I took too many photos on our American Adventure, to see my brother and sister in law, even for me, to shoe horn into one blog post!

Here is Part 1. 

• A flight with just 2 Heaths (The other two got left behind and had to travel on the next flight - that's the downs of staff travel - the ups being Rich and Ollie travelled over in Business Class!) who had to race through Terminal 5, so fast I thought we would miss it. Sammy and I got our tickets with 10 minutes to get to the gate! As we boarded the plane the doors shut behind us and that was it! Air bound for America.
• A long queue at immigration and as we finally got to the front (with me carrying 3 bits of hand luggage) Sammy exclaimed "Mama, I need a wee!" Back to the end of an even longer queue...
• Being the last at the luggage carousel watching the empty belt with no sign of Sammy's car seat. Queue a long wait, a pink replacement for a couple of days, but an excuse to grab the first of many holiday donuts!

It was an eventful week and this is the beginning! 

As we waited for the rest of the Heath party to land safely and arrive in the hire car, Sammy took a yard sale tricycle out for a spin and made two little friends! They live in a picture perfect US cul de sac, complete with basketball hoops at the end of the driveways and cute mail boxes on sticks.  

This was the first time we had visited their new home and I couldn't get over the space. It is huge! I am so proud of my brother. For starting a life in America, buying an incredible house and making it into the home of their dreams.

The next two days looked liked this. 

Sunday was going swimmingly (quite literally) until this. 

A "forwards back flip" off the diving board, a shoulder bone sticking up and out in a contorted fashion, a 911 call and an ambulance ride for Rich, in a pair of flip flops and wet board shorts. 

Men.  

I had warned him it was silly, had mentioned he was getting on my nerves having kept splashing me every time he launched himself into the pool and warned him he was pushing his luck. 

Boys. 

The night before my birthday was a fraught affair. Text updates from hospital, worries about travel insurance and a one armed wonder coming through the door, tired, full of morphine and a 31 and 364 day old, feeling very unsympathetic. 

We saw this window display on our travels a few days later... it totally sums up the incident! 

Part 2 coming up... my birthday! 

With all the summer holiday fun, I have realised it's been a little while since I posted a Bento Babies idea!

Over the summer the boys have been eating lots of snack teas and lunches and I always follow the basic principles of Bento, I just keep forgetting to take some photos!

You can read all about Bento Babies here, if you are wondering what on earth I am on about! 

I love how presentation makes such a difference at their young ages. That all from a little effort from me, I can get them trying new foods and save me going mad from preparing the same old lunches every day! 

Bento isn't just for packed lunches for school goers. I have followed the basic ideas since I weaned Ollie.

Small portions (remember one portion for them is their fist, not yours), colour, shapes, creativity! 

Last month was heavy on ends of eras. There were lots of goodbyes last month.  You can read about them here.

My big boy flew the nest too. The Little Owls Pre School nest! 

He adored his lunch on the last day of school! 

An owl bento. 

Featured in this Bento Babies box: 

• Body - ham and cheese sesame seed burger bap
• Eyes - sliced hard boiled egg
• Beak - dried sliced mango
• Claws - chorizo
• Ears - strawberries
• Wings - dried apricots
• Branch - brown bread finger sandwich
• I added parsley for the tree but that was for decoration! 
• The cracker letters are by Cheez-It

I added a couple of other bits to his bag including an apple and a yoghurt. 

There are lots of ideas on my Bento babies page including this seaside lunch!  

Cold pasta is such a great lunch filler! 

If you are often struggling for new ideas for snack teas try ticking off a few of these. 

Happy Bentoing everyone! 

I have a SUPER DUPER post to share with you today!

I am nurturing (ok drumming) a love of photography into my boys.

A photograph captures a moment you want to see again, that you want to treasure. 

In everyday life we take photos which make us smile, make us feel curious or make us want to share it with the world. 

I love that a picture can tell a story and the story can have a different meaning for each person that looks at it. 

These are your moments so capture them! 

I want you to join in with my nurturing of our children's inquisitive minds and enter the Kids Capture the Colour Competition, hosted by TravelSupermarket.

The first 100 bloggers to register receive a digital camera! Register your interest at kidscapturethecolour@travelsupermarket.com! 

The competition is open all through the summer to any blogger, with children aged 15 or under and a camera but you need to register!  

There are 5 category colours to enter RED, BLUE, GREEN, YELLOW and WHITE.

In the words of TravelSupermarket:

"A category winner for each of the five colours will be selected by an expert judging panel made up of leading parenting and photography bloggers. Photography experts, Venture, will then choose our overall winner based on the best all-round entry."

To enter, write up your blog post explaining the five photos your child took and it would be lovely to hear about your little, or not so little ones, who took the photos!

The closing date for all entries is 9th October 2013. Make sure you register your application by 25th September 2013 by emailing kidscapturethecolour@travelsupermarket.com

Now for the fabulous bit! The prizes! 

The overall winner, chosen by Venture Photography, will receive a cash prize of £1000! WOW WEE! 

5 x Colour Category winners will win a Venture Photography Family Experience worth £500

The experience includes:

·         Fun and memorable photoshoot

A one hour unique and personal studio photo session worth £150

·         Creative image preparation

Several hours of digital work by the Venture photography creative team

·         Personal cinematic viewing

Preview of your image show in the Venture cinematic studio

·         Hand-made framed photograph

A Gallery Mini (152 x 152) framed wall product worth £350

I will be judging the Yellow category and can't wait to see how children interpret the colour yellow during the summer holidays. Will they think of sunshine, sunflowers, or sand?!

Some of your favourite parents bloggers who share a passion for photography will be judging the other categories. 

Red -  Mammasaurus Blue -  This Mummy Loves Green -  A Mummy Too White -  The Boy and Me 

This is a fantastic opportunity to get your children involved in photography. After all, we are usually the ones making them say cheese - get it yellow ;) 

We also had fun last year making up a colour chart game and I let Sammy loose with an old camera! I love that he is developing his own passion for photography.

Here is some of my own 'yellow' from the past few months. Show it to your little ones to  get them inspired! Yellow is all around us, even on grey summer days.

Happy snapping!

And don't forget the competition is open from now until the 9th October 2013 but you need to register your application by email by the 25th September. 

If you use Twitter follow along using #KIDSCTC

I can't wait to see all your entries! If you are not a blogger, why not start one?! There has never been a better reason!

Full terms and conditions can be found here.