We travelled a long time to get to Dallas Texas. We were visiting Trevor’s Dad’s cousin Daphne and her husband, Nick. We chose to stop for a few things before arriving at their place around 5:30pm.
Daphne and Nick with their three furry "children".
Kit patting Peppi and Missy. They love the attention.
Akaisha was entertained by her surrogate grandparents!
Nick chatting to Trev in their spacious kitchen. Always time for a good wine!
What a lovely greeting we received. We clicked immediately and it felt like we were relatives we had known all our lives (even though this was the first time we had met them!)
Jai and Flynn in awe over their DVD collection.
Kaitlin and Missy, getting to know each other.
Akaisha with Trev, Missy with Nick!
I can have cuddles too, you know!
Jai feeding Fritzie a treat.
Our plan was to stay a night in our RV parked in their driveway, but Daphne and Nick were kind enough to let us stay in their house. What luxury! Trev and I had a room to ourselves (besides Akaisha of course) and the kids dossed down on the floor in the spare room. Having this much space after being in an RV all that time felt like heaven.
And we could have been forgiven for thinking we were in heaven after sampling Daphne’s delicious cooking!
Lining up for dinner "Howitt" style!
Cheers! Yes, that's milk Nick has!
Sewing room can also be a cafeteria!
Akaisha and Daphne.
It was Nancy’s (Trev’s mum) 69th birthday, so we skyped and spoke to both her and Alan. Then we were blown away with how talented both Nick and Daphne were.
Daphne at her computerised embroidery machine.
One of the beautiful quilts Daphne makes (slept on by Flynn and Fritzie)
Magnificent embroidery.
Kids getting a hands on lesson!
Daphne had a room dedicated to her embroidery, sewing, quilting and other handiwork. Kaitlin and Amber were MOST impressed with the china dolls Daphne made. They really were exquisite.
The most....
exquisite....
...dolls ever!
A true fan of Daphne's work was Amber....
...and Kaitlin.
Nick showed us his office which was filled with every computer gadget possible. This supported his job as a graphic designer and we had the good fortune to see the type of work he did. This was a great opportunity for Kaitlin as well because she is thinking about doing Graphic Design at Uni when she leaves school.
Nick's talents know no bounds. Teaching Kaitlin about Graphic Design.
Nick was also a talented artist, so we were all in our element with being immersed in all of this creative energy.
After a late night of talking,we had a bit of a sleep in the next day. It was a day of chilling out, washing clothes, seeing programs on the Apple Mac computer, going to the playground, having another delicious dinner, then watching a movie.
Nick and Daphne talked us into staying longer as they wanted to take us to a Rodeo Friday evening. This meant staying for about a week, but none of us seemed to mind. I think Daphne and Nick got the raw deal with 9 extra people in the house, but they insisted it was OK.
And we were so glad we stayed. The kids got to do some art, we saw some wonderful photos that their daughter Yvette took, and Nick took Trev and I around the suburbs of Dallas, showing us some VERY flash houses and an exclusive golf course (we thought Nancy would be green with envy!!) The “Tour 18 Dallas” Golf Club had each hole simulated from some of the greatest golf holes in America. We also met one of Daphne’s friend from her sewing group who is just as talented as Daphne.
A regal looking house in the Golf estate.
A magic way to play golf!
The Tour 18 Dallas Golf Club.
A mansion in Dallas.
Judi with the kids.
Akaisha meeting one of Daphne's china dolls.
I spent a few days cleaning the van. It certainly needed a springclean, that’s for sure! It was a very nice area where Daphne and Nick lived and the kids enjoyed walking around with Daphne and the dogs.
Cleaning the RV whilst kids set out for a walk.
Daphne showed the kids how to embroider on her technologically advanced sewing machine whilst Trev and I were allowed to take their car to town to do some Xmas shopping. What a Godsend. You can imagine shopping for 7 kids in tow….not much fun….so this opportunity was great. We ordered pizzas for dinner, then went home to the tribe to enjoy. Not as good as Daphne’s cooking, but yummy nonetheless.
The kids were taken to a great playground not far from where they lived and as you can see from the photos, the kids had a great time.
Flynn and Fritzie ready for their walk.
Missy being pampered and loved!
Akaisha swinging high and loving it!
A great way to see the neighbourhood.
Jai waiting for others to catch up.
Look carefully. There's Trev and Cathy inside the Ford Edge.
A magical tree at the Highland Village Shopping Centre.
Beautiful architecture seemed to be all around the suburbs.
Daphne and I visited a little secondhand boutique where I could get some warm clothes for Akaisha (who was growing very quickly!) I did enjoy the female company and shopping without kids. Then back home without delay as we were going to a homegrown true blue Texan Rodeo. That will be the subject of my next blog, so until then……
Big Chief Nigel No Mates now Little Chief Still Nigel No Mates having lost 15 kilos hunting for big squaw and little squaw. Big squaw hunting with maori cousins in South Island and Little Squaw somewhere in Big Mountain Bedroom!
Great to see Howitta Tribe in the US of A again. Must seem heap strange being back in Little Burekup?
How!
Hi “Not-so-big Chief Nigel,
Great to hear you’ve ost 15 kilos running around Little Squaw! Hope you are loving New Zealand. How exciting!
Feels strange writing about USA when we are back in Oz, but rekindles wonderful memories!
Cath, Trev and tribe!
Must be great to re-live it Cath…your blog will become a treasure to you all! XX PS Seeya Weds 🙂
Hi Trace,
It’s actually been good to remember what we’ve done. Seems like a lifetime ago now, but the memories will live on forever!! Cath
When is the next one coming????? I mean blog !!!!!!
Love
Dad