Tuesday, October 27, 2015

A Few Pictures from our Recent Family Day Trip...

 October is quite a busy month for us in terms of family birthdays!  With Sofia on the 12th, Nancy on the 14th and my dad on the 25th, there has been a lot of baking and celebrating around here of late!

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One of our favourite pastimes as a family is spending the day at Ebb and Flow restcamp (our local National Parks Board campsite), and for a week leading up to Dad's birthday, we were preparing, planning and getting excited about playing cricket on the beautiful green grass, swimming in the river and having a delightful picnic on the water's edge...

  ^These four make life busy, interesting and fun...

But sadly it was not to be as the weather turned miserable on Saturday evening and we were forced to change our plans.  Now, bear in mind that we had already packed and organised everything for the next day's special trip.  We spent Saturday baking and cooking and thus, we were even more frustrated that the day wasn't as bright and sunshiny as we thought it would be...

 
^Oh, how cute are these four...?

But our heavely Father has other plans and although it is sometimes somewhat difficult to understand His ways, they are always higher than our own and the best we can do is trust that He knows best.
When we woke up to an overcast, chilly day, we were naturally disappointed, I think especially for the little girls sake as they had been talking about swimming at Ebb and Flow for weeks beforehand!

 
^Beth is a great big 'buddy' to Sofia...

We then thought a cooler day would be perfect for doing a day trip to Oudtshoorn and taking the little ones to a place where they could play, feed different animals and allow us to spend the day as a family. 
We took a simpler picnic along and enjoyed the day driving, laughing at the little girls (oh, are they so funny!) and enjoying the scenery...


^Sofia and Beth petting the donkeys...

We then arrived at a wonderful place where children can run, play and even do some fun activities including camel rides, called Wilgewandel...I remember going there years ago with friends of ours and I distinctly recall riding those camels!  
Have you ever watched them get up...?  Or been on one when they've gotten up...?  Quite a strange experience!

^Gabrielle...she is such a precious sister!

We decided to rather not do the camel rides (this time) and the girls went on a short donkey cart ride instead and also fed the animals...  There were alpacas and emus as well as goats, sheep, rabbits, geese and donkeys...the little ones loved it!

  ^Feeding the cheeky goat with Sofia (4) and Rebekah (6)...

 

I think the most fun they had was on the pedal cars...Nancy and Sindi joined them on this and I captured a few pictures of their happy faces!

^Beth riding her pedal car...Sofia was her passenger...

 ^Deep concentration...Rebekah driving her pedal car

^Gabrielle happily ''driving'' her pedal car...

The drive home was rather long and hot, but thankfully there was delicious carrot cake and tea awaiting us at home...{{smiles}}

All in all, I think the day turned out beautifully and Dad enjoyed spending the day celebrating with his family!

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I think we are all more than happy to have a break from birthdays for the next while...mine is next and that is only in January...  Until then, we shall enjoy some lovely Christmas planning... 
I love the festive season, and all the delights that go along with it, including baking our traditional Christmas cake!

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Dear friends, I so appreciate having you visit and always enjoy reading what you haev to say...thank you for the extra time you take to do so!

Blessings on your Tuesday!


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11 comments:

Anonymous said...

How fun! We just went on a family day trip as well, which I'll be sharing about tomorrow :) This seems like the perfect time of year to do so. We have another trip planned before Christmas, and then will be home busy with Christmas preparations and celebrations- it's just crazy that the time of year has come once again for all of that! It makes me so excited, though ;)

It looks like you all ended up having a wonderful time, although your plans changed a bit! The camel rides sound interesting- I've never gone on one myself, but I have seen them on TV, and it is quite interesting how they get up and all that.

It's funny how October is your busy month for birthdays. For us, it's the last week of July and the first two weeks in August. We have my birthday to start, then my dad's and sister's, and one of our dog's as well (Ha!!). Then the rest of the birthdays are spread out. But for those two and a half weeks or so, it's all about birthdays around here ;)

Hope your week is going wonderfully! Sending much love and many hugs, my friend!

faith76 said...

Glad you all enjoyed family time, you all looked like you had tons of fun :) Have a lovely week xxx

Margie said...

What a fun family outing! September through November are also filled with birthday celebrations with family and friends. My birthday is also in January so we share a birthday month.

Vicky Hunt said...

What a delightful day with your family! Your October is much like my June with so many birthdays. My husband, son, mom, and myself all have June birthdays, as well as Father's Day. Sounds like the little sisters enjoyed all the animals and pedal cars. You took some beautiful photos. Enjoy the rest of your week my friend.

Hugs, Vicky

Parlor Room Ponderings said...

Your sisters are beautiful Kelly-Anne and I love how you love and appreciate them so much. It looks like you had a wonderful time with your family. Thank you for sharing! Diane

Lilac Cottage Homestead said...

So sorry that your plans were changed!! But it looks like you all had a wonderful time anyway!! God bless

Kelly Ann ( my middle name is Ann also funny isn't haha)

Marilyn @ MountainTopSpice said...

What a precious day it turned out to be, despite the dashed plans by the weather! My favorite saying is take the lemons and make lemonade, and that is exactly what you did. There will be another day for a special swim and fun time hopefully soon! It looks like a very special way to celebrate your father's birthday, and the carrot cake and tea at the end of the day sounded like a real treat! Your sweet family is just precious, such joy abounds, and spills over in your posts about your family, and how wonderful it is! Always such a treat to come here and read your sharing :) Many blessings dear Kelly-Anne to you!

CherylQuilts said...

Oh, Kelly-Anne, what an absolutely fun trip for all, and I LOVE each and every photo of the Gray girls! Hugs, sweet friend!

Paige said...

How fun for your family to spend the day together! Sometimes a change of plans can turn out well- it looks like your sweet little sisters had a blast! :) Hopefully you can go to Ebb and Flow for another great day before too long too! ;)
Have a lovely Thursday!

Mari said...

It looks like everyone had such a good time, in spite of the disappointment of not being able to go to Ebb and Flow. I appreciate your good attitude with the change of plans and I know that by showing that you set a good example for your sisters. I love seeing the relationship you have with them.

Daniela said...

You're so very fortunate to have such a Beautiful family, bless you !
Thank you for sharing these images in which it's so easy to read in your sisters' eyes a deep, true joy... they're wonderful !!
Have a joyous remainder of your week, darling Kelly-Anne
sending dear love and hugs
Dany