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I don't even know where to start really ... this has to go down as one of the best vacations I have ever had in my life, two weeks with my brother and Gigi. I have been begging them for the longest time to come visit but it wasn't in the cards till now and now I wish they had stayed longer, the time just flew by. They were here for two weeks and we fitted in as much as we possibly could in that time, shame poor old Gigi, all she wanted to do was relax at the pool and have some downtime from work but we stayed busy, really hope they had the best time ever too, so that they come back again very soon. It's not likely though :-( since next year they will be moving to Australia, who knows when we will see them again then, saying goodbye was probably the hardest part of this trip, actually saying goodbye after this amazing time with them was probably the hardest thing I have had to do in a very long time !!!
Anyway so eventually they got here, after a crazy amount of delays and bad flights, they really didn't have any luck when it came to their flights :-( which is terrible but yeah eventually they arrived and I was overwhelmed with emotion after not seeing my brother in 7 odd years, I tear up right now just thinking about it.
Anyway they arrived on a Thursday and no sooner had they arrived and I dropped poor little Amber off at a friend for the weekend, we were off to Atlanta that Friday for our first baseball game ever, I was super excited but had no idea what to expect. It was fantastic, I enjoyed every minute of it and thankfully so did everyone else as well, even Jade, I thought she might be bored but they make it so much fun, we had so many laughs , I would totally go again !!!
Here are some pictures we took on our phones ... so not great quality but still ...
This one was for my mom that said 'keep your hands on the wheel David' when I called he from the car on the way down to Atlanta.
All the happy people in the back of the car.
Great shot of the entire field and Gavin and Gigi sitting next to me. It was a very late night, we had thought of taking the car to the field and parking there but everyone told us the traffic would be crazy so when we got to the hotel and realized there was a train line right there, we took the train and then a bus to the field and back home again, wasn't too bad but it made for a very long day, thankfully Amber was not with us for that.
All they wanted was the hotdogs you always see at all these games ... they wanted to get a New York hotdog but they got a Boston Dog :-) which they said was great.
The next day we had breakfast at the hotel and a quick swim, a little bit of driving around Atlanta and then we hit the road home, stopping at a Tanger Outlet on the way which took way longer than we had planned but it was their first experience of Outlet shopping here and I think then already they didn't know what hit them and I hadn't even gotten them to Concord Mills yet ... just wait right :-)
Got home pretty late ... the next day Dave went to get Amber and Jade and I took them to Carowinds where Jade scared the you know what out of Gavin and Gigi by taking them on some scary rides, dry and water rides, I really didn't know my brother was such a sissy LOL but he went, he couldn't let his Godchild show him up so he went but I think that was the last roller coaster he will ever take :-) Go Jade !!!
I love this picture, I tell you something this is a visit that Jade won't soon forget, Gavin played with both my kids so much, something I didn't realize he had in him :-) he made such a fuss of them and both him and Gigi loved over them so much that again it brings me to my eyes, they were so good to my kids, considering they are not 'kid' kind of people and have never spent two weeks with kids before in their lives. I really want to thank them both as it would have been so easy for them to hang with us adults all the time and to spend little time with my kids but really, I will say it again, my kids know they are loved after this trip and talk all the time about Uncle Gavin and Gigi (which managed to get them to drop the Aunty very much to my disgust). It just makes me sad to think we might not see them for years again, so right now it's all about FaceTime !!!
So happy to be in the sun.
And Gigi got some pool time and a nice break.
This was one afternoon waiting for Gavin and Gigi while they shopped for trainers ...
Out for lunch one afternoon, Gigi is happy coz there is food and Gavin is happy coz there is beer, lots of it !!!
After their first trip to Concord Mills, yep they had me go back a second time :-) They said the stuff here is so cheap, they couldn't believe it, they said we have ruined shopping for them coz how could they ever pay full price for stuff again after paying what they did here for stuff. I am so glad they managed to get some good stuff.
One thing I realized is that I always wanted a sister, I am not sure what for but after this time with my brother, he is the sister I never had, he cooks way better than I do, he cleans up after he cooks most of the time LOL and he likes to look good, smell good and buys just brand clothing ... sorry boet but you are totally man I know but you are way more a girl than I am too LOL.
Lots and lots of pictures ... if you can believe I only posted a few of this fun day. While Gigi and I relaxed along the side of this river, Gavin, David and Jade did the white water rafting a couple of times, I am surprised they weren't all crazy sore the next day. The zip lined and did a rope course in the trees which I never saw but I believe they had a ton of fun at the White Water Center. It was so nice for Jade to be of age to be able to do all this stuff with them. I am also thankful to all my friends that watched Amber while we had all this fun, it was just so much easier than doing it all with her.
Just look at all these pictures, they look like they were having a ball.
The calm before the next run ... funny thing is they had a couple of guides and one of them fell out the raft more than one time, how scary is that LOL.
So glad Jade was having this much fun ... she almost fell out one time too but Dave caught her.
It was a fun day for me too ... the Marines were training at the facility that day, it was raining men ... good looking buff men LOL ... sorry boys.
He was glad to see that not all Americans are fat !!! Glad he got his exercise in that day too !!!
Where he was his happiest, not sure our deck has been used as much as it was these past two weeks, it was fun though, just hanging out there while he BBQ'd. Only for Gavin, he is such a SA'n, cooking takes long with him, whether it is BBQing or cooking indoors, he cooks well I give him that but man everything takes a long time. Thank God it was Summer and my kids were on vacation coz after they left when I cooked for dinner, Amber said 'mom why are you cooking dinner, the sun is still up' and I had to laugh. It was such a huge treat for me to have someone cook all the time, it was amazing, he would make frittata's for breakfast, they were yum but I wouldn't be hungry for hours and it wasn't three hours later and they were thinking about a big snack or lunch already ... wow, apparently that is how you have to eat to look like them but it seemed way to much for me, but it was still super yummy.
Had to post this picture, Amber looked so grown up here ... I bought her a bikini that day at the mall and I put the top on her as it was crazy hot outside, she thought it was her bra, since much of our life right now is all about Jades bra's LOL she was excited to get a bra too. She has a cute little body that she could easily wear a bikini especially with her nice tan but Jade wasn't happy in a bikini this year and didn't want her sister to have one either and that was just a fight I didn't need to fight but now I bought both Jade and Amber a few bikini's, wonder if Jade will be bikini ready by December, if not her little sister is going to wear hers, they are too cute.
Yep that is on my deck ... Dave bought that firepit for me years ago but I have always been super nervous about using it on the deck ... even my brother was a little nervous when he realized just how hot it was. We must have been crazy it was the middle of Summer and not as hot as normal but still really hot with high humidity and we were burning a fire like that, that's madness but we did it one time and Gigi got to experience Smores which we wanted her to try and Gavin got his fire so everyone was happy. I think we will keep the firepit for the Fall ... who knows you might see pics soon.
We sat there with the firepit going while Gavin cooked a potjie, lamb curry, it was super yum !!! Thankfully it was such a big pot that I froze some and we had it for weeks after he left :-)
For my birthday Dave bought me a day trip on a boat on the lake and I hung onto it for when Gavin was here thinking that would be super cool but when the time came to use it and make the booking there were none available and I was so dissapointed but it all worked out for the best coz I sold my Groupon and we went to Myrtle Beach for a night which was another treat, another beach trip, yay !!! We spent a little time on the beach though coz it rained while we were there but it was ok, Gavin got to play in the waves with Jade and that is all that mattered to me, more bonding time with my kids.
We then went and had a yummy Japanese dinner which was such fun and then we went shopping at Broadway, I love that place, they did too but eventually just went and hung around at Margaritaville which is such fun too. It was late and time for the girls to go to bed, David dropped us down on the strip and we walked around and then stopped and sat at a pub and just people watched, that was such fun, I don't think I had ever done that with my brother, how sad is that :-( It was a long walk back to the hotel but such a great evening.
Here they are dressed up for dinner.
Jade getting her country on in Myrtle Beach.
While Gavin shopped a huge Golf Shop ... he loves his golf ... the girls got some golf practice in themselves.
Playing at Concord Mills waiting for them to finish their second day of shopping there. Gavin bought Jade an awesome pair of sneaker for her cheer, she totally loves them, coz obviously they are a good brand and all but she says they make her a better tumbler LOL !!!
The day before they left we took a drive to the lake and had lunch there, it was a nice afternoon.
Not a great picture but oh well when will I get another opportunity to get a picture with him, hopefully sooner than later !!!
This was the day they left ... before all the tears started which is why you will not see a picture of me here, I was a mess that day :-( but tried hard to keep it together for my girls.
Love, love, love this picture of my daughter and her Godfather, I think they bonded this vacation more than I could ever imagine they would and I am overjoyed by it.
My favorite picture, my two favorite girls and their Uncle and Aunt.
And of course when we all try and avoid the ugly pics ... they wanted to take one :-) Oh well kids will be kids right LOL !!!
Told you this was going to be a crazy long update ... and there were tons that I probably have forgotten, I am just so glad they got to see where we lived, where the kids went to school, where we worked, met neighbors and friends and got to experience my life and my way of life :-) Thanks to all my friends that either kept my kids or came out and had fun with us, you all made the trip even more fun.
What an amazing bonding trip with my brother and it was so great to spend quality time with Gigi too, I know she and I could be the best of buddies if we lived closer, now we will just have to chat more and more often ... I had so much fun with her too. Thank you guys for making this trip such fun, can't wait to see you again.
Come back soon you guys, love you lots and miss you more.
REMEMBER TO SCROLL UP AND DOWN AS I WILL BE ADDING MANY PICS OVER THE NEXT WHILE. MAKE SURE YOU DON'T MISS ANYTHING.
