The beach, the beach!

Another fun-filled weekend was had by the Gifford family in Sydney.

Well, we'll start with Friday's debacle first.  Gotta have at least one a week for me!  I had a 9:00 appointment with the day care for the kids at the gym.  So I hurry, get them ready to go only to find out that once again, the elevator isn't working.  BLAST!  I'm determined to go to the gym, so what do I do?  Pack the boys in the stroller with Isla by my side and yes, I took the stroller down 4 flights of stairs.  Again, nobody got injured in the process - score 1 for me!  However, I was super hot and sweaty by the time I reached the bottom, and honestly not in the best of moods.  We strolled to the gym and made it JUST on time.  BUT... the friendly guy at the counter gently reminded me that my appointment was for 10:00, not 9.  Grrrrr.  I was less than impressed.  Very defeated, I told him to cancel my booking.  We will have to find something else to do on this beautiful sunny day.  So, dressed in my work out clothes, I decided to take the kids to China Town to Paddy's Market.  I had to ask a few people what stop to get off at and what direction to walk, but we managed to get there without too much trouble.  I LOVED it and the kids did fabulously.  The boys slept almost the entire time we were at the market and Isla just loved looking at all the trinkety things.  I bought a couple beach towels (even haggled the price down a little) and some more Christmas presents.  We'll have to make another stop at this place.  It was a lot of fun! 

Friday night was a night out just Devon and I.  We have a great trusted babysitter that seems to always be available when we need her.  And Isla loves her, so that's a bonus!  We went to The Rocks night market and I bought a cute sun dress and some Christmas Ornaments.  I still find it weird seeing Christmas decorations up when it's so hot out.  Then met a friend of Devon's out at the Belgian Beer Cafe.  It's always good to get out!

Got up early on Saturday and headed to the beach.  We were totally prepared this time!  Swim diapers; check, sand toys; check, beach towels; check, we even had a little tent!  Made it to the beach only to find that it was closed.  The current was too strong and the waves were too big.  That's ok though, we went to a different beach not too far away.  Got everything set up so we took everyone down to the water.  Wow, my kids were NOT impressed!  None of them like the water.  Bummer!  Guess it's just me taking a dip.  The ocean was cold, but very refreshing.  We had to cut the day at the beach a bit short because we were invited to eat dinner at the assistant pastor's house.  They invited a few other families with kids as well.  There were probably about a dozen kids total.  Talk about chaos!!  Ian and Drew were exhausted from the day at the beach, and Isla actually fell asleep while eating her dinner!  We stayed as long as we could (made it through a lovely dessert of pavlova), got home and crashed.  

Sunday was another beach day.  This time we met a bunch of Devon's co-workers (aka baby helpers) and camped out on the main Manly Beach.  I had an absolute blast that day.  The adult to kid ratio was WAY above the normal 2:3 so I was able to enjoy myself without chasing after kids.  Actually, they all did very well and stayed very close to all of us.  Isla just loves playing in the sand, rolling in it, throwing it etc.  The boys probably ate their fare share, but also had a blast.  I just wish they would get accustomed to the water.  Maybe when it warms up a bit later this summer. 

Ahh, what a great weekend!

And good news!!  We have DSL!  Now I'm just working on getting a portable A/C unit and we'll be all set!

I am also in the midst of planning 'The Gifford Christmas Vacation' to New Zealand.  We got our Campervan rented, just need to plan the route.  It will totally be a National Lampoons adventure, so stay tuned for that blog post!  :)

Love and miss you all!

~Mary