When we entered 2019 I knew we had some trips in the pipeline but I underestimated how many adventures we would go on. We were offered some great days out through this blog but we had also planned some trips during the school holidays. There were some new adventures and some of our familiar favorites. I want to take a look back and remember our year of adventures in this post as I don’t think we will have another year like it for quite some time.
January
Our first family trip of 2019 was to London. We visited the 02 to watch Disney On Ice, Dream Big. We have taken this trip to London quite a few times in the New Year and I like this little tradition of ours.
February
In February Red Letter Days sent Darren and me on a Valentine’s Day Date to Wivenhoe House for afternoon tea. It was lovely to get some time on our own. It has been a very busy work year for both me and Darren and this time on our own together has been quite rare this year.
We had a busy fun-filled February half-term holiday. We were invited to Diggerland in Kent to review a day out there. It wasn’t our first time visiting as we had taken Ethan on his own in 2016. We also took Little E when she was a toddler in 2017. What was great about this visit was that the children were able to go on the diggers together. Ethan was still limited on what he could go on but he was able to try some new things with the help of Little E.
We were also invited to visit Toothless and Light Fury at Shrek’s Adventure. I took advantage of our day in London and took the children to my old work office to meet everyone. We also had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe.
March
Red Letter Days sent me on another London adventure in March. This time for a Mother’s day gift for me and my mum. We went for Afternoon Tea At The Waterloo Sky Bar and for a trip on the London Eye.
It was so nice getting some time with my mum. We haven’t done anything like this for longer than I care to remember!
As a family, we were invited to the Hunstanton Sea Life Aquarium. Hasbro was hosting a Play-Doh event and the children got the chance to become Jawsome Sharks Rangers.
April
In April we got the chance to visit Thomas Land at Drayton Manor as they invited us along to review. This is a place we had wanted to take Ethan for some time so we also booked a two-night stay at the Drayton Manor Hotel.
We were also asked to visit Drusillas Park to see their new Rainforest Carousel. I also got very excited as I got the chance to feed the Lorikeets. Something that we hadn’t had the chance to do at Colchester Zoo before then. Little E was also amazed by the Hello Kitty area they have there.
May
In May we returned to Disneyland Paris. This was our second trip there as a four, our first was in February 2018. This trip to Disneyland Paris was a trip full of firsts for all of us and we had another great visit to the mouse.
June
In June we were invited to spend a day at a beach hut with Millie’s Beach Huts. We picked the Minnie Mouse beach hut at Walton-on-the-Naze. We had a lovely day and it was so nice being able to have a cup of tea at the beach.
July
In July we were very lucky and invited to Drayton Manor again to a Thomas & Friends Digs & Discoveries VIP Event. We got to watch two new Thomas shows as well as getting the chance to go on all the rides again.
We also surprised the children by booking a Thomas & Friends Themed Room in the hotel. This also included a character breakfast, which was quite a loud start to the day but Little E loved every minute of it.
August
At the start of August, my niece got married and we booked a two-night stay at a Premier Inn to attend her wedding. The children love staying in Premier Inn’s so they were very excited. My niece had an amazing day and we all really enjoyed ourselves at her wedding. One of the best things about this time was getting to spend two full days with our imideate family.
We were also invited to visit Port Lympne Safari Park. I never knew that there was a place in England where you could ride in a safari truck to view the animals. It is an amazing place and they also offer overnight stays.
The children also got the chance to meet a T-Rex there. It was lots of fun! We had a great time at Port Lympne and we would love to visit again in the future.
In August we also went on a big adventure to Norway sailing on the Disney Magic. We stopped at four ports, Ålesund, Geiranger, Olden, and Stavanger. I arranged some of our port adventures by booking directly with the companies myself. I arranged a Sightseeing Bus Tour to Atlanterhavsparken Ålesund, The Norwegian Aquarium. A Panorama Exclusive Bus tour of Geiranger and a trip on the Loen Skylift.
October
In October our year of adventures continued as we booked a four-night stay at Orchard Cottage, Somerset with our friends. Our half-term holiday continued quite a few adventures. We visited Stonehenge, Longleat Safari Park, Monkey World, and Paultons Park the home of Peppa Pig World. The children had a great time and we loved the holiday away with our friends.
I also took Little E on a London adventure as we were invited to a Halloween Cupcake event with Baby Annabell. We also got the chance to meet Annabel Karmel as she was hosting the event.
December
Our year ended with some Christmas days out. This included Breakfast with Santa at Colchester Zoo and a trip to the 02 again to see Disney On Ice Celebrates 100 Years of Magic. We also booked a trip to Disneyland Paris for the children’s Christmas gift. We wanted to visit during the Christmas Season. But as this trip was in January it really counts as our 2020 year of adventures.
We also had lots of visits to Colchester Zoo to add to our year of adventures as we renewed our annual passes in 2019.
2019 really was our year of adventures. I have loved creating memories as a family. I have no idea what 2020 with send our way but I hope it is just as fun as 2019 was.
