Well this week Tyne and my nephew Kier have started pre school, my nieces have gone back to school, our routine has changed and it feels like Summer has come to an end.
I'm one of those people who usually insists that Summer isn't really over until mid-September, once my birthday is out of the way, but now that I have children heading to a school-like setting I think it's time to admit defeat - summer is pretty much done when they head off back there and the days become less free to do as we please.
This Summer has been a great one - we've fit in so many days out that I'm struggling to remember where we've actually been! - it started out with a wonderful family holiday to Butlins Minehead which was honestly one of the most lovely holidays I've ever had.
We enjoyed days out to Powderham Castle, Devon Railway Centre, Kents Cavern, Pennywell Farm & World Of Country Life as well as countless days spent at the beach, the park and the local Summer fairground.
And, something new for this year, is the addition of my Mum & Dads holiday caravan on a site just a half an hour journey away from us where they have spent a lot of time this Summer - we all head over (my sister and her family too) at least once a week when the weather is good, and the kids just love getting to spend time together, running free in the large grounds and playing in the children's area just outside the caravan.
We've had a big BBQ there for my mums birthday, and lots of picnics too.
It has felt, in many ways, like an old fashioned kind of Summer - the kind I remember so fondly myself from my own childhood, days spent running free with my cousins who I was so close to.
Seeing my children enjoying their summer days with their own cousins is lovely, especially in a place like this which is so quiet, where even us parents can relax a little and catch up on each others news and lives while the children play together and make memories.
As much as the hot days are anything but fun with two babies who hate the heat, I will be a bit sad to bid farewell to these lovely family days - it's so much harder to do things together when everyone is back at school and work, and when my parents are back in Liverpool.
Unfortunately we haven't yet managed to tick everything off our summer bucket list, we've been so busy with other days out that some things have fallen by the wayside - we've yet to go crabbing in Brixham, take a boat ride (Unless you count our cruise holiday?!), collect shells for a craft project (Actually we have collected them, we just haven't made anything with them yet!), or enjoy a cream tea in Cockington - Britain's Most Photographed Village, which is something I love to do every year.
But we have managed to tick off fruit picking when we had a day out in the strawberry fields, we did the Stick Man trail at Haldon Forest, and we've had lots of picnics, and fed the lambs and rode the ponies at Pennywell Farm just like we wanted to.
And there's still a little time for the other things on the weekends - and still more fun to be had with trips to Watermouth Castle and The Big Sheep coming up over the next few weeks, as well as a little last minute Summer mini break to St Ives in Cornwall this month too.
We already have lots of exciting things planned for October - a very special little trip for Tyne, a mini break in Bath for all of us, and a big Halloween party to host for the family at our house - so it's not all bad.
But still - it's sad to see the end of Summer, here's to the memories of Summer 2016 - you were wonderful!
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