Constable Cassidy; The lady of the many hats;
On her way to the shops with Uncle Cam and Dianne (Grandma)
WILLIAM JOSEPH
Christian (aka Daddy), Dianne (Grandma) and young Will prepare for his Christening; Grandpa PJ introduces Will to Guiness (get them started on the good stuff early); Daddy and Will - two Joeys boys
Before the bushwalk...
We set off early as it is a surprising distance from Randwick to the mountains (100kms) and after meeting with mum and Dad at the foot of the mountains, decided to spend time at the National Park in one of the first Mountain suburbs.
The picnic spread...spoilt within minutes by my spilling soft drink on the picnic blanket.
To reach the park, we had to drive down some rather daunting hills (which many a cyclist was trying to ride up!) but nothing was too challenging for our new car and we followed a short dirt road to a nice picnic clearing. Once we had partaken of the birthday feast (including KFC and birthday cake), we decided to hike it off along a bushwalk graded as 'Beginner'. By the time we were halfway to our destination, there were serious questions to the validity of this claim by the Department of Parks and Wildlife however, we pressed on, inspired no doubt by the promise of the stunning view of the Nepean River that was to come.
After what seemed like abseiling down the remainder of the mountain, imagine our surprise and disappointment when we reached the river - and the end of the path that was not the park or grassy area we were expecting but a patch of sand about 50cm squared....We had to perch on a rock to relax! We stayed for all of 5 minutes before facing the inevitable task of climbing back up the hill...aided by my trusty walking stick, I huffed and puffed my way up the mountain, stopping every 5 metres to avoid an asthma, heart or panic attack. Kudos to mum and dad or their positive attitude up the hill but I still don't think they believed me when I assured them we were not trying to knock them off in the bushlands. Cam in the meantime, proved the fittest of the group and practically bounded back up the mountain.
The rock upon which we perched when we reached our destination; The Nepean River
The sandy patch; Dad, Mum and I successfully reach the top of the mountain.
On the way back to our cars, we spotted some kangaroos resting in the park and they were more than happy to oblige our photos.
Happy Birthday to mum and Dad for the 1st and 9th of April!
But with every closing chapter, a new one is created and thus enters our new Mazda (Chakka Zoom Zoom, as christened by PJ recently). Please see pictures below of the proud new parents:
With driving now a pleasure, Cam and I have taken several trips up and down the coast already but decided that one of our first was a spin around the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney and in particular, I was keen to drive out to the Heads past Vaucluse - very scenic!
Me in my party dress and new shoes ( perhaps I am trying to show off my eyelashes?!)
Saturday evening saw a party hosted in their honour, complete with professional karaoke tunes as arranged by Dani and Chris. Fear set in and I vowed to not take to the stage however several glasses of Marlborough wine got the better of me and before I knew it, I had microphone in one hand and Cam as my backup singer in the other and was belting out 'Stuck in the middle'. After a terrifying 4 minutes, I survived this experience and decided that Cam and I would be well suited to a duet - so we took Chris aside and asked him to assist us in preparing a rendition of 'Please don't ask me'.
The adults table looked rather tame at the start of the evening; the kiddie table, with PJ as our guest (one night only)
In the meantime, as it was party central, Miss Donovan refused to stay in her crib and demanded to be seen by the public - see shot below in her jumpsuit, struggling to keep her eyes open but refusing to be beaten by such a threat!
Edna and Dianne kicked off the evening with a French rendition of...a French song?!; The gents step up to the plate with a noisy version of 'Oh Lord, it's hard to be Humble'. Indeed :)
As the evening wore on and the wine continued to flow freely, I even found myself adapting to my surroundings with the greatest of ease - my proudest moment that evening was surely being able to collect Cassidy before she ran down the driveway, in one arm, whilst not spilling my half full glass of wine in the other :)
Who is this handsome fella then? Young Fred makes an appearance; Uncle Cam and Cassidy; Cam and I - the dynamic duo
Johnny and Anna pose for the cameras; Anna blowing out her candle in true blog-moment style!
The birthday gang gathers round
