Friday 25 July 2008

Encounters of the Welsh Kind

Once upon a time there was a Grandad and a Grandma,
5 (of their 8 Children) and their spouses,
13 of their Grandchildren and 1 Spouse (that would be me)
and 2 of their Great Grandchildren
and they all went to Llanwrst (pronounced Lan-roost) in North Wales for a week and stayed in farmhouses like these,
In the middle of nowhere, with just sheep and cows for neighbours.


And the sun shone gloriously all week long.

So now in my mind Wales has finally redeemed itself, despite the simply crazy welsh language. In almost every language I have encountered (which isn't all that many if I am completely honest but enough to make this valid point) the word Taxi translates as Taxi, not so in Welsh though.

Oh no
, they have to be different.

In Welsh it's Tacsi (isn't this an educational post already?) The word for school? Translates as Ysgol. I kid you not. The Welsh language defies all logic and reason.

But still despite my endless issue with the Welsh language I am now fully embracing my heritage and am happy to admit that I am in fact 1/4 Welsh. A fact that until recently I wasn't so happy to share.

We enjoyed ice cream........

and beach strolls.......

and tea cup rides......

and trips to the Zoo.
(Doesn't that goat just look like he's thinking 'Oh kid, puh-leaze don't touch me!')

I learned that boys could throw rocks into the sea for hours on end if given the opportunity without ever getting the teensiest bit bored! That includes fully grown up adult boys too.
Thomas adored the dingy at the beach and we all had to stifle a laugh when Grandad climbed in to join him and promptly fell straight back out.
The scenery was as beautiful as my boys!





Eli learned that throwing sand ceases to be hilarious when you end up with a spadeful in your wide open from laughing hysterically mouth.
The bravest in our bunch gave white water rafting a try,
and loved it!

And we all lived happily ever after because the kids were so exhausted from all their fun and sunshine that they could hardly keep their eyes open!

THE END

Oh and if you're wondering where all the pictures of me are, there are none. (Note to Rob:Start taking pictures so that if I were to die unexpectedly by being suffocated by a never ending mountain sized pile of our laundry or some other similar fate our children would have some recollection of what I look liked beyond our wedding pictures).

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21 lovely comments:

Melissa said...

AMAZING! Looks like you guys had a great time! I love all the pictures! I also love the way you wrote it like a fairytale! Very creative!

Jenny said...

what great photos! the beach looks wonderful and it looked like the whole family had a great time. mom's some how never get in the shot, what is with that?
like the new blog look too!

Simply Shannon said...

Looks like a fabulous vacation! That looks like quite a crew! How many farm houses did you fill exactly?
BTW, your boys are just too adorable for words. (like you didn't know that)
So happy to have you back! You were missed.

Elizabeth Byler Younts said...

great photos & insight in Welsh-lifestyle. :-)

I look forward to reading more of your blog and getting to know you better.

I love your PS at the bottom about being in photos...I, too, am NEVER in phtotos with my daughter unless I actually asky my hubby, TAKE THIS PHOTO!

Krystyn @ Really, Are You Serious? said...

It looks like you all had a great time! And, really, what is it about men not taking pictures. Maybe I will use your line on hubby and he will take more!

Glad you made it home safely.

Jess said...

I loved it!
Jadyn asked me why I'm never in the video's. Cause I'm the one recording!, I said.

Laural Out Loud said...

Awesome. Just totally awesome. What a great way to spend a vacation. I'm party Irish, and you have me wanting to rent a little house in the Irish countryside for a week or two.

Susan said...

Looks like a wonderful vacation.
I am constantly reminding my husband to have some forethought and take pictures of me with the kids because people are constantly making comments about how I am never in any pictures. I can totally relate!

Lauren W said...

Ok, first, what cute pictures! Second, I'm so glad you had so much sunshine :)
Sounds like a real fairytale visit.

Andrea@Sgt and Mrs Hub said...

I am part Welsh... and Lebanese. Figure that one out! :)

It looks like a glorious time!! The pictures of the kids sacked out in the car are the best!! I love those quiet, slumber-filled car rides.

Glad you all had such a lovely time.

-Andrea

Anonymous said...

I've always loved pictures of Wales primarily for the desolate factor. The slippery vowels and random spelling of the language is a trifle hard - you are very right about that. It has also alway puzzled me how they believe they are the keepers of the King Arthur story, too. Silly Welsh. I'm glad you had a wonderful vacation. And, thanks for stopping by my blog.

Anonymous said...

Yeah that's generally what I do...A million pictures of everyone EXCEPT me. If there happens to be even a decent one, i photoshop it within an inch of it's life and make it black and white to hide imperfections :)

Anonymous said...

Awwww yayyyyyy! You're back!

Glad you had a great time.

In all my time spent in the UK and as many times as my hubby has tried to explain it to me, I've never ever understood, nor have I ever tried to pronounce anything Welsh. But I used to LOVE having several of our Welsh friends over for tea or down to the pub just so I could sit and listen to them talk. The accent is lovely. And actually hearing someone speak in Welsh, well that's something pretty incredible!

Thanks for sharing all of your awesome pics. The shots of the boys crashed out in the car are pretty funny.

Beth Cotell said...

Looks like you guys had a great time!

And I'm never in any of our pictures either. But usually it's because I hate how I look in pictures and end up deleting the ones that I am in!

Wendi said...

Sounds like a great holiday!
Don't you feel like you need another one just to recoup?
I thought so.
Glad to have you back with us.

AMY said...

Fun, fun. What nice grandparents. No one even wants to go on vacation with my kids. The ocean is beautiful. We only live 5 hours from the ocean and haven't been in forever. Now I need to get around to blogging about our little vacation over 3 weeks ago...

Kelli @ writing the waves said...

If I want my picture taken with the kids, I almost always have to ASK my husband..."Can you please take a picture with me too so the kids will remember what I looked like?" Geez! Moms are pretty much always the ones behind the camera. (I've actually been working on a post about this universal problem so stay tuned...haha!)

AWESOME pictures though! Wow! Looks like you guys had a fantastic time. Too funny about the Welsh language. I'd be totally lost. haha!

By the way, I tagged you for a meme yesterday - Four Things Tag - if you want to play...absolutely no pressure. I'm sure you have a lot of catching up to do after being out of town. Just thought I'd let ya know. :)

Our Loved-up Family said...

From one Taff to another, I'm glad you finally came over to the darkside - admitting your Welsh is the first step, now you just need an abnormal love for sheep and you'll be a fully fledged Welshy!

Anonymous said...

So good to hear from you! Loved "going on the trip with you." I have been to England and Wales. I so hope that I have that experience again. Thank you for sharing!

Rach (Mommy Learns to Blog) said...

What a wonderful trip you had. Such perfect pictures, I love the boys' expressions in every one! And I hear you on having to ask to be in the pictures - I have so many pics of MH and Ben, and hardly any of the two of us. Yes, it's the mommy's job to document life, isn't it? Glad you're back!

Angelique said...

hahaha...I always joke that if I were to die my kids would have no idea they had a mom because my husband NEVER takes pictures.