1940s Day

Our local gardens just had a 1940s day, so while Matt took Lily to the movies, I took Miles and Clara to check it out.

We arrived right after it began at 10:30. It was a beautiful day, and wasn't extremely crowded yet. Miles grabbed an ice cream, and we nearly ran into the parade.

As we approached the hub of the event, they had a few interesting stalls set up. Touch an exotic animal (mainly snakes), hold a bird of prey, and this obstacle course.

Miles desperately wanted to go on this, but it was taken down when we walked back around.

There were lots of vintage vehicles set up, especially military scenes.

This was an MG Midget, which cost £199 brand new

We arrived near the stage, where a group of children were doing some sort of show. We missed a great deal of it, so we listened to a song and walked on. When we circled back around, there was a big band playing, and several people dancing. It's hard to see, but I couldn't get much closer due to the crowds and the stairs (Clara was in the stroller).

Miles liked the treats.

My favorite part was seeing the people who came dressed up. Many of the men wore military uniforms, but a few looked like they should be in a barbershop quartet.

I don't think the smartphone is historically accurate

We were only there for a couple of hours, but it wore poor Clara out.

On the way out, Miles played on the inflatable slide for a few minutes. I wasn't sure he would enjoy the whole event, but he did say he liked it.

Once Matt and Lily finished their movie, they met us at the gardens to grab a bite to eat. By this time, it was around 1:30, and it was really hot and crowded. We ordered some fish and chips and took them home to eat. Next year I'd like to go back, but I think we'll stick to the early hours.

Harlow Carr, Part 2

There's a children's show here called In the Night Garden, and Clara loves it (which means it can hold her attention for about 10-15 minutes). RHS Harlow Carr had a special In the Night Garden installation, so we took the kids to see it.

We received an activity packet with a map to follow, and we were able to see a few different parts of the gardens than we had last time. And of course the late spring plants were in full bloom, so that changed the scenery a bit.

All three children liked the special installation, especially Clara. There was an app you could download to play a game, but she was happy just to find the pictures of the characters.

Her "cheese" face, aka Blue Steel

We took a nice, relaxed pace, and let the kids explore.

This tree had enormous flowers!

This gazebo had pretty stained glass.

And this time, the kids got to play at the play areas. We didn't stay very long though, because the hungry meltdowns started.

So we grabbed a quick lunch and headed toward the exit, ending another fun trip to the gardens.