After returning from the US and Canada in mid-October, we decided to have a short stay back at home. This would allow the kids to touch base back at school (to assess the damage we inflicted on them), and allow us to join in some important family celebrations. We also managed to squeeze in a Board meeting in Melbourne and a conference in Sydney.
First up, Thomas finally turned 7 on 26 October! He had been counting down to his birthday for at least four months and kept everyone he met during our recent US trip up-to-date on the number of sleeps to the big day.
Keeping with family tradition, it was a true birthday fiesta – starting with a birthday dinner (with Grandma and Grandpa from Brisbane, who had travelled down from Brisbane) and Nan and Pa. On Saturday, Grandpa and Granny from Canberra called in to see the birthday boy. Then on Sunday, we had a celebration with family and friends. Thomas got his prized ‘Beyblades’ (basically a reinvention of a spinning top), a pirate dress-up and lots of Lego. Thomas cleverly outsourced the construction of the new Lego sets to Grandma and Sienna!
Next, Nan turned the big 90. Understandably, Nan didn’t quite have the same zest for birthday celebrations as Thomas. But that didn’t stop of the rest of the family! As a child, Nan believed her birthday was the 11th of November. That’s what her mother had told her. However, when she saw her birth certificate at age 16 she found out her registered birth date was 8 November! Given our family penchant for birthday celebrations, this looked like a pretty good excuse for two celebrations. And so it was, we had a family lunch and dinner on 8 November and then another family celebration of 11 November. All the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren were there to join in an important celebration for a truly wonderful person.
After four weeks at home, the itch to return to our gypsy-like wandering life was growing stronger. While the kids had slotted back into school with ease, they too jumped at the chance to get back on the road. For some reason, Sienna really wanted to go to Broken Hill and the NSW Outback. And so it was, we boarded a flight back to Adelaide.
Thomas' 7th Birthday
Nan's 90th Birthday
