Family gathering :)

Just a catch-up post! I wanted to post some photos of the family gathering we had a few days before Benjamin's birthday. My grandfather (Grandoug, as we have always called him, since his name is Doug!) turned 85 on the 5th of July, and he usually likes to have the family round for the day with a nice lunch in the garden. I LOVE Grandoug's birthday "bashes", because it's the only opportunity in the whole year when my family gets together. I love seeing my family, especially all together! I have a really small family. Each of my grandparents (on my dad's side - my other grandparents died a while back) are only-children, and my dad is an only child too. My mum has only one sister and she only had one child, so the whole family is very small! We never see my mum's sister and my cousin - they live a way off and I don't know, visiting just never really happens. But my grandparents live about 30 minutes drive away. They have always lived close and been involved in our lives as much as possible and I love that about them!

So our Big Family Gathering actually only involves 14 people, including children! ;) But it's so much fun! My parents live in France as you know, and so they don't always come over, but this year they did! :) I LOVE to see my parents! Bennie (my brother) and Sarah were there with their two little ones, and it was lovely. I took lots of photos because I so wanted to capture the event for prosperity, just to look back on fondly. They have a garden which the little ones love to run about in and play, and we took a little pop-up tent and some toys. My mum (Nana to the grandchildren!) took books to read to them. All the little ones LOVE Nana and Grandy!

I just wanted to post photos!

Lunch! My little ones LOVE Yorkshire puddings - they're so picky and that's about all they ate from the main course. *sigh* Dessert was yummy, and there were CHOICES! Matthew needed a serious wipe-down after eating chocolate ice-cream! ;) (I finally cut Matthew and Arthur's hair in time for that weekend - yay!):







My lovely Daddy watching his grandchildren from the table, and my beautiful Mummy with her newest grandchild - Rasmus (4 months here - isn't he GORGEOUS?!?!):




Playing football with the beach ball we took with us, and Benjamin's thoughts on the lawn (not great pics, but oh well)! Poor lovey! The grass was all dry and prickly and he did not like it one bit! He kept trying to crawl without using his knees, and then without using his feet, hehe! And then getting really fed up when he couldn't manage crawling without using either his knees OR his feet! ;) We either carried him about or let him crawl on a blanket, after a while.





Grandoug has various watering cans and a hosepipe attached to the garden tap, and the boys discovered it! Grandoug let the little ones come and get their cans filled and water the garden, and OH how they loved the privilege! Here they are watering :)






My mum brought her copy of A.A. Milne's "When We Were Very Young" (which she read to me when I was little!) and the little ones all sat around her and listened while she read it in the garden after lunch.



The grown-ups played football with the little ones (mainly Arthur and Matthew, though Nathan joined in here and there) for quite a while until they were all hot and tired out, and then Granny brought out ice-lollies for everyone! :) Here are the little ones under the weeping willow with Nana, eating their lollies (and looking somewhat bemused at me taking photos, for some reason!):




This is what Neil and Benjamin were doing during the "lolly break"! Benjamin's naptime arrived and he was rubbing his face and fussing constantly. I brought the Ergo with us, presuming to put him on my back at naptime so he could have a sleep, but when it came time for it, I felt so tired out that I didn't know if I could do it! Neil was happy to wear Benjamin for his nap, even though it took a fair bit of walking around the garden! Such a sweet daddy! :) Benjamin zonked right out after about 10 minutes but he stirred if poor Neil stood still for too long! He napped about 30 minutes in the end, which is way shorter than his normal naps, but much better than no nap!




After he woke up, he even let Nana cuddle him! He is wary of anyone unfamiliar picking him up or even approaching him sometimes. He warmed to Nana quite quickly though, as they all seem to! :)




Birthday cake time! Tradition has it that I always make Grandoug a birthday cake for the family gatherings, ever since my teens. Often I do a novelty one and work to amuse or surprise everyone when it's revealed - that's always fun! But the last few years I have been hard pushed to get a cake baked and decorated and everyone out for the day in time, so they have been a bit more basic! Everyone's favourite is the usual milk chocolate cake with chocolate fudge icing that I make for the boys' birthdays. It's all I seem to bake, but it's always because it's requested, not because I can't make any other varieties! ;)



More confirmation of how Benjamin loves him some chocolate birthday cake (I baked his birthday cake only 4 days later!) - he was sitting on Neil's lap when Neil was trying to eat his piece, and it was demolished in minutes!




Near the end of the afternoon, Grandoug wanted a family photo which we thought might be near impossible to achieve! Then I remembered I have a timer on my camera, so I set it up so that everyone could be in the photo. The little ones were so patient at the front while I did a few test-runs with poor outcomes, lol! I had to press the button and then RUN back to my place, and I had the 1.7mm lens on the camera so it had to be FAR away from everyone! ;) I am not hugely pregnant yet, but it was not a graceful manouvre, I can tell you, hehe! Nathan went all shy at the last minute and would not leave my arms, so in the end I had to press the button on the camera with Nathan in my arms and then run with him back to my spot - hence the fact that I'm flustered, breathless and not even composed for the photo (or looking at the camera!) by the time it snapped! ;) This is my lovely family:



We had such a nice day! Having learned from last year, we gave the boys sandwiches and stuff at 6pm before we left and then put their night nappies and pyjamas on, and drove home. In the past we've arrived home at 6.30ish only to have to feed and put to bed several very tired and cranky boys, and they've ended up with a really late bedtime when they needed the opposite! So this time Nathan was asleep before we even arrived home, and transferred to bed for the night without waking (even when we brushed his teeth, bless him!!), and the other boys all went straight to bed after brushing their teeth and were asleep quickly. We were EXHAUSTED - I felt quite nauseous and lightheaded for the evening which I put down to not drinking enough fluids during the hot afternoon, and also just being up on my feet way more than I usually am. I'm starting to feel tired and breathless a lot more with the pregnancy now, so I need to take it easy where I can and remember my fluids - and I hadn't that day. But it was such a lovely day! :)

I will post again soon - I have MUCH to say, especially about school, and yet more photos! I want to catch up about Benjamin's birthday, and the trip to the beach we took the day after as well! :) SOON, I promise!