Weekend 20th - 23rd March

After a very very stressful start to the morning organising the 500 things I needed to do before we could leave for our weekend away we were finally on the road at around 10am. As we had decided to take advantage of the fact that Si had a days leave to search for our new car we started our journey by heading up towards London to have a look at a couple of Renault Scenics.

I have always loved the Scenic and the second one we saw was the charm, so we are now the proud owners of a 1999 Renault Scenic 1.6l. We decided not to go with another people carrier for various reasons, not the least of which is the cost of running them which if you have one you will know is prohibitively expensive. We also decided against a new car at this stage due to insurance costs and monthly repayments and at just over £1000 we were well pleased with the deal.

At this point, I feel I must put in an aside about how I feel I have changed since our move here......2 years ago when our Uno was stolen if Simon had even suggested a slightly beaten up 10 year old car to replace it I would have looked at him like he had totally lost his marbles, and now just 24 short months later I am thrilled to bits with the prospect and eager to take my "new baby" home......have my standards dropped?

I don't think so, I think, that for me, I have realised that EVERYTHING in life is about sacrifice, and in my case I have chosen to ever so slightly lower my standard of living so that I can improve my quality of life. I have really come to understand that in my case it is not what we own that makes me happy or how big our house is or how new and fancy our car is.....for me it is about the freedom to live my life without fear and with first world services, about knowing that I will be taken care of in my old age if I am unable to take care of myself and knowing that my children have access to good medical care and education regardless of my financial situation, about knowing that I am unlikely to wake with strangers in my house and all that it entails......and so it was with great excitement that I proudly drove our little scenic off the lot.

A horrendous number of hours later a very tired Robertson family finally drove into the grounds of Devon Cliffs in the little town of Exmouth on the English South West coast......OMG, I have never seen anything quite like it, it is absolutely HUGE with approximately 1050 mobile homes (caravans) situated on the site and an entertainment complex the size of a small South African hotel. To say the children where hysterical with excitement at the prospect is the understatement of the century but after checking in we literally collapsed into bed eager to rest and recover for the morning.

Saturday morning dawned with perfect weather and after a stunning bacon and egg breakfast in Cayne and Lin's caravan we were off to explore and let the children enjoy some time taking part in the vast number of activities laid on for them. The afternoon was spent swimming in the stunning indoor swimming pool which little Nick just loved and then it was a couple of hours on the beach enjoying the warm afternoon.

A quick look around the new mobile homes for sale, accompanied by much laughter once Lin and I figured out that Si and Cayne were actually working out if they could get away with buying one and putting it on a piece of land somewhere lol....what these men will do. In all seriousness though, they really are fantastic and we would all LOVE to own one as a nice holiday home and maybe somewhere to ultimately retire, I am talking 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms kind of fantastic.....you have to see them to believe them. Another early night after a lovely day filled with fun and friendship.

Sunday, being Mother's Day here, was about family and we spent some very happy hours on the beach in the wonderful sunshine while the Andrew family enjoyed their quality time up near the entertainment complex on the on site putt putt course. The weather was absolutely perfect and I even had to apply not inconsiderable amounts of factor 32 sun block to the children.....so lovely to lie on the hot sand and soak up the heat - Nick was in his absolute element and just sat happily playing in the sand while Si and the older two changed the whole face of the beach digging holes and making dams and organising all the English children to do their bidding lol.

The resort offers a huge number of activities for the children at an additional cost and we all agreed early on that we weren't going to get caught up in spending a fortune when there was so much also on offer for free. The one thing we did agree to however was the Water Walkerz which are basically huge air filled balls which allowed the children to run like little hamsters on the top of the swimming pool for 15 mins on Sunday night. It was some of the best money we spent over the weekend and all four children absolutely ADORED it.....Linnie and I also had great fun getting up to all kinds of mischief with the air hose used to fill the balls and there was much raucous South African laughter in the air......food for the soul I tell you, food for the soul!

Monday arrived all to quickly and after breakfast and a final swim it was time to say goodbye.....very emotional for both Lin and I and more then a few tears were shed before we finally climbed into our cars and went our separate ways. It is so hard being so far away from this family who are as close to us as any can be, what I wouldn't give to have them down the road......even my little Phillip, who in the past would have been far to "macho" to admit missing a girl said how much he missed little Jordan and how awesome it would be if they lived closer.

A wonderful weekend with wonderful friends making wonderful memories......definitely something to be repeated in the not too distant future.