Being 5 years old is a HUGE deal to K for one big reason... it is the age she can finally have lollipops! I don't know when it started but it was just one day when she picked up a lollipop and asked to have it and I just said: 'You can when you are 5 years old' and it stuck to her. If you know K, you'll know how much she loves rules. She will follow it to a tee and on top of that, makes it her responsibility to keep everyone in check. Whenever she got a lollipop or saw one in the shop she would point to it and say: 'Only when I'm 5, right Mom?' Then turn to N and tell him: 'When you are 5, you can have a lollipop. Now you are (insert age) so not just yet, okay?' Now she is the grown-up 5 years old required for that first lollipop taste so of course she had to have lollipops for her birthday!
K with her lollipop, N and S with their chocolate pops
Q and I believe that the value of experiences far exceed the value of physical gifts... Also, I really don't like clutter AND we are on a zero waste journey. So spending money to go places trumps toys for us! Being in the UK this year gave us a wider choice of experiences to choose from, so we planned a long weekend filled with experiences starting with a group celebration at the ice cream farm!
We had a very rough start to the weekend, with a huge mess caused by the rental car company. We ended up having to rent a smaller car elsewhere at the last minute, causing us to not be able to bring our neighbours along for the celebrations 😢. After a hectic morning of problem solving and work around, we finally got a rental and managed to arrive at the farm just before noon. The weather was dreary with rain falling for most of the day but thankfully we got a spot in the indoor soft play area where the kids spent most of the day. After about an hour indoors we headed back outdoors where thankfully, it had stopped raining. We walked around a little looking at the animals they had there and did a few rides.
K giving N the first lick of her ice cream
Even though the rain had stopped, the wind was really strong and it was really cold so we decided to get into the car and head for an early warm dinner. We found out about the Farmhouse Inns group a while back and loved their concept. They have an 'all you can pile on your plate' kind of meal, PLUS an indoor playground for the little ones.. wins for both parents and kids.
After dinner, K received her birthday present from the Wongfoks, a box of homemade taste safe play dough in rainbow colours (because unicorns and rainbows are K's thing 🦄). I'm thankful for friends who are willing to follow our requests for 'zero waste' presents 😍. I know that not everyone agrees with our philosophy of gifting, but it is very heartwarming when people respect it.
Enjoying their handmade gift
The next day, it was still very cold and wet outdoors so we went to an indoor playground. The kids had fun running around and burning off some energy at Adventure Forest Play Centre before heading to Mustard for a very VERY indulgent lunch.
Having a ball of a time 😉.
Fried Chicken!
Pancake Mountain!
The weather forecast was better on Sunday and perfect for a trip to Farmer Ted's and boy did we have a great time! The kids had a whole range of experiences in just this one destination from touching bearded dragons and snakes to sliding down a hill in a toboggan.
Our first face to face with a ferret. This one's called Smokey.
I thought the frog was quite high in the ick factor (although the kids were unfazed)...
Then they upped that and took out a hissing cockroach 😵.
We ended the weekend having tea like queens.
I asked K if she enjoyed her birthday. She said yes, and that her favourite part was opening her presents 🙊.
I asked her what she would prefer, lots of presents or going to a lot of places... She very honestly said: 'Lots of presents!' OOPS! I guess the brainwashing process isn't complete yet 😂.
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