More June celebrations!

On the 14th, I had a wonderfully lazy and heart-stoppingly perfect birthday celebration complete with presents, a pavlova cake and eggs benedict at one of the many Rathdowne cafes. Showered with thoughtful cards, a local designer book bag and my very own i-Pod I felt lucky and truly spoiled.

On the 18th we hosted about 20 of our new found friends for a "shout' of thanks at the Great Northern Hotel. We bought a round and nibblies for everyone and enjoyed bringing together all of the people we have met through the kids' school as well as the surrounding neigbourhood. More people came and stayed longer than we expected and we were so happy to offer a more proper goodbye to some of the very kind and friendly folk we can now call friends.

The 20th was Colin's family birthday and we finally managed to follow up on a promise of taking the boys to Melbourne's version of Coney Island - Luna Park. We hit it early and often and despite a few touch and go moments on the swinging boat for Lint, there were no major nausea incidents. The bumper cars, ghost train and the ancient wooden roller coaster that still has the brakeman standing in the middle of the cars(!) were highlights. After the park I dragged the family over to walk the historic St. Kilda Pier for our daily dose of - cultcha! A hot chocolate in the great cafe at the tip of the pier warmed our chilled bones and the tram ride home was a quick and quiet affair as we dosed our way back up Lygon.

And finally, on the 21st, we celebrated Father's Day. It is not actually Father's Day in Australia (that happens in September) but the family was nice enough to give me a Hawthorn Hawks t-shirt and, even better, we played nine holes of golf together as a family! Hooray! What a neat experience. We had the course to ourselves which allowed Al to swing away as much as he wanted while the rest of us played a little more by the rules. Colin's swing is amazing and with the right sized clubs he could be an excellent golfer. Lint hit the ball well all day long and I was my usual inconsistent self.

Just four more days and ways we continue to build some incredible Melbourne memories.