On Saturday, Marty's sister Cheryl came up from Palmerston with her husband Veasna and our cutie nephew Alijah for our first official Christmas event! Because this year they aren't with us for the big day, and also with Cheryl having a birthday this month, we had a double celebration. We all met at favourite summer spot, the Strawberry Patch for a real fruit icecream - Luke's first all to himself! He was very happy, made a huge mess, and daddy finished it (ok, daddy ate MOST of it!) when it lost it's appeal.
It is always great getting together, and the kids get along SO well, adoring all their cousins. I love that our children get to grow up surrounded by their extended family. They see Nana fairly often, and she is always mending something or another for them too. Grandma and Grandad are a huge part of our lives, looking after Luke 3 times a week - they also had the girls for similar hours when they were little. Brianna and Jakob are friends as well as cousins, and play so well together (unless they are tired, then they are like siblings!). Alijah and Aunty Cheryl are the novelty, living a little further away, and creating great excitement whenever they get to see them. I love it. I love family. Although I did enjoy my cousins (and I have 30 odd cousins), none of them lived so close that we spent this kind of 'normal' time together, and I wrote to my grandmas often but only saw them a couple of times a year, so this is a special treat for me, and I am so thankful that this is normal for my kids.
They have 3 sets of grandparents in the Hawkes Bay, and the remaining set due to move down one day. May their grandparents richly bless their lives with wisdom and love.
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| Grandad, Granma, Aunty Cheryl and Alijah |
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| Aunty Shona, Brianna, Luke and Marty (Jakob is in the background) |
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| Best mates and cousins enjoy an icecream together |
..Later that night, It was time for us girls to hit the town with a long planned Ballet trip for Nana's birthday treat. I had just gotten all dolled up in a long flowing dress when Marty walked into the room. I turned and waited for the compliments to begin. He said "aren't you going to be cold". How romantic! We went to see Giselle, which I knew nothing about beforehand but was totally captivated by. It was the most beautiful ballet I have seen (although to be fair, I can only compare to Angelina Ballerina and Sleeping Beauty, both also performed by the NZRB!). The dancing was amazing, the music was enchanting and I felt like I had stepping back in time to experience the wonder and magic of yester-year. Ballet is just so traditional and so unlike anything from 2012, it was magical to pause and rewind and experience the beauty of the dance. The story was told with lots of emotion and the dancing was so incredible. What a great night out with wonderful company. We all agreed to do this again one day. My mum used to take me to one show a year as a treat in my teenage years, and I would love to do this for my kids too as they grow up. I went to all my high school productions too... I personally love musicals, so will be looking out for what is coming. I have seen West Side Story, Stomp, Spirit of the Dance, Phantom of the Opera and Jesus Christ, Superstar. It is one of the downfalls of moving away from Auckland that I haven't seen anything like this for a while, but I don't have the money to do this a lot, so maybe it is actually a blessing to not have so much choice and acessibility on my doorstep! ..... Oh, and on the way home I got stopped at the nationwide drink-driving blitz and tested. When I passed, the policeman said "merry Christmas" and handed me some candy canes! I was most surprised to be rewarded for not drinking and driving. Kids were happy too when I shows up with candy canes today!
On Saturday, Marty's sister Cheryl came up from Palmerston with her husband Veasna and our cutie nephew Alijah for our first official Christmas event! Because this year they aren't with us for the big day, and also with Cheryl having a birthday this month, we had a double celebration. We all met at favourite summer spot, the Strawberry Patch for a real fruit icecream - Luke's first all to himself! He was very happy, made a huge mess, and daddy finished it (ok, daddy ate MOST of it!) when it lost it's appeal. 
It is always great getting together, and the kids get along SO well, adoring all their cousins. I love that our children get to grow up surrounded by their extended family. They see Nana fairly often, and she is always mending something or another for them too. Grandma and Grandad are a huge part of our lives, looking after Luke 3 times a week - they also had the girls for similar hours when they were little. Brianna and Jakob are friends as well as cousins, and play so well together (unless they are tired, then they are like siblings!). Alijah and Aunty Cheryl are the novelty, living a little further away, and creating great excitement whenever they get to see them. I love it. I love family. Although I did enjoy my cousins (and I have 30 odd cousins), none of them lived so close that we spent this kind of 'normal' time together, and I wrote to my grandmas often but only saw them a couple of times a year, so this is a special treat for me, and I am so thankful that this is normal for my kids. 
..Later that night, It was time for us girls to hit the town with a long planned Ballet trip for Nana's birthday treat. I had just gotten all dolled up in a long flowing dress when Marty walked into the room. I turned and waited for the compliments to begin. He said "aren't you going to be cold". How romantic! We went to see Giselle, which I knew nothing about beforehand but was totally captivated by. It was the most beautiful ballet I have seen (although to be fair, I can only compare to Angelina Ballerina and Sleeping Beauty, both also performed by the NZRB!). The dancing was amazing, the music was enchanting and I felt like I had stepping back in time to experience the wonder and magic of yester-year. Ballet is just so traditional and so unlike anything from 2012, it was magical to pause and rewind and experience the beauty of the dance. The story was told with lots of emotion and the dancing was so incredible. What a great night out with wonderful company. We all agreed to do this again one day. My mum used to take me to one show a year as a treat in my teenage years, and I would love to do this for my kids too as they grow up. I went to all my high school productions too... I personally love musicals, so will be looking out for what is coming. I have seen West Side Story, Stomp, Spirit of the Dance, Phantom of the Opera and Jesus Christ, Superstar. It is one of the downfalls of moving away from Auckland that I haven't seen anything like this for a while, but I don't have the money to do this a lot, so maybe it is actually a blessing to not have so much choice and acessibility on my doorstep! ..... Oh, and on the way home I got stopped at the nationwide drink-driving blitz and tested. When I passed, the policeman said "merry Christmas" and handed me some candy canes! I was most surprised to be rewarded for not drinking and driving. Kids were happy too when I shows up with candy canes today! 
Dont forget Tap Dogs - AWESOME!
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