Emma’s had a prolonged birthday this past week. Last weekend was her party with Emma and seven friends from school heading to the climbing wall at St Mary’s Leisure Centre in Southampton. (The traffic getting in to Southampton was a nightmare. We’re not sure whether it was the presence of the world’s largest cruise liner or Peter Andre that was pulling in the crowds!) After the initial briefing Emma scampered up to the top of the wall without too much difficultly. If we’d placed bets on which of the other girls would be slightly more reluctant then we’d have made a healthy profit! The instructor was very good though, encouraging them on but not pushing them if it was clear they just wanted to come back down. Everyone enjoyed the last part spent in the bouldering room.
The shape of the cake was a clue to the second destination for the party: Sprinkles Gelato. Unfortunately we weren’t treated to the same glorious weather we’d had the previous weekend when we’d walked the route but there wasn’t too much complaining about the rain. We had a table booked and eventually managed to get everyone to decide what they wanted to eat. Having seen the size of a two-scoop cone the previous week, we limited them all to a single scoop and toppings which made it quite a cheap visit! They shop was also very good in helping us navigate the various allergies of one of Emma’s friends so the EpiPen wasn’t needed.
Emma’s birthday itself came round later in the week. Her school lets pupils wear non-uniform on their birthday which meant Emma could try out one of her new dresses. It’s a nice way to make them feel that extra bit special. One of Emma’s other presents from us will take slightly longer to get any use from us. The crystal growing set suggests using a well ventilated basement room for the experiments! The biggest smile on Emma’s face though was when she came back from gymnastics that evening having passed her badge 2.