Iceland - snow and lights

We have just returned from a wonderful trip to the UK (to visit family) and to Iceland (to explore). The boys have completed 55 and 46 flights (6 and 4 years old). We love to travel with them and see how they benefit from all the experiences they encounter. 

Here we share all our highlights from our trip to Iceland and all the attractions we managed to squeeze into our short time there.

Arriving 

We got to several great places on our trip including Whales of Iceland which has its own Orca whale climbing frame/play area!. We visited a thermal pool in the small village of Hafnarfjorour where we were staying. 

We spent three nights in Iceland and had such a wonderful time. It is  a magical land and the energy of the country is amazing. We all loved playing in the snow and managed to go sledging with our friends over at Slow Travel with Kids who also loaned us all the winter gear we needed for the boys.

We also spent an afternoon at the Blue Lagoon where the boys enjoyed swimming and playing in the thermal waters while the air temperature was -5! We wondered why they made all children wear armbands in the lagoon even when they could swim but once in the water we realized it was the safest way to see all children, as visibility was very minimal amid the steam!

On our last night, we were blessed with a show of the Northern lights. The Aurora is a spectacular thing to see and we were fortunate to see it from the bedroom window!  

Last night - dream come true 

Iceland is a wonderful place to visit with small children and a place we will be sure to visit again in the future. It is full of wonder, snow and what can only be described as magic. The only downfall for the kids was the smell of the natural hot water (eggy farts, apparently)!!!

Chapter books we've read in 2018

This year we've decided to show you all the books we've read with the boys. They are now 4 and 6 (in a few days) and they both love to be read to. We read chapter books with them more and more and thought it would be interesting to add our selection for you. We also read picture books, especially with the 4 year old, but we've decided to stick to chapter books for this post. Every time we finish a book in 2018 it will be added here (affiliate links). I am adding the boys ratings with their opinion of the best bits and the lows - and be warned, they are extremely critical! Enjoy, and if you have any great suggestions, please let us know in the comments below or over on Facebook.

The Lion, The witch and the wardrobe.
Boys rating 3 stars and 0 stars!
Best bits: the end and killing the witch.
 Lows: The turning to stone

Magic school bus: Electric storm
Boys rating 5 stars
Best bits: When the magic school bus goes small

Tom's Midnight Garden
Boys rating: 3 and 0 stars
Best bits: Travelling back in time
Lows: The start. I hated it!

Zoey and Sassafras -
Caterflies and Ice
Boys rating 5 stars
Best bits: Baby caterflies and
 funny sassafras
Grown up caterflies but not the salt ruining
 the catnip plants!

The Christmasaurus
Boys rating 5 and 4 stars
Best bits: the christmasaurus
lows: The hunter

The Velveteen Rabbit
Boys rating: 5 stars
Best bit: real rabbits
The fairy

Gobbolino the witch's cat
Boys rating: 3 and 4 stars
Best bit: turns into kitchen cat
the end
Lows: abandoned, the start 

Ask Oscar
Boys rating: 5 stars
Best bits: when he finds the dog
All of it!

Magic Tree House:
Valley of the Dinosaurs
Boys rating: 5 stars
Best bit: stroking dinosaur
flying on the pterasor

The otter who wanted
to know
Boys rating: 5 stars
Best bits: the ride in the
airplane

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Boys rating: 5 stars
Best buts: chocolate!

James and the giant peach
Boys rating 4 stars
Best bits: the seagulls
Lows: the aunts

I, Houdini
Boys rating: 5 stars
Best bits: we want a hamster!

Magic tree house:
Night of the Ninjas
Boys rating: 5 stars
Best bits: Ninjas, Magic

Magic tree house:
Adventure in the amazon
Boys rating: 5 stars
Best bits: rain forest and animals

Magic tree house:
Moon mission
Boys rating: 5 stars
Best bits: mouse, space

Magic tree house:
Mammoth to the rescue
Boys rating: 5 stars
Best bits: Ice age people,
secret caves

The Magician's Nephew
Boys rating: 5
Best bits: meet aslan

Prince Caspian
Boys rating: 5
Best bits: he turned
into a prince!

The Horse and his Boy
Boys rating: 5
Best bits: he meets the girl

The voyage of the Dawn Treader
Boys rating: 5
Best bits: the end

The pod and the bog
Boys rating: 5
Best bits: all of it

Charlie and the great
glass elevator
Boys rating: 5
Best bits: shooting knids

Who was Albert Einstein?
Boys rating: 5
Best bits: he's the best
thinker in the whole world

A mouse called wolf
Boys rating: 5
Best bits: the mouse when he sings

Magic Tree House
Diving with Dolphins
Boys rating: 5
Best bits: the dolphin and
the submarine

Magic Tree House
A Wild West Ride
Boys rating: 3
Best bits: echo, horses
Lows: ghosts

Magic Tree House
Lions on the Loose
Boys rating: 5
Best bits: Giraffe, all of it

Magic Tree House
Icy Escape
Boys rating: 5
Best bits: polar bear mother, huskies

The Sheep-pig
Boys rating: 5 and 4
Best bits: trained to be a
sheep-pig
Lows: the wolves

Ace
Boys rating: 5
Best bits: getting a skinful!

Daggie Dogfoot
Boys rating: 5
Best bits: all of it,
swimming

Who was King Tut?
Boys rating: 4
Best bits: when he died
Lows: the fights

The Animals of Farthing Wood
Boys rating: 3 & 5
Best bits: the fox and vixen
Lows: the humans

Alice in Wonderland
Boys rating 5 & 3
Best bits: the rabbit
Lows: the queen

Winnie the Pooh
Boys rating: 5
Best bits: when pooh bear
catches himself in a hole

The Wind in the Willows
Boys rating: 5 & 4
Best bits: the crazy toad
Lows: the toad!

Dragons at Crumbling Castle
Boys rating: 3
Best bits: Dragons
Lows: some of the stories are
boring.

Who was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart?
Boys rating: 4
Best bits: piano
Lows: he's not a mouse!

Magic tree house 17-24
Boys rating: 5
Best bits: all the books together!

Gulliver's Travels
Boys rating 5
Best bits: when he's tiny

Goodnight stories for
rebel girls (aka: the ladies book)
Boys rating 5
Best bits: finding out about the alive
ones and watching the songs.