"If we don't get where we're going, baby I don't care. I'm already there"

I wanted New Years this year to be special with it being mine and Becci's first one together, I also wanted us to do something that really took Opeies mind off the miserable build up to Christmas and start 2020 with a positive clear head, full of excitement and a hunger for that spontaneous adventure that we try and live for throughout the year. When we first started talking about what we were going to do we were aiming towards Seaham, Opeie and I had spent an evening camping over that way a few years ago, which was followed by a 5am comb along the beach, watching the sun come up and collecting sea glass. It was one of those adventures that will always stand out above the rest and we wanted Becci to experience the magic of sea glass hunting too. Seaham is a good drive away and with the nights being pretty cold we figured being somewhere a little closer would be a better idea.

So after a bit of deliberation we decided on Crosby beach in Liverpool. Crosby is also known for it's sea glass hunting, we'd not been there before and it had the added bonus of being the home of Antony Gormleys 'Another Place' sculptures, which we were all excited to see. The plan was to drop the seats in the back of the car and make a bed, park up on the sea front and see in the new year looking out over the sea. Before heading out though we decided to change our plans and stay there until late, then drive home so that we can be warm and comfy in our own beds, it was freezing in Shropshire so it wasn't going to be any warmer on the coast.

When we arrived at the beach it was straight into the sea glass hunting and we ended up with quite a haul. It was so satisfying watching Opeie and Becci really get into the hunt and the surprising burst of   beach worthy sunshine really added to the magic of the afternoon.

After filling a big container with our treasure we headed off for a stroll along the beach to look at the sculptures. The sea was going out and as we walked we could see sculptures appearing out of the water in the distance, seeing them standing there all looking out towards the horizon as the sun set was pretty lovely, but also a little eerie as the light dropped. Opeie was a little scared of them so refused a photo, clearly he's watched far too much Doctor who as he kept saying 'what if they come to life?'

With darkness finally upon us we headed back to the car which we had turned into a little duvet filled den for the evening. It was nowhere near as cold as we were expecting it to be so it was lush being backed up to the beach front with the boot door open, playing games, chatting and messing about. The music choice as always was perfect and the evening ended up being the relaxing end to the year that I think we had all hoped it would be.

For the last few years we've been writing three things that we want to happen the following year on a piece of paper, to burn and send out into the world. This year Becci brought bay leaves to write on and we all sat and wrote our hopes for 2020. I'm really hoping for a much kinder year this year, 2019 was full of negativity and far too much stress and upset for Opeie so I'm hoping all our wishes come true and the year is filled with love and kindness. 

Happy new year from Gifts From The Pirates

"Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year."

"Can we stay up till midnight tonight please?" is not something that we hear a lot but when it comes to new years eve it is used regularly. There is no way the boys would hack staying up till midnight without being like a pair of miserable zombies the following day. So every year we deceive them by using the London firework display on Youtube from the previous year. I'm sure we are not the only family that pull out some craftyness on the final day of the year. This year though thanks to Netflix we didn't need to use the fireworks display as they had come up with a genius way to see in the new year at any time of the evening so as we all relaxed watching the TV we counted down the hours approaching (Ahem) midnight.

This year we saw the first new year in with Mr. Peabody and Sherman with a special Netflix countdown helping us parents dupe our little ones into thinking they have made it all the way to 12, genius. With 6 different characters to choose from including Care bears, Puffin Rock and Inspector Gadget. The Netflix new years countdown was a great addition to out celebrations.

And with the little ones tucked up with smiles on their faces it gave me and Mrs M the chance to relax. We were planning on being in bed before 12 but we received a facetime call from our friends Sam and Jamie from South America and we stayed on the phone for 2 hours. We opened wine and ate Nachos, it was like being out to dinner together. A pretty perfect end to a pretty perfect year.

"Christmas... is not an external event at all, but a piece of one's home that one carries in one's heart."

I feel like it's been months since I last wrote on here. So much has been going on that it just made sense to go quiet for a while until things were a little more calm. Christmas can be a stressful time of year for a lot of families but for us this year it wasn't the festive preparations and gift buying that was piling the pressure on but the fact that not only was Mrs M starting her new job, we also moved Gifts from the Pirates HQ two weeks ago. (If you can avoid it, moving house this close to Christmas is a crazy idea).

That being said though, we are now in and slowly getting settled. There are boxes in every spot that isn't used regularly and trying to find specific things amongst items still packed has been quite testing. Despite this and the fact we are living without Internet at the moment (it's like being back in the 80s), it's great to be in our new home, which so far has been quiet and very relaxing.

We didn't get to put our Christmas tree up till the 16th of December which was a little grim, being the big Christmas fans that we are, but being able to find a new space for the decorations and even have the extra space for a second tree (thank you Gary and Ruth) was awesome. We filled the house with festive cheer which put a smile on everyone's face and took our minds off the piles of boxes scattered around each room.

As expected it was made quite clear early on that the styling and design of the boys room was going to be my remit. But that's where my creative flair ended and the remainder of the house belonged to Mrs M. Suits me fine though as most of my time in the house is spent playing with the boys in their room. Their room was the first to be organised the weekend we moved in (sorting a place for the LEGO was most important). It was great to unbox all of their books too as they took up a lot of boxes. I'm loving the library/LEGO area they've got now and I'm looking forward to getting some photos and art work up over the next few weeks.

We still don't have internet and probably wont have for a couple of weeks but having my trusty phone means that i can get back in to the swing of writing and play catch up over the next few days. 

I hope you all had a great Christmas and new year.