Who sabotaged the Tractor Feed Run?

This past week we have had quite a few regular guests with school age children. I know it isn't the school holidays but many have made the long weekend at the last minute or taken a few days off school to make it the week. Either way we had a lovely group of boys aged about 7 - 12 who had a ball with the freedom of the farm. 

Too old for tractor Rides?

While Clio has been joining in and helping our out younger guests with feeding the animals, my triplet boys, Guy and Jed together with their older brother Theo have been thick as thieves with the other boys staying. They have formed a real boy gang taking great delight in not joining in on the feed run, but instead stalking and ambushing from a distance. With Tree climbing, hiding and plotting obstructions, they have been having a wild time, of cause under the assumption that we had no idea what they were up to. Ahem, boys, with that din, we could hear you coming a mile away!

We saw this one in the making whilst we were busy feeding the lambs and Dotty our pregnant pig, it seemed a shame to spoil their fun so all the parents and I played along with their game until the tractor was coming, then it really did have to be dismantled before an accident happened!

It is lovely to see the children, who might in another setting have found a farm a little to young for them , actually forgetting their grown up persona at home, leaving behind the trendy gear and gadgets and just being like kids of old and enjoying some good old country play. 

Country Kids is for everyone

I love to see what others have been up to and to share outdoor play ideas, so please join in, grab the badge and link up your adventures anywhere from the garden to the beach.

<a href="http://www.coombemill.com/blog/post/2012/05/12/country-kids-from-coombe-mill.aspx" target="_blank" title="Country Kids from Coombe Mill Farm Holidays Cornwall"><img src="http://www.coombemill.com/images//blog/country_Kids/thumbs/th_Country_Kids_badge_transparent.png" border="0" alt="Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall" title="Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall" /></a>

Triplets Party Time 

I always feel slightly uneasy at the responsibility that comes with managing my triplets birthday parties; with 3 of them all inviting their friends we end up with quite a house full. Thankfully we have the farm, the play areas and 30 acres of fun and freedom which all their friends find absolute heaven. Never the Less keeping an eye on a class of eight year olds and focusing their energy takes all of mine and I do like to enlist a little help from some of my Mummy friends too! 

Strategic Planning for Success

I like to have a plan for birthday parties and then allow a little "go with the flow" to develop as well.  I opted for a lunch time party with a BBQ and crossed my fingers for the weather. I can't say we were lucky as it drizzled on and off all day but the children were so excited it didn't seem to matter!

The party plan:

1. Free play

2. BBQ

3. Crafts

4. Birthday Cake

5. Water play

6 Parents collect 

A Party of two halves

They are just reaching the age where the opposite sex are to be avoided at all costs and any game has to be girls versus boys. I should have guessed this really. Since most of the class were attending the party had been the talk of school for the preceding week. Right from the start my over active bunch of children wanted to dive into a water battle, all armed with water guns they had brought. However I insisted in this being the last event no earlier than 30 minutes before parent collection.  With the water game vetoed they boys disappeared off onto the farm and play areas whilst the girls tried out our new play side in the garden. Farmer Nick had bought this on e-bay hoping to embed the track into the grassy banks on the lawns and make a floor level safe natural fun slide for our guests to enjoy near the play boat. Sadly the insurers wouldn't have any of it so into the garden it came, much to the delight of my children in time for the party!

Clio shows us the slide in operation:

Everyone Loves a BBQ

Farmer Nick battled against the elements to produce a perfect BBQ. The boys were still wild with excitement despite their hour of dashing around the play areas and so a BBQ was perfect. No need for plates or sitting down, just a grab and run to suit them. They almost disappeared too soon but were soon pulled back by the prospect of toasting their own marsh mellows on the BBQ under the watchful eye of Farmer Nick.

Guy then had the honour of being allowed to dose the BBQ coals with water before anyone could hurt themselves.

Craft Time

After lunch a little down time with crafts was the plan. The girls were delighted to come in and sat down enthusiatically for home made cookie decorating. The boys just gave me that "you have to be kidding" look and dashed back off to our play boat to resume their games.

Moving happily from biscuit icing to glass decorating the girls were blissful. This was such a simple idea, felt pens for glass which you then just bake in the oven to ensure the design remains in tact after washing. The best thing about party crafts is that the children design and make their own take home presents negating the need for party bags! 

Happy Birthday

No party is complete without a good party cake. This was a giant 3 in 1 banana one side and chocolate the other all with a choice of icing for their own section. With eight candles each it took some lighting but even the boys enjoyed this one, if only because it signalled the time for the long awaited water gun bonanza!

Rabbits and Water Play

The adults sensibly split themselves between the rabbits with the girls and watching through the house window while the boys enjoyed their mad half hour in the garden with water guns. Soaked and shivering, but still laughing, the boys, and one or two girls, trooped inside to change just as their parents arrived to collect them. Pictures came back from the rabbits, but none of us were brave enough to risk the water guns in the name of a photo! 

At the end of the day everyone was returned to parents safe and happy with a bag of soggy clothes or or a beautiful glass and buscuit! Managing the expectations of 3 together on their big day is definitely challenging. However they all came up to Daddy and I later that evening claiming it was the best party ever. That alone made it worth all the effort.

I am linking this post to Multiple Mayhem Carnival hosted this month by the lovely Kerry @multiplemummy

and for the crafty section my 1st entry with Red Ted's Kids get Crafty linky with Maggy Woodley 

A day out to Marwell Wildlife Park

Long car journeys can be tough with the children. We know this only too well with 6 of our own and a visit to the grandparents taking upwards of 4 hours before adding stopping time. One way to make light of a long journey is to split it up with a fun and active trip along the route. For us there are many different routes to take to Sussex and we have stopped before successfully at the Tank Museum http://www.tankmuseum.org/ and the Fleet Air Arm museum http://www.fleetairarm.com/ both of which the children thoroughly enjoyed so Marwell Wildlife had a lot to live up to with the children on the way home from our Easter visit to Yia - Yia (Greek Grandma). 

Never far from Coombe Mill

We had barely arrived, Guy was just guiding us towards the giraffes, when Nick heard a strangely familiar voice from behind

"There's Farmer Nick!" Would you believe some of our previous Coombe Mill guests were there for the day and spotted Nick. Just the most extraordinary chance meeting!

Incredible Animals

Marwell have a great selection of all the more exotic animals from Africa and Asia that the children were keen to see. The giraffes and Rhino stole the show for us but Nick picked up plenty of future ideas for the farm, as if our Wallabies weren't exotic enough!

In true thrifty and outdoor style we had packed a picnic. Something we nearly always do on a day trip http://www.coombemill.com/blog/post/2011/09/09/Picnics-a-favourite-with-the-kids.aspx Definitely the answer here as there are so many lovely picnic benches and even some large indoor tents in case of rain! We opted for the ones next to the play area where the children soon took over the big tyre. Sometimes I think our 6 descending on somewhere can be a little intimidating to other children, however if they are, they are very unaware of this and mean no harm.

Farmer Nick had tractor envy when he saw the size of this one pulling their trailers!

I thought this was an idea we could copy for Coombe Mill farm using a large photo of some of our animals with the faces cut out.

We were lucky enough to enjoy a great 4 hour break at Marwell, http://www.marwell.org.uk/ give the children plenty of exciting run around time and arrive back at the car for the last of the journey just as the heavens opened. It really felt like we made the best of a long journey and a showery April day! It is located off the M27 between Chichester and Southampton so if you are visiting Coombe Mill from East Sussex or Kent makes a perfect stop.

Disclaimer

Marwell Wildlife has not sponsored this post in any way. We paid full price for out tickets and felt it was money well spent.

Please Join In

What have you been up to with the kids in this showery weather? Hope you can grab the badge and link up to share your ideas for fun outdoors.  

<a href="http://www.coombemill.com/blog/post/2012/04/28/country-kids-from-coombe-mill.aspx" target="_blank" title="Country Kids from Coombe Mill Farm Holidays Cornwall"><img src="http://www.coombemill.com/images//blog/country_Kids/thumbs/th_Country_Kids_badge_transparent.png" border="0" alt="Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall" title="Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall" /></a>

Welcome back

The Easter Holidays has seen many regular guests returning to Coombe Mill. I love to see the children meeting up with friends year after year, just as if they had seen each other yesterday! A few new faces each year soon learn to join in the fun, age doesn't matter, everyone just mucks in together united by their enjoyment of the farm.

Let's be eco crafty

Our regular guests from Camel lodge love to organise a build a boat competition. Armed with sticky tape they then challenge all the children wanting to participate to raid the recycling bins and build a winning model sailing boat. A good hour after the feed run is taking up with each perfecting their design, sticking and taping till all are ready.

Sailing away

Now the real fun begins as down to the river they go, proudly armed with their eco sailing boats. All participants eagerly scale the river bank, wading in for the starting line ready for the grand countdown to launch. You can hear from the screams and shouts on the video just how much excitement is involved!

The Winning Line

Coombe Mill bridge provides the perfect finishing line and everyone delights in watching them sail under the bridge .  It's fair to say there are more wet wellies than dry by the end, and that is not just the children!

Well done the Mums and Dads!

Chief organisers relaxing with a well earned coffee while the children are off playing.

Please Join In with CountryKids

What Easter holiday outdoor fun have you been having with the kids? From Easter hunt's to park play , please join in and share the magic of the outdoors. Grab the badge and link up below with a blog post, twit pic or facebook photo.

<a href="http://www.coombemill.com/blog/post/2012/04/14/country-kids-from-coombe-mill.aspx" target="_blank" title="Country Kids from Coombe Mill Farm Holidays Cornwall"><img src="http://www.coombemill.com/images//blog/country_Kids/thumbs/th_Country_Kids_badge_transparent.png" border="0" alt="Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall" title="Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall" /></a>

Holiday time, fraught or fun?

Anyone with children knows that holidays take planning if they are to be the happy family occasions we all dream of and not fraught or stressful. Here at Coombe Mill we go the extra mile to quietly make holidays with young children as stress free and relaxing as possible for parents. How do we do it? Simply by ensuring that our stunning 30 acres are safe, fun and practical for children. Happy children make for happy relaxed parents and quality family time. It is a simple recipe and it works! 

Fun at Coombe Mill

What about Multiples?

With 6 children of our own including triplets Farmer Nick and I are well aware of the needs of families with twins, triplets and more! Having multiples simply means the need for organisation and having things just so are all the more important. It is hard with one child, multiply that up and efficiency, planning and organisation become the key to success. Book a holiday with us and we can accommodate all the cots, highchairs, bed guards or any other extra's you need and ensure you have the best property for your family. We have something for every family size up to 9 including triple rooms, plenty of cot space, enclosed gardens and play rooms. This is not the case for all properties so it is worth checking with us first. We always check sleeping arrangements and where cots should go prior to your arrival so that everything is ready to just move in.

Practical Properties with Multiples

Not just what we say!

We have families with multiples returning year after year for the relaxed fun of Coombe Mill in the knowledge that we provide the sort of memorable family holiday the children will cherish without breaking the bank! 

Multiples at Coombe Mill

Supporting TAMBA 

We have had a close working relationship with TAMBA over the years with special offers and competitions that have started many a family holidaying with us. If you are not a member I can thoroughly recommend them for the advise and discounts offered for families with multiples.

I am linking this post to the Multiple Mayhem Carnival hosted by the lovely Rebecca English over at Here Come The Girls http://networkedblogs.com/vfMro .  I rarely promote our holidays so obviously on my blog, but we have such success with our multiple families it felt the right thing to do just this once!