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Dirt, Diggers and Dinosaurs

A MyBump2Baby favourite blogger. Follow for tales of my day to day activities, joyous moments, mum fails and life in a small terraced house with too many boys living in it. ➡️ https://dirtdiggersanddinosaurs.com

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dirtdiggersanddinosaurs · 3 years

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Preview: The Snowman Tour 2021

AD | I have been or could be compensated via a cash payment, gift or something else of value for writing this post. See our full disclosure policy for more detail. It’s that time of year again when we start to plan which Christmas attractions and shows to attend, I’m a big fan of Christmas and the run up and anticipation for the big day can be a magical time to create some special memories. My…

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#carrotproductions #Press Trip #Preview #Ad #Buxton #Christmas 2021 #Christmas days out #Days out inspo #festivities #live orchestra #The Snowman #The Snowman Tour #We&039;re Going on a Bear Hunt

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dirtdiggersanddinosaurs · 3 years

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Review: Lower Moorend Campsite, Cauldon.

Recently we sneaked in a little local stopover at Lower Moorend View Campsite (less than 10 miles from our front door) but we could have been a million miles away from home. Our pitch We booked a fully serviced hardstanding pitch which had beautiful views over the fields by day and treated us to a glorious sunset at nightfall. The beautiful sunset And it’s reflection on the hill The 5…

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dirtdiggersanddinosaurs · 3 years

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Review: Wiral Country Park Caravan Club Site, Thurstaston

AD | I have been or could be compensated via a cash payment, gift or something else of value for writing this post. See our full disclosure policy for more detail. Last weekend we stayed 2 nights at The Wirral Country Park site with The Caravan and Motorhome club. This is a fairly small site so tents are not allowed. On arrival we checked in and drove around the site to choose our pitch. We…

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dirtdiggersanddinosaurs · 3 years

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Review: BeWILDerwood Cheshire

Last week we were kindly invited to spend the day at BeWILDerwood Cheshire. I’d only heard good things about BeWILDerwood Cheshire and the original founding site in Norfolk, so I went with high expectations and had everything crossed that I wouldn’t be dissapointed as I was (not so secretly) looking forward to joining in and having fun alongside my boys. We had an absolutely amazing day out-…

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dirtdiggersanddinosaurs · 3 years

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Totally Roarsome

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dirtdiggersanddinosaurs · 3 years

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Review: Getting Our Game On at Electric Gamebox, Manchester.

When an email dropped into my inbox inviting us to try out Electric Gamebox I was excited to see what it involved. Step into the Gamebox and enter a private, fully interactive digital room featuring projection mapping, touch screens, motion tracking and surround sound to enjoy a hyper-immersive 60 minute adventure. Admittedly, I’d not heard of Electric Gamebox up until this point, but after a…

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dirtdiggersanddinosaurs · 3 years

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Our Lifestyle Change: Why We Choose To Campervan

How do you define a mid life crisis…living through a pandemic and making a rather large impulse purchase? Going on a very wet holiday to the Lake District with 3 boys in a hired campervan, then coming home and purchasing your own? Naming said campervan? Yes I’m sat here with my hand up, and not an ounce of regret. You see, we are now over 15 months in to what has been a VERY testing time for our…

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#About us #adventure #adventure UK #all weather activities #An important decision #campervan #campervan holiday #campervaning with kids #camping with kids #Family Activities #our campervan story #outdoor activities #outdoor family #outdoors with kids #Staycation #Staycation UK #VanLife #vanlife uk #vanlife with kids

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dirtdiggersanddinosaurs · 3 years

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Our Favourite UK Drive On Beaches

There is something special about being able to drive straight onto the beach, isn’t there? For us; the sheer practicality of having everything to hand without having to lug it all on a three mile hike from the car park is a massive positive. But for my boys I suspect it’s the fact that it feels adventurous and a little bit risky that appeals the most. And since we’ve had the van there’s the…

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#beach holidays #beaches #best beaches #campervan holiday #drive on #drive on beach #Family Activities #family fun #favourite beaches #holiday inspo #park on beach #recommendations #seaside #Staycation #Staycation inspo #Uk beach #UK staycation #VanLife #vehicles on beach

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dirtdiggersanddinosaurs · 3 years

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Review: We're Quackers for Thornbridge Hall & Gardens

Review: We’re Quackers for Thornbridge Hall & Gardens

Living in Leek means that we are in Staffordshire but also right on the border of both Cheshire and Derbyshire so our days out tend to flit between the three counties. Now, I like to think I know of most places within our local area but during the Easter holidays we discovered a real hidden gem, which had managed to pass us by until now. We had an absolutely brilliant day out at Thornbridge Hall…

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dirtdiggersanddinosaurs · 3 years

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Christmas at Home: Festive Family Traditions.

Wow, we’re into December already! Lockdown has lifted but for many of us now living under tier 2 & 3 restrictions (shout out to my tier 3 massive!) finding the festive fun is proving to be a bit difficult this year. With every (totally expected) cancellation email I started to feel a tiny bit of my Christmas spirit slip away and I’ve felt…. …as Christmassy as a rotten sprout! Thanks goes to my…

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dirtdiggersanddinosaurs · 3 years

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This year has been tough (I think we can ALL agree on that!) and getting away to the Lake District for October Half Term was just the tonic we needed. You may think that anything past September in the UK is a no go for staying in a campervan but trust me, we had the perfect home from home in the shape of Rooby Doo from Cosy Campers. It had everything we needed including a full heating system to keep us cosy and warm. Isn’t she a beaut?

The campervan of dreams!

Rooby Doo is quite rightly the pride and joy of Rich, Dani and Reuben the family behind Cosy Campers who are dedicated to making your campervan holiday one to remember. You can choose to keep it simple, or you can add in optional extras for a little luxury, tailoring your bespoke campervan experience to your needs.

We fell somewhere in the middle, it was our first time staying in a campervan with the boys (aged 2,3 and 6 years) so I desperately wanted it to go smoothly, and be a holiday to remember. I was also aware that because we were booking an October break that we’d need an outdoor but dry area. So I hired the drive away awning too, hoping that it would give the boys a bit of extra space and free up some room in the van. We were mindful of the fact that Rooby Doo is absolutely beautiful inside, so the awning actually proved to be invaluable for keeping our muddy boots outside and the van lovely and clean.

At the time of booking I had planned to pack light for this trip (which we did) but outdoor wet weather gear for the 5 of us was bulky and took up a lot of room so after a last minute phonecall to Dani I arranged to include the additional lockable storage box too.

Cosy Campers is based in our home town of Leek in the Staffordshire Moorlands, on the edge of the Peak District. After a run through of all things campervan, Ben drove Rooby Doo home and we loaded her up with small boys and luggage.

Adventure Awaits

I can’t tell you how much I was looking forward to our staycation adventure. Autumn is my favourite time of year, I love all the colours as the leaves turn and the lake district is absolutely beautiful at this time of year.

Perfect for those Autumn getaways

Ben took to driving the van with ease, helped by the automatic transmission – we cruised up the motorway until the cars became fewer and the scenery expanded before us. Two out of the three boys snoozed most of the way. Stanley was in the back with Eli, he did a great job passing him his bottle and generally entertaining him until he fell asleep. As Rooby Doo has 3 seats upfront, we had James between us, which worked well as I could keep a check on his bloods (he’s type 1 diabetic) and care for him on route, he wasn’t much company though!

You know how I mentioned loving Autumn, the crisp sunny days with misty starts…yeah, well scrap that because I came back down to earth with a bump! We arrived at our pitch to high winds and torrential rain, you’ve got to laugh! Luckily we’re not put off by bad weather.

Our first job was to put the awning up so that we had a little extra room for storage. Cosy Campers had previously sent us two YouTube video tutorials on how to erect and attach the awning to the van which we’d watched a couple of times in the run up to our holiday. Unfortunately we had little phone signal on site so we’re unable to access the videos again.

Rooby Doo with driveaway awning

I’m not going to lie, we struggled to suss the awning out at first but the cold horizontal rain hitting us square in the face didn’t help, neither did world war 3 breaking out in the van because apparently we weren’t going quick enough. We did get to grips with it eventually and not needing poles etc was a lifesaver, the inflatable structure of the awning went up quickly and with little effort. We took extra care to peg everything down securely because of the gusting wind. It didn’t end in divorce, and the boys didn’t kill each other so I’m calling it a win.

We unpacked and put the non essential items into the awning to give us a bit more space inside. We then threw the boys into the awning to play with transformers while we popped the kettle on. We had made the decision not to take any screens with us apart from our phones so there was a lot of chucking the boys into the awning throughout our stay, they even made a den in there at one point, so I definitely recommend adding it to your holiday if you have children.

One of life’s finest views, kettle on!

We saw some other campervanning pros on our site that had put up fairy lights and bunting inside their awnings, one even had a disco ball and lights! They looked so lovely in the evening it would definitely be something to think about, especially for a Summer trip.

Home From Home

The interior of Rooby Doo is just stunning. Everything from the pale blue units to the tan leather seats. The cupboards look small but were tardis like and contained everything we would ever need….from tea and coffee, to a torch and first aid kit.

The attention to detail was breath taking. From branded mugs that looked the part, to the fact that Cosy Campers just wanted us to have the very best experience possible. We were left a hamper packed with goodies, including two bottles of prosecco, luxury cookies, chocolates and jellybabies.

Our hamper and treat bags were a lovely surprise!

There were also 3 Halloween themed treat bags for the boys. One of which was completely diabetic friendly. Homemade monster crispie cakes, stickers, sweetie cones and a game of spooky snap were amongst the ghoulish goodies! There was also a lovely handwritten card wishing us the best holiday. I expect the jellybabies in our hamper were intentional too, as they are our preferred hypo treatment for James and I think I had mentioned it to Dani during one of our ‘mum’ conversations prior to the holiday. It made us feel very cared for and pampered, the planning around James’s diabetes was just so thoughtful and special. It was a very personalised experience which in turn made it feel luxurious.

The pop top roof was easily the bit the boys enjoyed most, and where two of them slept. Most of our time spent in Rooby Doo involved a view of a little head or legs dangling down from the roof. The fact they had to climb up there was everything small boys dream of. When the boys weren’t chilling ‘upstairs’ as they liked to call it, the base of the roof can be pushed up to give added head height in the living space of the van. We had one morning of lovely sunshine so we fully made the most of it and put the roof up and opened up the scenic windows. I can just imagine what it would be like in the Summer, the front of the pop top canopy can be completely removed too, it would be the best seat in the house.

We would love to experience this in the Summer too

By far the best feature in Rooby Doo for our trip anyway, was the heating system. We had horrendous weather and came back from every day trip out soaking wet, mud splattered and ruddy cheeked. Dark nights in Rooby Doo were warm and cosy however thanks to the diesel heater. We took our normal bedding, deciding against sleeping bags and we were lovely and warm at night.

Summary

When I booked our holiday with Cosy Campers I was slightly concerned that a campervan holiday with such young children would be a bit of a nightmare if I’m honest. I was proved wrong thankfully, apart from a bit of impatient bickering while we sorted out the awning the boys seemed to take to the campervan life with ease. They were happy to stay ‘upstairs’ or in the awning while we put the beds away or cooked etc. You do have to be quite organised though, and do things in a certain order when there’s so many of you in a relatively small space.

Would we do it again? Absolutely, in a heartbeat. If we had such an amazing time with the worst weather imaginable, then a Summer trip in Rooby Doo would be out of this world. We loved everything about our Half Term holiday, even the trips to the toilet block in the middle of the night gave us some great views of Mars, although you can add a porta loo to your booking if trekking across a field in a fetching wellies and pj’s combo isn’t your thing.

Autumn is so beautiful

It was an exciting adventure, and a perfect way of seeing the beautiful Lake District. I’ve decided that lying in a campervan bed, all snuggled up with my babies and listening to the wind and rain on the roof has become one of my favourite things to do, and something we WILL do again.

What sets Cosy Campers apart from other hire companies is the fact that when you book with them you feel like you are part of the family right up until you return Rooby Doo. Nothing is too much trouble and they go out of their way to create the perfect experience for you. Little touches, make a big difference fo example they included a wild guide to the area where we were staying which helped to make it a stress free experience. We could look up outdoor scenic places to visit which was especially helpful during these ‘covid-19 times’ and being a clinically vulnerable family.

Just driving around in Rooby Doo taking in the beautiful countryside was a treat in itself, and there’s nothing better than finding a quite spot to pull over and enjoy a cuppa with a view.

We are absolutely hooked on the campervan life!

Booking a Cosy Campers holiday definitely gets the thumbs up from us!

*As we are now in a second national lockdown unfortunately non essential travel is prohibited*

But, what better time to plan YOUR campervan adventure in the beautiful Rooby Doo for next year? You can get 10% off your off peak Cosy Campers booking by quoting DIRTDIGDINO when you make an enquiry. What are you waiting for?

Disclosure: we were gifted part of this holiday in return for an honest review and promotion across my social media channels. All opinions and words are my own.

Images are my own unless otherwise credited and must not be used without permission.

Our Autumn Campervan Adventure in Rooby Doo. This year has been tough (I think we can ALL agree on that!) and getting away to the…

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dirtdiggersanddinosaurs · 3 years

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Last Minute Bonfire Night Alternatives

With the announcement of a second lockdown starting on 5th November, I’m beginning to think that Guy Fawkes had the right idea all along! I’m joking of course, but it has meant that most of the organised events have had to be cancelled this year.

But, if like us you still want to mark the occasion either on the 5th or at the weekend, I’ve pulled together some last minute home based alternatives…

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dirtdiggersanddinosaurs · 4 years

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Autumn in the Lake District

Summer might be the most popular time to visit the Lake District, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only time you should head up there. We absolutely love Autumn in the Lake District, and we are hoping to head back there ourselves during this October Half Term. We think you’ll love it too, whether you are looking for a big family adventure or treating yourselves to a cosy hotel break.

Here are 5…

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dirtdiggersanddinosaurs · 4 years

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Wondering what to do this Halloween within the current Covid-19 restrictions? Well spook no further!

Each family will obviously make their own decision about how they wish to enjoy Halloween. But for those that are remaining cautious like us, we have come up with some ideas so that your Halloween at home can be safe and still ghoulishly good!

Bobbing ‘n’ Biting

Bobbing for apples has always been one of our favourites at Halloween parties, you can keep it simple with just a bucket of water or change it up to make it extra special.

James and friends enjoying apple bobbing last year. Image Credit: my own

Go for it and make edible goo, pop the apples in and get monstrously messy! All you’ll need is:

corn starch

water

Kool-Aid mix packet (sold on Amazon)

You’ll need equal quantities, so 1 cup of corn starch to one cup of water and 1 packet of Kool-Aid mix. Pop all the ingredients into a bowl and mix until you get a runny but goopy consistency. Scale up depending on the amount of goo you need. And get that plastic tablecloth out!

Too messy? Then swap the apples out for a treat and ‘bob’ for doughnuts instead, lose the water and hang them up at varying heights. Extra points if you decorate the doughnuts beforehand, look at these fab examples!

Get your fangs into these!

Get creative and make your doughnuts part of your decorations!

Obviously this requires close parental supervision to make sure that each participant only sinks their teeth into their own doughnut, so you might as well join in too!!

Pumpkin Bowling

Any panic buyers amongst us? Do you still have plenty of toilet rolls knocking about from lockdown? Perfect, pumpkin bowling it is then!

Pumpkin bowling

This is such an easy activity, all you need is a pack of 6 gold nuggets – oops, I mean toilet rolls! A sharpie marker and a small pumpkin which can be real or fake as long as it’s got a little weight to it.

Draw your ghostly faces or Halloween messages onto the toilet rolls and stack them up into a pyramid. Then use your pumpkin as a bowling ball. Players get 1 point for every toilet roll they knock over. Please only discard the sheets with marker on and use up the rest of the roll so as not to waste it!

Ghostly Glowing Skeletons

This is one we personally had a lot of fun with over lockdown and all you need is a large packet of glow sticks!

For best results dress totally in black. Crack the glow sticks and sellotape them to your clothing in the shape of a skeleton. Don’t forget to connect some together to go around your face to make the head or alternatively use glow in the dark face paint.

Get your glow on!

Next step is to turn off all the lights, and pop on some ghoulishly good music and get throwing some spooky shapes.

My two little skeletons! Image credit: my own

To add to the atmosphere, you could cut out eye shapes into empty toilet rolls and pop in a glow stick, you will then have some spooky eyes watching you dance, or alternatively hang up some fearsome faces by drawing a face onto a balloon then popping a glowstick inside once inflated.

Every graveyard boogie needs a playlist check out these Halloween favourites:

A Petrifying Playlist

Monster Mash – Bobby Pickett

Thriller – Michael Jackson

Ghostbusters – Ray Parker Jr

Time Warp – Rocky Horror Picture Show

Monster – Lady Gaga

Get your Freak on – Missy Elliot

Ghost – Ella Henderson

Happy Halloween Hunting

Set up a scavenger hunt around your home, hiding treats for your children to find along the way.

This is a great one that can easily be used for different age groups:

Or you could make a ghoulish ghost hunt – make lollipops into ghosts and hang them around the house and garden. Fabric squares, coffee filters or even our beloved toilet roll can be used to make these!

Devilish Decorations

We practically decorate the house for any occasion, I really don’t need much of an excuse but if we are all spending more time in the house this Halloween then why not decorate and give the kids something to smile about too! I tend to go for more of a general pumpkin/autumn theme rather than overly spooky, but I start adding bits to our home from October 1st, so yes I’ve already started, with a door wreath and a couple of mini pumpkins!

If you’re stuck for ideas or don’t want to splash out on decorations to only use them this year then there are some great DIY ideas on Pinterest, here are a few of my favourites.

Spiders Web

Use string, a balloon and PVA to create the web then add a few plastic spiders.

Pumpkins

There are some AMAZING patterns and templates online to create a very professional looking pumpkin.

If you are keen for the younger ones to get involved, and they want to do more than just scoop the insides out then why not let them decorate a pumpkin with paints or pens?

Paint your own pumpkins

If art is not your thing then there are some very on trend pumpkin stickers available. You could paint the pumpkins with chalk paint first before adding the stickers if you want to match to your decor.

Pumpkin vinyl stickers

Remember the rainbow windows during lockdown? We loved spotting them on our walks around our local area. Halloween themed windows will help your house look suitably haunted and will also bring a bit of seasonal magic to other families passing by.

Image credit: The Bear and the Fox

Th example above uses tissue paper but you can use poster paint or just get the kids to draw a picture a pop it up. Not an artist? Then adding a window vinyl will get the same results in a second.

Halloween Cinema

Create a Halloween at home cinema experience. You could all be in fancy dress and enjoy some spooky snacks whilst watching something gruesome.

Putrid popcorn

Family film options include:

Hotel Transylvania

Casper

The Addams Family

The Witches

Hocus Pocus

Monster House

Coraline

The Corpse Bride

Gremlins

Ghost Busters

But nothing stops us parents continuing after the kids go to bed, what better film to watch than Halloween?

Eat, Drink & Be Scary!

My boys love a ‘party tea’. Even without friends over it just feels a bit special for them if it’s buffet style or themed! You can easily adapt some recipes to make them fit the Halloween theme, it doesn’t need to just be sweets either, there’s plenty of healthier options or just spook up their usual meal. We had spooky sausages and monster mash for Eli’s birthday tea last year. I just used food colouring to make the mash green and added a few little plastic spiders for effect – just remember to remove them before they tuck in!

Spooky sausages and monster mash! Image Credit: my own

Here’s some ideas for a monster munch…

Bloody finger hot dogs

Halloween shaped biscuits

Popcorn Witches hands

Halloween Mummy dogs

Banana ghosts & satsuma pumpkins

Trick or Treat

If you do still wish to go trick or treating, there are some ways in which to reduce risk including:

Arranging with friends/family to visit them e.g. classmates who are already in your “bubble” therefore reducing new contacts.

Stick to the ‘rule of 6’

Adults could wear a facemask (disposable ones could easily be decorated)

Don’t encourage sharing of Halloween props/accessories etc.

Leave a bowl of individually wrapped sweets outside therefore no touching of the doorbell/door is required.

Use lots of alcohol gel as you go, and reinforce handwashing as soon as you get home.

Respect other people’s concerns regarding covid safety and only go to houses you know will be participating.

Whatever you decide to do, have fun and enjoy! If you’ve enjoyed this post, I’ve created a Pinterest board full of ideas that caught my eye for you to explore. Make sure you share your photos to our Facebook group. There might be a prize in it for the most creative! Images for this post were pulled from Pinterest, no specific credit could be found.

Halloween at Home: Our Trick or Treat Alternatives Wondering what to do this Halloween within the current Covid-19 restrictions? Well spook no further! Each family will obviously make their own decision about how they wish to enjoy Halloween.

#2020 #Activities #Boredom busters #celebrate #covid19 #covid19 safety #Craft #decorations #Family Activities #games #Halloween #Halloween 2020 #holiday #lockdown #pumpkin #restrictions #spooky #trick or Treat

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dirtdiggersanddinosaurs · 4 years

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How to Make the Most of your Staycation.

2020, we’ll ALL remember this year won’t we? In the midst of a global pandemic, with ever changing quarantine regulations and holiday cancellations many of us have opted for a UK staycation this Summer.

We personally love holidaying in this country and have done regularly since the children came along. So, if you’re usually more St Tropez than St Ives then here is our guide for making the most of…

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