Capture the Colour - Adventures Through Colour

I adore travelling - it's one of my passions and always has been.  I was lucky enough to travel to Australia for a year (via Malaysia) when I was 26, and subsequently worked in travel for a few years.  I went on to visit New Zealand, Borneo, Thailand, South Africa, USA, Prague and Montenegro.

More recently since having kids I've been to Florida twice, Rome, France and Venice to name but a few.

I love flying, I love experiencing different cultures, I love the sights, the sounds and the smells of a new country.   Travel broadens the mind, I don't understand why anyone wouldn't want to travel.  The world is huge and I plan to see as much of it as possible, so it's been fantastic to look over all my old photos and reminisce.  Unfortunately i have also realised how with each trip I have managed to gain a new wrinkle or two!

Travelsupermarket.com have a brilliant competition at the moment in which you need to showcase 5 photographs that capture the colours red, yellow, blue, white and green.  Have a look at the competition here.

I'm not a photographer (not by any stretch!) but I hope you enjoy the photos that I've selected and the tales behind them.

A few months into my relationship with James (now my husband), I asked if he fancied coming to Thailand with me.  He was pretty up for it really considering he'd hardly been out of the uk. This trip sparked a massive interest in travelling for him and I'm really glad he caught the bug.  I was really impressed with him agreeing to do a bungy jump with me (this was my second one).  He was absolutely petrified and was sweating profusely beforehand, whereas I was quite calm and excited.  It sealed the relationship in a way for me though as he was really scared of heights but went ahead and did it anyway.  I loved climbing up to the top of the structure and diving into the lush greenery below.  Beautiful! 

Capture the colour - GREEN

Penguins on a beach, no, really!  This photo was taken on Boulders Beach in South Africa.  I remember walking up to the beach in the blazing sunshine - there were bushes to the side of us and I heard lots of strange rustling.  Peeking through, imagine my surprise when I was confronted with a penguin - THE cutest thing.  As we appoached the beach we could see literally hundreds of penguins mooching around.  Really bizarre to see them in the sunshine I have to say.  We spent lots of time there and even braved the cold sea for a swim with them which was quite lovely until we realised we were swimming amongst penguin poo....

Capture the colour - WHITE

This next shot was taken in San Francisco (still pre kids I hasten to add!).  We spent hours walking round the streets and I loved the quirkiness of the multi coloured houses and the eclectic shops.  My feet had blistered from so much walking but we carried on regardless as there were so many cool things to see.

I adore this shop front.  I couldn't tell you what they sold, but the red stilettos are fabulous aren't they?!  I think this photo pretty much sums up this vibrant yet laid back city for me.

Capture the colour - RED

This next photo is showcasing the colour yellow.  This is from a recent trip to Florida with our two young kids and was taken on Anna Maria Island.  We hit the beach early to avoid the crowds and the heat and I managed to take some lovely simple shots of the children playing.  Dexter wouldn't be parted from his yellow spade and I think this picture sums up the morning perfectly.  The sheer joy of having a beach almost to himself and his trusty yellow spade..... I love the contrast of the yellow against the brilliant blue of the sky (and of course his crazy hair!).

Capture the colour - YELLOW

My final picture was taken on our second trip to Florida at Universal Studios.  Anyone familiar with Dr Seuss will recognise the 'Things' with their brilliant blue hair.

Keani adored meeting all the characters whilst Dexter was a grump for the majority of the time and refused to get out of the pram.  I love this pic as it shows Keani interacting with the characters - she is a quiet and shy girl by nature but her face lit up whenever she saw a new character to cuddle!

Capture the colour - BLUE

So this concludes my entry into the Capture the Colour competition.  I've really enjoyed putting these photographs together and really hope that my kids will in time feel as passionately as I do about travel.

I would like to tag 5 other fab bloggers via Facebook to remind them to enter this brilliant competition!

Di Coke @superluckydi
Wendy McDonald @insidethewendyhouse
Kylie Martin @memoirmode
Mummy of 3 Dairies
Melanie Edjourian @Melanie's Fab Finds

Celebrate Their Success #PGRaisingOlympians

Wow! Haven't the Olympics been amazing so far?

It's been fantastic to have been able to celebrate our nation's achievements, from the magnificent awe inspiring opening ceremony to the courage and dedication of our athletes.  I've been feeling extremely proud to be British and have been glued to the screen daily - managing to bribe the kids to give me half an hours peace here and there.

I can only imagine what it must be like to be the parents of these athletes - I don't think I'd be able to watch, or if I did it would be through my fingers!  They must be absolutely bursting with pride.

My little ones are only 3 and 4 but already I feel so proud of what they've achieved.

My little girl, despite being very shy and quiet, and not letting me leave the room when she did her ballet class, actually went on stage at the local Town Hall and danced in front of a huge room of people - probably one of my proudest moments so far. 

And Dexter, my 3 year old, astounds me with his vocabularly and his ability to entertain.  I was particularly impressed with his circus skills the other day!

'Successes' are largely celebrated with cuddles and kisses, lots of love and the odd treat - though I'm sure as they get older, they'll become more demanding!

And as my two children start school, I will no doubt be proud of whatever they achieve.  I will instill values and morals, and hope that they continue to be the loving and caring kids that they are now.  I will gently encourage them, applaud all their endeavours and support them in whatever they desire to do.  And if Keani wants to become a world class diver, and Dexter an Olympic gymnast, then so be it!

P&G have made a series of short videos celebrating our Olympic heros, giving the perspective of their mums, and a little insight into how it feels to be the parent of an Olympic athlete.  I particularly enjoyed Pauline Pembleton's video (mum of Victoria) as her line 'you can only really try your best' really resonated with me.  I think my children will be hearing those words for many more years to come!

This is my entry into the #PGRaisingOlympians Celebrate Their Success Linky, sponsored by P&G