A flipping good start to the month!

I don't know about you guys, but October is my favourite month out of the whole year! It's the month where the bite in the air rolls in, the leaves begin to yellow and fall. Scarfs and bobble hats start peering out from their hiding places, after months stored away in dark cupboards or at the back of the wardrobes. The cravings for a good heart warming meal such as a stew or lobscouse start setting in, along with getting into some cosy pyjamas and slippers as soon as you've arrived home and clocked out from the outside world for the day (not that I need the excuse, I do this all year round!). It marks the beginning of Autumn and what's not to like about autumn?! Tis the season to get cosy with a duvet on the sofa with your loved ones with a warming beverage whilst unwinding with a good film or TV Show! Not forgetting of course October, to most, means Halloween!

But for me the love of this month starts at the very beginning. The first day of the tenth month marks the day my daughter, Jodie, came into my life, and as cliché as it sounds, changed it for the better. She's now 8 and its been the craziest journey I've been on and I cant believe she's grown up into the wonderfully crazy, clever girl that she is. In some way I'm still trying to hold on to her infant ways, as most moms do as your baby will always be your baby no matter how old they are. But I'm now accepting that she is growing and becoming her own person, she's finding her style with clothes and has made it quite clear that she is very much a shoe-girl. She's likes what she likes and doesn't care what others think. She's a princess who would climb a tree given the chance but also a perfectionist in all she achieves through school and home crafts.

For her birthday this year we decided to do something different for her. I felt like I had over done the parties at the play centres and hired halls, not only because I've forked out so much on organising my own parties in such establishments, but because we've attended many alike too. The choice this year however after weeks of indecisiveness, was the huge trampoline park FlipOut near Cheshire Oaks, Chester. We were not disappointed. I'd told Jodie she could bring a friend with her so on the morning of, we picked up said friend and made the hour journey from Anglesey. Thankfully, I only had one mishap with the directions and that's when the sat nav all of a sudden rerouted us down to Bournemouth, causing a bit of a panic and I had to exit to the first passing service station. Once I'd re-entered the destination, it turned out we were literally 5 minutes down the road from the Arena. Handy!

Upon arrival we signed in and got the grip socks, it was so simple as I had pre-booked and paid for the session and socks online (also signed a waiver for both kids participating) so there wasn't much more to do other than to wait to watch the health and safety video before entering the arena. We were in for the 11am session and the girls absolutely loved it. From stories I had heard from others who've been to FlipOut I knew there was a Café that overlooked the arena, but I hadn't realised that you can actually walk around the arena with the kids, and honestly, I was slightly jealous and gutted I didn't give it a go. The main rule to follow was No Socks, No Bounce. The girls were bouncing from one trampoline to the next trying out the big trampolines, bouncing into foam pits, going down slides, shooting hoops and having a nosey at the areas that they were a bit young for such as the ninja warrior trail. The hour bounced by but by the end of their session, the girls were ready for food, which isn't surprising really considering how much energy they've burnt through.

After gathering ourselves together, We popped down the road to Cheshire Oaks and ate at the Hungry Horse (very apt considering how we were all feeling). The day was still young though and next on the agenda was bowling! It was Jodie's first time bowling and I hadn't been for years so we were easily matched. There were four of us competing all together and we played 2 rounds. The girls were so excited they were like our very own personal narrators of the games, telling us everything as it was happening and reading out the scores like it was the Olympics. By the end of two rounds, my friend Daniel won the first round, and Jodie's friend won the second and in classic me form, I came last in both rounds. It had been an amazing day, but we still had a bit of time and a few arcade games yet to play. A bit of table hockey, a few games where you win tickets in exchange of some sweets or cheap toys, not to mention the 10p machines where you put in a 10 pence piece in a slot in which it rolls down, lands in a pirouette until it falls flat and is then pushed by metallic arms, where the aim is to push other 10 pence pieces out to gain more. Ironically, however, you loose more than you gain. Unless you're Jodie, she actually has some skills when it comes to those games. I don't know how she does it, but weather its the 10p machines or 2p machines, she manages to make it rain pennies somehow. Considering we had an hours journey ahead of us, we made our way home around 4pm and chatted non stop about the days adventures and what everyone's best bit was, but honestly there were too many to choose. The day was an excitingly fun one filled with thrills and games and both girls were ready for bed by the time they arrived home, frankly so was I.