#CountryKids Yet another Pokemon Go walk around Kendal

Yesterday turned out to be a lot better weather than during Storm Brian so we decided it was a perfect chance to get out and hunt for the new generation 3 Pokemon! We are less than a mile from the castle so set off in that direction to add both distance and Pokestops: 

This little pathway is known as dodging death on Strava as it runs between two parts of the graveyard. I have to say I wouldn't fancy it after dark on my own:

The path comes out at the foot of the hill on which the castle is built. Its not the easiest route up to the castle but its rather beautiful through the trees:

Pokemon Go: Mewtoo and Suicune Raids

My son and I have decided we need to work on our YouTube channel and hone both our videoing skills and my video editing skills! Yesterday we took part in the first Mewtoo Raid in Kendal and as my son was using my phone I filmed the action. After the raid I learned that the new iOS 11 enabled video capture of the screen so we tried that for another new Pokemon to us Suicune. I had problems getting voiceover so its pretty quiet:

I had a better voice over go: 

Reasons to be Cheerful: Back to routine #R2BC

The lovely Michelle is hosting again this month as she enjoys reading all our happy posts, please pop over and see why she is cheerful this week. Meanwhile here are my reasons this week:

1) Simple fun

On the way home from town my son met a couple of friends in the park and kicked a football around with them for a bit before heading into the playground:

2) Happy Herdwick

How could this smile not be infectious:

#CountryKids in Manchester and Salford #WhateverTheWeather

With it being half term we wanted a bit of a break without going too far or breaking the bank. So we decided on an overnight trip to Manchester so that a) my son could hunt for different Pokemon b) we could visit museums etc. So on a frosty morning we headed up to Oxenholme train station:

It only takes 1 1/4 hours from Kendal to central Manchester but it feels a world away when you arrive at Piccadilly Station:

My son didn't waste much time in setting several eggs incubating and hunting down the Halloween special Pokemon as I navigated us through the city centre. It was a good job I took several battery packs with us as it was long day:

#CountryKids More Pokemon Go fun in Kendal #WhateverTheWeather

After our first attempt at a Pokemon Go YouTube video:

... we have stuck to taking long walks at the weekends but haven't done any more videoing yet. We are working towards a virtual runner Pokemon medal by walking for several hours each time and hatching lots of eggs. Our favourite route takes us through the cemetery:

and up to the castle:

#CountryKids Pokemon Go around Kendal #WhateverTheWeather

It was such a glorious day today that my son and I set off on a long Pokemon Go expedition. He had earned enough pocket money to buy some extra bits and pieces so we set off to hatch eggs and collect more Pokemon. We mixed up visiting regular Pokestops with seeking out new ones by using the map as a guide:

This meant that we went through the cemetery and up onto Castle Hill before heading back round to town. It made for some very diverse places:

Reasons to be Cheerful: Back to School again #R2BC

I am even later this week joining in with Michelle as its been so busy! It isn't because I am feeling sad though... Here are my reasons this week:

1) Back to school

Last weekend I went to my old High School's 50th anniversary and saw some girls and teachers I hadn't seen for 27 years! A fabulous afternoon reminiscing and exploring the school. Here we are recreating what it was like in our 5th form classroom:

2) Fun with friends

I then went to stay with friends in Windsor for a rare chance for us all to be together without any of our 9 children! Bliss. I even got made a dippy egg for breakfast:

3) Gotta read them all

My teaching assistant finally had time to set up my Pokemon themed reading corner. Hoping it inspires more of the children to actually read...

4) Another Open Evening

My son went to look at his other main choice of secondary. This time its the one his sister attends and she had her photograph up in the English department:

She was being a tour guide and I only bumped into her twice in the 3 hours we were there! I enjoyed catching up with my old colleagues and other parents and my son loved the han.ds on activities. Its going to be hard for him to choose so its just as well he still has a year left to do it...

Join in and share what it making you happy this week

This week's Toys R Us reviews

Sponsored post

Baby Born Interactive Star

This is the latest incarnation of the Baby Born series.It has moved on from the original version that my step daughter had about 10 years ago.



She comes with one outfit, a dummy, a potty, nappy, bottle, feeding bowl and spoon. There are also some bits of jewellery which are child sized. This means that you can either give her water through the bottle or special food with the spoon. Then you can put her on her potty to do a "poo" or she can do a wee when you press her belly button.Just make sure you have tightened the valve on her back before putting water in her or she leaks as granny discovered! Even though this is 3+ toy my 9 year has loved being her mummy. She is a very cute looking baby whether asleep or awake:





What is good compared to the early Baby Born is that you can put this baby in the bath as its waterproof and has no electronic parts. She is well sized so that a 3 year old wouldn't have much trouble holding her.For a first real doll she would be ideal as if my daughter is anything to go by your child will get years of fun with her.



Smasha Ballz Ninjaaah

This toy is very much designed to appeal to boys with its Ninja look and the fact that the packaging says:

• Smash 'em
• Chuck 'em
• Slam 'em

My son was very keen to chuck him around, I wasn't so keen as we have a small house! He makes proper Ninja sounds when he is thrown or whacked. Here is a little video showing some of them with me operating him:

Apparently the more you whack him the more noises he makes. This is obviously an incentive to do it more and more! If like me you discourage your children from chucking stuff around the house then this is not the toy for you. It does also respond to patting and dropping too which reduces the danger issue.

My son periodically goes back to this for short periods but it hasn't grabbed him that much after the initial excitement. Maybe other children would enjoy it more and it would do better in a home where it could be really thrown around!




Pokemon Electronic Pokedex

We have only ever watched Pokemon on YouTube so I wasn't sure what my son would make of his pokedex. In fact I was surprised at how much he enjoyed it!

The pokedex has information on 45 of the Pokemon characters plus a trivia quiz. My son seemed to manage to work out how to use it without any instruction which is more than I did!

Here is a video showing some of what the pokedex can do:

It is a very simple black display but it seemed enough for my son to see what he was doing. If you have a big Pokemon fan then I'm sure they will get even more out of it than my son did. I remember my now teenage step sons being heavily onto Pokemon at his age!

A pretty basic electronic toy but if my son is anything to go by a popular choice on Christmas Day!



Zoobles Family Day - Jump Rope

The Zoobles Family Day jump rope set will be available soon on the website. We have had a few Zoobles in the past which my daughter loves so it was nice to get a new addition. The nice thing about this one is that it actually does something rather than just allow the zooble to pop open on the magnetic pad.

Here is a little video of me making Zippy skip:

We discovered she skips much better when closed though she can pop open on occasion! All of my daughter's Zoobles can skip on the jump rope as they are close enough in size and weight. There are perching points for up to 3 Zoobles on the play set too:

And they can all share in the cardboard picnic. Not sure how long the picnic will survive before getting lost or ruined but the rest of the set is well made.

A nice addition to a Zooble fans collection or a great first piece to start a collection.