Soon after we arrived to Nanna's house, Grampy (Louise's dad, so my children's great grandfather) arrived for a 10-day stay. It was so wonderful that he was able to travel up to visit with us while we were in Australia. I had hoped we could go to Victoria to visit him, but it got complicated, stressful, and expensive to add that onto our trip. Therefore, I was extremely thankful that he was able and willing to come up to see us. It was so great for him to meet the kids (he'd only met Evan as a baby over 4 years ago and never met Emma), and for the kids to get to know him too. Plus, by having several days with him, he really got to know aspects of the kids' personalities well. For example, I noticed he had learned how Emma counts to ten, since he made a joke about counting to ten Emma's way (1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10). He also witnessed Evan's fear of flying, and especially biting, insects, to which he jokingly suggested he found the perfect gift for Evan while we were at the markets one day: insect eating plants. Hehe.
He brought the kids wrapped gifts, which was so kind and thoughtful of him. He got them both lego (duplo for Emma and a Lego City ambulance airplane for Evan). John helped Evan put the plane together, and Evan has been playing with it non-stop. Evan's recent interest in ambulances (since my trip to the hospital, long story) made this gift even more fitting...a combination of two things he loves.
During his stay, we did several fun things, which of course made the time go by really fast. We hit up King's Beach in Caloundra for some beach fun and lunch at the local tavern. Another day we headed to the Eumundi markets. That day ended up awfully wet, but we were able to keep dry under various tents and overhangs at the markets, and we came home with fresh hot jam donuts and some fresh fruit and didgeridoos for both kids. We went to Cotton Tree to have a picnic in the park and swim at the pool. We went to Tewantin for lunch at the RSL, and enjoyed the view of the marina (while the kids played in the park) and of the coast line along the drive home. We had cuppas and whiskeys (well, John did with him), a delicious roast dinner at Liam's, movie nights where everyone fell asleep during the movie, and many great meals together. The kids enjoyed chatting to him and were always curious where he was if he wasn't nearby. It was a great time, and we were sad to see him head home so quickly. Yet, all of the memories will last. It meant so much to me that he made the journey and now knows my kids in a way that could not have happened over Skype (though I'm certainly glad we have Skype to keep in touch until the next time). Both kids gave him big hugs before he left, and have already spoken to him on the phone once since he got home. Thanks to Grampy's visit, we've already made some very special memories on this trip.
Louise, Grampy, and Evan at King's Beach
Grampy with the kids before heading to the Eumundi markets
Grampy and Emma were having cheese and crackers together
Tewantin Noosa RSL for lunch
Beautiful father and daughter, before Grampy left to go home
1 comment:
Just reading this post now...brought tears Thank you Sarah xoxox
Post a Comment