Easter has always been a traditional family time for us and i was so excited to not only have a few days off, but manage to blag a whole week with the help of a royal wedding and clustered bank holidays (the only thing i will ever be grateful to the royal family for i suspect...)
So this year was even better! On Easter Monday the whole clan went to a place called Peatlands Park in Dungannon. It's a relatively unknown little spot but is brilliant for family times because it has so much greenery, forest walks, picnic tables, a pond with ducks to feed and more importantly a little train that takes you on a tour around the park. Not one of those trains designed into tricking kids they're off on an adventure, this is a proper little train that goes for a good long while and has lots of interesting facts and beautiful scenery to travel through!
We started off with our picnic which i was probably a little too eager for, mainly because it gave me the chance to show off my very cute picnic basket. I bought it a good few years ago, but my Dad is chief food provider on family outings and never normally asks us to bring anything, so i never got a chance to use it before. However husband and I are both vegetarians and can sometimes be left with not much choice in the food he brings so we thought we would bring our own, which also included the excessive amount of fruit we both eat on a daily basis!
This is my hamper in all its pink glory! it originally came with plastic cups, plates etc, but i replaced them with vintage style blue melamine ones and bought hot pink plastic cutlery that were designed with a retro feel.
This is my famous couscous salad! Nothing hugely special about it, but the combination of flavours makes it really tasty and the addition of a little balsamic vinegar and side serving of homous with pre-toasted wholemeal pitta bread makes it a firm favourite at every dining occasion!
After our food we got an ice-cream, (naturally) and headed to the train station! My 2 nephews were with us, Ethan (4) and Caleb (2 months). We really have been spoiled with 2 such well behaved little dudes and I'm sure when we get round to popping out some babies they will be a nightmare in comparison. Plus my sister takes pride in pointing out that she makes very cute children, and by jove shes right, they are gorgeous (no bias honest!).
The train is so much fun and Ethan is obsessed with all things locomotive so he had a blast. He says his Uncle Mark is his best friend, so they were stuck together like glue all day. I enjoy nothing more than watching the 2 of them play together, or Mark trying to teach Ethan all about transformers, or the best way to combine lego. It does make me broody, if I'm honest...and then i remember my sisters tales of child birth and the moment passes...quickly!
This is my favourite picture from the day. Just us and our favourite little man!
Ethan didn't want to get off the train as you can see from the picture up there! But we had cricket to play and ducks to feed so we had to go! It was such a sunny day i had to take the opportunity to take some pictures of the blossom on the tree. Pink is my favourite colour so to have beautiful apple blossom trees every you go this time if year makes me a very happy girl indeed.
We headed to a little farm near by for some more animal feeding and then with an exhausted 4 year old we headed home. I LOVE spending time with my family, especially when i feel like I'm not cramming in time to spend with them, like i do every Saturday, which is the only time i ever get to see them really. There are a few more bank holidays coming up in July (in Northern Ireland) so hopefully we can fit in a trip to the seaside to show little Caleb the sandy shores of Portrush!
or to me and Mark thanks!
Lovely, lovely times were had.
