ANOTHER SUMMER BIRTHDAY!

I had another memorable summer birthday - I guess when you are used to a winter one you have to make it the best ever since summer birthdays will come to an end eventually. This year Kev took a few days off and we decided to head north out of the city. Originally we thought we would just drive a few hours and then stop somewhere and find a place to stay. Then we thought of the time of year and decided we better pick a final destination and book a hotel room. We picked Port Stephens and found a place to stay in a little town called Tea Gardens. It was so cute and quaint and I fell in love with the place! We decided to drive up on Sunday after Church because we were already 20 minutes closer to our destination. We stayed for three whole days!! More on that in another post. This one is all about my day!!

So on my birthday we went dolphin watching. There was a 99% chance to see a dolphin - because it is estimated that at least 150 dolphins live in the bay. We got on the boat and headed out for our three hour cruise - Kev had the song from Gilligan's Island running through my head and said that he was a bit nervous since it was a three hour tour...LOL!! We saw so many dolphins. They are really hard to get pictures of since they just ride the waves - no jumping that I saw. It was so worth it! The kids and Kev had fun riding in the boom net off the back of the boat - Madi was making me laugh when she was making dolphin noises so they would come closer. It sprinkled on us a bit but the sun also peaked out from behind the clouds and the ocean was beautiful. I was in heaven!

After our trip to see the dolphins we got some lunch at a yummy sandwich shop and headed back to the hotel. Kev took the older kids to the outdoor pool and I read a book while Rylee took a nap. Soon a thunderstorm rolled in. The kids and Kev got back just in time for the heavens to open and the rains to come in sheets. We sat inside and the kids watched a movie while listening to the thunder outside. I love thunderstorms. We then decided to go to the store and buy some fixins for a BBQ for dinner - plus a birthday cake. We came back and used the BBQ facilities at the hotel for a yummy dinner. We decided to save our cake for later and headed to Bennet's beach for a walk.

Should have have known to have the kids put on their swimmers - they ended up soaked. The beach was so lovely. The sand felt funny under our feet due to the rain pounding it for a few hours. The storm had also washed up tons of seashells - not the broken ones either. There was a bit of a haze over the horizon and we saw an amazing sunset over the hills. I am always amazed at the beauties that God has put on this earth for us to enjoy. The world around us is truly amazing!