Last week I turned 40 and as it coincided with the girls’ school holiday this year, we decided to visit my parents in Wales for my birthday, and have a chilled out break with family.
Since we are currently without wheels of our own, we took the train from New St – armed with a Tesco meal deal picnic, two Norwich Terriers, and things to keep us entertained!
I recently bought a few new games, so we took along 3 Up 3 Down and Pixies, which we had just learned to play the week before. 3 UP 3 DOWN is a quick and easy game, perfect for a train ride.
Pixies, however, takes more time and space, so we saved that for my parents’ house. There, we played it multiple times and it was such a hit that I ended up ordering the Flower Power expansion so all six of us could play together (the original game is for 2 to 5 players). My parents have ordered their own copy to add to their gaming collection. I also have Sea, Salt & Paper by the same publisher at home, so we’ll be trying that out in the next few weeks.
I brought along a cross-stitch project, and we had the Nintendo Switch 2 with us. James and I both got some Donkey Kong Bananza time in. We basically spent the week relaxing, having family time, playing games, doing puzzles together, and enjoying some lovely food.
We had takeaway from the local pub on my birthday, and James took me for a date night meal there too. The girls did get to the beach while we were there – they hitched a ride with Mum & Dad to Aberystwyth and had ice cream and a paddle.
Mum took Georgie, Lydia, and me to the local town for a girls’ day out. We scoured the charity shops for bargain clothes and shoes for the girls, including a denim jacket Lydia is in love with. We also had a delicious coffee and cake break at a cosy cafe. It must be the first time I’ve taken Georgie and Lydia into a shop selling second-hand bargain books, and they have left without something new to read! We couldn’t resist getting a fun meerkat jigsaw, thanks to Katie being affectionately known as our ‘meerkat’ because she sits up like one on watch. Lydia and I had a great time putting it together and left it at my parents’ house to challenge their other grandchildren.
As for my birthday presents, I spread them out over a few days because it was silly to take anything on the train that I couldn’t use straight away. James got me Split Fiction for the PS5 – we started playing it last night and it’s awesome! His mum (who we visited the day before we left) also gave me a new jigsaw I had wanted for ages and a pack of DMC threads for my cross stitch addiction.
My birthday was a great day… I finally got to unwrap my new Apple Watch from James and my parents. My Series 4 watch was really struggling, barely lasting a day on a single charge, and it was so slow compared to my new one. James had found a bargain on a barely used Series 4 on eBay, so it wasn’t a surprise as we had discussed it beforehand. It was definitely the top item on my wish list this year, so I’m thrilled with it. My father-in-law surprised me with an eShop voucher for Fantasy Life i, and James paid for the rest, so I got a digital gift too.
It was a lovely week, and I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with my parents. I was happy James had the time off work to relax with us, which made it a perfect way to celebrate my ‘big 4-0’ and start the summer break off on the right foot. It’s been a stressful year so far, so we both want to reduce our stress levels and get some things off our to-do lists this summer.
