Well, what a year it’s been!

I don’t really know where to start – so I’ll start at the beginning …

January –

Was a complete and utter write off as I had a really bad case of the flu and daddy had to do a fab job of looking after the kids and house. It was a crappy way to start the year but it got better from there ….

February –

The best month – my birthday month – I was over the flu and back to feeling my normal self again just in time for a few adventures. There were winter family walks, meals out with friends, birthday celebrations a weekend spa break in Bath where we also viewed the Royal Cresent, drank from the fountain of youth, took a trip to the Roman Baths and had the most romantic break away for two.

Still in February, there was a family trip to the zoo and a back-to-basics wet and dirty (but mega fun) day trip to Manley Mere – definitely worth a visit!

March –

The youngest mini me’s birthday, which meant the month started off with lots of celebrating, princess dress wearing, pink, sparkly, glitter throwing fun! Then onto Mother’s Day and a trip to the Ice Cream Farm where we stuffed our faces with all kinds of flavours. During March we also made our own jelly sweets, rocked our socks for charity, ate out at the Dessert Cafe, took a trip to the park, celebrated Easter, made bonnets, had a hair cut, dined out with family and took a very very windy trip to Southport (where I was a tad bit disappointed as there was no sea??)

April –

April began with a trip to the Science Museum in Birmingham where we had so much (learning) fun and a visit to the Planetarium – what an experience! Definitely an idea to keep for a rainy day! Onwards to the Clip’n’Climb centre for the girls. Another fantastic rainy day out being brave a fearless! Forest walks, play parks, the eldests’ birthday celebrations, picnics in the park, bowling and a trip to the beach.

May –

Moving onto May, there was back garden BBQ’s, biker day at work and we celebrated daddies birthday with a ferry trip to Ireland! Ireland was an utterly awesome family adventure where we visited Dublin and Belfast and all that’s in between. Days at the beach, bus tours, a looooong scenic drive down the A2, lots of fun in the sun, Temple Bar (with the kids!), lots of ice cream eating (pooh bear ice cream is a must in Ireland!), amusement parks, history learning and much more! An incredible month!

June –

Was a ferry ride home from beautiful Ireland, a trampoline gymnastics show for the eldest (proud mum and dad moments right there!), fun fair in the park, picnics in the sun, yoga practice by the lake, back garden water fights, a friends wedding and new windows for the house! Phew!

July –

July started out with a kid free weekend for mum and dad, dining out for breakfast and a rock concert! What a night! We danced so hard that night! We took a break by the lake and had a nature walk with the children, picnics at Tittesworth Reserviour, the youngest first school assembly and the kids broke from school for the summer holidays – where we took a road trip to Cornwall! Newquay was a blast and I would go back in a heart beat. We had so much fun together and made so many memories. Such a beautiful place!

August –

August was an adventure in its own. Mummy got a new bike so there was lots of bike trip down the canal and lunch at the pub. A trip to Abraham Heights where we all over come a few fears of heights, cable cars and deep underground caves. Topped off with cream tea on the veranda and a beautiful view. We played laser quest with friends, visited the farm and took a triple Gullivers World – a fantastic day out – even if it did rain we all had a lot of fun on the rides and watching the pantomime!

September –

The kids were finally back at school (yay! Said mum), so a little bit more routine was back in order yet still lots of fun to be had. First up was a train ride at Rudyard Lake and a picnic by the bay, fancy dress days at school, a colourful trip to Blackpool, amusements and rides all night long – the children love it here! My favourite adventure of September has to be the National Forest Adventure Farm where we raced sheep, played all day, took a tractor ride and picked our own potatoes – I swear we were eating potatoes with everything for around 4 weeks! Ha ha! The children joined a new dance club and were straight in at the deep end learning new dance routines for the Christmas show. We baked a million apple crumbles, made autumn wreaths and had a 10mile bike ride with friends at Manifold Valley. Gosh we ached so so bad after that!

October –

In October we ate pancakes! Yes, yes, this was the highlight of the month. We baked brownies, attended parties, decorated the living room, took a stroll through the enchanted forest, another school assembly for the youngest and we had a day out at the stepping stones along the river Dove. Here we climbed mountains, put coins in the wishing tree and taught the girls how to skim a stone. Another adventure at tittesworth making a Bivvy, it rained in the forest and we warmed up with cream tea at the cafe.

Still in October – my highlight of the month is always Halloween! We got dressed up, well, the children did and we were off for a spooktacular day at the National Adventure Forest. We got lost in the corn field, picked our own massive pumpkins, did all the scare zones with the kids who were fearless. An amazing whole day out with the girls. So much fun!

November –

November began with a trip to Inflatanation! How incredible was this place! Oh we ached so so bad, such an exhausting day – for the adults anyways, the kids were buzzing, bouncing about all over the place all day. Bonfire night is always another favourite of mine, we got wrapped up warm and snug and head out into the darkness for a whole night of illuminations lighting up the night sky. Magnificent! Shopping trips for mummy began -the dreaded Christmas shop had begun! We celebrated our 10th year for my brothers kidney transplant from my father with an entire family gathering! A trip to the Christmas Gift Fair at the NEC, Bonkerz Bingo and a curry night with friends

December –

The first of December came and we were hit with a North Pole Breakfast from our North Pole Elves, they’d moved back in for another month of festive activities. We decorated the house ready for Christmas, visited Santa at his Grotto, went to the Christmas Fair at the park, drank lots of hot chocolate, watched the Nativity Show at school where my youngest was Mary! Star role right there! Took a trip to Star City to watch the Grinch at the cinema, had a festive breakfast with Santa and topped it off with a Lantern Walk at Chester Zoo. This was a magical evening. Definitely worth a winter visit.

The girls had their Christmas dance shows, where I cried my eyes out all the way through. We chilled and watched a hundred festive films and the Big Man finally arrived on Christmas Eve. Christmas morning was just magical. The girls were excited with their gifts, the grandparents came for a visit and we had a delicious family dinner … and ate lots of chocolate. Christmas was fab!

Wow, what a year! I actually didn’t realise we had so many adventures as a family. What an incredible year it’s been. It looks like 2019 has a lot to live up to!

What do you have to look forward to in 2019?

Happy new year everyone & happy adventures

nay nay x