Welcome to our first ever blog!
If you're reading this, you're obviously interested in finding out what the McCuskers have been up to this year! So here goes:
January, February and March were fairly quiet months for us. We had some snow, went ice skating at the local garden centre, then had a fun tobogganing party for Adam's birthday.
The majority of April was spent visiting carpet, sofa and fireplace showrooms, in preparation for redecorating our living room (and the momentous occasion of taking up our rather disgusting orangey red carpet, which we had endured for 9 years.) Lucy and Adam enjoyed trying out the various reclining chairs and Adam even asked if he could have his next birthday party in SCS! In between decorating we managed to squeeze in a day trip to London to see the Blue Whale at the Natural History Museum and Adam also started at Beaver Scouts.
In May we took an overnight trip to Boulogne-sur-Mer in France and spent a wonderful afternoon on the beach, followed by a spot of sightseeing around the town.
July was a pretty active month all round, with the kids' sports days, the Hull International Canoe Polo tournament (Fee's team won their division) and the 60-mile London-Cambridge bike ride, which Fee and Bri took part in to raise money for Breakthrough Breast Cancer. Despite being hard work at times, it was a really enjoyable day (we even managed a quick stop at a nice country pub en route!) and we raised over £600 for the charity, which was fantastic.
In August we had a lovely few days with Fee's parents in Bristol... spotting Gromits around the city and watching the International Balloon Fiesta. The highlight of the few days was watching the Red Arrows fly right over the garden: the noise was incredible and we could almost see into their cockpits!
Our summer holiday took us to the South of France, where we stayed in Fee's brother's house for 2 weeks, enjoying the sun, the beach, Aqualand, a canoe trip down the Hérault gorge and some relaxation by the lake.
In September we all started back at our usual activities...Fee with her Funky French classes, PTFA fundraising and community choir, Bri with his running and school governor duties, and the kids with far busier lives than either of us! As well as Brownies, Beavers and various other sports activities, Lucy started a drama group and Adam started learning the recorder at music school. 
In between the usual activities Brian managed to squeeze in a half day Bird of Prey experience (his birthday present from Fee) and we also had a fantastic Harry Potter party for Lucy's birthday, with Quidditch games, potions, broomstick races, dragon training and herbology classes. Bri made a scarily realistic-looking Professor Snape!
October quietened down a bit again, with just a Brownie sleepover for Lucy and a half marathon or two for Bri, followed by the usual Halloween fun. In November we spent a day stranded on a lighthouse off the coast of Whitley Bay to celebrate the 40th birthday of one of Fee's uni friends. It was a great experience (despite the wind and rain), made even more memorable by the fascinating storyteller and the 'Pooh Bear' ice-cream!
And now here we are, at the beginning of December. Yesterday was Lucy and Adam's school Christmas Bonanza, which helped get us into the spirit of the Festive Season; Fee was in charge of Santa's grotto so she and the kids spent the day being Santa's Little helpers! This afternoon, Fee has been singing carols at the town lights switch-on. We still have Adam's Christmas play and Lucy's Carol Service to look forward to, as well as various other Christmas parties. We're spending Christmas Day at home, hosting Brian's side of the family and then popping down to see Fee's side of the family after Christmas.
We hope you enjoyed reading what we've been up to this year, and we'd like to wish you a
HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND A PEACEFUL NEW YEAR !!
-love Fee, Bri, Lucy and Adam. x
