Last Day in Sydney

I can't believe I'm typing this but today was our last full day in Sydney. We spent the morning packing up and taking care of last details. Our whole family joined Sarah and me for the last of our Wednesday lunches. I realized I've been so focused on getting pictures of the kids with their friends that I don't have many pictures of me with my friends so I asked Brian to help out. Here I am giving Sarah one last squeeze.

And then in the afternoon Anna and her kids came by for a last afternoon tea.

Liz and Ruby came by for a last hug. Liz even brought the girls gummy bears and other treats. Tess stayed calm, even a little aloof for their goodbye but then made me hold her for the next twenty minutes. I said, "Goodbyes are hard." She said, "You know what makes them better? Gummy bears." Then she paused and said, "but even gummy bears can't fix goodbyes."

With the last of our goodbyes under our belt we decided to end our trip the way we started it - as a family of four downtown by the Opera House. We watched the sunset, admired the water and reminisced.

 We walked around the corner to the Rocks and saw these lovely Australian paper lanterns.

We treated the girls to dinner at Pancakes on the Rocks. Emily got the Funny Face and Tess ordered the Butterfly.

We thought it only fitting to end with a ferry ride. We read Possum Magic before bed and tucked the girls into bed. Tomorrow we fly home.

Sydney etched itself on our hearts. We will never forget our time here. We saw so much, felt so much, learned so much and experienced so much here. We'll miss our friends. We'll miss the lifestyle and the beauty. We'll never be fully ready to leave but it's time now and I know we'll be happy and excited to get home again. I'll post a few more times once we get home. Wish us luck on the flights tomorrow!