The Bank Holiday weekend was a good reminder of how important sunshine is. Everything seems easier, everything can be done with a smile on your face, everything seems more possible when you open the curtains to a warm, bright day instead of a cold, grey one.

We had one of those weekends where it didn’t feel like we were doing very much, but we still seemed to pack it in. A lovely lunch and an afternoon at the park with a friend we hadn’t seen for a long time. (‘Jeez,‘ she said. ‘Is this what people do in the suburbs?‘) A drink at the pub in town with a beer garden where, to DorkySon’s delight, there was a bouncy castle set up. A little potter around the farmer’s market to pick up some local honey and strawberries. And some bread and ham. And some cheese and radishes. Oh, and some chicken, and some ribs. And some freshly ground coffee… Wasn’t it Oscar Wilde who wrote ‘I can resist anything but temptation.’

On Sunday afternoon we headed down to the funfair, which had set up shop for the weekend. For the past year or so we have got away with walking round the fair when it hasn’t actually been open. DorkySon has been fascinated enough by the big trucks and caravans that he hasn’t really bothered about the rides. (I know, I know, we are terrible parents…) But this time, for the first time, he realised that those rides we’ve always walked past do actually move. So we stuffed our pockets full of change and paid for him to spend the afternoon whizzing past us on the spinning teacups, honking the horn in a mini truck, and bouncing his way down the inflatable slide. It made me feel dizzy (and old!) just watching him.

DorkySon is having another one of those shocking development leaps that seem to be coming along with more and more frequency. He has started leaving his beloved Binky at home instead of taking him to nursery. He has decided that CBeebies is boring and that he doesn’t really want to watch any television (beyond the odd episode of Top Gear). And after two years of wagging around the house with his bum out, he has started to keep his trousers on more often. I don’t know whether our parenting style of letting him make all these decisions in his own time is the right one, but it certainly seems to be keeping the stress levels down for all of us.

We are trying to plan our summer holidays at the moment; making time to see all the grandparents and Godparents, far flung friends and extended family that are scattered across the globe. I can’t wait, especially as I know they will all see such a huge change in DorkySon since last summer.

I also seem to still be in full on spring clean mode, and have been taking bags of bits and pieces – clothes I no longer wear, toys that DorkySon no longer plays with, books that DorkyDad knows he will not read again – to the charity shop almost weekly. I suppose in order to let nice new things into your life, you have to make space for them.

I can’t wait for June, and hope it brings more sunshine and adventures.

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I’m linking this post up to the Where I Live: Perfect Bank Holiday linky over at The American Resident.