When the rains come there's no finer place to while away a few hours than the recently refurbished Ulster Museum in the heart of Belfast. Mummy and Daddy get to enjoy a little peace and quite, meandering through the displays and ancient artefacts while Libby & Isaac can run amok in the dress-up and nature zones...

It's December, it's Baltic and we've had our first flurry of snow last week... It must be almost Christmas time!! On Saturday morning Team Thompson layered up with their winter woollies (p.s. Little Trekkers, Libby is loving her toasty warm and incredibly stylish pink fleece-lined Spotty Otter jacket!) and headed off to meet Nana and Pappy for a Christmas Tree hunt...

When the sun shines, why would you want to leave the UK... Optimistic with regards to the weather we opted for a summer holiday under canvas in Bonnie Scotland this year. We were lucky, only 2 days of rain during the whole 3 weeks!

The first fortnight in July saw Team Thompson embark on lots of day trips before heading off on our Scottish Camping Trip. There were new waterproofs and wellies to be tested and two very willing testers in the shape of Libby and Isaac! The perfect testing ground was deemed to be Millisle Beach, just a stone's throw from where Mummy grew up.

After investing in a roof box in the Spring Sales there was no holding Team Thompson back when it came to embracing the Great Outdoors under canvas this summer... At last there was room for the kitchen sink!

Last month Libby & Isaac decided a trip to one of their favourite places was long overdue... WWT's Castle Espie, just outside Comber, on the shores of Strangford Lough. The Wetland Centre is the only one in Northern Ireland and we're lucky to live only fifteen minutes drive away. We invested in a Family Membership last year and it's been well worth it!

Northern Ireland has several top-notch petting farms geared towards children and Ark Farm, near Bangor, is one of them... This was a favourite Day Out when Libby was first beginning to jibber jabber, resulting in lots of "piggies', "moo moos", and 'quack quacks". Two years on and things appear to have progressed rapidly with Libby now asking if the calves like their milk cold like her, or warm like her little brother??

Team Thompson are incredibly lucky to live only a few streets away from our local beach. As a result, whatever the weather, the kids are keen to head there as many times a week as possible. In one direction lies the Yacht Club (we saw a small Regatta on Sunday afternoon) and in the other, a coastal path leading to Ballymacormick Point (a National Trust Wildlife Reserve).

Last year Team Thompson made a unanimous holiday decision (after a disastrous long haul flight with two under 3s) that if we couldn't get there by car we wouldn't go... well certainly not for another couple of years. As a result, we have now embraced the world of camping, complete with family tent, blow up beds, portable stove and giant cool box.