Updated December 2011
Welcome to my web page. Hopefully this page will give you some idea of what life has been like during 2011 for me, and some of my hopes for 2012.
This year has been one of new challenges and interests for me. After a few years of great stability, Elsa has turned 6 and become old enough to join in with many of the activities that the older ones do, and that has also expanded the range of things we can attempt together as a family. So I have had the chance to try many new things this year, which has been both exciting and nerve-wracking (in roughly equal proportions!).
Me
on my 43rd birthday - arrgh, I can't really be that old, can I?
Sports
I have been very lucky to be able to start riding lessons this year with Elsa, and we are making slow but steady progress. The first few times I found that I had muscles in my inside legs that I don't think had been used for years, but I am now able to get through a lesson without too much pain either then or the next day. Trotting is still slightly baffling, especially when the instructor starts talking about "being on the right diagonal", but I'm getting there, with the help of a very patient (albeit wickedly lazy and stubbon) horse called Peach.
I have also started to do some watersports with the children. So far it has been kayaking and canoeing, although I'm hoping to start sailing next year. Kayaking has turned out to be rather more scary than I expected, but I have joined Upton Warren Canoe and Kayak club with the boys and Kirsten, and have had some very happy evenings kayaking round the lake there. Canoeing I find much easier, and we have done several canoe outings as a family this year, a notable one being on Joel's birthday when we hired 2 canoes and a tandem kayak and took them down the river Leam.
Kirsten
kayaking on the river Leam
Also new this year is Zumba. Jase bought me a voucher for some trial sessions for last Christmas (I think because he wanted to have a go himself really), and we started going in April. For those who don't know, Zumba is a cross between Latin dance such as Salsa, and an aerobics class, and we have really really enjoyed it. It's hard work, great fun, and for someone who has never done any dance before ever, I've been surprised to find that I don't entirely have two left feet.
As well as all this, we manage to fit in a fair number of whole family sports activities. Our walks have got longer and more demanding now that Elsa can manage a good distance, and we do plenty of cycling and tennis when we can fit it in. I take the kids swimming every week, and sometimes Jase joins us, although he doesn't really like getting cold and wet so he avoids it whenever possible!
Camping
Wild camping in Scotland
This year we have also become a bit more adventurous in our camping. From a very tentative start we are now definitely into the realms of "keenies", and over the summer we camped nearly every weekend. Definitely classified as being "keen" was a night wild camping in Scotland on the first weekend in April (ouch, that was cold!), and buying our own Dutch over so that we can cook stews and bake bread over a campfire. Joel is a real star at campfire cooking, and everyone is still raving about his pork, leek and apple casserole.
Our dutch oven cooking in bread in the embers
Other camping trips included a weekend with the bikes in the Peak District, doing the Tissington and Manifold cycle trails; camping in the countryside not far from Luton (of all places) with our friends the Mackins, and a few days in Dorset with the Lewises and a couple of kayaks. We also got camp with my sister and her family at the wedding celebration of our cousin's son, which was lots of fun and a great party. I still want to go to the Gower at some point, and possibly into North Wales, and I'm always on the lookout for good campsites that allow real fires.
Travel
This year we have finally felt able to take the children abroad for the first time. This may sound ridiculous, as I know many people travel huge distances with much younger children than ours, but it has been a big thing for us. This year it was 20 years since Jase and I got engaged in Geneva, and to mark that we wanted to take the children to see the city. Flying there, and staying in the city, proved to be way to expensive, but we found that we could take the car on Eurotunnel and stay an hour or so's drive away in France very much more cheaply - and so that's what we did.
Sitting
in the main square at Fleurie, Beujolais
We found a lovely farmhouse in amongst the vineyards of the Beaujolais, and we were all captivated by the country and delighted to find that although it was a significant journey from Birmingham, it was definitely do-able. In fact we loved it so much that when we came back we booked a second holiday in France, this time in the Vendee (by the sea) for two weeks. We did this in September, and even counting the extra fuel and tunnel costs, it worked out much cheaper than holidaying in Britain for a fortnight. In fact the only downside we found of visiting France was that two of our children contracted measles - apparently there's a bit of an epidemic over there at the moment. Fortunately neither had it seriously and at least we know that everyone is now immune to it.
So that's pretty much where I'm at right now. Next year I'm hoping to expand my horizons even more - to get better at riding, braver and kayaking, and hopefully get Joel well on the way with his GCSE courses too. But I'll settle just for a year when we all stay healthy, I can spend time with my children and Jase, and hopefully we can carry on having fun as a family as well.
Sally.