hooray, hooray, it's a holi-holi-day

me may think that because I'm a teacher I'm jetting off here and there during all those holidays that I get throughout the year. And when I win the lottery I will tell them that yes I do, until then the majority of my holidays over the past teachering years have been catching up on the cleaning that I never do, looking at my children that I rarely see in term time, attempting some cooking with real ingredients from *gasp* the fridge, rescheduling appointments with doctors, dentists, opticians and hairdressers that get missed during term time and schlepping the 3G off to as many free parks and museums as we can find in our fair city. 

Holidays for us means hoisting TwickersTowersonTour (the tent) to various Welsh border fields and praying for a gap in the rain so we can hear ourselves actually speak inside our canvas green home from home. But it's all good as we 're normally with other families and friends and once the marshmallows are toasting, who cares about the rain?

A couple of years ago we went to France with our two siblings, their spouses and the new brood of 4 nieces (all below the age of 2!). In short - one cool cottage with a swimming pool and a hot tub, lovely lovely French locals who painstakingly smiled through our Franglais, buckets of fab wine, and cool French rap choons whilst we danced around the kitchen - we loved it and have set our sights on making this a bi-annual ritual.

This year was different. We had a holiday for the first time with just us. Us 5. No-one else. Nada.

Five minutes after arriving in Hayle...sand angels!

Sunny Cornwall in a gorgeous townhouse. The weather truly smiled on us that week in Hayle, near St. Ives and as much as I would have preferred basking by a Spanish pool, I've got to admit this has got to be the one holiday where I really felt all batteries were re-charged.

We explored, beached, swam, tug-of-warred, sang Frozen songs 'til we were hoarse, beached, fishandchipped, visited castles, ice-creamed, then beached some more. We left all the stresses of home and just threw ourselves into having a good time and enjoying each other. 

This was the holiday that for the first time ever as a mother that I was able to sit and read on a beach with the 3G - all fully confident swimmers - splashing about in the sea. No nappies, changing bags, bottles of milk, buggies! It's all gone, no longer to return. And I for one, love that I have stacks more room to carry summer holiday paperbacks. At last!

This post is linked up with The Photo Gallery 197 - Sticky Fingers Summer