Stormy Sleepover, Proms in the Paddock, PGL

Saturday 3rd August
Went to pick Freya up from her friend L's birthday sleepover. She and L and some others had stayed in the tent despite the dramatic and unexpected storm that had hit Lewes between midnight and 1am. Can only imagine the excitement as half the girls took shelter in the house and had to transfer stuff in pouring rain and darkness. Very exciting sleepover! They were all pretty tired. Prior to the storm thrills, they had also had a treasure hunt and decorated mugs to take home, amongst other activities. All had had a lovely time. 
Brought Freya home, very slowly, as there was a need for many talks along the way. Back home, eventually she fell asleep with me whilst watching something in the late afternoon. Can't remember the last time that happened, she really needed it though.
Woke her up for some dinner and then she and I headed up to Proms in the Paddock, which we have attended every year since this one, when it was on her birthday:
Birthdays, Bouncing and Bubbles (2008)

and here are the other years' Proms in the Paddock, largely so I can enjoy a bit of nostalgia:
Hectic Times (2009)
Rest of July and a bit of August (2010)
Proms in the Paddock, Sylvanian hedgehog (2011)
I don't seem to have blogged 2012, which I'm a bit shocked by. But I guess it was the hardest time with mum. I think we went, but now I'm doubting myself.

Anyway, this year, Freya's friends were there with their grandparents, as C and K were having a well-earned (sleepover and storm) night in with a film. I sat up on the bank for most of the evening, Freya flitting by now and then and mostly off with L and M and sometimes little D. One of her fellow-guides popped by and said hello too. The children's area this year had skittles and a few other things and I provided some glowsticks. Near the end, I went and joined the others. The fireworks were excellent, wonderful to watch.

Sunday 4th August
We went to the Leisure Centre, meeting up with 3 other families for the Super Splash - where they have the giant inflatable obstacle course thing out. Hadn't been for ages but had heard they had a new inflatable, so much eagerness abounded amongst us. I had some good chats with M and then with A. The new inflatable featured a section that was very difficult for Freya to do, she had a few goes and went on the flume and swam in between, but couldn't get past this section, as it was hard for her to get the right grip and balance, so she kept falling off or coming off. Finally at the very end, she was the last one on and managed to find her way of doing it, made it to the end of the difficult bit and at last was able to go on the fun bouncy domes at the end and then the slide, amid much clapping and cheering from friends as we were all watching by that time. Felt very proud of her, she's such a determined person, it gets her a long way. I never really had that quality, not sure I do now!
I was having a very 'feeling blessed' day - friends, lovely weather, inspirational daughter - which was only added to by being able to do garlic bread for dinner, mmmmm the lovely smell.

Monday 5th August
Had had a very rubbish night with hardly any sleep due to humidity, so my 'feeling blessed' time came to an abrupt end. Think I mainly did some work and felt dozy.
J did a very good, calm and patient job of showing F some long division. Which reminds me I have to show her the alternative 'chunking' method soon.

Tuesday 6th August
A bit more work and had had another bad sleep, ugh.
Did clear a bit of table and floor area that needed drastic attention, and found a nice colour-changing light that I bought a while ago but hadn't been set up. Put it by the corner of sofas, will be nice when I'm working.

Wednesday 7th August
Had had better sleep, which was a good thing as we were having F's friend M dropped off at 9am (we aren't even awake then some days). Had a lovely day with her, they played here a bit, then walked over to Spring Barn for a nice few hours, including Meet the Small Animals (Oh Em Gee the cuteness of baby rabbits, especially a very curious grey one that stood up a lot) and Very Unthrilling Tractor Trailer Ride. They went on slides, jumping pillow, zip wire too. Freya decided she didn't desperately need to prove to herself right now that she could do the drop slide again, which seems quite a sane decision. 
Encountered some really obnoxious old people at Spring Barn, just rude about children and apparently thinking that was OK. I wish I had been harsher with them than I was, but it was one of those awkward situations. I had to content myself with the parting riposte of 'still we can't all wear beige, can we?', which I didn't think was adequate really. 
We came back here and they had another 90 mins or so before Marni was picked up. They played Animal Crossing and did Djeco glitter art pictures, very pretty!

Thursday 8th August
We went up to Pells Pool and met 2 other families up there. I made Freya carry our ring up in inflated state, as it's too huge for me to blow up by mouth. Of course we found out when we got there that you can borrow a pump, useful to know...  Had a lovely time, I went in twice and got better at getting into the cold water quickly.
Afterwards we spent another hour maybe in the park next to the pool.

Friday 9th August
Packed our stuff for PGL, and Freya was picked up by C, who then had a carful of girls to take. I made my own way, and ended up arriving at the same time as them, which I was glad about. 
We met our group coordinator (I can't bring myself to use the official PGL term 'groupie'!), Jay, a 24-yr old young man from the North East. He was great with the group and was assigned to attend to any queries or needs we had, and to take us wherever we were supposed to be for activities and meals. He also provided our evening entertainment.
On the Friday he played some games with the group - liked the games, they were variations I hadn't encountered before, trying to remember them now though and my memory is rubbish. Er, a hide-and-seek game where he counted to 20, they went off to hide, then he counts from or to 19, but in that time they have to come and tap his hand and then have disappeared again by the time he opens his eyes. And the count keeps going down. Another one with guessing who was changing the rhythm or action, which I have played before, and another one I can't remember, dammit.
Our group was 6 girls, aged 8 to 12, with 3 mums (C, me and another C). 
We had our first meal in the big dining room - most of our girls a bit fazed by the whole canteen system, finding it a bit baffling and stressful and not always ending up with what they wanted!
Friday evening they did a Passport to the World activity, involving finding flags and answering questions about countries, in pairs. Freya was with M and they worked well together and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

Saturday 10th August
The girls hadn't slept very well, and only 3 stayed in their group room overnight in the end. I slept quite well in my room. It was another lovely sunny day. After breakfast the first activity was the zip wire. Freya had already prepared herself for maybe not doing zip wire and trapeze, as they seemed the most scary to her. She nevertheless got harnessed up and helmeted with everyone and we all went up to the top.

She had one not-quite-go, but then went back and did it 7 times and loved it. 
The instructors/facilitators were mostly very good, encouraging but not overly pushing I thought, and clearly experienced with a wide variety of children with different concerns and issues. We had the odd one over the weekend that we weren't quite so confident with, but mostly good.
Next activity was the giant swing, which involves a great deal of set-up each go for a fairly short swing time, but at least everyone can take part in pulling the rope, etc. Freya went with other C, but I think she would like to have gone with one of her friends, just one of those times when communication went wrong or wishes weren't clear until later. But she had her 3 goes anyway, didn't go very high, will probably go higher when we go again (going again seems pretty much a cert!). 
Lunch and then trapeze, which was the scariest of all the activities I think, in terms of height - a vertical climb up a pole with metal staples in it to a small platform and then a leap of faith to catch hold of a bar. I also thought it looked the lowest fun-to-fear ratio, to be honest! Some, including Freya, didn't get as far as the platform, and it was definitely very challenging, with high anxiety levels and tears for some.
Leaving us all rather tired for the last activity of the day, which was orienteering. I think Freya and L's sister M showed particular skill at it, everyone was tired though, so a bit of a struggle to keep participation going for 90 minutes at the end of a long and intense day. The facilitator commented that Freya was "on fire" at one point, and I think she did a lot of her team's points.
Dinner and a bit of chill time revived everyone enough to go to the disco, which we were sharing with a group of 10 guides. After a bit of nervousness or not wanting to dance, everyone seemed to enjoy it, with some games and group dances to help.
That night, nobody slept in the girls' room in the end - Freya came in with me, L and M and friend L were in with C, other F was with her mum, other C, and poor G felt a bit homesick and went home for the night, returning in the morning. I think they never really felt right in the room, it was a bit claustrophobic with 3 bunkbeds in a small space and no storage. Not sure, anyway various factors meant that it didn't really work with them, but hopefully another time they will have that experience too as that could be a good part of it.

Sunday 11th August
First activity of the day was abseiling. Freya wanted to do it, but was nervous, so had another not-quite-go, put off by not being sure that the rope would tighten enough, followed by then doing it and enjoying it and doing it again. It was such an advantage for us that, with such a small group, there was time to allow for not-quites in our 90 minute slots. I was very proud and in admiration of her when she did it, she is one brave child! 

Again, different instructors/facilitators, but again they handled it pretty well, finding a way that worked OK for her I think. And C was lovely and helpful too. We were all quite emotional when Freya did it.
After that, it was sensory trail, which sounded fun, but the girls emerged rather less than enthused afterwards. I didn't much take to the person doing it with them tbh.

After lunch, climbing wall! Freya has done a bit of climbing and she likes it, but it is hard for her if she has to rely too heavily on right hand and foot, so her choice of holds is sometimes narrowed by that. I didn't actually tell any of the PGL people about her disability, though I would have done if it had seemed necessary, but in fact she was fine, things were sometimes more difficult for her or took longer, but it's amazing how much of these activities she can do, finding her own way as necessary.
There were two routes up the wall, Freya felt happier on the left-hand one in the end, after one go on the right-hand one. On her last go, she made it up to the top! Very proud again, seem to have had so many PMMs lately!

We finished with Aeroball (a one-against-one game played with a soft cloth 'ball' to get into a goal. On trampolines. What?! Bit knackering so lots of times between games too.

Overall it was a fantastic weekend, all the girls tried things that tested them, overcame anxieties and felt a sense of achievement I think.
I was norty and didn't do any of the activities! I took pictures and videos though and I have said I will go on the zip wire when we go again. I am not at all a physical/sporty type person though, most of the things they did wouldn't be something I would necessarily see as fun, but it was great to see what they got from it. I thought the whole weekend was organized so well and the safety standards were very good, the PGL staff were friendly and helpful. It felt like we'd been there longer than 48 hours, we packed so much in!
C did such a great job, not only organizing it but really working with each child to help them get the most from it over the weekend too. Really can't thank her enough for everything she did with Freya and for the whole group.