Aaron's Blog

On the way back from our holiday in Scotland, our overnight stop was in Liverpool as we had booked a stadium tour of Goodison Park without Ben, Aaron or Coby knowing about it! 😉 We didn’t tell them until we were literally parked up in the car park next to the stadium when Ben said ‘are we able to go inside?’ so we said ‘yes, we are having a proper tour of the stadium’. At which point, they all got extremely excited!

The tour was brilliant though and I could easily have paid for another one straight after! Everyone thought it was really good and enjoyed it, even Kelly! Coby was a little bit naughty when we were in the lounge being told about the history of the trophies on show and didn’t like the brightness outside (it was clear blue sky, very sunny and really hot!) but overall they were very well behaved.

The tour started in reception before heading to the lounge where members pay £3000 per season to be allowed in. Here the guides explained the history of the lounge and the trophies that were in a large cabinet there. We then walked out into the main stand, in the area where all the directors sat and were told more information about the club and how it was the first club to do this and that. Then it was down to the dressing rooms where we had a good look around and I managed to find a programme from the friendly the previous day against Valencia, which was Marco Silva’s first home game in charge (lost 2-1 though) and had a good look at the players shirts that were all hung around the dressing room. We then walked out through the corridor and out on to the side of the pitch next to the dug outs to the Z Cars theme that is played when the team walks out onto the pitch. This was the favourite part for me, Ben and Aaron! The pitch looked in great condition and the boys sat in the dug out before we walked along the middle of the stand and into the media room, where the manager does his press conferences. We were allowed to sit on the chairs where the manager sat and had a photo with a life size cut out figure of Marco Silva.  Unfortunately, this was the end of the tour but it was very awesome. It lasted about an hour but it could have done with being a bit longer to be able to soak the atmosphere in of the different areas that we visited.

As part of the tour, we got 20% of in the Everton shop so after taking a full walk around the stadium, we went in the shop and spent too much money! I bought the new home shirt and a mug, Ben bout the new away shirt and a key ring, Aaron bout a training top and a key ring and Coby had a full training kit and a key ring. I/we could have spent much more in there though as there was loads of stuff that was awesome! 😉

We then went back to the car and started the drive home. The tour had been amazing and was one of the things that I wanted to do since I started to support Everton in 1988 so I was extremely glad that we did it and the boys really enjoyed it as well. Everton will be moving to a new stadium in a few years, so we will have to do it at the new stadium as well! 😉

This year, we went and stayed in Largs for a week again, the same as last year.  This time though, we rented a different house and didn’t go with anyone else. The house was lovely and clean and was in a nearby street to where we had stayed before, so we had the same access to Largs as we were used to.  On the way up, we stayed in a hotel in Stafford again, though a different one to last year, just to break the trip up for the boys. We left later this year as Ben and Aaron only broke up from school on the Friday 27th that we were travelling, so they had been at School all day. I had taken the afternoon off work to help Kelly load the car, also with the help of Coby!  The journey up went very well, unlike last year when it took 8 hours to get to Stafford, and the boys were quite well behaved, even though we had to tell them to quieten down on several occasions! We did it in roughly half that time this year, which was much better. There wasn’t even any stoppages for traffic – amazing really! The hotel we stopped in was fine and we attempted to get some sleep before setting out early in the morning, but Kelly and I didn’t really get much, due to the lack of pillows available. At least it meant we were up early and out the door a decent time to finish the drive!

Saturday

We arrived in Largs around 3pm and unloaded the car. We had already booked a Tesco delivery for between 4pm and 6pm, so that we didn’t have to rush off to the shops to get some food, and it turned up just after 4. By this time, the house had been explored and the boys had chosen their rooms although there were a lot of changes as one room was an attic room and Ben was unsure if he wanted to sleep up there on his own. The other room was on the same level as the one Kelly and I were sleeping in, and had bunk beds for 2 people, so in the end, Ben brought his mattress down from the attic room and slept in the room with the other two! He did manage to sleep in the attic room on one occasion during the week though! 😉

After the delivery had come and we had put it all away, we drove into Largs and went to Wetherspoons for tea. We had been there last and it was nice, and it didn’t disappoint again as our food was again lovely. Unfortunately, whilst going to the toilet, Ben decided to take his fit watch off and ended up leaving it in the cubicle.  By the time he had remembered that he had done that, it had gone, so we were all very annoyed!  The weather wasn’t very nice at this point (which is why we drove in) and we were tired out from all of the travelling, so we didn’t have a proper look around Largs but instead went home and relaxed. We did spot that the arcade on the front had closed down though, which we were quite shocked about! Thank goodness there was another one in Largs! 😉

Sunday

On the Sunday, we had been invited to Kelly’s Auntie’s house for food in the afternoon, so we didn’t do too much in the morning. I went for a 4 mile jog around Largs early on, until my knee started hurting and the rain came in. Kelly was going to go for a jog as well but decided not to due to the weather. We had a cooked breakfast and chilled around the house until the early afternoon. We then drove in to Glasgow to Aunty Christine’s house, where we also met up with the rest of the family including Kelly’s Gran. There was loads of food to eat so we all ate loads and had a catch up with everyone. Luckily, they had put some gazebo’s up as there were some heavy downpours. The boys didn’t mind though, as they were playing football in the garden in the wet.

We left there in the early evening and decided, whilst we were out and the weather had become nice and sunny, to visit Ibrox stadium, as it was just down the road. So we parked up there and got out and took some photos. We then went over to Hampden Park and did the same. We didn’t go to Celtic though as it was in the opposite direction. We then headed home, by which time it was dark and nearly 10pm, and put the boys to bed. We stayed up for a little longer before heading to bed as well as were tired out.

Monday

We were going to go to Edinburgh Castle on Monday but the weather wasn’t great so we decided to postpone that until Tuesday and instead went to Braehead for the day. Firstly, we went to see The Incredibles 2 in the cinema, which we all enjoyed. We had a big tub of popcorn and Coby and Aaron had a tub of candy floss, so they were happy! After the film, we had a few quick goes in the arcade that was next to the cinema and won a Mr Incredible soft toy in the grabber machine. I was extremely pleased with that! 😉 We then went to TGI Fridays to have some dinner. We had never been to a TGI Fridays before but enjoyed the food, even though it wasn’t as big a portion as most other places. Finally, we went over to the indoor shopping centre, which is situated in a different area of Braehead and looked around the shops. The boys spent some of their holiday money in a toy shop that we had also been in last year. By this time, the weather had come out much warmer and sunnier so we drove home, grabbed a sandwich for tea and went for a walk along the seafront at Largs, all the way to the Pencil monument. The boys took their scooters, so they were happily zooming around! We also found a geocache at the Pencil and also were told by some passers by that there was a Seal sat on the rocks nearby, which we saw, but swam off when we tried to get closer. We were all shattered by the time we got back to the house but had had a lovely day and still had to make sandwiches to take with us to the castle on Tuesday, so it ended up being a late night!

Tuesday

We got up nice and early and left to drive to Edinburgh Castle. We had already booked tickets online and decided on a car park to park in, so everything was pretty straightforward until we parked up and walked out of the car park and then didn’t know where to go to get into the castle. As the Edinburgh Tattoo was being setup and taking place that evening, a lot of the roads and paths were closed, which didn’t help, but there were no signs outside the car park telling visitors where to go. The car park was literally right next to the castle as well. So we ended up setting off in a direction we hoped would lead to the front and luckily, we found some very steep steps which led up to the castle entrance. It was absolutely heaving though, so we were glad we had bought tickets already so we could just walk in. The weather was a bit murky and windy, but once you got to the top of the castle, the wind was really strong. Until you are in the castle you don’t realise how high up you are as you can see the whole of Edinburgh from the top of the castle walls. It was an amazing view! We had a good look around and had a short tour with a tour guide who explained certain areas of the castle before leaving us to look around ourselves. There was lots to see and the queues for certain buildings were massive, so we ended up not quite seeing everything. The best part of the castle, which we all agreed on, was when we queued up and saw the Scottish Royal Crown, Jewels and Sceptre.  It all looked amazing, especially to think they were all made hundreds of years ago. We all spent quite a while looking at those, and Coby was excited to see a real Crown. We stayed wandering around the castle until closing time before we made our way back down and through the Edinburgh Tattoo stands (which was crazy to see as the seating stands either side were literally hanging over the side of the castle courtyard with a massive drop just below them!). We walked out the proper entrance this time, which was still really busy, and walked the other way around the castle grounds to get back to the car.  Along the way, we stopped to hear a band play a few times and walked through the park below the castle. We didn’t get back to the car until gone 6pm so the boys were hungry as we had only had a slice of pizza each from the cafe for lunch, along with some snacks. So we cracked into our sandwiches and I drove back to Largs. We were all exhausted again by the time we had got home so it wasn’t long before we all went to bed. It had be an enjoyable day exploring the castle though!

Wednesday

We had a much quieter day on Wednesday as we had been non-stop since we arrived up until now. So we didn’t rush getting up and having breakfast but, when we did, we went for a walk around Largs and along the seafront to the boating lake at the other end.  We did some geocaching along the way and found a couple, and the boys whizzed around on their scooters again. We also stopped in the park for a play this time, as the weather was dry enough to begin with.  On the way back from the far end, we went in the arcade and won a few items from the 2p and had a bit of fun. We then decided to walk back past Morrisons and get some pizzas and goodies to eat back at the house whilst watching a film, which we did. So we had a nice relaxing afternoon and evening. Once the boys had gone to bed, Kelly and I watched ‘Blair Witch’ which made us a little jumpy in the house overnight! 😉

Thursday

We had arranged to meet Aunty Rosena and Uncle Graham, and their dog Ollie for a walk around Largs during late morning, so there was no rush to get up again, which was good! 😉 We ended up meeting them at the park, so the boys could have a play whilst they parked and walked over.  We then had a walk along the beach section and over to the Pencil again.  The boys all took turns holding Ollie’s lead and throwing a ball for him to fetch, which they all loved. He was very well behaved, which was great. We then walked back the other way and into Largs town and stopped in a pub for some food. The food was very nice and we all enjoyed it. Kelly and Aunty Rosena even had a large cocktail! We then got some Ice Creams and walked on a bit further before it was time to turn back and for them to go home again. It was a lovely walk around with them. Once we had said our goodbyes, the boys went on a couple of rides on the small fairground before we spent some more time having fun in the arcade. We had been collecting up all of our tickets ready for our final visit on the last day of our holiday to get some good prizes! We then walked back to the house and the boys had some tea before we decided to drive down the coast to Ardrossan, the same as we did last year.  Because of our plans for Friday, we knew that if we didn’t do it today then we wouldn’t have chance to view the coastline again this year.  Typically, Coby well asleep during the drive so when we parked up at Ardrossan, myself, Ben and Aaron got out and walked up to the little parapet overlooking the sea and left Kelly in the car with Coby. We didn’t stay out for long though, as the weather turned and the rain came in. We did stop in Asda there on the way back and bought a couple of things before heading back to the house.   Ben actually slept upstairs in the attic room on his own as well, which I think was very brave of him! 😉

Friday

As the weather was going to be nice on Friday, we had decided earlier in the week that we would get the Ferry across to the Isle Of Cumbrae and then get a bus to Millport for the day.  So we got the ferry, which was very exciting for the boys, especially Coby, and travelled the short journey across the Clyde to the small port on the other side, where we got on a bus and travelled to Millport.  The bus journey was a little scary as the driver was bombing along on the small roads and was so close to the edge on a number of occasions! We were all hanging on tightly! Once off the bus, we stopped for some snacks and then had a good look around. We firstly went in one direction and ended up climbing on some rock pools and going through a park, where the boys stopped to play, and then further along to find a geocache in a spot which overlooked the other side of the island and where you could see the next set of islands. It was a beautiful spot and a great place to put a geocache. We then walked back and along to the other end, looking for geocaches as we went, and found a few. Once we had walked along to the other side we went out on a rock that was painted to look like a crocodile, which was a tourist spot on the island. By this time, we were all hungry som we got some fish and chips for tea, and the boys has chicken nuggets (Coby), a jumbo sausage (Aaron) and a burger (Ben). We ate this and then wandered back up to the bus stop. We did stop in the very small arcade on the way, but it was so small and we didn’t feel comfortable in there, so we left straightaway. The bus trip back to the ferry was just as bad as on the way, but we got there in one piece, before catching the ferry back over to Largs and walking home. We were all shattered by this point and crashed out for a while before we started to pack our stuff up as we had to be out of the house by 11am in the morning. Once the boys had gone to bed again, Kelly and I sat down and tried to relax for the remainder of the evening.

Saturday

We couldn’t believe Saturday had come around already! The week had gone so fast and we all had had a great time and enjoyed everywhere we had visited. We had to be up early as we had to finish packing and then put all the gear into the car. We managed to do this all on time and were just finishing when the cleaner arrived to start sorting the house out for the next set of visitors that were arriving that afternoon.  I then drove the car down to the sea front and parked up there whilst Kelly and the boys walked down with their scooters. We then walked to the park and the boys spent some good time playing in there before heading over to Wetherspoons for some food. We were very lucky to get a table though, as it was heaving for some reason! The food was very nice again and we ate it all up before heading to the outside rides to use up the remaining tokens that we had.  The boys had a couple of rides each and we then went to the arcade to use up the rest of our change and to get the prizes that the boys had earned with their tickets that they had won. We ended up with some good prizes including a couple of superhero mugs and some sweets. They were all happy with what they had, which was good. We then wandered through the shops and bought some tablet and fudge before heading back to the car, to start our journey to the hotel in Liverpool for the night, ready for the surprise that we had in store for the boys on the Sunday morning.

We all had had a great and fun time in Largs this year.  The weather was slightly better than it was last year but typically the hot and sunny weather that we had had over the past couple of months decided to change to cool winds and clouds as soon as we arrived. However, it was nice to not be boiling hot all the time! The house we stayed in was very good as well and we would definitely stay there again. As usual though, the time there went too quick, but we will definitely be back at some point in the near future!

In year 3 Aaron has dual teachers called Mrs Allen and Mrs Luckett. Mrs Allen does 3 days and Mrs Luckett does 2 days. Hopefully they will be good teachers!

Last Friday was the last Beavers of the term and for the final session, they organised a beach clean at Wembury, followed by a BBQ. Nearly all of the Beavers went and Kelly helped with the food.  The weather was nice and dry and warm, which was a relief.  We took our own little BBQ for us whilst Aaron ate from the main Beaver BBQ. All of the Beavers split up into groups with bin bags and went all over the beach to pick up any rubbish they found. Aaron enjoyed it but I am not sure how much rubbish he found and picked up! He then ate a lot of the BBQ and other snacks that had been contributed.

Once the session was over, Aaron changed into his wetsuit and went into the sea for a bit, though it was cold and he didn’t really go in for very long! He then went and played with his friends in the rock pools for a bit and then went exploring with me, further out into the rock pools. We found a crab, a large shrimp and a big feather from a seagull, so Aaron was happy. By the time we had got back to the beach, all the other Beavers had gone and the weather was turning, so we packed up and went home, just as it was starting to spit with rain.

Aaron had a great time at the beach clean and enjoyed the BBQ as well. He had a great term at Beavers and loved every minute of it!

The weekend before last, we went camping at Whitehill Country Park which is just outside of Paignton, with Alex, Josh, Caleb and Sophia. The place was great and the weather was awesome!

I had the day off work so Kelly and I arrived for 12pm (when we could setup on the pitch) and got the tent up nice and early before I left Kelly to finish off setting up and travelled back to pick up the boys from School and Bumblebees.  The sun was out and there were hardly any clouds in the sky, so it was really hot. When I got back with the boys we went for a swim in the onsite outdoor pool before we went back to the tent and had a BBQ for tea. The boys were loving it there and were playing all the time with Caleb. 

On the Saturday, we went swimming in the morning again, which was great, though cooler as we were earlier in the day.  Ben was fine in the pool on his own and Aaron was OK as well, though he seems to forget that he can swim now! Coby was doing very well as well, as he was in the big pool with just armbands on, and he was kicking around trying to swim and was doing a very good job of it. We then went back to camp and had some dinner before we went for a walk around the site. We went to a playground and along a woodland walk, and then had a look at the onsite shop, arcade and bar/cafe area, before getting a milkshake or ice cream.  We then went back to camp and relaxed for a bit before going back to the bar and ordering some food for tea. The food was great. It was very well priced and there was plenty of it! Everyone enjoyed their food. We then went to watch the evening entertainment in another area of the complex, which was in an old barn. The barn was boiling hot though and we were sweating buckets! The entertainers put on a show for the evening that comprised of children’s games and disco for the first hour, then Bingo (which we didn’t win) and then a Disney show where they sang several Disney songs.  Coby was up dancing and taking part in the children’s disco and games and loved it! It was great watching him dance and play. We didn’t leave there until nearly 10pm when the boys were starting to get really tired, so we then walked back to camp, after a 5 minute play in the park, and got the boys to sleep. We stayed up well into the night with Alex and Josh and we saw some shooting stars, which was great. The weather was still really warm even at 11:30pm!

Sunday was our final day so we started off packing some of our bits up. We didn’t have a set time to leave as we had booked for 3 nights so we didn’t take the tent down and do the majority of the packing until later on in the afternoon. We had a cooked breakfast and then got ready to go down for our last swim. The water seemed colder again though! The boys were again jumping in and having fun in the splash pad (that was working this time) and in the toddler pool. We then went back to camp and got washed and changed before heading back to the bar to get some food for dinner. We were going to have sandwiches but decided on getting some proper food as we wouldn’t be home until late in the end. So we had some nice food again and a big milkshake and a last play in the park before heading back to camp to pack up. We left at about 5ish in the end and drove home hot and tired out from a great weekend. The weather was amazing all weekend, which stopped us from sleeping though as the tent was boiling from about 6am, and the facilities on the site were excellent and we would definitely consider going there again.