Year In Review 37

My Year in Reviews are little logs of all the things we have achieved over the last twelve months from October to October.  Looking back over 2016/17, it has been a busy old year and with Isabella growing and changing every day, I know things are only going to get busier.

October

Waking up on my birthday 2016, I had a serious job ahead.  Being principle photographer at my Wife's Aunties wedding.  This was a different way to spend a birthday, but one that I was grateful for the experience.

A week later we were diving into American traditions on All Hallow's Eve.  With this being Isabella's first Hallowe'en and there being far too many cute little outfits for her, we had to dress up and bless the old folks with some treats

November

Isabella took on her name officially in November.  With Uncle David being the compere for the celebrations, we hosted a Naming Ceremony bringing family and friends together to welcome Isabella to our fold.  It was great to see so many people come to join us for near and far, the ceremony was a great success.  Isabella now has great guardians to offer her support and growth throughout her life, Great Aunty Linda (T'lind), Cousin Paula, and great friend Chelsey supporting the female aspects and with two of the greatest life long friends Rosh and Beewell supporting me with all future boyfriend interviews 

We also started some house renovations with us ripping out the bathroom to start afresh.  I say we, I did an awesome job of supervising when necessary and kind of left my dad to the main bit....in fact all but lifting in the new shower...I helped with that bit

On the 15th November whilst cycling home from work, and lovely man driving a Qashqia decided to plough into the side of me at a junction.  I found the power of flight for what felt like hours until I came crashing down at the rear of his car.  Thankfully, my bike had gone under the car and I went over or else this could have been a lot worse.  Witnesses dragged me cautiously to the side of the road, and the driver went off to pick his wife up from Bingo! (He did come back).  Shaken, bruised and the proud owner of a broken Scaphoid I would now be in a cast for Christmas and beyond.  The worst part of all this was the fact that I was now bound to public transport into Manchester for the foreseeable future.

December

Opting for a "Safe" holiday, we had booked to return to Krakow, Poland.  I saw safe because it was Isabella's first real holiday away and she had a lot more booked for the future so we needed to know how we would cope.  Thankfully she is great on flights, just like her mum as soon as the plane reaches 30 miles per hour, she is asleep!  For the full details of our trip to Krakow, please read here.

We started our new family Christmas Traditions by meeting Father Christmas in Bolton.  The little winter wonderland village they put up is excellent and for the money (£2.00) it is definitely worth it.  Grandad Donovan joined us (as I was still in cast) to help, and we are sure Isabella enjoyed it!

With public transport becoming more and more draining I started to disembark earlier and earlier and start running to work.

When the big day came upon us, we had started so many little traditions that we hope to continue, but more of that can be found in my blog post here (Christmas Day and Traditions).  We definitely need a bigger house!

January

Our good friends Jack and Chelsey tied the knot in January and we were blessed to be there with them to celebrate in a beautiful venue and great celebrations to be had by all.  Jack and Chelsey are great new friends of ours and we look forward to many years of happiness with them.

Another Christmas tradition of celebrating Christmas a couple of weeks later down in Norwich with my brother and his family is always something I look forward to and this year, again, it didn't disappoint.

February

I can't believe it, my little daughter has turned 1 year old.  Still not walking, but causing so much chaos.  I wanted to make a birthday cake for someone special and there is no one more special to me than this little girl.  All the grandparents came to celebrate and adorn her with more gifts confirming that our little place really is little when you have a girl so loved. 

February also saw me determined to set a new half marathon personal best
time and the only way I could see this possible was to return to Blackpool where I had set my record.  Joined by Jack and James and supported by family it was time to pound the promenade.  I will let you read here to see how it turned out

Continuing our trend of holidaying in new places, we were off to Riga in Latvia at the end of February.  A stunning place but my days it was COLD.  For a full Judith Chalmers breakdown, please read here.

March

Only a couple of weeks after her birthday, Isabella took her first steps into toddlerhood.  We found here standing in the middle of the kitchen with nothing around her to hold on to.  the day after it was like she had been walking all her life, and she hasn't stopped since

Clare and I took a long overdue break for ourselves and booked into a luxury spa and relax weekend.  Massages, saunas, gym facilities, pools and just relaxing was on the cards for us both.  I really want to do this again soon, so we will be calling on grandparents again!

Another wedding was upon us, my great buddy Rosh was finally marrying his perfect lady Varsha, but before all this we needed a little celebration.  Unfortunately I was unable to attend his Actual Stag, so I arranged a mini version which involved Mini Golf, Gourmet Burgers, Hot Chilli's and Escape rooms...oh, and a few beers along the way.

April

My Bro likes a good cycle weekend for his birthday and invited his mates from far and near to join him in Lincolnshire for a spin, hot tub, songs and great food.  Due to my bike going under a car and not having a replacement, I did not fancy missing out on this but also I knew that I would be better suited as a support vehicle.  I also took on the role as resident chef for the cycle boys which seemed to go down treat.

May

After a dismal effort last year, I knew I had to up the stakes for Clare's birthday this year.  I have now raised the bar for next year!  We checked into the Rowlands Hotels for one night before venturing to Clare's favourite TV show tour, Emmerdale.  Not being an genuine fan of the show, I was not looking too much towards it, but I actually enjoyed myself, plus it was great seeing Clare take in the backstage experiences and Isabella running riot.

Rosh and Varsha tied the knot twice at the Victoria Warehouse in Manchester, firstly in a traditional

Indian Wedding to which we all adorned Sherwani, Sarees and Salwars.  Clare and Isabella looked stunning and apparently I looked like a magician! The second wedding was the English variation with sit down meal, first dance and big cake.  Both events were mightily impressive and we wish the happy couple all the best for the future.

We closed the month off with a trip to Sorrento to see family.  Taking Isabella to Italy was something I needed to do, but also wanted to show her off to the family out there.  Unfortunately, due to holidays, some of the family could not make it.  There is far too much to fit into a little synopsis of what we did out there, so if you are interested, the full post is here.

June

Although we had opted for the Naming Ceremony as our preferred route, we understand that certain steps need to be taken in "modern" society to better benefit the future of children, so we booked Isabella in for an official christening as well.  Joined again by Grandparents, we celebrated Isabella once more with a recognition of her name and joining a larger community.

July

With the occasional summer day it was not easy to plan many outdoor activites (it seemed to rain every weekend).  One lucky weekend we had nipped across to Haigh Hall for a walk and it just so happened that they had a party in the park planned.  Sitting listening to music whilst sharing ice cream (well, I held the tub) with Isabella was a highlight.  Our little girl is growing everyday and knowing that she loves us is just the greatest feeling in the world.

I had signed up to run the Leigh 10k and wanted to set a new record for the distance (sub 50) so training began and I had never ran this fast before

August

To celebrate out little angel son's birthday we took a day trip to South Lakes Zoo.  Clare and I had previously visited here in January a few years ago, we enjoyed on our visit, but bad press had forced them to improve their facilities.  We noticed a massive difference on our return and Isabella, who is only just understanding animals and the noises the make, was a little overwhelmed with it all.  I would like to bring her back here soon as she is learning every day.

Joined by Rosh, James, my Bro and a couple of friends we were all ready to launch ourselves round the beautiful town of Leigh for the inaugural 10k race.  All with hopes and dreams of new personal bests, the final outcome can be found here.

Sept

September was our month of camping trips.  First of those was in Silverdale, Cumbria with Grandad & Grandma Donovan.  On a working farm with fresh milk, lovely walks and the shore just a stone throw away, we needed to test how Isabella would cope with the great outdoors.  Again, she fit in perfectly and the freedom was something she just lapped up.  Running around fields and eating fresh ice cream would be two of the things high on her "love" list, but just seeing her happy face was enough for us.  We knew that our week away in Norwich would not be an issue




Our week away in Norwich, camping at the Wild Duck was an issue.  Not down to our little family, but the weather was atrocious.  Our tent was not sufficient for the winds, rain and general weather that the East Anglican climate had prepared for us.  Thankfully, my Brother and family and hired a caravan for the week even though they only live around the corner.  We moved in to the warmth and security of the 6 berth which made the week much more bearable.  The facilitates on offer are excellent, Isabella was a big fan of the mini disco and it was the confirmation that tent holidays are a "on hold" part of the Davies Tradition




October

What way to finish a fantastic 12 months, but with another holiday.  This time we were joined by Sue Sue & Kev in Ibiza.  Clubbing, drinking and partying until the early hours of the morn were not on our agenda for the sleepy town of Es Cana.  It was more chilling by the pool, afternoon siesta's and pirates.  The full holiday details can be found here:

Based on our love for anything Eastern European and the successful holidays to Latvia and Krakow in my 37th year, Clare thought it only fitting to take me out for a good slap up meal to celebrate my turning another year older and ever closer to the big 4-0.  The Baltic Cellar in Bolton's new food quarter was superb, great food, great company and and great year to look back on.