OUR 2017 HIGHLIGHTS!

I love looking back at all that we've done - I'm always surprised by how much we have squeezed in and this past year was no exception. New babies, days out, holidays, theatre trips...the list goes on! Here's our highlights of 2017..

NEW ARRIVALS

The absolute highlight of January, and actually the whole year was welcoming baby Erin into the world! 9lb on the dot and the spitting image of her big brother, my planned c-section went very smoothly and we were soon home getting used to being a family of 4. She slotted right in and it was hard to remember life without her - and we've been very lucky as she was such a good baby!

It's mad looking back at these photos from when she was a newborn, you do forget how small they are! Elliot has taken to big brother duties like a duck to water - he loves making her laugh and they have a lovely little bond. She's going to be walking soon I think so I might have trouble on my hands once they get up to mischief together!

DAYS OUT

We have had some lovely days out over the year including Gruffalo hunting at our local country park, spotting dinosaur bones on the Isle of Wight, taking in some fantastic scenery here in Dorset, pretending to be knights at Corfe Castle, dinosaur crazy golf, stomping round model villages pretending to be giants, paddling in the sea, climbing trees and so much more.

We are so lucky to live here in Dorset because there is so much to see and do!

LIVE SHOWS

I've always loved going to live shows and concerts and it's brilliant that Elliot enjoys this too, Erin has also demonstrated a love for music and dancing so I'm sure she will be coming along with us in the future!

This year we have been really fortunate to see lots of family friendly shows and these are definitely some of our top moments of 2017. We had the pleasure of seeing Andy Day and his band The Odd Socks twice this year. The first time was at Camp Bestival which despite the mud was a brilliant day out! It was also our first time seeing Andy the Odd Socks live - we've had the songs on repeat for ages now so it was great to experience them live.

Our second live Odd Socks show was in Richmond and was one of two special gigs to launch their album. We managed to nab seats right in the front row so we felt very special and Elliot absolutely loved the show. The highlight for him though was afterwards when we met the band, Andy remembered him and knew him by name and the band said they'd seen him on YouTube!!

Another highlight for Elliot was going to see Justin Fletcher's live show in Southampton. We've seen him before a few times and always had a great time, this was even better though as we had such good seats right near the front. Justin came down to the audience and Elliot was over the moon when he said hello to him! We also got to see Mister Maker in Bournemouth which was another fab show - and who doesn't love dancing to the shape song :)

HOLIDAYS

We had a big holiday this year and the four of us flew to Orlando for two weeks. I was slightly apprehensive about travelling such a long way with a 5 month old baby and at certain points I did wonder if I was crazy but I needn't have worried! Erin was absolutely fine on the 10 hour flight and she had a lovely time throughout the two weeks. Florida is one of our favourite holiday destinations, there is just so much to do, even if you don't visit the theme parks. We just did Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure which are our favourite parks. Elliot was chuffed because he was tall enough for lots of the rides (he was too short last time) and he became a bit of a daredevil!

Florida Memories

We also visited Clearwater Beach which holds fond memories for us - last we went there we didn't have kids so it was abit different this time round! We had a lovely evening strolling along the beach, watching the sunset. We also managed to see a launch at Kennedy Space Center which was a brilliant experience! There's still so much we want to experience in Florida so no doubt we'll visit again soon.

As well as our long haul holiday we also had a mini break to the Isle of Wight which was a bit of a spontaneous last minute idea. Well, as spontaneous as you can get with two children under 5! We only stayed for 2 days but managed to squeeze lots in including the highlight of the trip which was fossil hunting on the beach. Elliot was in his element and we even managed to find the famous dinosaur footprints which was amazing!

FUN WITH FRIENDS

We are very fortunate to have a lovely big group of close friends here where we live. Us Mums met at our local Under One's group when the babies were small and we have all stayed good friends since. Nowadays there are alot more of us with lots of siblings so it's always a crazy time if we all get together!

We've had some fantastic times together this year including the many birthday parties we've hosted. We also put on a mini sports day for the kids in the Summer Holidays which was fun - although it didn't quite go to plan when the weather wasn't on our side! Fortunately we were able to hire a local hall that very morning so we held it inside, everyone took part.....even the mums ;)

There is so much more that I didn't have room to include but needless to say, 2017 was a great one for us and I can't wait to see what 2018 holds!

What was your highlight of 2017?

A Day at Kennedy Space Center - Florida

Last year we had a fantastic family holiday in Orlando, Florida and got to experience lots of brilliant days out. One of these was Kennedy Space Center. I've decided to hand the blogging reins over to my husband for this review because this was his ultimate day out and my words probably wouldn't do this justice!!! So, over to Paul....

From a very young age I have always been fascinated in Space and although being an Astronaut is still on my list of things to do before I die (hurry up affordable Space Tourism!) the closest I can get to my dream is a visit to Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral in Florida.

My first ever visit was during my honeymoon in 2003 (on the day of a shuttle launch!), my next visit was about 8 years later (I managed to persuade my wife that a second visit for the Up Close Tour and Lunch with an Astronaut was the ultimate experience for us) and this year took a bit more convincing to go again, although having a 3 year old boy meant my wife was out-voted!

Kennedy Space Center is just an hour drive from Orlando and it wasn't long before we were driving over the Nasa Causeway bridge with Kennedy Space Center’s very visible sign and shuttle fuel tanks on the right as we approached telling us we’ve made it!

We visited on a Tuesday and arrived around 10:30am - a quiet time to visit with parking close to the entrance.  Being quiet meant this was a good time to get some great photos in front of the NASA sign.

Once inside, we made a beeline to the bus tour to get an early start on the complex tour.  The tour departs every 15 mins and you get a great running commentary from the bus driver throughout the tour.  I recommend that you sit on the right hand side of the bus for the best pictures of the massive Vehicle Assembly Building but what you miss on the right hand side you make up for when passing the launch pad.  (note: if you are on the left hand side, you get a great shot of the Assembly building on the return back to the main complex after visiting the Saturn V Center).

It's worth noting that you can't take buggies on the bus tour and these need to be left at the buggy park but we found plenty of free rental buggies at the end of the tour. This is came in very handy when Elliot nodded off on the bus!

The bus departs the main complex and you go through the security gates into the restricted areas where only employees and tour buses can go.  On the tour you get to see the impressive Vehicle Assembly Building where the assembly of the retired Shuttle and Saturn V rockets were completed.  The future Space Launch System (SLS) will also be assembled there and as you progress through the tour you can see preparations being made for the SLS launch pad.  Being that the Vehicle Assembly Building is the largest single storey building in the world you can see this building from pretty much everywhere on the tour.  The bus passes the launch pads and takes you to the Saturn V Center.

The Saturn V Centre’s most notable attraction is the full size restored Saturn V rocket hanging from the roof above your head.  As you walk from the very large engines the entire length of the rocket to the command module at the top you pass several other attractions including real peace of moon rock that you can touch, gift shop, Lunar Module simulator, lunar rover, van used to transport astronauts, Apollo launch room with simulated launch and two theatres.  There is also an outdoor area which leads to seating area overlooking the launch pads and is a great place to eat your lunch with a great view of the nature reserve.

Once you depart the Saturn V Center on the tour bus you may be lucky enough to see one of the Bald Eagles nesting before arriving back to the main complex.

Since my last visit, a new attraction has been built - Space Shuttle Atlantis.  This is a brand new dedicated building which has a full-scale, 184-foot-tall, upright, replica space shuttle stack, including external tank and two solid rocket boosters.  Once inside you watch the multimedia presentation then the doors open to an impressive sight, something I was not prepared for.  The actual Atlantis Shuttle rotated 43.21 degrees with payload doors open and its robotic arm extended.  What an amazing sight, something worth the admission ticket alone.  

In the Atlantis building you get to play with the many interactive exhibits and end the amazing experience with the Shuttle Launch Experience.    This is where you can experience a launch like an astronaut and trapped flat on your back, waiting in anticipation for a simulated shuttle launch.  If you have little ones or prefer not to take part, you can watch from the viewing platform.

No trip to Kennedy Space Center is complete without visiting the gift shop - also known as “The BEST gift shop in the world” to my little boy.  Here we topped on on space food, books, pens, gifts for family, toy space shuttle for Elliot and if I was allowed, an adult space suit!

As we were nearing closing time, we wandered the amazing Rocket Garden which has lots of rockets to admire and our favourite attraction in the rocket garden was the escape module where Elliot loved sitting there upside down!

Kennedy Space Center is one of my favourite Florida attractions and a must see attraction for anyone visiting Orlando. Writing this review has now wet my appetite for my 4th visit!

*We were given free entry for the purpose of this review but we have been 100% honest...and you can probably tell from the big smiles in the photos that we had a great time!

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