12 months & 12 photos blog post has become a tradition on my blog. I first published it in 2016. You can check the posts for 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 if you want. It’s very simple: one photo for each month of the year. A photo that represents my travels and/or my life of each month of the past year.

2024 was….a year of change for us. Unlike previous two years, 2024 wasn’t full of travel. It was just the opposite. I started my new job, a completely different career in March. I was very enthusiastic about it at the beginning. The job is very interesting and it suits me well. But after half a year I realized that I actually miss out on a lot of family activities and that kids haven’t adapted well to my new work schedule. This is a very difficult situation and I haven’t come up with a solution yet. My son started school this September. My daughter took up gymnastics this year. 2024 was a very successful year for my husband because he has published his first board game Choconnect. Other than that, this year had its usual ups & downs and a few short trips (two spa holidays with kids, concert in Austria and the festive family trip to Budapest).

All in all, 2024 could have been a great year but it turned out to be a challenging year. Marriage and parenting isn’t easy and when you throw in a new job and crazy hormones in that equation.. well…as I said, it was a challenging year. I have no idea what 2025 brings to us. As it seems, it’ll probably bring more new changes.

Let’s look at some of the highlights (and lesser great moments) of 2024:

January

The beginning of the year was quite relaxing. I went swimming, read a lot of books after a long time and blogged a lot. Well, I was unemployed and at home so I had lots of free time on my hands. It even snowed for a bit one day but it didn’t stick. My mum had a heart surgery and she has recovered fully.

February

This wasn’t a good month. Kids were sick a lot. I felt quiet low at some point. But then everything turned around when I got a new job offer. I used to work in education and in tourism and in some other fields briefly and now I was about to start a new career in hospitality industry. My husband and I went to a British stand up show. The comedians were hillarious.

March

March was all about my new, exciting job. It was both thrilling and tiring. I was delighted that we went to Slovenia on a family spa holiday just before I took on my new role. We had lots of fun at indoor pools and slides. My daughter took up a new hobby. She’s started going to gymnastics classes.

April

April was a busy month. I had to get used to my new work schedule, working at weekends and in different shifts. We spent a day exploring a cave in Fužine and our kids tried tubing. I’ve also taken them to the Natural history museum for the first time. We’ve also participated in a charity street race with our kids. It was fun.

May

I was very busy at work and I had very little free time. There were a lot of amusing situations at work. Some work situations were stressful too but this job suits me much better than my previous job. We manged to spend one Saturday outdoors, hiking on a new educational trail on Učka mountain. In retrospect we did a lot of hiking this year with our kids. My daughter participated in a gymnastics tournament.

June

June was busy, as most other months. There was a big party at my kid’s daycare. It was a farewell party for my son and other kids who were about to start school in September. It was a bitter sweet moment for me. I had one blissful, free day just to myself. I definitely need more of “me” time but as a working mum that is difficult to have. We opened the swimming season on Krk island as usually.

July

July was so hot. This entire summer was very hot. My husband and I attended Rammstein’s concert in Klagenfurt, Austria. We had a quick stroll around the city center before the concert. Klagenfurt is a lovely Austrian town. The next day we visited a nearby castle Hochosterwitz perched on a rock. The castle itself is magnificent and the views of the surrounding landscape are breathtaking. It was a short but sweet trip. Other than that, I mostly worked and spent a few afternoons at the beach with my kids.

August

My daughter has learnt how to swim by the end of the summer. We had a wonderful day trip by ferry to the sandy beach on Rab island. Kids loved it! Even though I didn’t have any proper holidays this summer I did manage to get three days off, so we went to a spa hotel in northern Croatia. We enjoyed a small outdoors water park and indoors thermal pools. It was quite a relaxing experience. End of Augusts marks my wedding anniversary and my blogging anniversary too. I’ve been blogging for more than 9 years!

September

September was a month of birthdays and new beginnings. My son has started school. He’s attending Italian elementary school and all his lessons are in Italian. Of course, he has Croatian classes too and like all the other kids, he also learns English. He has settled well in his class. My daughter celebrated her 5^th birthday. My fierce princess is growing up so fast! She was very pleased with her birthday gifts and parties. I was sick for a few days and felt exhausted from work.

October

I worked a lot this entire year and October was one of the busiest months. My kids and husband had lots of fun which I missed out on. The only fun night out that I had was a stand up show that really made my belly hurt with laughter. My husband presented his fist published board game, Choconnect, at the board game fair in Germany. I am so proud of him! Unfortunately, this year my women’s health issues persisted alongside my problems with low progesterone. I tried different natural remedies to some success but they didn’t really solve my problems.

November

I finally had a couple of free weekends in November plus a short holiday. I was at home during that holiday but we had a couple of fun day trips at the weekends. We hiked to the top of Učka mountain. It wasn’t easy but our kids managed to do it. Then, we visited a new museum dedicated to the big beasts (the bear, the lynx and the wolf) in Gorski kotar region of Croatia. Our first Christmas market of the season was in Fužine. It was a freezing day but we had fun. My son celebrated his 7^th birthday. We had several birthday parties and he was very happy. My stubborn prince is growing up so fast!

December

December was all about the festive activities. As usually, we visited all the local Christmas markets. I took my son to the theater for the first time ever to see the adaption of A Christmas carol play. It was wonderful. He watched it with wide eyes and open mouth. I quite enjoyed it too. My husband and I saw the musical Sunset boulevard for my birthday. The stage and performers were great. The absolute highlight of December was our family trip to Budapest, Hungary. This wasn’t my first trip to Budapest. However, this visit was quite different since we spent a lot of time at kid’s playgrounds. But I also got my fix of Christmas markets atmosphere and confectionery. And a new Christmas market mug!!! We spent Christmas at home with the grandparents.

That was my 2024 in 12 photos:)

What about your 2024? How was it?

Happy New Year!! I wish you all the best!

xoxox

Tanja