We've had some wonderful times staying with Fiona and Jason on their yacht at various places around the world, and it was about time we returned the favour. With baby Molly now 3 months old the Harvey's finally arrived in Sydney. We had a wonderful time showing them our favourite parts of the city, including several days at the beach making the most of the tropical ocean temperatures.

The day after they arrived was Dylan's 3rd birthday so we threw a little party for him in the park at Tamarama. Fiona had made a fantastic Thomas the Tank Engine cake, and we cooked up sausages on the BBQ. The next day we caught the bus into Circular Quay and Fiona and Jason got their first view of the Bridge and Opera House. We had a quick snack in the Botanical Gardens then caught a ferry across to Watson's Bay for fish and chips on the beach. At least that was the plan. From nowhere an icy cold wind had blown in and we took refuge behind a big fig tree in the park. Fish and Chips was a gritty affair as dirt kept being blown into the trays, and wasn't quite as relaxing as we'd planned! Somehow Fiona had left a rucksack on the ferry so we had a hot chocolate in the cafe while we waited for the ferry to come back, thankfully with the backpack still on board. The day got worse before we got home - both Molly and Emily kicked off in the packed bus on the way back to Bondi!

George took the first week off and took the Harveys to Featherdale Wildlife Park where Dylan got to meet and feed kangaroos, and ducks. Most days we had to get out the house to stay sane, but on the Thursday the rain just would not stop so we decamped to an indoor soft play park to wear the kids out. Annie brought Zach and Cooper and the kids had a fantastic time in the ball pit and running wild all over the place. The parents quite enjoyed the bouncy castle too!

On the Friday, after a relaxing day in Centennial Park, we abandoned the children to a babysitter and headed off to the airport for a sunset helicopter ride. It was Jason's treat and a very special trip, with the harbour looking incredible in the setting sun. We flew up across Darling Harbour, out over the Bridge then circled around the Opera House a couple of times before following the North Shore across to Manly and the Northern Beaches. Then a thrilling,, stomach churning few minutes as we followed the coast line down from South Head to Bondi and around the Eastern Beaches to Maroubra before heading back to land safely at the airport. We were all on a high as the limo dropped us back in Circular Quay and sank several cocktails at the Opera Bar in quick succession. That was followed by another cocktail across the water at Quay, before rocking up half cut to our dinner reservation at the rather posh Cafe Sydney. In a mood for celebration, we ordered bottle after bottle of Veuve Clicquot, and after a mountain of delicious oysters we were all way too far gone to even taste the main course. At some point the waiter must have asked us what we were celebrating - and someone said it was Fiona's birthday. So when we took our dessert out on the balcony looking over the Bridge, Fiona's cheese platter had a candle stuck in it! We had a great night, and our apologies to the other patrons...

On the Sunday we left the kids with the babysitter again, which proved slightly traumatic, and escaped to the SCG to watch the Swans beat the Tigers. After a couple of beers at the Belgian Beer Cafe we didn't want to go home again.

The next week the Harveys had a couple of nights in the Blue Mountains. Then on Thursday I took them into the Rocks and back to the Botanical Gardens so Dylan could ride on the train. Friday was another day spent at Centennial Park, watching the ducks and chasing Galahs.

On the Saturday we walked along the cliff path from Tamarama to Coogee, stopping to ride the train and eat fish and chips in Bronte. George and Fiona's Mum had sent us a Geotag, which she wanted placed in a Geocache somewhere near Bondi. Not having heard of these before, we looked up the Geocaching website and discovered that there were thousands of little boxes hidden all over the world. We found our first hanging off the rocks near Clovelly Bowling Club, and happily placed the Jethro Dog Tag inside. It was actually quite exciting - so we went on to track down another cache at Gordon's Bay. Geocaching is strangely addictive, and the next day our trip to the fish markets wasn't complete without looking for the cache hidden there. Sadly we failed to find the box this time, and George nearly got his hand stuck in a rat trap instead. We did however have a lovely lunch of lobster, prawns and oysters with Katie and Dan.

We had a wonderful few weeks and Emily loved having her big cousin Dylan to follow around. The house seemed very empty and quiet after they were gone!