At the end of last month we headed up to Port Hedland for a week as my aunty Julie was getting married to her fiancé Sami. Your grandma is from and grew up in Port Hedland so I was looking forward to taking you back to the motherland for some history lessons!
Unfortunately before we left you had just started to get your two year old molars, waking up screaming for two nights straight, which isn't what you want as you're about to head away on holiday but little did we know what other illnesses were coming! Throughout our time there you suffered from croup and an ear infection and I had severe gastro for a day so there were plenty of trips to see doctors but rather than get into too many details about the negative health issues we were plagued with let me just say this: thank goodness we were surrounded by family and that ultimately, we survived it all!
Anyway, we headed up to Paradust (paradise covered in dust... I knew you'd get it) and you were a dream on the plane, just watched a few episodes of Peppa Pig and then fell asleep. We were charged with the important job of bringing the wedding dress up with us following aunty Julie's final fitting the week before and luckily it arrived up north safe and sound.
Once we arrived you went straight to the red dirt near the front of the airport and started playing in it. As soon as you did so I realised the Port Hedland force was strong with you, running through your blood. Or maybe you're just a toddler who likes dirt. Whatevs.
We then caught up with the family for dinner before celebrating aunty Julie's hens party the next day, which was Parisian themed. Friday (after our trip to the ER with you) we went to the cemetery where you great grandma, great grandpop and great uncle David are all buried. You were named after your uncle David (grandma's brother who passed away when he was eleven or twelve from hepatitis) as his middle name was Matthew. It was good to see where they were all buried and next time we come up we should be able to see their headstones.
We then had a 'night before the big day' dinner at the Esplanade where we enjoyed fresh fish and chips and you played on the playground and looked at diggers over a fence with your gramps.
The next day was the wedding day and although you cried in pain throughout the ceremony (we hid at the back of the property so know one could hear us) you still had good parts of the day and we managed to stay at the reception until the wee hour of 8:30pm. Aunty Julie looked beautiful and didn't mind the crying - she even had a kids table set up at the wedding. What a champion bride!
The next day we had a family breakfast at the Dome followed by a tour of Port Hedland by your grandma, showing me the old cottage we used to stay in when we visited as kids, the house mum grew up in, the location of my grandma's sewing store and a few other places around town. It was great to visit to relive childhood memories but even in winter the weather was a tiny bit hot for my liking so I know never to visit during the actual summer.
That night we mis-timed watching the stairway to the moon but it was still beautiful watching the moon set over the water. The next day your dad headed home and we tried to catch some fish but unfortunately the wind at the beach wasn't helping your croup and that's when sickness hit me so that was about it for the trip. You were great on the plane on the way home but I was glad to be back in Perth despite the wonderful opportunity it was to see extended family.
Looking forward to our next plane trip in February when we all head to Singapore!!
Love,
Mum xxx
