Happy New Year - 2020 We Are Ready For You!

As another year draws to a close, well actually a whole decade comes to an end this year! I am once again reflecting on the year, and the last decade. Like always there have plenty of highs and lows but I made it, still smiling (just about!) and ready to see what another year has instore for us all. So come get us 2020, we are as ready as we can be!

Some of the highlights for all of us this year have been the memories made with the people most important to us. The new experiences both me and the kids have been lucky enough to have and the new friends we have made along the way.

2019 was all about the experiences for us, we chose holidays and days out over toys and "things". We laughed, cried, got lost and muddy. We camped, caravanned and even had our own private hot tub (well for the week at least anyway).

We have been "up north" for a camping trip with family where the weather wasn't kind but we battled horrendous rain to pitch a tent. We ate BBQ food wrapped in blankets and the kids toasted marshmallows over a real fire. We saw on camping chairs and in the grass, we watched the kids play games until darkness fell (and sometimes even after that) without even a hint of tech for the whole week.

We went "down south" for a family escape, our own caravan in Paignton with its very own hot tub. Not even the rain could stop us and the kids quickly fashioned the "umbrella tub" where they in the hot tub with their brollies acting as a tent over the top. Life was slower that week. We played board games and visited the arcade, we visited the pier and walked along the beach in the rain. We grew stronger that week as a family and really took time to reconnect after school and work sometimes feels like it pulls us all apart.

James has been smashing it at the swim club, entering lots of galas and competitions and coming away with the medals to match. Loads of PB's and getting stronger all the time. Evelyn found a love for horse riding and whilst she has only had a few lessons so far she absolutely loves her new found hobby and can't wait for even more lessons in the new year!

We got pets! Yep that's right, two little guinea pigs to join our little family. We named them Jeff and Gary and they have been with us since the end of October this year. They have slotted in perfectly and the kids adore snuggling up to them on an evening.

We have been to various zoos including Marwell and Bristol zoo, dipped our toes in the sands at beautiful beaches in Paignton, Dawlish and even in Lincolnshire +  many more. We have bounced to our hearts content at Airhop Bristol and even got the chance to visit Father Christmas at 4 Kingdoms. As well as being lucky enough to visit some amazing family attractions such as Cadbury World and some lovely holidays too. We even got transported to a whimsical scene when a poppy field near our home bloomed into a sea of red, it really did feel like a dream walking through the beautiful flowers.

Oh and I can't forget that 2019 was the very first year I officially completed as self employed. I did it! I found something for me and I managed it for an entire year. This little blog is a place where I splurge my thoughts, I try to share helpful information for others and of course share honest reviews too. But 2019 it helped me earn a little money, it helped me feel like a person again, someone that was contributing towards the family bills and I can't tell you how flipping awesome that felt.

So thank you. Thank you to every single one of you who took the time to read my blog, comment, like, share or just stop by. It means more than you can ever know and I hope that in 2020 I can share lots more honest parenting content, helpful information and reviews (as well as lots more too!).

I hope that 2020 is amazing for us all, I hope every single person ready this managed to achieve some of their dreams and goals but that you also all find loads more because we all need dreams and goals to try and achieve to help keep us going.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year filled with love, friendship and happiness.

xXx