Saturday 31 December 2011

The Drakensberg {Our Vacation} & a Happy New Year!

Hi again :)
I owe so many of you a visit {or 5...}!! 
  I have only just returned home to 700 e mails 
so bear with me if you can :)  I'm packing my daughter 
off for ANOTHER vacation - this one with her friends! 
Then getting my other 3 school ready which involves purchasing 
ALL their stationery for the year & covering DOZENS and
DOZENS of exercise books in the next 10 days!!


This is where we've been for the last while...
pretty idyllic huh?!  You can read all about it here.


We did different things every day so had a healthy
holiday.  Lots of relaxing and lots of activity too...
golfing, horse-riding, etc.  All this less than 3 hours away :)
It was like we were in another world though - set in the
1960's (the decor was definitely a blast from the past!)
and no wifi is a bit out-dated now I think to be honest!!


Getting the kids to stand still long enough for a photo was a challenge...


 Yup this is what a Durban Christmas looks like :)  
The weather was pretty good (rained a bit for a 
couple of days) but warm Summer rain & not too hard.


Give the kids a pool and they're happy!  Add a trampoline 
& they're happy for hours!!  Throw in a field & they're
happy all day!!!  Wide open space is non-existent at the 
coast (where we live) so it's a luxury we don't take for 
granted & one we were so desperately in need of.



We laughed!  And fought of course too!!  All of a sudden
we were all together, day in day out with no computers
and no cell phone signal!  Very bonding as you can imagine!



I got my F1.4 50mm lens for Christmas - BIG love ♥♥♥ 


We ate meals together for a change and cooked from scratch 
EVERY night!  I felt positively Amish :) 
We investigated the entire area very thoroughly this time
& found all sorts of places we'd never visited before -
like this place - {can't wait to receive our rug!!}
and this place which served delicious open sandwiches and salads 
for lunch.  All in all we had a GREAT TIME and I feel like a new
person   (just wish I looked like one too!)  - more about that in
my 2012 New Year's Resolutions post coming soon!!

Happy New Year Everyone :-D




22 comments:

Bellaidea said...

Oh Helen, why did you not book a place for my family too? ;)

Kerryn said...

Sounds like a perfect family holiday Helen. Glad you all enjoyed the time together. Happy new year! I hope 2012 is a fabulous year for you!!

Vicki said...

Yep looks pretty idyllic to me too and a lovely place to recharge the batteries for the coming year. Happy New Year to you.

dstandard said...

What a fabulous time it sounds like! I'm SOOOOO jealous of the beach and sun! I'm SOOO a beach person - HATE to be cold and it's COLD here right now in Texas!

topkatnz said...

Sounds like you had a great holiday and it was just what you needed! had to laugh at your Amish comments!LOL
Very happy new year to you all!

Linda Eggleton said...

It looks like you've had a fabulous holiday.....the photos are gorgeous! Christmas in Australia looks very similar weather wise. Happy New Year Helen :)

Unknown said...

Oh what a wonderful holiday Helen! Gorgeous photos of your kids...Happy New Year to you, look forward to being inspired by you in 2012!! Take care :))xx

Hayley said...

Oh how I love the Drakensberg! Looks like you had an amazing time!

Diana said...

Love this post. Great photos! Can't wait to the LOs you do with them. xoxo

Julie Tucker-Wolek said...

Absolutely GORGEOUS photos!! I loveeeeeeee the one of DD and the gnome!! Happy New Year! :):):):):):):):):):):)

Alison said...

looks and sounds like a great time was had ...happy New Year Helen!
Alison xx

Mitralee said...

oh Helen, it looks simply LOVELY! And I can't wait to see all those beautiful photos on pages!!

First things first of course, that is a LOT of e-mail!

So, your school year starts now?

jeanie g said...

Hi Helen just had a whizz through your December posts, some great work in there and the holiday.....It sounds absolutely idyllic and you certainly sound refreshed and renewed. Hope you enjoy your special time with your beautiful daughter before she goes off to Uni. You have 4 gorgeous children, be proud. Happy New Year to you all. xx

Denise Price said...

Looks like a perfect vacation! Happy New Year!!!

Stefanie said...

Wishing you a very Happy New Year too!

PS I got one too...f1.4 50mm and can't wait to really play with it and get to grips, seeing what I am capturing, missing my own pc so much.

phamil said...

Happy New Year Helen!!!! Your photos are gorgeous, and your family is just beautiful too! Those pictures look so peaceful and beautiful!!! Hope the New Year is full of wonderfully good things for you!!!! Hugs!!!

Lynette Jacobs said...

Wishing you the absolute best for 2012 Helen.

You really managed to capture some stunning photos during your holiday and I can't wait to see them on your beautiful layouts.

xx

tania said...

beautiful!! it looks amazing:)

Irini said...

yikes I do not envy the reading of 700 emails!!!
your photos are gorgeous and DD#2 is a stunning beauty....
hugz
irini

Eila Sandberg said...

Happy Happy New Year! seeing your pics makes everyting ever more real to me, you know I Googled up Drakensberg before you left so I knew you wouldn't be tenting exactly LOL! Seems Santa was in a generous mood and brought mummy something special, something Shane slipped into his sack whilst on his trip perhaps ... xoxoxox

yyam said...

Ahhh...it looks like you had fun on your vacation...more photos to scrap! :)

Svjetlana said...

This sounds like you had a perfect Christmas, I wish I was bird sometimes and can move to the South during this grey winter time, LOL.