I’m a bit behind on blogging what we have been up to – well more or less two weeks behind in fact.  So I’m going to try to follow some sensible advice from Suburban dad and just write something, even if it’s fairly brief, rather than trying to catch up all at once.  Two weeks ago today we were frantically packing for our trip to Center Parcs in France.  On the Friday morning, we set off very early and drove to Dover.  We had breakfast on the ferry, then drove to Laon.  We did a big supermarket shop (food for the weekend and a lot of random stuff just because French supermarkets are so much fun), and then drove to Center Parcs.  We had a late lunch, settled in and unpacked, then went down to the main building to book some activities and explore a bit, before coming back to the chalet for a very late supper.

On Saturday, straight after breakfast we set off with the children on their scooters, and went to the Pony club.  Rabbit and Owl both had a lovely ride, but Monkey and Tiddler weren’t quite brave enough to do it.  We also went to the little farm, the playground and the beach, before heading back for lunch.   In the afternoon, Suburban Dad and Supergirl took Tiddler swimming first and then Owl and Monkey.  Rabbit was still recovering from her chest infection so she wasn’t able to swim, and she was very disappointed.  The big boys played with Lego and Rabbit had a bath so she could play with her Playmobil swimmer – which was fine, but she wanted me to come in the bath with her.  I agreed just to cheer her up, and it was rather sweet but oh it is very cold sitting in the bath at 4 year old depth!   She then asked to play battleships, which was too difficult, but we just about managed it with some help from Owl.  After that she did some colouring, and she and Tiddler watched some French children’s TV.  In the evening we had a very nice supper at the creperie, which we remembered from our visit three years ago, and it lived up to our expectations – good fast food and great service.

On Sunday, after breakfast the children went riding again (Rabbit, Owl and Monkey – but Tiddler was not to be persuaded), then back to the farm and playground.  The boys, Suburban Dad and Supergirl went swimming again, and Rabbit and I played on the beach and made a sandcastle.  We had lunch at another restaurant, and all enjoyed our steak/ burgers/ chicken and lots of chips.  In the afternoon we went on a motor boat on the lake, then to the soft play area.  We had a quick play on the beach, before going bowling, and then back to our chalet for a late supper again.

On Monday we had breakfast, packed up, had a last play on the beach, then lunch at the creperie again before setting off for Calais.  We nearly missed the same boat twice, first because we had to get out of the car for our passports to be checked (they couldn’t see all the children clearly as one of the headrests was up too high) and then because we were waiting in the wrong lane, but realised at quite literally the last minute.  Thanks to Superdad’s quick reactions we made it but only just – we were the last car on the boat.  We had eaten our sandwiches in the car, which was probably a good thing as the weather wasn’t great and several of us felt sick on the boat.  So we spent quite a while out on deck, which was rather cold, but fun to see the lights of Dover as we came into the port.  We arrived home very late at night, completely exhausted but happy after a very successful trip.  Center Parcs, you may not be very exciting but you are reliably good fun, so I think we’ll be back!