Flourishing Warriors: August 2014

Here at "Team Skelton" we have recently got back from our summer holiday to Hemsby Norfolk just near Great Yarmouth.

Life's A Beach

The run up to our week away was definitely a stressful one. Owen as usual had appointments. We met his new Speech Therapist and it was a pleasant and positive meet. She was full of new ideas and I hope it is the kick start we need to see some real progress in this area. We will meet her weekly at "Opps" Class. She is willing to also, to do home visits as and when we feel we need them. Unfortunately our last appointment on the Friday was not so positive. It was with his lovely Physio Karen. I am not really sure I want to go into full details right now, as I am still digesting what was said and deciding what the next plan of action we will take concerning this.
But as you can imagine a holiday was certainly well needed. Although the place it self was not a place we would of booked ourselves. We were lucky to go anywhere. It was thanks to Alex's friend who owns a mobile home caravan and he let us rent it for a very reasonable price.
It wasn't so much a place where you could get away from it all.. or go for a bit of peace and quiet. But the kids truly loved it and we all had a fantastic time.

We spent as much time at the Beach as we could. We were very lucky with the weather, Especially at the beginning of the week. Hemsby beach was a lovely sandy beach and it was quite easy to access. Pulling a double buggy across the sand was a bit of a workout so we definitely earned our Fish and Chips. Bethany said her favourite memory was swimming and floating deeper in the sea with dad while singing "Drifting". Bethany certainly showed off her new improved swimming skills.

We brought Owens Bath seat to use as a deckchair for Owen which was very successful.

Owen loved the feel of the sand and the cool wind in his face. Owen had a fantastic time. Florence took some convincing. She was ok with the dry sand but at first was unsure of the wet "sinking" sand nearer the sea. Florence was eager to paddle in the sea but was a little unsure of the crashing of the waves. After a little reassurance she was soon having great fun too. Owen surprised us all with how much he liked paddling in the sea. He thought the crashing waves were Hilarious.

We also brought along with us The twins pop up tent, Florence took a quick nap on the beach in and Owen sheltered from the wind when it got too much. Owen loved laying in the tent laughing so much at the wind blowing the colourful fabric.

On a rainy day we went to a Swimming Pool, which was another great experience. Owen has recently made great improvement in the Bath so we were keen to see if this improvement extended to the swimming pool. Our previous trips to the pool have resulted in me spending most of my time sitting at the side of the pool slowing trying to coax a screaming Owen in. But this time he loved it. He was so relaxed in the water, while lying on his back he managed to kick like a frog. When we held him upright he kept his head up the whole time. We didn't even need to try his neck ring that we had brought. At this swimming pool they had a wave machine both Twins and the girls found this great fun. I did have to get out early. Even with his wetsuit Owen couldn't keep his temperature up so I left Alex and the girls and got Owen warmed up and dressed.

Another great day was spend at a Local Maize Maze. A fellow visitor gave us her map as she was leaving. We vowed not to use it unless we were really stuck. A hour in the map came out, but it still took us a further hour to get out. We couldn't wait to eat our picnic lunch. Afterwards there were Go Karts, Bouncy Castles, Trampolines and Garden Games to play with. It was an "AMAZING" day.

sorry for the bad quality my phone was running out of battery

Another surprise Owen had in store for us is his love of Fireworks.

Coming from a boy who startles often,

cries hysterically at the sound of someone sneezing or coughing and has a real fear of hand dryers we thought the loud sudden bangs would be too much for him.

We knew that evening Fireworks were to take place at the local the Beach and as we were out at the amusements and fair nearby we thought we had better head back to the safety of our caravan. Where we would have Hot Chocolates. About half an hour after we got back they started. As they were less than 100m away the girls went out with their Hot Chocolates to watch them. Alex and I grabbed a twin each and went outside to join them. Florence clung to be tightly, but didn't seem overly worried as she watched the sky light up in all shades of colour. Owen watched with pure delight laughing and squealing as each bang was heard, mesmerised by the colours. It was another one of those moments.

We had so many more moments and brilliant times, too many too share, But here is a few more of our Holiday Snaps.