Project 365 – July

We did not travel so much in July, which was a needed break. July always brings lots of wrap-up from school and Dann and I host an event in Brighton each year too. There was so much lovely weather, so many new activities, and lots of fun to be had. I got a tattoo too! It’s been a good month, with so much to look back on and so much fun. I post a photo each day as apart of project 365. Some bloggers post daily, some weekly, and some monthly like me. You can check out some other bloggers taking on this challenge at the bottom of this article.

July 1st – Board Games and Friends

We had a lot of STUFF to get done on Tuesday. So, I woke up, packed some lunches and PE kits, got some children off to school, then we started the random stuff. A run to the charity shop, some shopping, and I met up in town with a friend to do 100 trades in Pokemon Go before Spotlight Hour. After Spotlight Hour, I came home to get dinner ready for tabletop. We had a smaller group this week as two of the couples we hang out with were away. Wendy brought a lovely dessert which was a stone-fruit cheese cake and I made burgers and sides. It was a fun time playing The Sandcastles of Burgundy, as we wanted to try out the harder mode. It was a fun evening, ending around midnight, and I went to sleep.

July 2nd – Trades and Movies

Today I really needed to get on with work, so a lot of work was done. It’s a week before our event in Brighton, so there are a lot of emails and last minute details that needed to be sent. The Roblox game I work on was invited into a bigger Roblox event, so that needed some working out, and I had some client work due. So, I cracked on with work. Then, in the evening, we went out to Raid Hour in Pokemon Go where I got a shiny, and I did the 100 trades with my friend again, where we both got a shiny for the second day in a row. We went out for dinner before all three of us went to a movie; M3GAN 2.0, which was only ok. It felt like a movie that didn’t know what it wanted to be.

July 3rd – Chilling at Home

Today was another chilling at home type of day. Lots of work to be done, some articles needed writing, and I really focused. A book Robin had wanted came in the mail, so when she got home she was really excited! Everyone came over so hungry, so we had snacks before Robin went in the pool. Amelia did her homework and drumming, she has so much revision this time of year, it’s a lot! We also were invited to try the new Starbucks drink, for their 30th birthday, so I grabbed one of those up town before returning home to make big salad and clams, which is a household favorite. My friend came over to do the 100 daily trades in Pokemon Go, as the week’s lucky trades were still in effect until Sunday. We then played games in the evening before bed.

July 4th – Busy Day

A lot happened today! We woke up, packed lunches, got kids out the door, before I sat down to do as much work as I possibly could before lunchtime. For lunch, to keep the trades going for this special trades week, decided to go out for lunch at the Rainbow and Dove, which was very lovely. I got a hundo today, but he did not, which was a shame. I then headed home, made some taco dip for Robin’s international evening, then picked her up. Everyone got changed before heading back there, where we enjoyed food from all sorts of cultures! Everyone loved my taco dip, Robin won a prize in the raffle, Kai went to the gym, and then we headed home where I made a smaller dinner of sliders before Amelia and I headed off to our cupcake class, which was sea side themed this time. We had a lot of fun! When I got home, I had my call with my dad before passing out.

July 5th – Pokemon Go and Festivals

It was a PACKED Saturday! We got up and headed into town early to run our Pokemon Go picnic, which Amelia was very excited about. There is a special Pokemon which can be shiny this week, and a few of her friends were attending, so we had a fun time. Amelia, Kai and Robin then went over to their other house. Dann and I played Pokemon with a bunch of friends, as it was community day, and ended up running into Amelia and Robin at the town park, where the Sunset Sessions Festival was on! We stayed for a set before heading off to the Smoke and Fire Festival in Ascot, where we enjoyed eating ALL the BBQ food and watching the bands there, before heading home to shower, put things on charge, and relax.

July 6th – Rainy Day

We had a massive rainstorm today, which was very much needed! Dann and I started the day on a fun mission; to find the viral M&S Strawberry Sando, which we could not find for the life of us, so instead made some of our own. It was just a little adventure before we went out to play Pokemon Go as it was Eevee Community Day again today. We joined with a large group for the amount of rain we had, and explored around our town getting more Pokemon. I was quite happy with the amount I got, before we headed home for dinner, which Dann made, then we met up with two of our friends to watch Jurassic World: Rebirth, which was a decent movie!

July 7th – Finishing Tasks

Today, all of my weeks meetings were moved into the one day, which was wild! I spent a lot of the time doing these tasks before heading to Costco to grab a bunch of drinks for an event we are holding on Wednesday. We needed 500 sodas, so it was important to get that out of the way and pack up the car for the trip to Brighton on Tuesday. I then went to Max Monday, where we had our biggest turn out yet, before heading into the Cinema to grab my free popcorn to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Cineworld. I then went home and had dinner while Dann played DnD, before going to bed early!

July 8th – Off to Brighton

Today was the first day of Develop Conference, which is a massive conference that takes place in Brighton. We went into the venue, grabbed our press passes, and started connecting with our friends. Dann and I stopped off for breakfast at The Breakfast Club, which was very good, before hanging out until lunchtime. We went to Minoshimo, like we do every year, with a bunch of friends to get sushi boats! This is one of my favorite parts of the event. Then, Quang, Dann and I went to see the venue for our event tomorrow, before we chatted with a bunch of other friends. In the evening, we went to an event at Shelter Hall, where you can eat as much food as you want from the various food stands while networking. After we had our fill of food and drink, we went to check in at our accommodation before sleeping.

July 9th – Brilliant Indie Treasures

We have been working for months on this gaming event, bringing 50 indie games together to showcase their games. We woke up early, went to the venue, and unloaded the drinks, banners and other bits into the venue before moving our car back. Then, Quang arrived and we unloaded and built 50 monitors, before getting the room ready. We had volunteers (and food) come at 2pm, continued setting up, and developers came from 3pm to set up their displays. I then worked the door for the night, which is where I like to be, and for the last hour enjoyed the games there. It was really a successful, fantastic event. After it ended, we were up until 11 pm moving monitors back into the van and packing up, before we ended up exhausted and collapsed back at our accommodation.

July 10th – Amelia’s Play

Today, we were on a mission! We woke up early, packed up all of our belongings and checked out before going to Develop Conference to see the gaming expo. Dann and I played as many games as we could, networked, grabbed a ice cream by the beach, then headed back home to make it in time for Amelia’s play. Amelia wasn’t technically in the play, but instead was apart of the stage crew and did some of the set design. We really enjoyed watching her friends performance, seeing her from the sides of the stage, and brought her some treats – she did a fantastic job. We then grabbed some Greek takeaway for dinner and went back home to get everything ready for tomorrow!

July 11th – Sports Day

It’s clearly the end of the school year, as there are so many events going on! Robin had sports day today, so I woke up early to get my work done before. Dann made a curry chicken for lunch, then we headed out to the extremely warm Sports Day. Robin participated in the sun in a bunch of activities, which was very fun to watch. One of the other parents who I am friends with brought ice pops, which was a refreshing break from the heat, and it was great to connect with a bunch of the other parents at such a fun event. I joined in the tug of war, and won twice, while Dann did well in the Dad’s race. Then, Dann left to get Amelia and Kai from school, I grabbed Robin and a friend she’d wanted to come over for a week now, and we all headed home. The girls went into the pool, on the trampoline, played Barbies in the house, and had a fantastic time doing pranks. Amelia has been working on a banner for her sports day and Kai went to the gym. After dinner, Amelia did drumming and Robin sorted out her room as we have some big plans for it! My dad called in the evening and everyone else headed to bed.

July 12th – Sunny Saturday

It was so WARM today, Kai went out with his friend first thing in the morning to have an extra long, three and a half hour gym session. Absolutely wild that we have a gym bro. Amelia and Robin primarily played, taking a dip in the pool before lunch, then we all had lunch together and headed out to St Clare’s Summer Fayre, which was a very fun time. There were stalls, we did some shopping, and there were a bunch of games that everyone did too! Kai even did the crockery smash a few times. We then headed to drop Kai off at home before we all headed out to play Pokemon Go, as it was a raid day. We got Starbucks while out and also got Amelia and Robin a bunch of new summer clothing when the raids died down. Then, we headed home for dinner, more swimming, and bedtime.

July 13th – Beach Day

Following the warmth that we have been having lately, we went to the beach today! Starting in the morning, we all had breakfast before Robin started watching the Minecraft Movie again, Kai played on his PC and Amelia played Roblox. A little before lunchtime, we headed out to the beach with our car well packed. When we got there, so many people were in the water and on the sand. It wasn’t too windy or too warm, which was perfect. We went into the water, we hung out on the beach, we ate our picnic. It was just so much fun! Amelia and I found a bunch of sea glass, Robin buried herself, and then sandy we headed home. Kai went to the gym, the rest of us showered, we had dinner and then went to bed – I slept really well after a weekend full of sun.

July 14th – Girls Night

Last full week of school! I woke up early to pack up a bunch of lunches and double-check bags, as it’s a bit of a weird week, so to speak. I had a bunch of meetings scheduled for work today, which is fine, it’s just a lot to get through. Midday, Dann made lunch, and in the afternoon we did our normal pick-up routine. Kai had a school trip, so wasn’t back for pickup, but we all went to Geek Retreat to play Gloomies – a very fun flower-based board game, before heading back to get ready for Girls Night. We had Max Monday in Pokemon Go, with a decent sized group, before we settled in for the night. Amelia did her drumming, Robin her maths, like every day, then Robin selected a movie. We ate dinner in front of the movie and had some fun desserts, before getting our facemasks on. Kai had come home and went straight to DnD with Dann, which they both enjoyed, until everyone came home and went off to bed.

July 15th – Robin’s Concert

Dann and I spent a lot of this morning just getting things ready. Lunches packed, work done, we headed off early to Robin’s school to see her play guitar in her concert. She is so fantastic and we are so glad to be able to support her lessons the way we do. We got fantastic seats and enjoyed watching her play. Then, Dann and I headed home and packed our bags for a roadtrip to Manchester for the Pokemon Go Road Trip bus. This is a smallish event, but we were driving two of our friends, plus another two were road tripping up with us. The drive was long, like 5 hours long, but we arrived and though there were a few bumps along the way, we were all happy to get some rest before tomorrow’s events.

July 16th – Pokemon Go Road Trip Manchester

The weather was fantastic in Manchester! You can see our crew in a lot of the official photos on the Pokmeon Go social medias, which is so fun to see. We had a lot of fun getting really nice shinies, hanging out with each other, and eating food. It was just a good day with good people! We ate out at a pasta place and a burrito place for dinner, I got to interview the head of marketing for Niantic, and we all just had so much shiny luck. The 5 hour drive back home was done very well by Dann, and we both went straight to bed when we got back at 2am, as we had to get up early the next day.

July 17th – Relaxing Day

I woke up at 6am to pack Amelia’s packed lunch and drop it off at school, so she had her things. She had a reward trip, where she got to go to an amusement park and had so much fun. I had a normal work day, followed by picking up an excited Robin, who went right in the pool. We had a normal night, just sort of lounging around due to all the travel the day before, and due to tomorrow being the last day of school for Amelia, with so much planned.

July 18th – Robin’s Trip and End of Year Party

Robin had her turn for an end of year trip today, and Dann and I got selected as volunteers to go! She went to Colchester Park, which was a lot of fun. They spent some time playing outside before we all got a go in the museum. It’s so much fun to see Robin interact with all of her friends and just have a good time. Spending this sort of time while she is at school surrounded by her friends is such a fun, different way to hang out with her! When we got back home, I had baked cupcakes for Amelia’s last day of school party. She had 8 different friends over. I made a nacho bar and ordered some pizzas for the pickier eaters she knows. The girls decorated cupcakes, played in the pool, and really enjoyed hanging out. Kai went to the gym, of course, which just feels very Kai. In the evening I spent a lot of time cleaning before going to bed.

July 19th – Pokemon Go Road Trip London

As a Pokemon Go Ambassador local to London (ish), I was invited to help out at the Pokemon Go Road Trip in London! I woke up early, sorted out some breakfast for our kids, then headed off to London while Dann stayed home to run the Gigatamax battles in the afternoon for our actual group. In London, it rained hard the entire time, so it was a bit too wet! I was in charge of the scavenger hunt, which was so well received and had such a good impact. It was neat to see the differences between these two events. Afterwards, I went out for drinks with some friends before returning home for dinner and to hang out with Dann before bed.

July 20th – Pokemon Go Community Day

With rain threatening all day, Dann and I primarily rested for the morning, doing a few little chores. Then we headed out for Community Day, where a small group braved the rain for shinies. I was pretty exhausted from the week, so took it easy. In the evening I caught up on some work, as I was only working a halfday on Monday, so I had a lot of tasks to do. I am happy with the shinies I got for Community Day though, which included one with a background.

July 21st – I got a Tattoo

A while back, on family day this year, I had Kai, Amelia and Robin each design a little planet. I then set up a date with a tattoo artist to get a sleeve done with these tattoos. Kai had made a detailed planet with a shield and rocket on it, Amelia made a purple, Pokemon-inspired planet, and Robin had colored one in with a lot of different land styles. I spent nearly 5 hours getting these put on my arm, along with some water color and stars to tie it all together. I will be adding to it in the coming years, though Dann’s not sure what type of planet to add to represent him. It’s an amazing thing to showcase! I went to Kai’s DnD in the evening to show him, and he was pumped (I was so surprised! Teenagers aren’t ever pumped about anything), before doing Max Monday and then heading home to rest.

July 22nd – Tabletop Tuesday

Tuesday felt like a very normal day – lots of work, meetings and generally getting things done. We do a lot of cleaning on Tuesdays as well, it’s a sort of house reset day, which is always good to do. Dann even did a whole clean of the inside of the fridge. It was Robin’s last school day, so we dropped in her teacher gifts that she had selected this year for each of her teachers, along with a gift card for each of them. After work, we headed out to spotlight hour with a bunch of friends, before heading home to make gnocchi mac n cheese for the tabletop night we host every other week. This time, we had tons and tons of toppings, which was fantastic. Then, we played Big Boss until midnight, before heading to bed.

July 23rd – Raid Hour

Today was a work day – lots of work catch-up which is starting to be like most Wednesday. I have been very tired since getting my tattoo done, which might be because of the healing, but it’s healing well! I went off to raid hour, which was our food bank donation raid hour, a favorite of mine. There were a lot of people out and we collected a lot of donations as well! After raid hour, we went to Mui and Koko for dinner, with four of our friends, before we all went to the movies. We saw I Know What You Did Last Summer, which was a bit jump-scare filled, but had some nice twists. Dann and I then went shopping for our food bank donations and to spend the cash donated in on food, before heading home and going to bed.

July 24th – Seeing Bats

I was a little ahead of work today, so made a new website! It’s one based on things to do in Harlow. I hope that the greater community of Harlow can really use it! I also spent a lot of the day working and getting ready for the collab happening at the Roblox company I work for. Things are getting really excited! In the evening, we didn’t really have anything planned, but I saw the Essex Bat Group was having a Bat Walk, and I wanted to go! We invited two of our animal loving friends and had a fantastic time learning about and seeing bats.

July 25th – Bad Guys 2

Today we did a lot of cleaning and getting the house sorted. We cleared out one of the back sheds and did a tip run or two! In the afternoon, we went out to see Bad Guys 2, which Robin has been very excited for, as she has the books. I had a bit of work to do throughout the day, so this was a nice break. The movie was good! Funny, simple, and a lot of great animations. We then came home to have our first sweet potato dish of the summer. We normally pick a fun theme for the summer and eat a bunch of dishes inspired by that theme. This time, it’s Sweet Potato Summer! My tattoo is scabbing over a bit and still sore, but it’s getting better each day.

July 26th – Balloons and Pokemon

We have a really busy weekend planned! Today, we woke up, did breakfast, Kai went to the gym instantly, then we went out for Pokemon Go Dynamax Battles – it’s a legendary so it’s really tough. Amelia got a shiny of each of the two legendries out, which was fantastic! We then headed to Balloons and Tunes, which was a balloon festival that we really had a lot of fun at. There were rides, hot air balloons, raves, and music. We ate dinner there before heading home in the evening and settling down with some new hidden object cat games that the girls and I played together.

July 27th – Matilda and Pokemon

A while back, I had booked Matilda, and the day had finally come! We had the same sort of set up as yesterday, with an early morning, then lunch, then heading out to London. We actually found a frozen yoghurt bus outside the train station, so got a really fancy treat, before heading to see Matilda. Our seats were fantastic and everyone very much enjoyed themselves. Even Kai, who wasn’t interested at first due to being a grumpy teenager. The stage was really fantastic! Afterwards, we headed back home, though there was a delay as we got caught in the Epping protests, before getting back and having dinner. After dinner, Kai went to the gym and the rest of us went to do the last day of Dynamax Battle Weekend, where Amelia got two more shinies again! We headed home, got ready for bed, and went to sleep.

July 28th – Blog On Kids Fest

It’s a Monday, but no school means we headed off to Blog On Kids Fest, which Robin and Amelia were really excited for. Kai brought his steam deck and was a good spirit checking out some of the items before grabbing a table and playing his video games. The rest of us really enjoyed trying out loads of toys, meeting PR, and making connections for our blog. Once we were done, we packed up the car with our samples and headed home! Kai went straight to the gym, and Amelia, Robin, Dann and I went to Geek Retreat for our bi-weekly board game session. We played Junior Tension, which was very fun! Then we went to Max Monday where we played Pokemon with a bunch of our friends. Dann went to DnD with Kai, and the girls and I went home. I made dinner, put on a movie, and we had girls night! Nails painted, face masks put on, and a nice relaxing evening until the boys came home and we went to bed.

July 29th – Smurfs and Work Experience

Today was Kai’s first day of work experience! He had been commenting on his CV, which he needed to make for school, not having anything to really bulk it out. Last year, he did a STEM programme, but this year he didn’t have anything planned, so when the chance to do some work experience in a local museum came up, he asked to be signed up. I woke up early, packed his lunch, and he got up to get ready. It’s a full work day, but he seemed to have enjoyed it and is glad to be doing something to help his future. While he was at his activity, Amelia, Robin and I went to see the Smurfs in cinema, which was a very fun movie, before doing some shopping! The rest of our day was pretty low-key, with Spotlight hour in the evening.

July 30th – Pokemon Go Mainly!

Today was a very normal day. Lots of work during the day, with a bit of cleaning here and there. We did some re-setting of the cat’s food area, getting them an automatic feeder for their dry food. I also got a lot of items sent this week for our back to school gift guide. Adding that to all of the toys we got to review, meant I needed to do some photography and sorting! In the evening, we went out to Raid Hour in Pokemon Go, which had a lot of people in the end! Then we went to Mui and Koko for dinner, before heading to the movies with our friends. We saw Superman, which was alright! Some of the fighting scenes were SO LONG. Dann and I headed home after and went right to bed.

July 31st – Flowers and Movies

Kai had his work experience today and I am so proud of him for taking it all so seriously! When he said he wanted to do something to help his CV, I didn’t think he would really stick to it, so to speak. He went in early so we had a free girls day to do whatever we wanted. Amelia, Robin, Dann and I went to Writtle Sunflowers to pick their sunflowers and wild flowers! They also had a sunflower maze and a little word trail, which was very, very fun. We headed home in the afternoon as the Roblox game I work on had their collab launch, which went really well, before we played games and settled in for the evening. After dinner, Amelia, Robin and I headed to the outdoor cinema near us to watch Toy Story and have a pizza or two. We spent some time exploring the area too, as there are a bunch of hammocks, swings, and rock jumping areas! We then headed home for dessert and bed.