A Cracking Fireworks Party!

I am fortunate to have a brilliant Brother and Sister in Law who run a sports and social club (like a workingman's club) for the local steel works and every year, they put on a wonderful childrens party and fireworks display for bonfire night.

This years Party was wonderful and I want to say a great big thank you to them (My SIL's mum has been in hospital for the last 9 weeks and is very unwell). 

Maxi and my Niece dancing together

A little help for my friends

I have been ever so lucky in this wonderful world of blogs to have made some great friends and have met some really inspiring people, so today I want to tell you about a couple of them and ask you to help where you can.

Firstly Stephanie.  Stephanie is an inspiration to me, has been since the moment I first read her blog Bah! to Cancer, you see Stephanie has been dancing with Breast Cancer (you don't die from dancing do you?) and  doing so in a dignified and insightful way.

One of Stephanie's Ideas is the Bah! Brilliant Book Bonanza, This is a great way of giving uplifting books to people who need a good read. 

She is also taking part in the race for life and has a Bah! to cancer team.  All in all she is a really special kind of person, once that you don't come across all the time.

Next up is Dan and the Hadrians Walkers, who are these people you ask and what are they doing.  Well they are a group of 60 people who in July will be walking the length of Hadrian's Wall in six days. That's 84 miles across the entire width of England.

They are  walking in aid of the Joseph Salmon Trust, a charity founded by Dan's friends in memorial to their son Joseph who died aged 3 in April of 2005.

The Joseph Salmon Trust supports parents who have lost a child by providing financial assistance to those who need it most.


You can find their just giving site here 
  

Egg Hunts, Child labor, Bonnets and Boogieing

Ormsby Hall, a place I have visited in my youth, but not since, but we took the boys on an Easter egg hunt there, which was fantastic.

They had to find all the clues in the Hall gardens.

Mini and Maxi had so much fun and I got very muddy in the process, but it was a fun hour on what was a dreary Easter Monday.

Ormesby Hall is a National Trust Property and we have annual membership, so it costs us nothing to get in and this year the boys are getting to the stage where they can enjoy the activity packs in each room, which is only 50p for the book and you get the pencil free!

One of the great things about Ormesby Hall, which was once home to the Pennyman Family is its Victorian Kitchen and Scullery.  The boys loved joining in with the washing. The volunteer (a teacher in her day job) was amazing and she really captivated them with the tales of turning on fires at five in the morning and also the fact that they would wash 68 sheets a week!

It was great that it was so hands on, they got to use a dolly and a mangle and also have a go at ironing (with cold irons)!  There is also a model railway, well three of them set up on the top floor, which is great for little and big men!  The Cleveland Mounted Police are headquartered in the Hall's stables too.

So we then came home and the boys decorated their bonnets for the Clubs Easter Party, which was last night too

I love the fact that they did it all themself themselfust a little help cutting out the egg shapes and adding the glue.

Finally, I leave you with the boys doing Big Fish Little Fish at the party, they danced the night away will 10pm, I came home early at 8pm as I wasn't felling well, they outlasted me!

Bonfire Party

What can I say about the wonderful night we had the Bonfire night party at my brothers and sister in laws social club.

It was a wonderful night, with 200 people turning up for the marvelous fireworks that my Brother and the team put on (he is already trying to make next year bigger and better).

The children's disco is something to behold, in fact MiniMad is the Disco King and he spent the whole 2 and half hours on the dance floor, well apart from the 5 mins he spent munching on a couple of hotdogs!!

MaxiMad loved the fireworks this year and enjoyed dancing to the disco outside and watching the outdoor screen show of all the photographs taken at the Halloween Party and only sit still to eat his jacket potato and then mine!!

I danced with the children most of the night and had a fantastic time.  Yes I suffered with some soreness and stiffness yesterday, but it was worth it for the fun had by all.

Tonight

Tonight I am tired, tonight I am sore, tonight I was going to leave you with a video of the minimads at the wonderful Fireworks Party, but I am not up to spending that much time at the laptop, so instead I will leave you with a glimpse........

Of my boys having the best time ever. Thank you Bro and Sister In Law for a fantastic night and that is why I am am sore and tired, but it was all worth it.  So it is self inflicted, I hurt as I had to go with them, I wanted to watch them and I wanted to dance too.  So it is a good sore and it is only pain!!