BROOME

Bridgie on her birthday morning

Bridgie with Mama

Bridgie and her siblings - sharing the excitement

Surfie David - my gorgeous husband

The Hansen men at the "beauty parlour"

The Hansen women at the "beauty parlour" - NB Ben taking off the nail polish

Getting the full treatment

Our babies

Our family at Cable Beach

The kids with Mama and Papa

Our beautiful big seven year old

Decorating her cake - a very serious job!

She absolutely sparkles - our Bridgie!

DAY 66 – BROOME                                                            Tuesday, 6^th September

Our beautiful little baby is SEVEN!!!  Bridgie’s birthday today and she had it all under control.  We had CocoPops and pancakes for breakfast, followed by present opening which is always very exciting!  We then went into town for the purchasing of the cake (thank God Mum was spared the stress of two birthday cakes this year!!).  We then headed to the beach where the surf was, again, absolutely sensational.  Even I couldn’t stay out of the water – and we couldn’t get Marjie off the boogie board either!!  The water is so warm, so clear and the colour of turquoise.  Just perfect.

After having some lunch it was time for Tess and Bridgie to set up their “beauty parlour” where they proceeded to do EVERYONE’s hair and nails.  It was a fantastic place because you got a back massage as well as moisturising and massaging hands and feet!  Ben is the best “nail polish remover” I have ever seen.  Mama and I were spoilt – particularly Mama who ended up with pale pink nail polish on her toenails and bright red on her fingernails!  The afternoon was spent by the pool and relaxing watching all the kids enjoy “free time” in their own way: Ben and Bridget jumping all over David in the pool, Tess reading quietly by herself, and Beth happy to be in the company of us all.

We went to Zanders Restaurant at Cable Beach for a special dinner tonight – our family, watching the sun set over Cable Beach for the last night.  Just so special.  We had a delicious meal and I love watching the kids trying new things – like eating seaweed tonight!  They are all growing up so quickly and I think an experience like this really gives them the freedom to branch out on their own, to try things they haven’t tried before, to be a little more independent and to take calculated risks which, when they pay off, give them such a sense of achievement.

I am sad we are leaving Broome tomorrow.  I could happily stay here for a lot longer, even though I thought I would be ready to leave.  It really is such a special place and I am so glad that we made a point of staying here for a holiday.  It was everything I dreamed and more.  But there is still so much more to see so with only one month to go, it really is time to move on to other adventures.