a bit weak on sunday morning