Hello 2017 let’s see what you’re made of!

Hello and Happy New Year! Did you have a fabulous Christmas? We had fun at home, getting outside a few times and managed to sneak in a little mini cruise from Hull to Amsterdam, just spending a few hours there to explore before we were back on the boat home.
We didn’t tell the kids we were going, telling them we were just going for a drive(!) and it was a complete surprise to them! Their faces as we walked onto the ferry and then handed them the guide book was brilliant.
We arrived in Amsterdam and unfortunately it was foggy so we didn’t actually ‘see’ much of it, but we took a canal cruise and did lots of walking around the centre. We discovered Vondel park which was on my list to see, the palace and sampled important things like pancakes, frites with mayonnaise, a very strong blonde beer and some gorgeous bakery delights called Oliebollen. We’d love to go back and explore the museums and surroundings at a more leisurely pace without worrying about getting back for the boat. With it being the holidays it was absolutely heaving and great waves of people filled the streets. We managed to walk 9 km just wandering around, although we needed to keep moving because it was so cold!
Now back to reality! Having said that I’m so excited about this year. My China trek is in May and I’m hopping between giddy excitement and being daunted about organising my fundraising, training and kit. I have quite a few fitness goals to keep me going through the year and towards my trek. I’ve joined My Peak Challenge #MPC2017 which is a yearlong fitness and nutrition programme and is about reaching not only fitness goals but non-physical goals too. I’ve a few of those too including growing my blog! Half the joining fee goes to Bloodwise the UK blood cancer charity, so in helping yourself you help others too. I’m also going to try and join in the #walk1000 miles challenge and walk 1000 miles over the year – everyday walking counts towards this. We’ll see how that goes but we are now a walking family and I’m so proud of how far my little people walked last year. It was mentioned to me recently that I might be cruel ‘making’ my children take part in my training walks, but I don’t make them walk anywhere and we’re not trying to climb massive mountains. The harder walks I’ll keep for myself and we always do a distance they are capable of. Over the last year we’ve got outside into the fresh air, they’ve enjoyed discovering nature, identifying trees and we’ve visited some great new places.
So at the moment the sky’s the limit and as long as I keep my hips healthy there’s nothing stopping me…..I may need a few cheerleaders along the way though!
Have you any challenges this year or some non-physical goals? I’d love to hear what you’re getting up to.

Country Kids
Adventures In Websterland
12 comments Add yours
  1. What a great treat for the kids a surprise trip to Amsterdam sounds so exciting. It’s great you have so many plans to get outside with the kids and enjoy the fresh air. I look forward to seeing all your adventure throughout the year.
    Thanks for linking up with me on #CountryKids.

  2. A walking challenge sounds really good for the family; not cruel at all!
    What a brilliant surprise that was for your children; they look over the moon!
    Visiting from #countrykids

    1. I’m hoping it will be good for all of us and I’ll ignore the ‘cruel’ comments! Thanks for reading.

  3. Ooh sounds like you have a lot to look forward to, lots of luck! Love the sound of the walking challenge. I’m starting kick boxing classes this week I’m hoping it turns into something I really enjoy! #tuesdaytreasures

    1. Thank you Lianne. Ooo kickboxing sound exciting, I don’t think my Hip surgeon would be happy if I tried that but it sounds great fun. Good luck and thanks for reading.

  4. Good luck with the walking challenge! Your little trip to Amsterdam sounds like it was lovely! I went there about 10 years ago and loved it, such a great place and so easy to get to. Xx #tuesdaytreasures

  5. What a fabulous surprise for your kids! Looks like you sampled all of our ‘delicacies’ 😉 Give us a shout next time you’re in Amsterdam, we live nearby. Love your idea about spending as much time as possible outside and active with your kids, we try to do the same. #TuesdayTreasures

    1. Thanks for reading Lisa. We loved Amsterdam and would love to explore some more, not just the delicacies although they were so delicious!

  6. I did start the year with a diet but failed almost immediately. I am now focusing on making some money and just generally getting my stuff sort out. Thanks for joining in with #TuesdayTreasures.

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