Shortly after turning 6, Reuben joined a local Beaver colony and has been enjoying lots of different activities and adventures. I probably should explain that Beavers is the name of the youngest group in the scouting association.

Over the last few months, Reuben has really begun to love playing football. So when we told him that we were going out for a walk, he immediately asked if he could take his football.

When snow finally arrived in our part of Cheshire, we weren't going to let a lack of hills stop us having fun with a sledge.

After reading lots of stories of other Little Trekkers enjoying the snow, we're starting to feel a little left out. We got to see a little bit of snow on Sunday night, but it had all gone by the time we got up for school and work on Monday.

After spending more time in hospitals than in the great outdoors over recent months, we decided to make the most of a break in the rain and go for a short family walk. And what better way to re-introduce ourselves to the outdoors than with some muddy puddles.

With Reuben increasingly keen to cycle on his own, we're on the lookout for good traffic free trails. The Monsal Trail in the Peak District fit the bill perfectly, and at 8 and a half miles from end to end, provided Reuben with a lot of practice.

Inspired by fellow ambassador Joanne's story of the New Zealand cycle trail, we did an Internet search for somewhere closer to home. After reading through the many results, we decided that The Monsal Trail in the Peak District sounded like our kind of place. So on a chilly, but sunny Sunday afternoon, we packed up the car, remembering the bike rack keys this time, and set off for Buxton.

When Auntie Jacqueline said that it wasn't far to Hundred Acre Wood, we decided that a game of Poohsticks was called for.

Whilst on holiday Reuben tried to find as many ways as possible to walk on water, a skill that could prove very useful if we have much more weather like last week.

Reuben has looked on enviously as other Little Trekkers have taken on high ropes courses. But unfortunately he wasn't old enough to take part on any of our local courses. So when he realised that the hotel we were staying in on holiday had a high ropes course, and that he was old enough, he was very excited.

Milking cows wasn't part of our original plan when we called in to visit friends. But when you're friends with a dairy farmer, anything can happen.

The landmarks of London may be very impressive, but when you're 6 there are other things to do that are even more exciting.

Over the last few weeks Reuben and Orla have been well and truly inspired by the Olympics, with Reuben turning many everyday chores into Olympic events. In fact earlier today he achieved a new PB for getting dressed. So when we found ourselves within a 60 minute train ride of London on the final day of the games, we couldn't miss a chance to watch the men's marathon and sample the atmosphere we'd seen on the television.

After weeks of excited anticipation, last Sunday saw the Sky Ride City event come to Manchester. The event is one of many big free bike rides organised in towns and cities across the country by Sky and British Cycling. The Manchester event was the biggest so far, with 21,000 people cycling on a 14.7km route around the city, on traffic free roads.

What better way to mark the start of both 'National Picnic Week', 'Bike Week 2012', and celebrate our town's annual 'Food & Drink Festival' than by taking part in a pedalling picnic.

Everybody loves surprises, and Reuben certainly got one when I picked him up after school on Tuesday. Rather than heading home for our usual evening routine, we got into the car and set off to try our hands at orienteering.

Today saw the Olympic torch come to town ... and Reuben's school got to run behind it. It's not everyday that you get to take part in such a unique event and Reuben was so excited that he wanted to write his own blog to remind him of the experience.

All good secret agents need a safe house and Reuben and Orla are no exception. So, after a morning of thorough secret agent training on the playground, it was time to head out and find one. Every tree was checked for its safe house potential, although at first none were quite right.

After recently watching Cars 2, both Orla and Reuben want to be secret agents. So our recent visit to Tatton Park turned into a secret agent training camp.

It may never make it as an event at the Winter Olympics, but 'Snow-Trampoline-Skating' is certainly a lot of fun ... and a very funny spectator sport.

What better way to spend the end of a gloriously sunny spring week than down on the farm. All week Orla had been excitedly talking about seeing the baby lambs at a local farm open day. Yet once we arrived at the farm, all she wanted to do was go for a ride on a tractor.

Like most children, Reuben and Orla love playgrounds. Whether its the small toddler playground next to our house, a natural playground of fallen trees in the middle of a wood, or something involving a little more engineering, they can't wait to run off and play. The latest to make it onto our must visit again list was discovered on our recent trip top see the iron men at Crosby.

I'm not sure who was most excited when snow was forecast to start at 2 o'clock on Saturday afternoon. We even took our waterproofs and snow boots out with us to a friend's birthday party, just in case. But by 6 o'clock all we'd seen were a few small ice showers.

I've just seen that there's snow forecast for our part of the world this weekend and was so excited that I thought I'd share some pictures from the last time we had snow, just before Christmas.

A couple of weeks ago we set out for our first attempt at geocaching. However Reuben and Orla quickly decided that they wanted to find treasure of a different kind ... a muddy puddle big enough for both of them to jump up and down in.

Like most children Reuben and Orla love running, climbing and exploring. So a day out that combines all three of these is perfect. A few months ago we had such a day out high above the village of Alderley Edge. The National Trust site has lots to see and do, along with tales of wizards and knights. Legend has it that a wizard (Merlin?) offered a local farmer gold and treasure in exchange for his horse.

After reading about other Little Trekkers having fun days out at the zoo, we were inspired to go ourselves.

We recently took a family trip to Crosby on a hunt for some iron men ... and a run around on the beach. The iron men we were looking for were part of the Anthony Gormley's 'Another Place'.

Last weekend we went over to Bury for a trip on the old East Lancashire Railway. The railway was closed on 1970 and is now run as a heritage railway with steam and diesel services. When we told Reuben and Orla that we were going on a steam train they were very excited. What we hadn't told them was that being close to Christmas there would be an extra special passenger on board.

This year we decided to make the most of our annual pass for Alton Towers and went along to their Fireworks Spectacular ... and it certainly lived up to its name.

One of my highlights of the summer this year was our weekend away at 'The Magic Loungeabout', a relaxed family-friendly music festival. It was only the second time that the festival had been held. The first, in 2008, was our first festival as a family and made a lasting impression.

Reuben is loving riding his new bike at the moment, so one night after school we went to our local park to make the most of the late summer sunshine. The wide paths there are great for learning to ride a bike, especially when there aren't many people around.

A well known property of lavender is its ability to help you get to sleep. Although I didn't realise just how effective it could be until a recent visit to a local lavender meadow.

One of my highlights of a recent day out was Reuben saying that he didn't want to leave the playground. The playground in question was a clearing in the woods with a couple of fallen trees.

What better way to spend a Bank Holiday weekend than standing in the rain. So on Monday it was back on with the Spotty Otter waterproofs and out onto the streets of Manchester to see Jenson Button driving his F1 car as part of the Vodafone VIP event.

When we got the opportunity to go and see Mr Tumble in real life we couldn't let a bit of torrential rain stand in our way. So, on a very wet Saturday lunchtime, we set off in the direction of the new BBC studios at Media City in Salford with two rather excited children in the back of the car.

Last weekend Orla took part in a Big Toddle in aid of Barnado's. Organised by the nursery she goes to, it was a mile long sponsored toddle at Tittesworth reservoir (one of our favourite local days out).

Whilst on holiday in St Ives we spent most of time at the beach. And when on the beach Orla spent a lot of her time playing in the surf at the edge of the water. As soon as we arrived at the beach she'd run off in her UV splash suit as we wrestled with the windbreak before quickly chasing after her. Orla loved running away squealing as each new wave lapped at her toes.

One of Reuben's favourite books when he was younger was 'Not a box'. It's a picture book about a rabbit who, like Reuben and most other children, has lots of adventures in a cardboard box. And it was Reuben's love of boxes, and my love of all things shiny and red, that led us to buy him a shiny red 'Bilibo' for Christmas a few years ago. Since then it's had lots of uses and been on many adventures, including a journey down to St Ives on our recent family holiday.

We've just returned from a week-long holiday in sunny Cornwall, our first family holiday in the UK. Whilst we were there we just had to visit the Eden Project and weren't disappointed.

With the sun shining, we decided to take a walk down to our local nature reserve to see the bluebells.

One of my favourite places to visit when up in Glasgow is Balloch Castle Country Park on the shores of Loch Lomond. About 40 minutes outside of Glasgow, Balloch is a small village on the southern tip of Loch Lomond. To the North of the town is Balloch Castle which overlooks the Loch and is at the heart of the country park which has lots of things to do for all the family.

Lianne had often talked about walking up the Whangie when she was younger and I loved the sound of the name. So when we went to visit her parents in Glasgow over Easter we packed a picnic and headed to the Queens View car park between Milngavie and Drymen to begin our trek.

When Reuben was younger we went to an open day at a local sand quarry. Reuben loved seeing the big diggers and taking a trip around the quarry to see the sand being excavated. So when Reuben and Orla lost interest in building sandcastles on our trip to the beach, we decided instead to create our own quarry, complete with roads, tunnels and bridges.

We were all very excited to take Orla for her first visit to the beach, especially Reuben. After loading up the car with what seemed like half the contents of the garage, thanks to Reuben, we set off to the coast.

With clear blue skies and a weekend free of birthday parties it was time for us to get out on the bike. After a few minutes of cycling we were out onto quiet country lanes. Orla loves to spot animals in the fields as we cycle along and her seat being in front of me makes it really easy to point things out to her and talk to her as we go.

With spring well and truly here it’s the perfect time to head down to the farm to see some newborn lambs. We're fortunate that each year in early April a local farm has an open day with lots of lambs and other farm based fun for all of the family.

Last weekend we headed off to Alton Towers as they opened their doors for the summer. At a rather chilly 4 degrees the weather was far from summery although wrapped up warm in their weatherproof gear Reuben and Orla didn't seem to mind. When you think of Alton Towers you naturally think of rollercoasters, but white knuckle rides aren't the only way to have fun ... especially with two small children.

With Reuben still wearing his pyjamas after Red Nose Day at school, Orla and I headed out on the bike to make the most of the Spring sunshine. Orla is becoming an increasingly keen cyclist (well passenger) and has taken to standing pointing at her bike helmet shouting BIKE. Today she went one stage further and brought me her bike seat from the garage as I arrived back from work.

Since starting school in September Reuben has had a busy social calendar. This weekend he was busy with birthday parties, leaving Orla and I to have some time together in the great outdoors. At the slightest mention of going outside Orla runs to get her shoes and coat, so when I suggested we go for as walk she was very excited.

One of our favourite spots to spend an afternoon as a family is Tittesworth reservoir in the Peak District National Park. Our last quick visit turned into a whole afternoon playing pirates in the fantastic play area, see photo of Reuben escaping from his little sister, pirate Orla before climbing up into the crow’s nest and checking for sharks.