Short long weekend

It went so quickly! After picking Joss up early from a slumber party we drove up to Sydney on Friday. Now that the kids are older it is a much easier trip, I don't even dread it anymore! We listened to The Voyage of the Dawn Treader on CD. I don't think Bethany was really listening, we need more practice with audio books, but the rest of us enjoyed it. It is probably my favourite book in the Narnia series and I did get very teary over Reepicheep, despite the silly voice.

We had a very good run, making it all the way to the Southern Highlands before stopping for lunch, and the slowest part of the trip was the end of the M2 and Pennant Hills Road. Honestly, it's very nice to visit, but who would live in Sydney?! ;) We arrived in Wahroonga, had a catch up with the Heaps and drove just five minutes to the Blue Gum for dinner with my side of the family. Such fun!!

Oh, the joy! It was so lovely to see everyone and several of us hadn't met the twins. The children all played together very well. I think they'll get better at photos as they get older.......

The twins are growing up beautifully and they put up with being passed from person to person (I did find it hard to let go). Phil was still en route from Melbourne so Kristin was flying solo and doing a fabulous job.

Pumpkin is as beautiful as ever and said all our names. She especially likes saying 'bubba' which is very handy as she will be getting one very soon.

The Blue Gum was a great place to go. The food was very good though the portions were gargantuan. I had lamb cutlets with harissa, haloumi and salad and managed to eat it all (it was called a 'light meal') but Mum had ribs and her plate was so full I think it was a whole beast's worth. Kristin had a piece of sticky toffee pudding that could have fed a family of four (she shared it). You know I love to eat but I think they should give you the option of having a smaller serve.

Wouldn't you know it, I was hungry again by morning! Thankfully, Sare and Ty asked us over for breakfast. What a breakfast it was too! We had pesto stuffed tomatoes, spanish omelet, berries and gluten free french toast - delicious. The real treat, of course, was getting to meet Samira and playing with Xavie.
We also shared our favourite You Tube songs (The Duck Song for us and Annoying Orange for them).

Sare and Ty had a wedding to go to and we went to Hornsby. We all look forward to going to the big shops, though I confess that it is hard to amuse all of us all of the time, and we got our fix and ran in to Tim and Shona.

We had a little rest before getting ready to go to the wedding. I didn't take any good photos. I was much too busy having fun. It was great to see all the family and yet to be without the children :) Henry, Finn and Fletcher were there (my cousin's children) as Henry and Finn were being page boys. They slid down the stairs while waiting for the ceremony to begin. This is poor Mel, running after them.

They did their job perfectly even though they are so young.

Mais looked beautiful and the venue was great. The wedding was supposed to be in the garden but it was pouring and cold so was indoors. We sat on the cousins' table and had loads of laughs. Mais is from a Palestinian family so there was lots of dancing, great music and a belly dancer. The food was great, though I thought they could have done better than plain fruit for gluten free dessert - curse this two month gluten free trial!

And that was the end of our trip to Sydney! It was so very quick that we decided to go to Canberra on the way home. We booked an excellent room at the last minute.

Toby slept on these couches, pushed together to make a double bed.

We were on the 8th floor and enjoyed the view, though didn't want the kids hanging over the railing of the balcony.

On Monday morning, after a lazy start, we parked over the road from Floriade. We haven't been for years.

The flowers were, of course, spectacular.

I like the riot of colour but preferred the more subtle plantings.

Nice balloon placement......

In the afternoon, by popular demand, we went to Questacon.

Lots of scientific fun.

We waited at least half an hour to go in the earthquake house which was, all things considered, rather tame. This slide, however, was hardcore. Those legs belong to Toby, of all people!

It's called the free fall.

He did it twice!

Two and a half hours later we were home. I have just received the first 16 of 40 assignments so had better get to it. Sigh.....

What's your favourite book or character in the Chronicles of Narnia?