The entire Renton family at the Heath-Renton wedding

We thoroughly enjoyed our week at the beach on Manly. The weather was pretty good for the most part and we spent part of every day on the beach. Both kids got really good at catching waves on their boogie boards as they spent many hours honing this skill.

Jude catching a wave on his boogie board at Manly

We also did some ocean swimming and Anna did her first Shelley Beach to Manly swim, over half a mile in the ocean. Jude did several runs along the beach and there was a lot of just playing in the sand and surf. Then, of course, we had the daily trip to Moevenpick for ice cream. We also had an afternoon of standup paddle boarding on the calm harbour beach of Balmoral. Marcy had a bit of an issue one day that led to three hospital visits in a ten hour period. She dove under a wave and came up with something in her eye. And then she couldn’t close it. She was in a lot of pain so we got to the hospital where they said there was some loose skin in her eye and a abrasion on her cornea. She is ok now, thankfully.

Stand up paddle boarding at Balmoral

The reason for our trip back to Sydney was for Robyn, my sister, and Mark’s wedding. On Saturday morning we drove about 2 hours to the small town of Moss Vale for the wedding. Anna was a flower girl in the wedding and was beyond excited about it. We dropped her off a couple of hours before the wedding so she could get ready with the bridesmaids and Robyn.

Getting her hair done with the bridesmaids just a couple of hours before the big event

I had the honor of walking Robyn down the aisle given our Dad passed away six months ago. She was a bit nervous but carried herself well. The ceremony was beautiful and funny at the same time. The celebrant was quite the character and he put everyone at ease.

Walking Robyn “down the aisle” and across the bridge at her wedding

Robyn arrived at the wedding, along with Anna and the bridesmaids, in a horse and carriage. And Marcy actually hitched a ride as well. It was an outdoor wedding on a country estate and they got married by a lake. Anna had a basket of flower petals and she walked in front of Robyn and I throwing out rose petals. Then she stood with the bridesmaids through the entire ceremony.

The flower girls, Anna and Sarah, with the bride and groom in front of the horse and carriage

After the ceremony they had some outdoor games setup which helped Jude stay amused. There were not many kids there but Marcy and I played with him. I thought that Jude and possibly Anna would be bored by the time the dinner came. But they actually both had a great time. Jude loved playing with his cousin Sarah and Anna was happy to be at the center of it all. By

Jude showing Sarah a Pez dispenser

By the time the dancing started it was quite late but Anna was raring to go. I had several dances with her and Jude joined in as well. Little Sarah was also tearing up the dance floor with her dad, Ian.We ended up staying to the very end and we got back to our hotel at about 11:30pm. The kids did really well and slept soundly that night.

Celebrating Sarah’s fourth birthday

The next day we drove back to the coast and celebrated Sarah’s 4th birthday. She was actually turning four on Monday but we celebrated a day early since we were all together anyway. Ian chose this beautiful restaurant overlooking the Wollongong beaches.

Jude taking a last swim in the Pacific Ocean before heading to the airport

We spent the last two nights at Maroubra which was the closest ocean beach to the airport. On our last day we drove to Coogee and Bondi where the waves were perfect for boogie boarding. The trip was over all too quickly and on Tuesday morning we had one last swim in the ocean before heading to the airport.

Anna in the cockpit on the plane from LA to Denver

The trip back was ok, but long of course. Anna has often said she would like to be a pilot when she grows up so when we boarded the flight to Denver from LAX I mentioned this to the flight attendant and they let her in to the cockpit. She was thrilled.

This weekend was a cold and snowy one. Jude’s soccer tournament was canceled but he did have a sleepover birthday party on Saturday night which kept him entertained. Anna also had a sleepover on Friday night. Then this afternoon Anna had her first cotillion class so she got all dressed up for it.

Anna all ready to go to her first cotillion class