Tuesday 7 May 2013

18/52 - beach bliss



Lily 

My little beach beauty!







Eli


I'll take a sandy smooch from this boy any day!





Miles


Happily kicking around in the good light.



Project 52: A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013.




Other highlights from the week that was...


We spent a few days at Kiama last week - a beautifully lush seaside town. We have a little annual tradition of taking a few nights away each year just to have time as a family.. just US. Every year this retreat becomes more important to our family - quality time, without a schedule or anyone else to see. Time as a family to relax together and build memories and bonds through a good chunk of blissful beach side time. This was our first adventure as a family of five, and it was wonderful

We stayed in a little beachfront cabin on a beautiful and quiet beach. It was simply heavenly to have long and peaceful days to meander through together. We spent countless hours just digging in the sand, building sandcastles, exploring tide pools, and of course jump-jump-jumping the little waves that rolled onto our beach. Pretty sure the kids could do that forever... if only we had the energy! The kids were happily exhausted from the fun and we loved the peacefulness and uninterrupted time with each other and the kids. I read an entire fat juicy novel! (bliss) We went for long beachside walks. We ate yummy holiday foods. Just.... delightful. Time with my family is my very favourite time and this year it felt extra nourishing. 

Afterwards, we ducked into Sydney for a whirlwind weekend of catching up with family and friends. In retrospect we probably should have done the crazy-busy-social portion of the trip first!! But even so, we loved catching up with a bunch of lovely folks.  


PS Quite a few iPhone pics as I was enjoying chill-out time too much to drag the big camera around! The moments matter more than the photo quality anyway, right?! 




Our beachfront cabin meant when the kids wanted to hit the sand first thing in the morning, they could -
while we sipped coffee and watched from the balcony. Oh yeah, we all loved that!

Fish and chips by the beach at dusk.... a holiday requirement! (Spot the baby?!)






The kids were thrilled to be sharing a double bed. Do they look tired and ready to quietly drift off to sleep?
I don't think so!!! Much giggling ensued...

Simply Stunning - Kendall's Beach Holiday Park at Kiama.
Can't recommend this place highly enough, especially for families!















I look at this and I see a child... not a toddler or preschooler... a child. Almost five and feeling oh-so-grown! 

Our family project was making the biggest sandcastle we could. It was not fancy or pretty but it was BIG. (Much bigger than this but I was too busy patting sand to take more shots, haha). 

This kid is about to get dumped!



Smooshing kids into sandcastles... good times. 

We arrived with a weather report predicting rain for our whole 4 days. However it only lightly showered briefly
a couple times and then we were blessed with a gorgeous rainbow!
















Long and Lazy Afternoon Walks/Scoots...

Miles took his beachside wardrobe very seriously. 
Afternoon rest time - Daddy rests while Lily reads. She eventually fell asleep snuggled up to him - so cute!

Now my boy is getting older, it's time to begin some 'Mother&Son' outings. So during
our holiday we had some time together - walk on the beach, hanging at the playground
and enjoying a yummy ice-cream. He did not stop chatting the entire time and it was my
 privilege to listen.




Examining his ice-cream

Happy munchkins with a yummy salmon dinner... not caught but cooked by Daddy!


Um, yes... they holiday hard.


15 comments:

  1. Wow - where to start? Great holiday pictures Kate! You nailed some beautiful kid portraits, and there are some lovely landscapes in there too.
    You also seem to have a knack for picking perfect holiday spots. Looks like you had a completely idyllic getaway. How lovely to be able to have some quality family time in such a pretty spot.

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    1. aw ive missed you tarnya!! thanks so much :) yeah it was a gorgeous spot - so lush and lovely and very quiet thanks to being out of school holiday time! x

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  2. Love the pics! The one of Eli trying to slink into the rock pool fully clothed...so funny! Family holidays are the best!

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    1. thanks nic - we REALLY missed our visit w you guys this year!! ah yes that pic is so funny - i meant to caption it something about 'the old accidental slip into the water' move, haha. of course he was drenched by the end (and had to wear lilys shorts home, lol!)

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  3. You look like you had an amazing time! You should put up the "in bed" and the "in the car" pictures next to each other. What a juxtaposition of the timing of sleep!

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  4. Wow Kate, what an absolutely fantastic family holidays, with amazing photos to boot!! Loved these family pics :)

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    1. thanks sally - we had such a great time!!!! i hang out for this getaway all year every year - next year we decided we will def stay for 4 nights rather than 3... esp now we have so much extra gear to take, gotta make the most of it, lol!

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  5. Ahhh, it was so good to see pictures from your relaxing family holiday. I think it is a great idea that you make this commitment every year, to just be a family unit for a couple of days. It must feel so good to wake up each morning and know that your holiday is yours alone.

    That top photo of Lily is beautiful. A real summer shot (in Autumn, but like any good Canberran kid if they are near a beach they WILL go in the water ;) ) I love how the sun is just hitting her nose and cheeks. and the first shot of Eli, is SO Eli. Who wouldn't want to pucker up to that???!!!

    Looks like it was just what your family needed to re-fuel and connect as a new unit of FIVE! :)

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    1. thanks amber - yes, it's amazing how liberating it feels to have no body else to see and nothing to do. so freeing and so refreshing!! yeah, i feel so thankful we have made this commitment too - mark was the one who pushed for it originally and im so glad he did. i can see it becoming more and more important as the kids grow too.

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  6. I absolutely adore that first picture of Lily. Perfection.

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  7. Oh my gosh, the kids have grown so much. I agree, that first picture of Lily is perfection <3

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    1. tell me about it, georgia - shocks me too and i see them every day, lol!! coming from you, that compliment on lily's photo means the world :)

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