Hello! How are you enjoying the school holidays so far? Surviving? We are, just about. I’m knee-deep in work as I try to smash through some deadlines before we go to France, but I wanted to pop over here today to share some photos from our day out in Lyme Regis yesterday. It was our last day with my sister and her boyfriend before they head back to Australia. We’re not likely to see them before February next year when (hopefully!) they’ll be moving back to the UK.
If you’ve not visited Lyme Regis before, I highly recommend it. Granted, it was packed with tourists enjoying the beach, but it’s SUCH a pretty place you can’t blame us for descending on it. I’m excited to go back once peak season ends and explore more of the town itself without the crowds.
We didn’t get a chance to do any of the things Lyme Regis is famous for – fossil hunting, retracing Jane Austen’s steps, exploring the scenes of the book and film The French Lieutenant’s Woman etc – but we did eat crab sandwiches, pasties and ice-cream on the beach (gotta love that pre-holiday diet), play in the sea and appreciate the high volume of incredibly Instgrammable houses.
I sometimes worry that my content across YouTube, Instagram and this blog doesn’t tally up. They say consistency is the source of social media success and I know sometimes my photos are too picture-perfect to match with my often severely honest vlogs or posts here. HOWEVER, I’ve come to the conclusion that I bloody love pretty pictures and this is no bad thing. I get genuinely excited when I’m in Insta-heaven and love that moment when you realise you’ve got the Insta “money shot”.
This doesn’t mean I’m not “keeping it real” or being consistent (my captions will often prove otherwise) it just means I’m sharing some of my favourite pics. Obviously my family aren’t often on board with my chasing of Insta-perfection, but I’m always honest about these clashes of priorities and they tend to make good vlog fodder.
Anyway, now we’ve got that out of the way, back to the photos…
Seeing the girls enjoying the water made me feel excited for our holiday. Frog is seven now and she still can’t swim without a backfloat or woggle, but we’re hoping this summer is the summer that all changes. She’s had swimming lessons since she was a tiny baby, so it’s not for lack of trying. The thing that holds her back is her anxiety – especially in swimming pools when she’s terrified of the grates, lights and plugs in the pool (this has been an ongoing thing for her for four years now).
Ironically, her little sister is the complete opposite which can be equally frustrating because she feels absolutely zero fear. At two years old she can almost swim by herself, but thinks she’s capable of doing anything in the water which means we have to watch her with care before she chucks herself in the deep end. How is it possible my children are so different?!
Seeing my sister and her boyfriend Kiran with the girls was so lovely (helped by their patience when one or other of the kids kicked off about something). By the end of the day Frog was knackered and emotional after a busy weekend. She refused to walk and my sister, saintly aunt that she is, offered to give her a piggy-back. This is the kind of stuff that makes her such a great aunt as far as the girls are concerned. And it’s always nice for me to have a break from being chief piggy-back giver.
These will be the last photos we’ll get with my sister for at least another six months, so I wanted to take as many as I could. We didn’t manage a group shot as everyone had had enough of my paparazzi antics by the end of the day (again, my family are never on board with my Instagram goals) but I love that I managed a few shots of us together, even if it did mean bribing my hugely reluctant husband to take the photos.
Have you been to Lyme Regis before? Where would you recommend visiting there when we head back after the tourist season?
We love Lyme Regis! It used to be a fun day trip from Bristol when we lived there and now it’s a decent stop on the way to Brighton. Looks like you had an ace time with your sister and her boyfriend and I love the twinning dresses your girls have going on. We haven’t managed consistent swimming lessons for ours and I’m really worried that they’ll build up nerves around it if we leave it too long. Hopefully time in the sea is doing some good, even if actual swimming isn’t happening.
gorgeous pics
Oh wow Lyme Regis looks like such a beautiful place, I have never been but I want to go now. I know just how you feel about IG – mine never match up either but you know what I don’t care, the chaos and unpredictability of life with kids is this way. Pictures capture one moment, a moment we usually wait for to capture – the timing the composition, but filming is live, kids are unpredictable – it’s a different perspective so they are going to be different
Laura x
I think it’s totally OK to post beautiful photos that aren’t a ‘real’ representation of life – it’s your online space and you can post ‘real’ videos and beautiful photos – each show a different aspect of your reality.
We’re off to Lyme at the end of the month, for the 3rd year running at the same time, and i just can’t wait. It’s so beautiful there and you just switch off and slow down.
The Town Mill is sweet to visit, it’s had different shops every time i’ve been but it’s very picturesque. For a fancy pants meal the Alexandra hotel is nice too, it has a gorgeous garden for the girls with beautiful views of the sea.
You’ve made me even more excited just looking at your pics!
Ahhh I didn’t know your sister was (probably) moving back – brilliant!
Instagram goals are kinda funny, maybe one day your family will colaborate lol. The photos you did take are beautiful, tho!
I love this – I’m planning a trip to Lyme Regis next month and can’t wait, it looks so gorgeous. What a wonderful way to make some more lovely memories with your sister! x
OOh I’ve never been here before it looks lovely! I can’t wait until our house is finished and we can start enjoying family days out together. Totally get what you mean about IG photos but honestly my fave accounts are the ones with beautiful photos and honest captions, like yours, because that to me depicts what parenting is all about. These tiny humans we’ve created are so beautiful in so many ways, but then pairing that with an honest insight to life reflects the crappy see-saw that we’re on most days! If that makes any sense at all…I’m running on about two hours sleep because of one of my sleepless beauties! haha!
Omg Lyme Regis is GORGEOUS. I clearly need to spend some time there…!! Those AMAZING colours!
Honestly you’d be in heaven – it’s Insta cat-nip! x
Oh this looks like just the nicest day out and it sounds like you had some really quality time with your sister. As for consistency, you are consistent in the fact it is you across the platforms, what you post will vary from place to place – do whatever makes you happy 🙂 x
I totally agree x