A few weeks ago (Oct. 25-29) was half term, basically a week long break from school. During the half term breaks KK runs day trips and kids are invited to go on one of them based on their interests. I went on two of the trips, Tuesday and Wednesday.
On Tuesday it was the bike trip. Since it had rained a lot overnight the original plan had to be changed since it was so wet outside. So we biked to North Tyneside and went bowling! I was winning on my lane for the first 5 frames or so but ended up finishing in the middle. After the bowling alley, we continued on and biked to a park where the kids ran around for awhile. Then we continued on and rode through some pretty woods although the paths were really muddy and there were lots of puddles. Needless to say we all looked like we jumped in a mud puddle by the end of the bike ride! In total, I was told we biked about 13 miles which is a pretty good distance for 8-12 year olds (and 23 year olds)! Everyone was pretty tired by the end and some of the kids needed encouragement the last mile or two to keep pedaling. They kept saying “I’m knackered”! It was a tiring trip.
On Wednesday we went to a brick making factory in Gateshead. They had something like 8 million bricks on stock! Or maybe it was 800,000….anyway, it was a lot! It was pretty cool seeing how the bricks were made, the gigantic kiln they had and how the special shaped bricks were made. After lunch we had the chance to make a sculpture/mural that will be brought back to KK when it has been fired. It will be neat to see the finished project. Some of the kids were really cute and said some hilarious things on the trip, even the ones the normally give us trouble. It is always nice to see them in a different setting and catch a glimpse of their good side which we know exists. They were all proud of their work too!
Since I missed Common Ground on Tuesday I went on Monday instead because Melissa was unable to go on Monday like she normally does. Monday was great! Monday is the busiest day at Common Ground with a lot of people coming in for support, lots of donations coming in and lots of activity in general! I also went to Common Ground on Thursday like normal.
Since Abby and I had nothing to do on Friday we took the opportunity to go to Alnwick Castle (pronounced An-ick)! This castle is still lived in and St. Cloud State University actually has a study abroad program based there! I saw several signs that said “Private: St. Cloud State University”.
It was a neat castle but what we were really excited about was the parts of the first and second Harry Potter movie were filmed there! I was super excited at one point when I walked through a gate and immediately recognized the area where they had their first flying lesson! 
We took a tour that told us where all the movie sights were :) That night when we went back to our flat we started watching the movie but only got about 20 minutes in before we were both asleep on the couch. I still need to finish watching to see all the places I recognize. We felt like total nerds but were also really excited about it! Sadly, there are 20 or so filming locations for each of the Harry Potter movies….so far we have been to 2. It was a nice way to spend a free day! 
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