Happy 6th Birthday Sam

Our little man turned 6 on the 4th of January. I can't believe he's 6 already! Where did the time go?? We celebrated his birthday a day early as we were away for his actual birthday. We had cards, presents and a cake with a sparkler shaped like a number 6.


We left that afternoon and drove the 2·5 Hours to Staffordshire so we could spend his birthday at Thomasland.

What better way to celebrate with a train mad 6 year old! We knew the trip would be exhausting for me even with using my mobility scooter in the park itself so as suggested in one article on pacing for fibromyalgia/CFS/ME we booked a hotel for the night before and the night after so we weren't having to do the journey and the park in the same day.

Thomasland is part of Drayton Manor theme park in Tamworth, Staffordshire so we checked the Travelodge website to see where the nearest hotel would be. We were pleasantly surprised to find this one less than 4 miles away. They also had family rooms available for just £15 per night.

We would take a picnic for the day at the park anyway so it just meant making extra for us to eat in the evenings and for breakfast. Things like pot noodle and cup a soup are great for the evenings, and just add water porridge pots for breakfast as the room comes with a kettle and there isn't the risk of food going off as it's not refrigerated. They aren't things I would normally eat but even with an insulated picnic basket and ice packs you're limited what fresh food you can take. Obviously we could have gone across to the services next to the hotel to eat but we wanted to keep the cost down. It was nice not having to cram so much into one day for me and the hotel made it feel like more of a holiday. we will definitely be doing it the same way next time.

A photo taken halfway round the troublesome trucks rollercoaster

Thomasland is great fun for Train fans with lots of fun rides all linked to the theme of Thomas and friends. We got to ride on Thomas, go on the troublesome trucks rollercoaster and fly Jeremy jet. I had contacted Thomasland a few weeks before to ask if it was possible for Sam to meet the fat controller and they were kind enough to arrange this. We arranged a time and place to meet and they asked for a few basic details about Sam and a photo so they could recognise him. Sam was utterly speechless when the fat controller walked up to him and said "well hello young Sam
 I hear you are 6 today" it was fantastic to see. The fat controller and his wife lady Hatt talked to him for a few minutes and then sang happy birthday to him. I have it all on tape and it' s a memory I will treasure. Sam spent the whole day telling us it was the best birthday ever, which of course made us very happy.

Meeting the Fat controller and Lady Hatt 

The following morning we travelled home in time for my best friend and her husband to come visit with Sam's birthday presents. Tracy is a fellow crafter so among the gifts were a few handmade items including:

A knitted Dragon scarf (which was apparently a lot harder than it looked) 

and New sea creatures for his fishing game

He also had a circus tricks set:

with plate spinning (as demonstrated by Aunty Tracy)

a Diablo 

and juggling balls (as demonstrated by Uncle Michael) 

and of course lots of cuddles!!! 

I think he had a very nice birthday.