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.

Year In Review - 36

October - Just after the conclusion of Back to the Future Part II, after the cheers when the date was shown, Rosh leaned across the cinema seats and said, "Happy Birthday Dude!".  I was feeling great, this was a new way to start the next year and what a year it was to be.

November - Those that know our history with pregnancy would be shocked if I said that we had no issues through the full 9 months. November had us back an forth to the hospital on numerous occasions, all draining but positive as we left.  Clare had a couple of procedures to keep Baby Sparkles cooking longer.  I have kept a log of the pregnancy issues here (Diary of a new Dad) and if you need a little lift of hope in life, seeing what Clare endured for this time period and still came out smiling, she is inspirational.

December - Just a few weeks shy of the Christmas period, the company I was working for (Vix Technology) had decided to close it's Bolton doors and therefore make the workforce redundant. Only a few weeks earlier I had suggested to Clare that I should look to get a proper job as I had just been ticking the days off with Vix and was not enjoying the role at all.  This was the push I needed and instead of viewing it negatively, I saw the potential it gave me.  So the job hunting began.

At the end of December, an event I have been dreading for fear of prequel syndrome, yet looking forward to because of Mr Abrahms' direction.  I attended the Force Awakens midnight screening with 100's of fellow fans.  We all sat, filled with anxiety until the famous crawl began.  As soon as John Williams' signature tune echoed out into the auditorium ....my full review can be found here.

Just a week before Christmas I left Vix Technology ready for a new start in the new year with Bunzl Healthcare

January - On the first working day of the month I started at Bunzl Healthcare as a Category Buyer.
It's a few years since I was the new boy in the office, but the team really welcomed me and there was much learning ahead.  Every day I was on mobile alert as Baby Sparkles was due at any point, the Bunzl team drew together a sweepstakes on the due date.

We were not short of a few final scares and hospital trips, even to the point of a potential early delivery, but Clare remained strong and protective of our precious cargo

February - With the Malta Marathon looming and my wife heavily pregnant, training was becoming more and more difficult.  I could not go out for a full 4 hour trek around the north west when Baby Sparkles could arrive at any moment.  So on my final long run of the season I asked some run buddies to join me on a 4 hour circuit around our local estate.  Great friends and family supported me for a full 20 miles to which not a single step was done alone.  Video here

After a couple of weeks on high alert the inducement day finally arrived.  Contractions had ceased a few days earlier and everything was seemingly normal, but how long can our lives remain normal?  At 4am on the 17th February 2016 we were blessed with the birth of Isabella Christina Rose....the journey to get her here was a massively difficult time, but everything was forgotten the moment she arrived.  For the full story, please read here

March - With a very understanding wife and a 9 day old baby, I boarded a plane with a destination of the sunny island of Malta.  It was heartbreaking, but I had done the training and Clare was insistent that I go.  The Marathon was an amazing experience and one that formed some great run friends. Malta was a stunning place to visit, but I missed my little angel far too much.  My lovely wife was reduced to very little sleep and needed me home to help.  The full synopsis of the run can be found here.

April - In celebration of my Dad's 2nd retirement and his birthday, the whole family ventured to Withensea for a long weekend.  This being Isabella's first real weekend away, we packed everything possible and more besides.  Meeting her little cousins for the first time and spending quality time with the family was brilliant. As we arrived on the first day, unpacked our things and settled in for the night we were not expecting it to be our last day in this caravan.  In the morning, there was no running water and we were told that due to it being bank holiday the replacement parts would not be delivered until after we had left.  The resort thankfully moved us to a newer lodgings, so we repacked and unpacked again ready to settle into our new abode.  What they had failed to resolve in our new location was the issue of no heating, so after a second cold night we moved to my aunties caravan (who has permanent residency on site and a fully functioning caravan!) What would have been traumatic to others turned out to be quite entertaining for us, nomadic adventures for Isabella.

May - I decided to take Clare back to one of our romantic venues for her birthday.  When we first met, one of our earliest dates was over to Howarth, a quaint little quirky town that held great (and funny) memories for us.  I had taken the day off work to spend with my loves.  Unfortunately I had failed to check if the entire town would be open on Tuesday's, and to my dismay, it wasn't.  This sleepy village completely shuts down one day a week, and that day happened to be Clare's Birthday.  Luckily, I had planned another trip to a neighbouring town that also had romantic memories. Again, not enough forward planning had taken into account that Hebden Bridge was still recovering after dreadful floods the year previous.  So again, ghost town.  This did not go down too well with Clare and I have a lot of making up to do for Christmas!

We also had a lodge weekend away in Shropshire with my family.  Lovely relax and a couple of runs for myself whilst everyone "ooo'd" over Isabella.  Bro, Nephew and myself also did the Scunthorpe Park Run staring my 3 week 3 county park run tour

The week later we were in North Wales visiting Clare's Mum and Partner (Isabella becoming a caravan connoisseur at a very early age!) On the Saturday morning I traveled to Wepre Park for my 2nd Park Run in the 2nd Country.  Whilst waiting to start, I heard a rumbling that this was the hilliest Park Run in the UK....I can confirm that this must be true!

June - Bit  of a running month whilst the sun shone.  Clare had found a local event in Wigan and signed me up.  It was a 10k run around the sports centre, through the local trails.  Being a Wigan run there were no medals, but instead a tasty pie for all finishers.  Great event and one for the calendar.

A week later Clare, Isabella and I were up in Ayr.  We had been here a couple of times in recent years, but normally staying in log cabins (see previous Years in Review).  This time, for convenience and price, we had opted for a travel lodge.  The reason for us being in lovely Scotland was to meet up with John.  I had ran the first 9 miles with him on the Malta Marathon and he told me that every year he organises a 5 mile fun run and I should come along....so I did.  Before going to Colmonoll, I partook in the 3rd Park run in the 3rd country in as many weeks, The Colmonoll Fun Run was one of the most picturesque runs I have had the pleasure of doing, even though the climb up to the vista point was one of the biggest climbs I have ever done!

Later that month I was down in Enfield with work and remembered someone else from the Malta Marathon lived in the area.  I contacted Lynne and James and asked them if they would be up for a little meet and run....silly question, Lynne is always up for a run. Great to meet these two wonderful people again and a lovely run along the canal was just perfect for my time away.

July - My days of being a student were over and I had passed the

Photography college course with flying colours.  I had learnt so much with the experience and made some good friends in the class as well.  I feel like my knowledge of taking a picture and how to manipulate images has definitely improved during this course and I would love to put this into practice  

More solo travelling for me leaving Clare and baby at home, but this time they were happy not to be joining me.  I was off to a galaxy far, far away to partake in Star Wars Celebration Europe.  A couple of really long days, but worth every second.  I cannot wait for this event to return to the UK so I can take Isabella next time (I know she will love Star Wars by then! sorry Clare)  For the full details of this event, please see my blog entry here:

August - Clare seemed to be pushing me with the running throughout the year and signed me up for a virtual event in August.  This could be done at any time and any distance as long as a full 100 miles were totaled for the month.  Clare worked out a plan for each run and fitting them around our social lives I was off.  3 miles here, 7 there and some 10 miles for fun and finally a 14 miler to top it all off. This was a great event to do and not as easy as I had originally thought.  The medal was a beaut though

Clare and Isabella had a little week down in North Wales to break away from the same four walls. This was good for her and Isabella to bond, whilst also spending quality time with Granny Sue and Grandad Kev.  With all my travels through work and dragging Clare around for all my runs, it was the least I could do to encourage her to have a week away as well.

September - My last run event of the year brought together my run buddies from Malta.  My marathon Angel, Emma and the Amazing Lynne both joined me for the Bolton Half Marathon.  The first time the Half had been run since the 1980's.  Living in the area I had trained on the local hills, but somehow the organisers found gradients that I had yet to discover.  All sights of the PB were gone, but finishing with my heroes was all I needed.  Crossing the line with Emma and Lynne by my side was reminiscent of Malta and our continuing running adventures.

To close out September, Isabella was on her first real week away with the family.  A week in Anglesey with Grandad D and Grandma Deb. A quaint little cottage near Cermes Bay and blissful jaunts around the isle it was just what our little family unit needed.  Time to relax and enjoy our time together as the last few months had been a little hectic.  The holiday breakdown can be found here:

October - To start my final month of my 36th year, which will always be known as "wedding month" from now on, my Auntie T'lind and Barry got married at Leeso Castle in Liverpool.  A fantastic day with great food, great celebrations and great family and friends.  The wedding breakfast will go down as one of the most tastiest wedding meals ever (even topping our own) with an Antipasta starter, Chicken Parma Ham main and the most indulgent trio of deserts to finish (although I remember only having 2) was perfectly divine.  The evening entertainment was made even more perfect by my new found tradition of blessing the crowds with the fan favourite (see Sing in a Band), although this was followed by cousin James doing his rendition of Tom Jones, 

The weekend before my Birthday, our little family headed to Whitehaven for a lovely long weekend away.  Clare had put far better planning into my birthday celebrations that she had experienced with hers (with everything being open for one!).  We had booked into a premier inn only a mile away from Whitehaven where Clare had reserved a couple of tickets for a Rum Story museum.  I was unaware that this little coastal town had a large Rum Factory, and after sampling a couple of tots we had to bring a bottle home with us for Christmas.

In to the final few days of my 36th year, and so much has changed and as I look back on the year I can that this has been a great one.  In previous "Years in Review" we had so much heartache thrown into our lives and as such we had to really try and see the positives in life.  Isabella has changed all that and brought so much joy to us as well as family and friends. Everywhere we go and see now has new meaning and new adventures, I cannot wait to show her the world and what it has to offer. 

As I awoke on the morning of my birthday, I had a job to do, this would be like no other birthday. Today I was putting together the skills I had acquired in my photography course as I was the principle photography at Clare's Aunties wedding.  A thoroughly enjoyable yet intensely stressful job, but it is another tick on the bucket list blog

A Year in Review 35

A Year in Review 35

October 2014 - October 2015, 12 months, 5 holidays, 5 sporting events, and one BIG announcement.   

October 2014

Our time in Gadgrith had come to a close, Chewie was already missing his freedom, log fires and treats from Grandad Donovan, but was ready to settle back into life at home.
My next twelve months were to be devoted to looking after Clare, Chewie and myself ensuring life was the best we could achieve.

November 2014

After the previous success of the Rat Race Cousins, we had opted to do it all over again.  This time the #Running4Spud team of Danny, Craig, James, Natalie, Gilly, Josh, and Daavv were joined by Daavv's wife Tilly Bean and our great friend Beewell, who is always up for injury on any outing we do. The weather held off this year, but with the increasing danger of each obstacle I think we may be giving this one a miss in the next few years and opting for safer events

In a moment of madness, and pushing myself towards the goal of completing a marathon I signed up to take part in the Blackpool Half Marathon.  My training had to be upped (or even started) and I needed someone to help motivate me over the next couple of months. Thankfully, Rosh was on hand and also signed up for the event.  Training had begun

November 17th my day went completely bonkers, the Episode of Countdown that featured yours truly was aired and social media went berserk! I have never experienced anything like this, and still nearly 12 months on I get messages via twitter, facebook and G+ about the infamous event. There is far to much to write a synopsis of here, so please find the full details on the blog


To end November in style and ticking another new destination off the travel list, Clare had booked us a week in Budapest for our anniversary.  What a great week, awesome food, amazing city and perfect company.  Budapest is a beautiful city and well worth a visit.

December 2014

Continuing our family tradition, the Davies family met for an Early Christmas.  This time we all met in the lovely surroundings of the Cromer.  A few days of pre-christmas gatherings, Christmas dinner and great laughs.  I am a proud Davies and love my family.

Even with the early Christmases and cheer all around, I finally met my weight goal target.  A couple of years ago I set myself the goal of weighing less than 13 stone.  When I got on the scales at Slimming World and saw the 12 stone marker I was elated! over the moon! I had reached a target I once thought a pipe dream

The Bolton News picked up on this as a story and yet again I was a feature in the paper receiving very positive comments, which is a success on it's own in our local paper

Even though the weather was frightful, Rosh and I were still out training three times a week for our looming 13.1 mile jaunt.  I was happy to have him by my side and pushing me on at every lull.

December also saw my 100th cinema visit of the year with St. Vincent

January 2015

To celebrate our 5 years together I booked a surprise weekend away to Amsterdam for Clare and I.  Clare had initial reservations of my holiday booking skills as this is normally a job for her as our resident guru.  All anxiety had gone though once we checked into our awesome hotel.  Even though the "night-life" of Amsterdam is not our cup of tea, the city itself is an experience and a lovely break for Clare and I to start the year with.

2015 this was our year, surely!

February

In February 2015 I hit an all time low, and it was great!  My target for weight loss had been 12 stone 12.  I had recently reset that goal at Slimming World at a staggering 11 stone 11, meaning a total loss of over 13 stone.  How could I not feel awesome?

Chewie was not feeling too awesome though as it was time for him to lose two little pals of his, Stephen and the twins became just Stephen, I can't think of anymore euphemisms, but I am sure you get the picture.  Knowing this was for the best, it was still hard to seeing this little bundle of love looking so sad.  He kept escaping from his cone head, so after some advice we opted for a child's onsie to protect him....and he looked adorable!

After my experience with Countdown, we had decided to go back to the studios for a tour taking my niece and nephew with us. The BBC Tour at Media City Salford was a great day.  We visited the sets of Blue Peter, BBC News, Countdown, sat in The
Voice chairs, and the kids even got to present the news and weather.  Brilliant experience and well worth the money.  To top off the weekend perfectly, my Ma had used her Groupon powers and booked the family into a Paint-balling Experience nearby.  Adorning our camouflage gear and loading our weapons, battle commenced.  Absolutely fantastic weekend with family again, although I was a little scared of how military Clare was whilst in her paint-balling gear, she was assassin-like!

March

For Christmas, Clare's Dad and Step-mum had bought us a weekend away in Shap Wells, thankfully it was a hotel that took dogs as well so Chewie joined us.  The weather was seriously windy, the frost in the air was colder than we had anticipated, but Shap was great. A lovely weekend and we know that Chewie was loving it too

Chewie's birthday was a couple of days later, and he was full of birthday beans.  I know he is "just" a dog, but the amount of love he has brought to our little family and how much he means to Clare and I, there is no way we are not finding a way to celebrate this.  Joined by all the grandparents we showed this little puppy how much family means and what he means to us

Clare hit her target weight in March as well, looking fantastic and beautiful! Not saying she is not amazingly beautiful anyway, but now Clare could feel it in herself now she had achieved her goal.  Clare's confidence had risen and after the last couple of years she had lost a lot of her smile, that was now back and beaming.

My Dad followed suit only a couple of weeks later hitting his target weight.  I always thought my Dad would not really connect with Slimming World as he didn't seem like the person to be happy sitting in groups meetings discussing dietary requirements and cooking, but I was wrong and a few months later, my Dad was looking awesome!

To end the month we took Chewie to Nanna Sue and Kev's caravan in North Wales and let him run free on the beach.  

April

Feeling slightly under-prepared for the upcoming Blackpool half marathon, I had decided to do the Decathlon Belmont Duathlon but needed someone to join me, Daavv had pushed me into doing the Manchester to Blackpool midnight cycle last year, so he was my obvious target.  On possibly the windiest day in the NorthWest we headed out for a 6k run followed by a 12k cycle and another 6k run.  Great event, but the headwind has put me off cycling for a while!

So here it was, the event we had been training for, the Blackpool Half Marathon. Unfortunately Rosh had some very bad news only a few weeks before with the passing of his Nanna, but also some great news with the birth of his nephew.  Training for Rosh had been reduced dramatically and he pushed me to aim for our initial target of a sub-2 hour run and he would not be too far behind.  Crossing the line in 1 hour 49 mins was worth all the training I had put myself through in the last few months

Unfortunately the celebrations were short lived as Clare was complaining about stomach pains.  Two days earlier, Clare had done a pregnancy test which came back as a very faint positive.  Minutes after completing the Half we were on a hastened journey to Bolton Hospital to confirm our fears.  Classed as a failed pregnancy, we have another angel looking after us.

May

Taking time for ourselves again after our 4th loss, we ventured off to warmer climes.  Flying to Makardi, Egypt for a cruise and stay holiday.  One split week in resort and a week cruising the Nile with daily excursions.  It was here we met two fantastic couples who made our holiday perfect.  Mamma Sue and Pappa Paul, Clare 2 and Johnny.  Exactly what we needed and with great company, Egypt will always hold a place in my heart with great friends and incredible sights.

As we did so much in Egypt, I would struggle to summarise everything here, but our travel blog is a little more in depth.  Please have a read if you get a couple of minutes

June

Living up to our Travel Bug lifestyle, only a few weeks after returning from Egypt we were again on foreign shores.  With an initial stop in the sleepy town of Maiori on the Amalfi Coast, we ventured to our family in Salerno for celebrations.  I had always wanted to buy Clare a pizza from the restaurant in San Eustacchio as it is probably the best pizza in Italy, and built on my grandparents land.  I was not wrong in my estimations as Clare stated that her Lasagne Pizza was the best pizza she had ever tasted. Job done!

We took our family back to Maiori to show them where we had been a couple of days prior, whilst on the bus trip over the Amalfi Coast line Clare was having similar feelings to the boat trip a year earlier on the way to Capri.  We put two and two together but had to wait till be arrived back home to make sure.

July

Our suspicions were confirmed.
We were back in Bolton Hospital having an early pregnancy scan.  The sonographer, who had carried out most of our previous scans, knew Clare's record.  She was happy to confirm that everything looked perfectly fine except one little concern.  The egg that had been fertilised had come from Clare's right ovary, this ovary was the one that had the delivery tube removed months earlier.  Medically, there is not a viable option for this little egg to be here but miraculously it was!

Over the moon, but also scared of what was to come we settled in for a rocky journey.  Deciding not to tell family and friends for fear of breaking more hearts we tried to keep our little present a secret for as long as possible. This has been harder than we expected

A few weeks earlier, Clare and I had signed up to join the Beewell's in the newest event on the calendar, The Colour Rush Obstacle Run.  A 5k run with inflatable fun objects whilst being pelted with powder paint.  Due to our recent discovery, Clare had to be protected with bubble wrap for the next 9 months and would not be taking part in this no matter how spongy the obstacles.  She was gutted not to take part, but I did pinch a medal for her!

Finalising an awesome month, my Brother and Cousin became IronDudes.  Completing the Bolton Ironman in style.  A 2.4 mile swim in Pennington Flash, a 112 mile cycle round Lancashire and then a looping Marathon finishing in Bolton Town Centre.  I cannot tell you how proud I am of my IronDude family and I was there to support them as much as possible knowing that I would not partake in such an event, mainly down to wanting a life instead of constant training (I would need to!)

August

With the busy year so far, we struggled to fit in our love of camping so the Clitheroe food festival was calling.  We booked the same campsite as the year before and the weather to boot.  A glorious weekend with great food and beverages.

I also interviewed my brother and cousin after their monstrous achievement and delved into the insight of a marathon runner.  You can see the interviews here

The first stage of our pregnancy journey started  in August in the 12 week scan.  Our little "sparkle" of hope was coming along well.  Clare had no symptoms of the previous pregnancies, baby was growing fine, things could not be better and we both left with high hopes

September

Clare has been pushing me to utilise my drive for self improvement and a yearning for extra knowledge to become a student again.  I signed up to a photography course in Bolton which is due to start in December.  Although it hasn't started yet, I have been practicing as much as possible with our camera and already starting to annoy Clare and Chewie.  I am really looking forward to this new challenge




Just to keep us on our toes, Clare has had a couple of scares with Baby Sparkles but each time we have proven that we are not giving up and will fight everything that comes our way.

I was asked to join Beewell for our third event this year as his swimmer had dropped from the relay triathlon.  Not wanting Beewell to miss out on this great event I jumped at the chance and donned my trisuit.  I was thrilled to be asked to fill the position and our team was superb.  Again, full details of this event can be found here

October

So my final month of my 35th year and looking back it has been a pretty eventful year. More highs & lows with a sting but again family and friends supporting us all the way.

I have signed up for the Malta Marathon which is to take place in February, and with training going well there is only one thing that will stop me going.  Baby Sparkles is due to join our loving family the day before the run date!  We have been told that Clare will more than likely not go full term, but if the little bugger decides to hold on and stay nice and warm then I may be running round hospital corridors instead

We have been for our 20 week scan which confirmed to us that Sparkles is doing great, developing strong and well, and although Clare is on strict bed rest at the moment, we are in high hopes.  We have told the whole family now we are more confident and approaching safer shores, but we still have everything crossed as I am sure everyone else does too.

Just to throw a curve ball into our lives as things are looking up, I received notice from the company I work for will be closing it's Bolton Doors just before Christmas and redundancy is on the cards.  I am sure there is a silver lining to this, but maybe we just need a Christmas Miracle

So Birthday Eve, and I will be on my way to the cinema with Rosh and Dip.  It is October 21st 2015, a day well known in film history or film future as it was.  Cineworld have opted to show all the Back to the Future trilogy on the date the Marty McFly & Doc Brown travel to.  There are no consumer price hoverboards or self fastening laces and we are 14 Jaws films shy of the estimated franchise.  Looking at the last 12 months of my own timeline, 2014/2015 is one of those years that I could have done with a visit from my future self, telling me to keep my chin up and fight on, things will be great but life has a few more problems to throw at you.  This year has been a real rollercoaster, awesome times but life's little problems keep you on your toes.  Life is out there to test us and believe me, we keep getting stronger.

Chewie has become an integral part of our family and is looking forward to becoming a big brother.  He is a stunning little puppy with a great character.  Whilst Clare is still on strict bed rest Chewie has become her protector whilst I am out working (for how long) or out on long runs.  He is my little shadow and company on our long walks.  We know that once our little Sparkles joins our family he will become a big part of their lives too.

So bring on my 36th year, it is going to be incredible.