SCHLEICH THOR FIGURINE - REVIEW

We are big fans of the Schleich toys in this house. Over the last few years Elliot has built up a little collection which includes zoo animals, farm animals and even dinosaurs! Recently we discovered that Schleich also make Marvel and DC Comic characters which was pretty exciting for Elliot who is a big fan of superheroes.

To coincide with the release of the new Thor: Ragnarok movie (out in cinemas on 27th October), Schleich have added a familiar face to their Marvel team - the mighty Thor!  Also part of this Marvel range are Spiderman, Captain America, Hulk, Black Widow, Dr Strange, Venom, Falcon, Iron Man and Green Goblin. 

"Thor, the Viking god, is almost invincible. His mighty hammer, Mjolnir, allows him to control storms, thunder and lightning, and it always returns to the hand of its powerful master. He comes from Asgard. When his father Odin, king of the gods, sends him to earth, he becomes a member of the Avengers so that he can fight side by side with other superheroes against the forces of evil – above all, his hate-filled brother, Loki."

Schleich sent us out very own Thor to review so what did we think? Firstly, the quality of Thor is top class. All Schleich figures are lovingly handpainted with detailed modelling.  The figure has a nice heavy feel to it and feels very well made. Standing with his hammer raised in the air and ready for action, Thor looks just like he does in the film! 

The figure comes in a smart collectors box and wouldn't look out of place on a collectors shelf. However there was no chance of him staying in his box in this house! Elliot couldn't wait to start playing and immediately went to get his other figures from the superhero box. (Yes, we have a Superhero box!)

Thor standing tall!

He had a great time with all this figures and I'm sure Thor is going to be playing a prominent role in Elliot's playtime for the foreseeable future! He's already nagging me to get the rest of the Marvel gang for him....

The Thor figurine is priced at £9.99 and is available from www.schleich-s.co.uk (suitable for 4+)

*Disclosure - We were sent a selection of schleich figures for writing this honest review - as always, all thoughts are my own. And we genuinely love Schleich toys! 

A Mini Break on the Isle of Wight

Living on the South Coast, you'd think that the Isle of Wight would be a regular trip for us. Sadly not, we worked out that the last time we visited, we didn't even have mobile phones!

Elliot has been asking to go there ever since we watched a programme about the fossils on the beaches so last week, we booked a last minute trip. It started out as a one day trip but we decided to book accommodation and squeeze another day in! 

We caught the ferry from Lymington and 40 minutes later we were on our way - such a quick trip! Everything is relatively close on the Isle of Wight as it is only 23 miles from east to west so we knew we'd be able to squeeze a fair amount in. Our first stop was meant to be Carisbrooke Castle but the long queues made us ditch that idea and instead we ended up in Godshill which is a really pretty little village but very popular with coach parties! We had a little browse round the shops and stopped for an ice cream to cool down a bit.

We drove onwards and headed towards Shanklin where we headed for the beach and looked for a parking spot. It was BUSY!! We ended up parking right at the top of the cliffs - it was hard enough walking down, I wasn't looking forward to the hike back up later!

After a quick lunch on the seafront, Elliot and Paul went off to play dinosaur themed Crazy golf whilst I fed Erin. They were gone for ages...Paul said it was never ending but Elliot seemed to enjoy it! We spent the next few hours having a wander along the seafront..and wasting money on he grabber machines in the arcade!

Don't pet the animals....!

I really wasn't looking forward to the walk back up to the car but luckily, there was a cliff lift - woohoo! It cost us a couple of quid but that was money well spent I reckon ;)

Our next stop was Sandown, another seaside town located just along the coast from Shanklin and we made our way to Dinosaur Isle - a dinosaur museum that had been recommended to us. As it was nearing the end of the day, it was nice and quiet and we really enjoyed having a look at all the displays. Elliot even did a little Facebook live video! 

Our bed for the night was at the Travelodge in Ryde - I think the hotel was quite new because everything seemed quite fresh. We had a decent sized family room and the hotel was in a great location near the main town centre but I just wish Travelodge had aircon in their hotels. I hate feeling hot and sweaty :-/

We ate at a lovely place for dinner that we found on Trip Advisor called The Alamo. It didn't look much from the outside but it was one of the best meals we've had! A lovely little steakhouse - amazing food and so helpful. I'm still dreaming about my fajitas now! 

The next morning we were up bright and early and were on the road just after 8am. We had booked onto a fossil hunt on a beach near Freshwater - again, found on Trip Advisor! There were around 30 people on the trip and it was brilliant. Our guide showed us many different fossils and stones and we heard all about the dinosaurs that walked the beaches before us all those years ago. Alot of it went over Elliot's head but he loved finding potential fossils and running over to our guide to find out what they were! 

The highlight of the morning was seeing Iguanadon footprints on the beach. They are stone now but were formed when mud and sand filled the footprints left by the dinosaurs. It's such an amazing thing to see, it really gives you a sense of how big the dinosaurs were!

We had a really enjoyable morning on the beach and Elliot came away with a carrier bag of fossils and interesting things he'd found! Our tummies were now rumbling so we jumped in the car and headed in the direction of Alum Bay and hoped we'd find somewhere nice to eat on the way.

A quick look on Trip Advisor pointed us in the direction of the Waterfront Bar and Restaurant where we had some lovely fish and chips over looking the sea - it was a beautiful view and we could see all the way to Dorset in the distance!

Our last stop for the day was Alum Bay, somewhere I have fond memories of visiting as a child. We had a few holidays on the Isle of Wight as children and I remember filling up some little ornanments with the coloured sand!

These days, you can still fill ornaments with coloured sand but you can also end up spending ALOT more money there if you're not careful. The park is free to enter but everything inside such as the children's rides, shops, 3D cinema come at a cost!

Elliot and I went on the chairlift which was a bit of a hair raising experience - the chair lift looks about 100 years old and there are no belts, just a bar which comes down. I spent the whole time hanging onto Elliot and worrying about him slipping through the gap eek! Aside from that though, it was a pleasant trip - the views are breathtaking and you can see for miles on the way down. You can spot all the coloured sand in the cliffs and have a paddle in the sea at the bottom if you wish. We stayed on and came straight back up (to avoid the queues at the bottom!) and Elliot said it was terrifying!!

The tackiness of the park wasn't really for us so we decided to walk up to the Needles viewpoint. It's a gentle stroll along the cliff with some spectacular views across the Solent and only takes around 15 minutes.

There is a higher viewpoint located near the old rocket testing site and this is free, but to get a bit closer you need to enter via the Needles Old Battery and New Battery which is National Trust property. Fortunately we are NT members so we didn't have to pay - just as well too as they were about to close and we only had about 10 mins to look around!

Elliot and Paul headed down the underground tunnel which takes you to a viewing platform inside the cliffs - not very buggy friendly so I stayed up top and admired the views!

Time was marching on now so it was time for us to make our way back to the carpark (quicker on the way down with Elliot sat on the buggy!) and we headed back to Yarmouth to catch our ferry.

We had such a lovely couple of days on the Isle of Wight - there is so much to offer for families and I can't wait to go back to explore the parts we didn't see!

BACK TO SCHOOL ESSENTIALS - ARE YOU READY?!

So here we are nearing the end of the Summer Holidays - where have those 6 weeks gone?! Elliot is due to start reception very soon so I've had to be quite organised this year - I did most of my uniform shopping at the beginning of the holidays and finger crossed I haven't forgotten anything.

If you are feeling a bit last minute and panicking that you may have forgotten something, here's some essentials which may have slipped your mind!

Personalised Water Bottle - ItsYourStory (£15.00)
These fantastic water bottles are sure to stand out from the crowd, personalised with a photo of your choice. There are 17 different designs to choose from, featuring cheeky monkeys to little monsters.

Back to School card - Hallmark
I hadn't even thought about getting Elliot a card for starting school but Hallmark have some lovely designs that will really make your child feel special on their first day back.

All You Need to Know Before Starting School (Usborne) - Born Gifted (9.99)
This lovely book follows five sweet cuddly characters who have just started school. Featuring educational concepts vital to early years such as shapes and colours, it provides a fun introduction to the average school day and what your new starter can expect.

Lego Pencil Case - Aplaceforeverything.co.uk (£7.65)
Who doesn't love a new pencil case for the new school year...and who doesn't love Lego?!

'Lunch Bot' The Robot Lunch Box - Find Me a Gift (£14.99)
Love this retro lunchbox - how cute is he!? Strong and sturdy, your lunch won't get squished and you'll be the envy of all your classmates!

Skipper Children's Boat Shoe - Chatham (£45)
These lovely boat shoes are available in 3 colours and are made from beautiful soft pull up leather. People tend to just think of the obvious high street choices when shopping for school shoes but Chatham are definitely worth considering, they offer a brilliant range of boat shoes that would be suitable for school.

Itty Bittys - Hallmark (£6)
These little plush toys make great rucksack and pencil case buddies and would make a cute gift for your little superhero's first day at school

Wellies - Regatta (£11.95)
You can guarantee that the school run will bring rain...and rain means puddles. So what better way of splashing in puddles with a brand new pair of Regatta wellies! Elliot's school actually require him to keep a pair of wellies on his peg for outside play so he is looking forward to taking these in. As well as the vibrant patterns, I really like the handles on the welly - very helpful for little ones who are learning to dress themselves.

Are you ready for school?! 

*Disclaimer - some of these items were provided to me for the purpose of this post