I would have liked to have slept a bit longer but Forrest, you woke up at 5 and wanted to go downstairs because you were hungry so up we went. After your breakfast you wanted to snuggle with me on the sofa while you played some video games then you wanted to play Goose on the Loose and Shark bite. You do the sweetest thing when you are “thinking” where you go, “hmmmm” and do a little frown along with placing your hand under your chin with your pointer finger tapping your cheek and I just adore it! 

Around 9:30 Nixie and daddy woke up, they had stayed up late having a star wars night, watching episode 7. I was trying to rush you, Nixie (and daddy), to have breakfast and get ready since you, Forrest, and I had already been up what felt like a lifetime and we were ready to head out for our daily bike ride. But before you, Nixie, would get dressed you needed to play some video games. Both of you love playing video games, you discovered some free Lego online games a couple of days ago and now you can’t stop playing them. 

An hour later we finally got ourselves into the car. The two of you were really annoying each other and there were lots of micro upsets which felt really draining! But after a little while seemingly out of nowhere you both made up and tried to give each other hugs while in your seatbelts. You, Forrest, are still very snotty and I am constantly trying to blow your nose before you get a hold of your sleeve!

We ended up having another wonderful bike ride and me and daddy had our first run! I even went and got running shoes yesterday so I could run with you two because I've realised that as much as I want to go on my morning bike ride, getting up that early and making sure Kevin is up super early if Nixie isn't so that I can go out feels like a hard thing to plan at the moment but running while you two cycle is effortless, so even though I've never been a runner and have always hated it it is going to be my new thing and my way of getting my cardio in. You both absolutely loved racing us and it felt really good to move my body but by the end my chest was really burning! We only did one loop today because we are having another little adventure to Tidmoor Point to search for fossils.

It's a place I've been wanting to go to for months but we have never managed to get ourselves there but decided today is the day. It was about an hour and a half drive and we stopped at a Sainsbury's to get you some smoothies and some Calpol for you, Forrest, because you've been saying you're poorly and that your neck hurts and by neck you mean throat. I hate that you are feeling under the weather but you were adamant that you still wanted to go on our adventure. But you weren’t too poorly for the custard creams I had brought with me and you, Nixie,kept making little custard balls out of them and then you, Forrest really wanted to make one but found it a bit hard so then you, Nixie stepped in and made one for him which I thought was really sweet.

When we finally arrived, we found a place to park on a side street and we all got out of the car and I helped the two of you get into your waterproofs but then you, Forrest asked me to carry you and when I said I couldn’t right then you went back into the car and laid down saying you didn’t feel very good. I immediately knew what was happening and asked you if you needed a poo and you screamed and cried “NO! I just don’t feel very well!!” You have a bit of a habit avoiding poos and asking to be carried and just getting yourself into such an uncomfortable state. I told daddy that we all needed to get back into the car and go find a bathroom somewhere and when you heard this, it upset you even more but we found a Burger King 2 minutes away and in we went. You were crying the whole time saying to me that you didn’t need a poo and I always feel so awful making you sit on the toilet but everytime within seconds you’ve done it and today was no different and immediately after you told me you felt better! We returned back to the car and you happily told daddy you had done poo and felt better. So back we went to find parking and this time we found an even better spot. Once again we all got out of the car and started walking alongside the road to the path when after about 5 minutes, you, Forrest told us you needed to do another poo! This time you and daddy turned back and ended up walking to Aldi while me and Nixie continued onwards. 

It was really nice getting to have this unexpected solo time with you, Nixie! It made me realise how really overdue we are for another girlie day. We weren’t exactly sure where we were going but we had my phone and a trail mapped out and you really loved being in charge of it making sure we were going the right way. This path was right next to a military training ground and we both thought it felt kind of creepy, there were lots of warning signs to not pick anything up in case it could explode and kill you and one of the walking paths that leads right along the military training grounds had a moderate risk of firearms which made me feel a bit uneasy although I realised shortly after that it wasn’t the path we were meant to follow anyways! I did check before we left though and there were no firing days for the month of february. We also passed a big pilon and we did not like the loud electric sound that came from it. You, especially, found it really unnerving and it made you a bit scared and you needed to hold my hand and be close to me. It wasn’t a very beautiful walk! Once we passed that though the walk got a bit nicer and there were some built wooden paths to walk along which we both really liked which led us eventually to another sign that warned us about the dangers of the mud. We continued on our way with still no sight of Forrest or daddy and somehow we managed to go the wrong way. We ended up on the beach rather than a path but it didn’t matter because within 5 minutes we saw the concrete path out to the beach and the broken wooden jetty which told us we were finally at the right spot. Although right before that we did see a dead swan which upset you and scared you, I think you thought that whatever killed it could have been close by but I told you that wasn’t possible as the swan had obviously been dead a while. We think maybe a fox did it. 

Once we reached our location, within two seconds you found your first fossils: two little belemnites!! It was so incredibly exciting! It’s always a bit tricky when you are looking for fossils at a new spot because you aren’t very sure where to go or what to look for until you find something and then your eyes seem to train themselves and it becomes easier and easier! We found so many fossils straightaway, I found so many belemnites and even ammonites and I felt like a little kid in a candy shop! About 15 minutes after we arrived we heard Forrest and daddy make their way to us. It was great to see you, Forrest, with a happy face again and immediately the two of you joined us by putting your heads down in search of treasure. 

The one thing about this spot is that it is incredibly muddy, it’s like the clay that exists at Highcliffe except here the whole area is like that. I don’t mind a bit of mud but I do wish I would have put on my waterproof trousers as well. Forrest you kept trying to find things but didn’t have much luck. Nixie, you ended up walking way ahead of us and found a great little spot where you kept finding little crinoid stars one after the other. It was so exciting too because it was one of my goals to find some! You were really on a roll and this was the first time I’ve really seen you so into fossil hunting and it’s all because they are so easy to find! We had forgotten to bring containers so all of our treasures went into your coat pocket! 

Forrest, you kept walking into the really sticky parts of the clay and getting yourself stuck and falling over. After a while you started getting really upset again saying you didn’t feel good and wanted to go home but Nixie, you didn’t want to go home in the slightest, you were so absorbed with treasure hunting. I managed to stop your tears by giving you some snacks and finding you a nice little spot to sit but after a while you started getting upset again saying you just wanted to go home. I felt so bad for you because I hated seeing you upset but I also didn’t want Nixie to have to stop so daddy suggested that the two of you go back so that I could stay with Nixie but then you just got even more upset because you wanted to hold my hand and walk back to the car but daddy managed to make a compromise by saying the two of you would walk to the end of the beach and then once you were back to where we were then we would all go back home together. And in that time we found so many more fossils. This has definitely become a new favourite spot.

For the walk back we actually took the path we were meant to be on but really I think the way you, Nixie, and I went was better because it was way less muddy! We walked past the mast where if there was firing going on then there would be a red flag waving to warn you that you can’t go that way.

You both needed the bathroom again so once we got back to the car we drove to Burger King for one last stop before finally driving back home. It was fully dark when we were on the road and quite late when we finally got home so it was a quick dinner of vegan sausage rolls and chips and while that was being cooked the two of you had a bath to get rid of all the mud and dirt and me and daddy went through our treasures and cleaned them. After dinner we went up to brush our teeth and read stories and you, Forrest, were being so extra snuggly, you really are such a love bug.