Sammy turned six on the 29th September. He had his portrait taken (and a few extra gourmet carrots) to celebrate. He, and Abi, have come a long way together after he joined the family a year ago.
And it was my turn on the 2nd October - although I am considerably older than Sammy's 6 years, however.
I was lucky enough to spend my birthday with Rob and Ella, driving to Sydney for an early start to the long weekend - and a stopover in Wollongong on the way to have lunch with Ollie and Tess.
We spent all of Friday with Ella, exploring Sydney via the Light Rail and Metro - and the foodie delights of Chatswood in particular. First off, we did some grazing in the Food Hall of the Mandarin Centre.
... and then a proper lunch at Hawker Lane, Chatswood's very own "eat street" in the basement level of the Myer Centre. Rob and Ella shared this rice noodle bowl from "Yummy Guilin Taste" - which just about blew Rob's socks off it was so spicy!
Josh, Jody and Abi joined us in Coogee late on Friday night ready for three days of beachside fun together.
We recovered afterwards at the Orchard Hotel with a calming beer and a lemon lime & bitters for Ella!
We always do a lot of walking in Coogee; the cars stay parked for the whole time. This weekend was no different.
That's walking ....... with Yo-Chi breaks of course ...........
On Saturday night we set out dressed and ready for a night on the town .......
First there were pre-dinner drinks at the old Australian Heritage Hotel at the Rocks.
This pair make every event fun!
We had dinner afterwards at the stylish and moody Sake Restaurant and Bar on Argyle Street. We'd been there two years before to celebrate my birthday, and it's achieved family favourite status!
The Pinot Noir from Mt Macedon was pretty special too!
The Sake Restaurant Dragon Egg dessert was a spectacular choice for Josh.
And they didn't forget it was my birthday!
My matcha mochi dessert was a highlight too!
Sunday of the long weekend (and Grand Final Day to boot) was a HUGE day in Coogee - this is what the beach looked like by the middle of the day......
Abi is a keen NRL supporter - especially the Brisbane based Broncos team. So we headed up to the lovely old Royal Hotel at the top of Coogee Bay Road to watch the Grand Final on Sunday night. While the rest of us aren't as interested in the competition as Abi is, it proved to be a great game to watch as we enjoyed our pre dinner drinks and slap up pub meal in front of one of the Royal's giant screens. And the Broncos won the game too - yay!
Monday was a whole lot quieter however, especially after Josh, Jody and the girls left for the drive back to Canberra around lunch time
All we have left after the best weekend ever are the memories and my gratitude (and this mix of gorgeous pics!).
