The Days That Keep Us Going

April 24, 2018

These last Easter holidays ended up being slightly strange ones for us, of course the weather didn’t help anyone and looking back now I can only really remember this one day at Formby when the weather was good. It also felt like a it was going to be a long break but my husband only had the one week whereas the boys had the two so it felt like we had to cram all the house jobs we needed doing into that first week as well as keep three boys entertained.

We started the holidays with an amazing visit to Chester Zoo which is always a family favourite. Lucas absolutely loves The Secret Life Of The Zoo so he usually has a list of animals we have to see. We were there for nearly seven hours and it was amazing but pretty full on! Then we had a family Easter Egg hunts, catching up with friends and I finally made a start with decorating and got our hallway painted.

In the middle of it all this one day at Formby was just glorious. I’m so glad we did it, took our chance to get outside when the weather was nice, and left the house jobs for another day. We set off so early which was good as it gets very busy later on but the boys then thought we could tuck into the picnic at 9.30 in the morning. We got a good look at the red squirrels and spent ages running around the woods before wandering down the beach and through the sand dunes. It’s such a beautiful place, even if here in the North West we aren’t in quite the warmest spot for paddling in the sea! 

I love that we can visit places like this and the boys will play just for the fun of being out in a wide open space on a sunny day. I say all the time that as they’ve gotten older it’s become infinitely easier but it becomes all the more obvious on days like this when they don’t need the constant supervision and hand holding. It’s lovely to sit back and watch them climbing trees or build dens, although my husband will never sit back when it comes to den building! We must have walked for miles and as long as there was plenty of snacks on hand they were happy enough. We came home with pockets full of shells and stones, they’ll hoard anything that looks even the slightest bit interesting. 

I should know better by now but we get often get too caught up in things we want to get done at home; my husband always has so much work he needs to do in the school holidays so sometimes it seems like the easiest option to stay in. I forget just how much we need days like this, even when it can feel like such an effort to go out for the day when there is a list of jobs mounting up at home. It clears our heads, we can more easily forget about the things to do and just concentrate on each other. Me and my husband have been joking recently that we’re rubbish at being grown ups but I know it’s because we can’t be ‘on-it’ all the time. We need to give ourselves a chance to step away from it all. This day was a little wake up call that we really need to make the time for these days, they’re the ones that keep us going. 

 

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5 Comments

  • welliesontheschoolrun

    Lovely post Hayley, and beautiful pictures. We are the same with needing to get away from home to properly switch off. In the house there always seems to be so many things that need doing. It’s great just to get out for the day with none of the to-do lists to distract xx

    April 25, 2018 at 11:00 am Reply
    • hayleyfromhome

      That’s just it, even if we are having a lazy day in I’m still getting distracted by things and I don’t think we ever really switch off. Stepping away from it all is so much better, your little camper van trips must be like that! It sounds like bliss to me xx

      April 28, 2018 at 11:58 am Reply
  • Rachel @ The Ordinary Lovely

    Gorgeous photos, Hayley. I know exactly what you mean. I sometimes get so anxious about the things that we need to get done at home, that I feel like we need to stay in until they’re done. But it’s good to leave them and head outdoors … especially when the sun is shining.

    April 25, 2018 at 9:27 pm Reply
    • hayleyfromhome

      It’s hard to make the effort sometimes but I always feel better when we do, I’m such a homebird that it can get far too easy for me to stay in! We were lucky to get a sunny day though when we did go out which always helps!

      April 28, 2018 at 11:56 am Reply
  • Angela Webster

    I agree Hayley, our to-do list is so long and we often end up neglecting days out over house things. I’ve started planning two days a month that we must get out and about and it seems to be working. I’ve got a bookmarked list of parks and places to visit in the North West which helps us to decided where to go. You chose a beautiful day for the beach x

    April 30, 2018 at 1:38 pm Reply
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