We set off in the rain but nothing could dampen our spirits. We arrived in plenty of time, waaaay too early and took our time exploring the theatre, waiting for our friends to arrive. We bought Chuckle Brother's memorabilia (we've got enough to last a life time, I think our contribution alone will be enough for the brothers to go on holiday!) and went for a drink while we waited. The girls excitedly looked round and when we sat down for a drink they explored the outside world through the windows splashed with sparkly rain. At 4.30pm we waited in the foyer for our friends to arrive and, thankfully we found a couple of chairs for the girls to sit on. You can see how tired Bethany is in this photo, she's been mostly pale and lethargic for weeks now but that grin never left her face. Eloise, well, she's bonkers, as you can see! I think she may have also been slightly excited, what do you think?!
We finished off the evening with group hugs outside the theatre before our friends and us all headed home in opposite directions. We had a wonderful night and I can't remember when I last saw the girls so full of excitement and happiness, it was positively oozing out of them.
Today Bethany is tired and cranky and, perhaps pessimistically, we wait for the next symptoms to arrive. Her conjunctivitis is back and she looks to have a cold sore - although she's never had one before so we'll have to have that checked out. How much more can her immune system take? I am amazed (and ecstatic) that her liver numbers are holding up but I am worried that we will be seeing Christmas or the New Year in hospital. It's amazing to think that she's managed so many months of being stable and all of a sudden her immune system is being hit hard, over and over. We have many special events planned over the Christmas period so here's hoping we don't miss any through ill health.
Let the Christmas Season and all the merriment begin!
We met up with Sarah and William at the National Railway Museum in York for a photo op. Sarah is writing a 
As you can see, William is very interested in food. It's a shame he's not as interested in eating it! :)
Wouldn't you like to know what they are looking at?!
William, the gentleman, hugged and kissed the girls before we parted company and called out "I love you," as we walked away. Bless him, I wanted to take him home. Sarah, you know where we are, we are always happy to accept large parcels with airholes! 
As well as the quad biking Bethany and Eloise completed a little assault course in a playground on the camping site. Bethany kept falling off and needed holding up. Eloise wouldn't hold my hand and waltzed through it. It made me well up to watch Bethany struggle through. It reminded me of a time pre-transplant when she would have refused to even attempt it because it scared her. Actually, the fact that she struggled made me well up a bit more but in a good way. It reminded me that despite everything being more difficult for her, more of a struggle, harder work for the same or lesser results, she battles through because she it determined to be the same as her friends, not weaker ( I mean that in a physical sense, we've made it very clear to Bethany that everyone has something different about them and it's not a weakness to need a transplant or to stuggle to keep up with peers). She has such a fighting spirit. It's great for dealing with liver disease, transplant and all that goes along with it... it's not so great to have a child with such determination when she doesn't want to tidy up or go to bed! :)
Eloise is my little spider, she can scale anything. What you can't see in this photo is that Bethany was at the other side, on the bottom rope, desperately hanging on. Eloise would have climbed as high as the clouds if the ropes had gone that high. She's the one who is going to have broken bones to boast about as she gets older! Thankfully we have none to boast about yet.
Towards the end of the day everyone gathered together and all the children released a balloon in memory of the children who are no longer with us. It was such an emotional moment. I feel such an ache for those who have lost a child, it was hard not to cry - too hard. I thought of the precious children who have passed away from the Special Kids group and our precious liver children who are no longer with us. And after we watched the balloons float away in the sky I gave Bethany and Eloise the biggest hug ever. I am thankful every day for the organ donor who is allowing us to have these days together. I don't think about the future, it could be long and wonderful or it could all be taken away tomorrow. But no one can take away today. We have all of these wonderful memories to carry with us when our hearts feel heavy. 
We managed to fit in an impromptu day trip to the seaside. It slotted in on a day when I should have been getting lots of household jobs done and packing for our weekend away starting the next day. But you can't get these days back, right? So why not make a memory. 
Thank goodness for friends. Instead of having to be assessed and wait months (or forever) to get a buggy from the NHS a wonderful friend loaned us her buggy. So when we take Bethany out and she gets tired she can have a rest without it spoiling the day. She is getting better in crowds but still needs to hide away to cope with them sometimes. The photo above shows one example of how she manages it. She gets in the buggy, hides away under her hood or hands and goes into her own world for a few minutes. It works wonderfully for her and stops her getting distressed. She really is on another planet for a few minutes, completely zoned out. When she decides to come back to our world she has a long daydream story to tell us about where she just went and she feels much better for it. Hooray for a child who has taught herself coping strategies. You might say that hiding away is not a coping strategy but I think it's a bloomin' good one. She's worked out what she needs to reduce her stress levels, it doesn't cause anyone else any harm and she feels better for it. Job done. 
The girls had a go on the trampolines and rides on the seafront and we wandered along looking in random shops before ending up at the top end of the south beach, by the lighthouse. We stopped for tea and made friends with some cheeky seagulls who decided our friendship was well worth it when they saw we had food. The girls were fascinated with watching them close up so gave them an incentive to stay by throwing the odd bit of cheese toastie towards them! 
As you can see from the photos, it lasted a while and we made a lot of feathered friends! 
After we had finished our food we stayed for a while, watching the seagulls, despite the 90 mph winds (ok, that might be a slight exaggeration, but only slight) then caught the open topped bus back to the end of the beach where our car was parked. Pops had the joy of sitting with the girls looking at the scenery on the top deck whilst I sat, all forlorn, on the bottom deck, trying to stop an overloaded pram from tipping up in a bus which was clearly not designed for buggies! 
We started day two off with our team, all meeting outside the hotel to walk to the sports centre. This time I managed to get the girls toiletted and ready for the correct time! :) We walked in a huge group, Bethany holding the lead person's hand with Eloise and I following behind. Gosh the leaders walked fast! The team stretched out across Coventry centre, snaking it's way towards to sports centre. Bethany and Eloise were delighted to find we had been in this building before to attend a birthday party, what are the odds? So we walked through the building towards the sports hall saying, "Oooh, I remember this corridor... ooh, I remember those swimming baths, oooh, I remember this glass wall...." although they weren't as impressed when they realised there wasn't a party at the end of the corridor! lol. Our team sat together and I managed to fit in a chat with a couple of members from other teams that I know from elsewhere. It was lovely to feel like I knew several extra faces in the crowd and it helped to add to the atmosphere as, clearly, other people knew members of other teams too. It meant that when the kids competed we were screaming for everyone, not just our own kids, and everyone was genuinely happy for whoever won, enjoying the fun and solidarity. 
Today we were lucky enough to have a mini Liver Families meet up. Danielle and Justine met Sharon and I with all of the children at the Herbert Art Gallery. See how upmarket we get when we go to Coventry, eh?! The children played and entertained themselves (a lot of photography and art work went on) while the adults had a drink and a natter. Then we began touring the gallery in earnest! The children spent a long time playing with the generous choice of dress up outfits. Ethan became many different princes from various different lands and Bethany became several different princesses! We moved on to another area but I had to push Bethany along because she found a computer - she loves interactive stuff involving a computer. We found some building blocks in an open plan area then headed to a section full of sensory equipment and stickers. Can you get a better combination for kids?! We spent a long time in that room, completing sticker sheets and making a lot of noise with the instruments. Bethany found a touch screen which taught her about butterflies and she parked herself there while the others played instruments and ran around - another computer, you see! 
Sharon, did I tell you I love you? Ah, that's what friends are for. Sharon drove to the British Transplant Games event for us so that I didn't have to find the way on my own. Our plan for today was to go along to the track and field events, cheer on our team members then make our way home. But, as you'll see as you read on, we found the atmosphere pulling us in again and decided to stay a little longer - another night. 
