Long weekend (& where do the years go?)

Our visitors left this morning after a wonderful 2 stay visit here. It was such a lovely weekend filled with family time, lots of food, a night out at the ball, an 8th birthday party and crackers from the front verandah. I said to my sister in law this morning about how we did this exact weekend a few years ago now (it felt like 2 years but was actually 5) and we stopped and looked at this post  and wondered where the years ago? Those little kids are now so long and tall and well, big. There’s 2 whole extra people here now that didn’t even exist before (as well as 2 dogs), but the same stuff still happens…lots of love and laughter and playing and doing what my family seems to do best, eating.

Saturday afternoon the cousins arrived before we headed out to the Village Ball. A great night with probably too much drinking but lots of dancing.

I didn’t get a full picture of the outfit…it’s an old dress I actually wore to the ball a few years ago now from Witchery of all places…very short but did the trick. You can see some more of it in this old post from a few years ago.

Yesterday was a slow old start to the morning (funnily enough all the drinking I did the night before was not such a good idea for my cold?!) but we battled on to Mum’s place for a recovery lunch and birthday party for my niece who turned 8.

Then we came home for a very lazy afternoon by the fire (which we had to crank up as it was FREEEEEEZING) eating some more (surprise!) drinking a little more, listening to old music we all loved from the 90’s while the kids played. A beautiful dinner of slow cooked lamb and of course a round or two of Family Feud where I laughed so hard I cried and cried. Just so good.

I was saying to Rob on Saturday morning when we were making up a bed in the guest studio I wonder how many visitors we have had over the years? Too many to count I’m sure and we really should have had a guest book all those years ago now, but I do know that all these countless weekends and meals around our table have all become precious memories that seem to pass all too quickly but always remain in my heart. I am so glad that we have this house, this place that people can come and share with us, I hope that they continue to do so for many years more. Even when those kids are 13 instead of 3. 23, 33…it all goes too fast. I’ll keep cooking the food, so long as the people keep gathering.

Hope you all had a good weekend…what did you get up to?