Anna reading her poem by Grandma Patience’s gravesite

This past week has been about getting ready for our trip to Sydney. We had decided earlier in the year that we would spend two weeks in Sydney around Thanksgiving for Jude’s 10th birthday. Also, my father just turned 90 so we wanted to spend some time with him as well. We left Denver on Friday night and arrived in Sydney on Sunday morning.

The tradition now when we get to Sydney is to drive straight from the airport to my mother’s grave. I know she would appreciate us honoring her in this way as she was always the one who was most excited to see us when we came to Sydney. Anna read a poem she had written and we all honored her in our own way. It was a special time for me.

Anna and Jude enjoy their first dip in the ocean at Manly

Then it was on to the beach and our apartment in Manly. We are staying in the same building as last year just a different unit. It is 50 yards to the beach and we have a patrolled area right in front. Both Jude and Anna just love the ocean. They were jumping over waves, giggling and splashing around for ages even though the ocean was cold (around 69 degrees). The unit came with a boogie board and Anna was out there catching waves again and again.

Jude playing catch with his cousin Sarah

On Sunday afternoon, Ian and Leila came over with their daughter Sarah. Jude and Anna have been really looking forward to seeing their cousin and they loved playing with her. They played some catch and kicked the ball around our unit and then we all went down to the beach and had some dinner together. It was a great first day of our trip.

Jude and Anna with their Australian cousin, Sarah, who is 20 months old