When I started writing this we were barely halfway through the first week of the summer holidays, and despite having something to do every day, I was hearing those two familiar words...

"I'm bored."

My solution was to make sure the kiddo was fed and watered, and then I disappeared into another room for a couple of hours for some uninterrupted work. I insisted to him that he was perfectly capable of entertaining himself and only to come and find me if it was an actual emergency.

The exaggerated sighs echoed through the house for a while before I resorted to headphones.

And then I caught myself wishing school would hurry up and start again.

I don't want to wish this time away. I genuinely love hanging out with this kid — he's a blast.

I stopped forcing the pockets of work, and simply enjoyed being the fun Mum.

We've been on holiday, he's had a football camp, and our house has basically been the hang-out location of the summer. We've played tennis, been swimming & cycling, have taken multiple beach trips, and played and watched football. So. Much. Football.

Nice one Spain!

It's now the end of July and I'm only just now back to planning back to school photo sessions!

He's with someone else at the moment, and this is as good a time as any!

I actually can't believe we only have two and a half weeks left!

The summer has a funny way of disappearing. One minute you're wondering how you'll fill six weeks, and the next you're buying new school shoes because last year's pair suddenly look three sizes too small.

This is exactly why I'm always late with promoting back to school photography sessions.

I'm aware that everyone is in the same boat — the last-minute ahhh, it would be so nice to have beautiful reminders for the milestone day of nursery, or P1, or S1.

Not to discredit the other years — they are also monumental. There is something about the major transitions, though, which brings something a bit more to the photo sessions.

Uniforms for the monumental transitions are still crisp and stain-free, and the knees haven't been worn through. Everything actually fits, or might even be adorably a bit too big!

On a side note — what do you do with stained school uniforms?

It feels wasteful to throw them away, but I wouldn't donate something covered in paint and mystery marks either. And there's only so many old polo shirts you can turn into cleaning cloths before even professional cleaners would say, "I think we're good, thanks."

Anyway... back on track.

My favourite location for back to school photos is currently being renovated, so I went on the hunt for somewhere new.

I've wandered around plenty of local parks, but finding somewhere that ticks all the boxes is harder than you'd think.

We need toilets, a café, somewhere to shelter if the Scottish weather does what Scottish weather does, decent parking, and ideally somewhere that isn't overflowing with dogs and passers-by.

Don't get me wrong, I'm obsessed with dogs. Please let your pup come and say hello.

During a photoshoot, though, this can be devastating for nervous children.

Bellahouston, Rouken Glen and Newlands Parks have all been in the running.

As I've been writing this, I've made my decision.

This year's location for my back to school sessions will be Newlands Park!

It has so many perfect hidey holes, lovely curated scenery and plenty of variety. It's clean, easy to get to, has ample parking, and there's somewhere nearby for a little post-session treat.

Keep an eye out over the next few weeks for the final details!

xx

Lindsy