Boutsiavaras Family Get Together

Just a small part of the international Boutsiavaras Family!

Eve was excited last week when I told her that some of our family were coming to see us in Bristol at the weekend. Daddy and I showed her where Australia, Brazil and Kent are on our spinning globe, which is where my cousin's were coming from.

My sister and I are half Greek, and our huge Greek family is spread out around the world. The majority of them we have unfortunately never met - but we are hoping to rectify this in the coming years.

The five cousins; Claire, George, Marianthi, Ilias and me

Ilias and his wife Dimitra are currently on a big trip; they started in London, then came to Bristol and Bath, and are now heading to various countries in Europe. My cousin Marianthi flew in from Sao Paulo, Brazil. I met her once in 2009, but it was the first time for me to meet cousin Ilias. My cousin George drove down from Kent with his family - the last time that we saw him and his wife Maxine was at our wedding five years ago, so it was a really incredible family get together. 

The gals; me, Maxine, Claire, Marianthi and Dimitra

It was a beautifully hot day in Bristol. We had lunch down at the harbour together; we talked about our family and caught up on life. It was quite an emotional experience. George and Maxine's daughters, Erin (9 years) and Ava (7 years) are lovely girls, very polite and well mannered. They were quite besotted with Eve and Jago. It was the most adorable thing watching them playing together. Erin was only 2 years old the last time that I saw her, and Ava wasn't born, so it was great getting to know them.

Ava, Jago, Eve and Erin playing in the water at Millenium Square

After lunch we wandered about Millenium Square, where Ilias set to work with his selfie stick - I must say this is the first time I have personally experienced one and it was great fun.

Daddy and Eve

When I first took Eve towards the water area she became very upset and told me that she didn't want to go in the water. After seeing her first and second cousins playing happily in the water she took Daddy's hand and enjoyed walking about in the water with him. Eve has had a fear of water since she was a baby, so we were both really proud of her, and I just adored watching them in the water together. Eve wore a cute pink dress which my mum, Granny T made, and she just loved it.

The men folk; George, Ilias and Sam

Ava, Eve and Erin

By late afternoon we were absolutely exhausted. Eve had been on full power the whole day and hadn't had a nap, she was tearful and tired so Sam and I headed home with her on the bus. 

Jody, Jago and Eve on the train to Bath Spa

The following morning we all took the train to Bath Spa together. It was a good thing that George and Ilias had suggested we set out early as Bath was really busy by the middle of the day.

After getting off the train the first thing we came across was an outdoor soft play area. The children absolutely loved it as you can imagine, and jumped about madly on big beanbags.

Ava and Eve

Jody, Claire, Daddy and turtle(!), me and Ilias 

Ava, Erin and Dimitra

We stopped at a cafe in Bath to Facetime cousin Deese in Australia, and also waved to Ilias' mum and dad which was really nice. After that we headed off on our separate ways for the rest of the afternoon...

Ilias, Dimitra, Maxine, Erin, Ava, Marianthi and George taking in the sights of the Royal Crescent

Marianthi, Dimita, Ilias, Claire, Jago and Jody at the ancient Roman Baths

Brilliant buskers in Bath

Sam and I headed back to Bristol early in the afternoon so that Eve could have a nap as the previous day was very full on for her and we didn't want her to be as tired. We arranged for Marianthi, Ilias and Dimitra to come over for dinner at our house that night before they set off on their travels. Eve helped me to hoover the lounge for the first time in the afternoon which was amusing. She got properly stuck in, and Sam said she was exactly the same as me, manically going back and forth ;-)

We had a lovely dinner that night together, it was nice to be able to have a full conversation. I felt in mid conversation most of the time whilst we were out and about, dashing around after Eve. I'm going to really miss them all now that they've gone, but the internet means that we are really not that far apart from each other at all.

I have recently handed in notice on my job of nine years so things that been a bit stressful lately. Seeing our family this weekend has really given me a much needed boost, I felt such joy in my heart when I went to bed on Sunday evening. Love is all you need!