I am sat at the dining table as I write this (and not in my newly painted office on account of the floor and desk still be covered in props and magazines and paper that I took to BritMums and hastily emptied out of the boot) looking out of the window up into the blue skies and feeling thankful that it seems the summer has returned to the UK!

This blog has been a rather quiet place over the last few weeks, our feet have barely touched the ground and I am wildly racing between photo libraries trying to keep my laptop from crying under the weight of thousands of images I've taken in the last couple of months.

I scroll through my camera roll on my phone and almost can't believe all the things we have done this summer. The work I have felt so lucky and grateful for, the experiences we have had with the boys because of this blog and the family celebrations that have taken us to Paris and America! I have so many photos to share with you, stories and tales behind the glossy photos (Yes my husband is the one in 3 people a day at Heathrow who tries to travel to the US without a valid visa and almost gave my mum a heart attack at check in) and places I have discovered that I want you all to know about!

For me it's all the anecdotes that make the sentimental memories. The perfect times are great but it's the mishaps, the laughs and the "it could only happen to us" incidents that I will look back on with a happy heart. Sheltering in the rain in the beach hut on my birthday last week with the boys and my niece dancing in the rain, poking her tongue out to catch some raindrops, watching my brother and sister in law look completely relieved walking through the crowded Gare du Nord after getting very last minute tickets on the Eurostar to get home to London when their flight was cancelled and looking at Rich on the plane back from Greece, smiling that we had 3 boys in the 2 seats next to us playing games, on account of a new holiday friend squeezing in with the boys and his lovely mummy and daddy up at the front of the plane relaxing!!!

One of our adventures this summer started off as the perfect mini break. We headed to one of my favourite hotels in Bradford on Avon near Bath where I did some photography work 18 months ago. Woolley Grange is a sanctuary for families, nestled in an area of unspoilt British countryside. We'd been counting down the days until our stay there after our first trip had to be postponed as Sammy had come down with a sick bug that was working it's way around his school. 

We had watched the weather forecast all week, hoping for a sunny day to use the outdoor pool and sit outside the orangery with cocktails and mocktails and arrived to blue skies and a delightful suite with adjoining rooms. The boys went straight for a bounce on the enormous bed in our room and we hurriedly unpacked our swimming things ready for an afternoon pond dipping, trampolining and swimming. They raced from one activity to another, too excited to stop for any length of time and we promised that we would do it all again the next day when it was time for dinner. Our room has a magical pointed bay window which overlooked the pond and the beautiful front lawns.

Woolley Grange understands that nights away as a family are about keeping everyone happy. We joined a couple of other families in the main restaurant giving their children an early dinner and the boys tucked into their pizzas with glee as we had a pre dinner drink and a starter to share. By the time it was bedtime they were worn out from swimming in the indoor pool and were desperate to watch a movie in our bed.

We had never used a hotel listening service before, we have always had the boys with us or in bed at a holiday apartment or villa so I felt terribly nervous as the lovely hotel manager talked me through how it worked. Once the boys were settled we went down to join the other couples in the intimate, candle lit restaurant and we joked that you could spot the first timers like us, as each of the couples took it in turns to go up and check on their little ones, like we did every 10-15 minutes! We couldn't fault the staff, the food and the promptness of the manager when he popped into the restaurant to tell us he could hear one of the boys.

We scurried upstairs and poor Ollie spent the next couple of hours being poorly before we made the decision at 11pm to head home. He was so upset to have to leave, but when your small ones are sick you just want to be at home. I can't praise the manager on duty enough that night. He was so sympathetic, so kind when we were trying to pack up and deal with Ollie in the bathroom, and reassured me that I wasn't to feel terrible for letting them watch a movie whilst we and dinner! I'm sure it doesn't happen all the time but he dealt with it all like a pro, and calmed my frantic nerves.

The next day Ollie felt much better and was so disappointed to be stuck at home instead of swinging on the tree swing! But that is life, you can't ever predict when you might be ill. Mini breaks have to wait! Lucky I had these photos from my time before - we know we are in for a treat at breakfast when we go back and the boys are desperate to play in the wendy house!

We are so lucky that Woolley Grange are going to have us back soon and hopefully this time everyone will be fighting fit.

I am working my way through all the photos I took in Greece, it's almost impossible to choose which ones to post to make sure you get to see just how fantastic the resort was. But I will do my best! So the blog is going to turn fifty shades of blue this week, with clear blue skies and deep blue seas.

2015 is definitely our Summer of adventure. So sunshine, please stay with us so we don't feel like it's over already!  

Our stay at Woolley Grange was part of the #SummerGoodTimes campaign with Boots.

Linking up with The Ordinary Moments 

This week couldn't be more different to the last, hence the very late posting of my monthly family photo! We spent last week under the sunny skies of Kos in Greece on our first ever family holiday with just the four of us. A whole week of each other, thousands of jumps into the swimming pool, countless ice creams in one day (the one ice cream a day rule totally went out of the window) and too many memories to fit into one post. 

As I write this I have the folder open with all our photos and videos and quite frighteningly there are 1289 of them! I couldn't believe we had snapped so many as I felt like I hadn't taken enough photos on the plane home and was worried I wouldn't be properly able to do a Mark Warner holidays justice! 

I have so many things from the holiday I want to share, but this past week has flown by in a blur. The boys have been UK jet setters, being passed from Surrey to Somerset to Dorset, staying with grandparents whilst I've been working flat out on the new Honeybuns recipe book shoot. It's been a logistical challenge, Rich has been on 100% house duty, juggling boys drop offs and pick ups, cooking and holiday washing and I've come home each night and flopped! It's been the absolute highlight of my photography work to date and I got in the car yesterday as we called it a  wrap (Yes we actually all exclaimed "That's a wrap!") and had a little cry. A mix of relief and pride!

So for this month's Me and Mine post I want to share some holiday snaps, a collection of selfies, nothing fancy but full of happy memories. Part of me wishes I'd taken a tripod and a "proper shot" but then a bigger part of me thinks these are the real photos of our holiday. Capturing a moment. And even if they don't print as well as I'd like, the fuzzy hazy grain will just just make them all the more precious. Because each one of them makes me happy. The boys loved saying we were the cool kids on the back of the coach transfer and feeling like grown ups with slushy cocktails at the beach bar. Holiday shirts and holiday dresses, dinner with the boys in pjs  and sun kissed cheeks.

We'd been looking forward to this holiday since we found out we had been chosen as one of Mark Warner's Ambassadors this year. Life has been so hectic, trying to grow the tea business, juggle all my work commitments manage the boys school activities, changing schools for September and renovating the house. We sometimes feel there isn't a moment to breathe. I was packing for holiday literally in the hours before we left to lead to my mum's who lives just outside Heathrow airport and en route we stopped to shoot a feature for Joules! 

I squeezed in pre holiday shopping by staying up late and ordering bits on express delivery and as Rich was tearing around the house, locking up doors, putting the recycling out, popping a key to the neighbour I was of course snapping some photos of our hand luggage! As you do!

I love seeing what people pack, I've picked up tips over the years from lovely flat lay photos so here is what we took in our carry on luggage. What else do you take for a stress free journey?!

From top to bottom, left to right: Favourite magazines Hooray and Suitcase // smaller shoulder strap handbag for decanting purse and passport once through the one hand luggage bag check in // spare pants // pancake lens for my Canon - much more practical for around the resort! // MAC Studio Fix powder foundation // mini make up bag // emergency first aid - baby wipes, plasters, Calpol, Sudocream, paracetamol // extra small present for the plane - Top Trumps is always a winner! // iPhone // Tic Tacs // GoPro // Hair kit - fold up hairbrush, clip and band - my hair always feels like it gets greasy in a second on the plane - is it the cabin air?! // emergency wash kit - deodorant, perfume, suncream // notepad and pen // holiday book // camera cards // plastic bag THIS IS ESSENTIAL I always wish I packed more, for rubbish on the plane, for an extra bag, for scooping up toy parts that won't fit back in a box // emergency snacks // School bear - Ollie has a holiday project for his new school to write up his summer adventures with his little friend //swimming costume - if you lose your luggage you can still jump straight into the pool! // large bag you can recycle as your beach bag // laptop - every year I try and leave it at home but I knew I'd want to share a few photos from my big camera whilst we were there! // holiday purse - you don't need your full purse with all your loyalty cards and old receipts! Just take a smaller more streamlined version. // more emergency snacks. Always more snack!

Rich's hand luggage was a bit of a contrast...

Headphones // speaker - we love a bit of music in our room when we are getting ready! // Oakleys // iPhone // holiday wallet // passports // notepad and pen // Plug bug //GoRuck // Laptop // iPad - incredibly the boys used this just twice, on the plane there and on the way home! // inhaler // Plug bug bag - so handy for all your cables // magazine. The magic of Mark Warner means you get grown up time in the day time - woooooo hooooo!

The boys had their cute rucksacks - I've learnt that those pull along cases look fun but I find them hard work! They bash into people, they open up completely and everything seems to just spill out! I prefer smaller rucksacks that they can actually carry themselves, we've tried bigger ones but they end up moaning that they are too heavy and we end up like packhorses, struggling through departures!

Their hand luggage looks like this - snacks // games // snacks // games // swimming shorts // snacks // games. You get the point! I find the easiest way to keep them entertained on a flight is with endless short games, cards, colouring, spirograph, small puzzles, origami, and we even took a small Lego set this time. 

At 4 and 6 we are kind of passed the need for spare clothes, there's no nappies or bottles. I find the best snacks are dry and no sticky sweets or chocolate. Cereal pots are fab for an early morning flight, and an encyclopaedia means you have a thousand books in one. Individual books end up being the heaviest part of a child's hand luggage so find a compendium and ease the weight!

What else would you suggest?!

I can't wait to share our holiday and what we really thought of the Mark Warner experience, behind the glossy photos, the sunshine and the blue sea. The staff, the food, the facilities, the childcare. Is it all as fabulous as you can make it look in a photo?!

This was one of my favourites, even though it was as we said goodbye to Greece! I was filming the boys walking up the steps to the plane and the kind member of the airport staff in his high vis jacket saw me and wandered over. He signalled to me that he would take a photo of us and shooed me up the steps! I could have kissed him! 

Every month it's amazing to see so many following this monthly portrait tradition. I was talking to a few new friends on holiday about it and one mum said that they hadn't taken a single photo all week which had her in it!

Family photos are so important, they are your history and whether they are beautifully posed or a snapshot of that second in time they are just as precious! Share your family portraits with us and head over to Fritha's blog to see what her soon to be family of four have been up to in July. They have just found out if there is a pink or blue one on the way! How exciting!

We had a very special first in this house recently. A first that made everyone under 6 bounce off the walls and everyone over 6, want to run for the hills! I'm teasing of course, but there's something about a first school sleepover that filled me with worry and dread!

It's a huge responsibility being in charge of someone else's most precious cargo. Mine still wake in the night with bad dreams and need a cuddle, they have accidents, misbehave and when they are over tired, are difficult to contain! So when I promised Sammy that his two best pals from school who were away for his party could come for a first sleepover, he leapt so high into the sky, there was no going back!

This was the first school friend's sleepover and the first time one of his friends had stayed away from home. I tried not to plan the hours out minute by minute as I knew that 4 boisterous, spirited boys would need to let off steam and too many planned activities might feel like I was stifling their fun.

Their eyes all light up when we revealed the 16ft water slide which the boys were sent to try out! What a scream. We first tried it out on Sammy's birthday with his little 2 year old cousin who thought it was the best slide she had ever been on, even though there was no water! She managed all the indented steps all on her own (much to my sister's amazement when she independently scaled the 6ft wall) and the shallow pool at the bottom was long enough to stop her blasting down and over the inflatable frame. The lighter the are the more they seem to zoom!

We found the flattest area of grass and filled the large weights with water which clip either side of the main body of the slide. They weigh the slide down which is great for when there's one at the top, one climbing up and one sliding down simultaneously! Rich used the 4 anchor pegs to give it even more stability and ran an extension lead from the house to the electric fan that comes with the castle. Within 3 minutes, if that, it was ready to go! 

And then came the water. Oh now we had a party! Wet giggling boys, screaming through the overhead shower attached to the underside canopy, chasing each other around. Ollie was at the cannon, yes the cannon, I think they all thought it was there for display purposes only! Because it's inflatable you can angle it (As I found out the hard way, Mama's with cameras don't giggle quite as much when they are soaked!) and aim it at the person coming down the slide! 

We filled the pool area at the bottom and when we turned the cannon off for a few minutes they happily used it as a splash pool! 

The clouds came over and we wrapped them all up like newborns in beach towels. As soon as they were dry it was onto the next activity! More water... they had spied a leftover packet of water balloons from the party! But, instead of aiming them at each other, I poked 4 garden canes into the grass and set up a starting line 4 ft away. The aim of the game was first to hit the stick and burst their balloons, then round two was all about who could roll theirs so gently along the grass that it could reach the stick without bursting. 

Round two lasted about 15 minutes longer than the 2 minute round one! And no one got wet!

My top tips for a fabulously fun but not out of control sleepover are:

• Set a time limit. Invite your mini guests over in the afternoon say 3-4pm and ask for parents to collect them by 11am the next day. It is plenty long enough. End on a high!
• Send a reminder message the day before to confirm all the details. If you are like me you don't have a supply of extra toothbrushes and special bedtime favourite toys. A gentle reminder will help parent's remember the easy things to forget.
• Plan 3 activities. You might not need all three or any of them at all but have them prepared. We let them play freely until they started jostling for leader of the pack position and then stepped in. We knew the simple pea shooters and a makeshift target would be popular with these boys, as well as the water balloon game and a lego making challenge. Think about activities they all can play rather than video games for example where one or two get left out. Taking turns is not so fun!
• Feed them a proper tea. Yes snack foods or a party tea may sound easier for you, but all the sugar and processed foods only add to the excitable frenzy! Check with the parents for dislikes and likes before and make something in advance like a bolognese. Hearty and filling and healthy. Then have a treat for pudding. That way they all go to bed on full tummies.
• Start the actual bedtime routine early! It may sound terribly mean but, it takes them so much longer to settle than usual. We used a film as an easy way to calm them down. Pjs after tea and then pudding of popcorn under blankets. They felt it was so exciting but really we had started that wind down period at around 5.45pm. By 7.30pm their tired eyes were all ready to go up to bed and within an hour two out of four were asleep and by 9.15pm all four were snoozing.
• Don't be shy to ask the parents for bedding. We don't have lots of spare duvets and pillows and bringing their own means they have their familiar bed linen, smells and comforts from home. It may feel like they are staying for a week when they arrive but you'll be thankful not having to do two extra loads of washing! Ask for an extra set of clothes too. All of them got through two paris of shorts in the first couple of hours!
• Take a landline contact number if they have one. I realised I had the parent's mobile numbers but if for whatever reason their phone ran out of battery or had no signal, I would have no way of contacting them in an emergency! 
• Smile. Kid's pick up on your energy so be reassuring particularly at lights out! Making them feel like you are happy they are staying will help them feel more secure in foreign surroundings.

The boys all had a fantastic time, they still talk about the "weekend" even though it was less than 24 hours! The bouncy slide was a huge hit and it made us think how much our boys would use a home bouncy castle rather than thinking they are only for hire for birthday parties. 

So if you are looking for bouncy castles for sale online check out the range now on sale from Toyz World. There is something for all budgets and age ranges, can you guess which one the boy's would love for Christmas?! Yep it's this one. Umm...!