This weekend has been perfect. It was the first time since 2006 that my
parents, my whole family (Nate included), as well as my brother’s whole family
were together. It was magical, and it
made me realize how much I miss every single one of them when we are apart.
Charl and Annelie drove down all the way from Cape Town with
their two sweet four-legged children, Nuga and Obelix, the Frenchies. I am so thankful that they took the time and
effort to join us, and even though it was just a few short days, it was better
then nothing.
I am happy that everyone finally had the opportunity to meet
Hayleigh, and like usual, she has been such a personality, not a dull moment
ever. I took a couple of hours for
everyone to get use to kids and dogs all in the same environment, but it all
worked out perfectly. The rest of the
time everything went smoothly, and I am pretty sure everyone fell in love
instantly.
We spent our time on the beach in the morning, doing the usual, swimming,
collecting shells, finding awesome sea treasures, laying out in the sun, taking
walks, and finding sea creatures. We
just had the added company of more family, and with that we instantly have more
love all around.
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| Thank you Ian for my daily gifts of flowers and shells. |
The kids took to my brother and them instantly, and they
were so intrigued with them, they barely had a free moment to themselves, I
have to admit that watching them with my brother and them, made my mama and
sister heart happy. I only have one
brother, and it is important to me that my kids know him.
Ian had hours of fun on the beach with his uncle Charl,
racing, wrestling, and loving on him, while Hayleigh snuggled in the shade with
Annelie and the puppies. I couldn’t get
enough of the sweet view of family, all together after so many years.
Our evenings consisted of cooking out on the fire with a
glass of wine, while we sort through our shells, and treasure, in between we
will have awesome conversations. Oh and also watching night pry open oysters to
eat, that he collected on the beach. Dinners were awesome every night. Our highlight of the night tucking in tired,
and sun kissed babies and watching them drift off into a deep sleep of pure
exhaustion, and then hanging out in peace, and by that I mean uninterrupted
conversation [I will admit we didn’t stay up until super late, since sun kissed
parents with small kids, needs their rest] but with some yummy dessert, and
some fun stories down memory lane, it was such a perfect combination.
We finally managed to get our family shots – four
generations of one bloodline and four generations of mixed blood. Hayleigh was named after my grandmother, and
I am so happy she hold on just to meet my sweet Hayleigh, and I want her to
hold on forever. These visits make me
emotional since I always have to think about the fact that I might not see them
again. We got some other photos juts for
the fun of it as well.
And just like that our weekend with my brother was over, and
we had to kiss everyone good-bye with little tear streaks running down cheeks, because I know
it will be at least two years before we all get together again.
The older I get the more I realize how important family is
and how much I need them in my life and how I wish we could see each other more
often. I am grateful for the memories we
are able to make with them, and that we all cherish these times, even though at
times we drive each other crazy.
With my brother’s departure, arrives our last week of beach
time before we head back to Pretoria for a few days and then we fly back to
Germany.
Happy Tuesday!
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