2016 Our Year

Not one single blog post for 2016. I feel I must write one before the year is out.

What to write?

In 2016 we celebrated 10 years of marriage, one 6th and one 9th birthday. Lots and lots of little moments to treasure in between everything I've written down.

Early in the year the children and I paid a visit with friends to friends by Bassenthwaite Lake (the only Lake in the Lakes) Keswick, Cumbria. All our children have known each other since they were only a few weeks old. It was a lovely trip, one that we hope to make again soon.

 

Thinking back, my highlight of the year was our long weekend on a narrow boat. J's birthday treat in September. The children managed to get an early finish from school, we drove a couple of miles up the road and transferred all our bits and bobs over to the boat. The guy from the hire company told us all we needed to know (well he told J and I hoped he listened) and he travelled with us on the boat until we got under the first bridge...then he just jumped off, gave us a wave and said you'll be fine!!!

We spent the next few days on a small stretch of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal (starting at Bradley and East Marton being furthest point). Loving the sunshine, the locks, the making up of the double bed of an evening, the slow pace of life. I was chief lock keeper, which I really enjoyed. Doing this means you get to open and close all the locks, you don't have to be in the lock or steer the boat, and you get to meet all the other people travelling up and down the canal. It was nice to hear their stories, whether they were holidaying or living on their boat.

Fish and Chips for our first meal on the boat

Using their whistles to call in the cows. All before breakfast.

My husband's highlights of the year: 
The canal boat trip.
Taking our daughter to a festival to watch Noel Gallagher.
Taking our daughter for her first bike ride on his Vespa.
All the holidays and mini breaks we took this year.

Scotland: Seal spotting.

Cheesecake and wine on the beach (my favourite evening).

J bought a canoe (bucket list!).

Cornwall:

First on the beach, what a breathtaking view.

The girl's highlights of the year:

Watching Wicked at the Bradford Alhambra Theatre.

Going to the top of Blackpool Tower. 

Her beach hut birthday party with specially requested fairy cake.

And all of the above.

The boy's highlights of the year:
Visiting Knowsley Safari Park, and the monkeys eating the windscreen wipers!
We rescued a hedgehog from our garage and took it for a road trip to a rescue centre.
He lost his first tooth. He has since lost another 2...one down the sink and one in his tummy.
And all of the above.

and in December we went to visit Santa in a cave...

A Frozen Party in June

Our little girl turns 7 this week.  Can I have an Elsa dress? and a Frozen party?..

Where did I go? Pinterest of course...pin! pin! pin!

I bought this dress from ebay...

 It fit me ok! This is how it looked on Miss M...

 Snip, tuck and add 10 metres of turquoise sequins...

 and...

you have one happy Elsa party girl...

Onto the cake: It started life as a really nice madeira cake...

and then it got the Frozen treatment (3 boxes of icing sugar later!)...

The party food: Pictures not included here are the hot offerings (pizza and party sausages)...

Anna's Frozen hearts (white chocolate dipped strawberries)

Olaf's noses

white chocolate dipped marshmallows, blue coconut

Snowflake biscuits

Room decor: Blue and white balloons, lots of 3D snowflakes (white, silver and turquoise), paper snowflakes (done the old fashioned way), film quotes in frames, white, purple and blue flowers!

Games: Pin the nose on Olaf, Kristoff's ice stack, snowball toss. We also had the film running and the trampoline in the garden got some serious bounce...

The party went really well and enjoyed by all.  It's blummin' hard work for 2 hours of fun though. Nx