Findhorn

It wasn't raining today so we *had* to go to the beach. Although it wasn't raining, it was still pretty cold so after a quick dook in the sea I was pretty freezing and was thrilled when Auntie Anne called to say they'd be in the area with friends and would we like to join them for lunch!

It was a quick trip back to the cottage to get cleaned up and warmed up before heading back to the Findhorn Foundation for a bite to eat and then into Findhorn village for a wander. It was great to see Auntie Anne and Uncle Ian and to meet their friends, Peter and Alison. Peter had lots of cool tricks to show me and stories to tell - he was kind enough to keep me company straggling at the back when the others didn't wait!

Playing at the pond next to the cafe:

The geocache we found in Findhorn!

After Findhorn we headed to Culbin Forrest for a wee walk and say the most tadpoles and tiny frogs that I have ever seen!

Randolph's Leap

Day one of our holiday and it's pouring with rain! The Sat Nav had brought us here via the scenic route yesterday so we knew Logie Steading and Randolph's Leap weren't very far away and Dad had found that there were some Geocaches there so off we went. We had a bit of lunch in the cafe at Logie Steading and then headed for the walk to Randolph's Leap. Luckily it was almost all under the cover of the trees so we made it there and back almost completely dry - not bad for a two hour walk in pouring rain!

Once back to Logie Steading, Mum went looking in the shops and Dad and I played at the park!

Finding one of the geocaches:

Some of the views over the River Findhorn from the path we walked:

The flood stone marking the height of the flood in 1829. You can't tell from this picture because there's no context but it was *really* high!

We're on Holiday!

We've arrived at our holiday cottage in Kinloss again! After a long day with a lot of driving and a short stop-off in Kingussie to see Granny and Grandpa we're finally here. It's a bit late to go to the beach but nothing can stop me from playing in the fantastic large garden - not even the fact it's been raining here for days and the grass is soaking!

Olympic Torch!

One of the Olympic Torch relay runners brought their torch along to gymnastics tonight. It's massive!

Astro Club Championships

Today was the gymnastics club championships. All members tried their hardest to complete the routines we'd been set as best we could. I didn't make the top three but everyone got a medal. Here's some video of my range of movement and the little display I did with one of my gymnast friends.

50 Things To Do Before You're 11 and 3/4

I've mentioned this in a couple of blogs; The National Trust have created a list of 50 things to do before you're 11 and 3/4. The idea is that because we all spend far more time inside watching telly and playing computer games than when Dad was a kid (we won't talk about computers and telly not being available when Mum was a girl), us kids need some real incentive to get out there. And perhaps our lazy parents need some help too.

So Dad signed me up. He was relieved and pleased to see that we'd already done most of them but surprised at some others we hadn't managed yet.

I'm going to try to use this blog post to record them for posterity (which is a bit cheeky because you need to register on the National Trust site to see the list and are supposed to keep track there).

1. Climb a tree
2. Roll down a really big hill
3. Camp out in the wild (scheduled for August 2012)
4. Build a den
5. Skim a stone
6. Run around in the rain
7. Fly a kite
8. Catch a fish with a net
9. Eat an apple straight from a tree
10. Play conkers (has been done but wasn't blogged, will try again)
11. Throw some snow
12. Hunt for treasure on the beach
13. Make a mud pie
14. Dam a stream
15. Go sledging
16. Bury someone in the sand
17. Set up a snail race
18. Balance on a fallen tree
19. Swing on a rope swing
20. Make a mud slide
21. Eat blackberries growing in the wild
22. Take a look inside a tree
23. Visit an island
24. Feel like you're flying in the wind
25. Make a grass trumpet
26. Hunt for fossils and bones
27. Watch the sun wake up (every winter!)
28. Climb a huge hill (been done, but no blog. Got a good one in mind though)
29. Get behind a waterfall
30. Feed a bird from your hand
31. Hunt for bugs (all the time, but no photos!)
32. Find some frogspawn
33. Catch a butterfly in a net
34. Track wild animals
35. Discover what's in a pond
36. Call an owl
37. Check out the crazy creatures in a rock pool
38. Bring up a butterfly
39. Catch a crab
40. Go on a nature walk at night
41. Plant it, grow it, eat it
42. Go wild swimming
43. Go rafting
44. Light a fire without matches
45. Find your way with a map and compass
46. Try bouldering
47. Cook on a campfire (hopefully complete this at cub camp this year!)
48. Try abseilling (hopefully complete at cub camp this year)
49. Find a geocache
50. Canoe down a river

Any links aren't necessarily to the first time I've done something...

1953

To celebrate the queen's diamond jubilee, my Beavers troop held a 1950s party in the hall. We all had great fun and the hall was transformed with union jack flags, bunting and cakes (yes, union jack cakes!). But the reason it's worthy of a post here is we all had to dress up like it was the 1950s. Check me out!