Baby Fig Newton: 30th Birthday Surprise Getaway- Port Stephens

As my 30th birthday quickly approaches- Dan thought he would catch me off guard and plan a surprise birthday party early. It worked- I was not expecting anything over the weekend- and was pleasantly surprised when he told me to pack my bags on Friday morning for a trip up the coast. Katie and Justin, Bec and Andy, Dan, Dyllan and I all headed up to Port Stephens early Friday afternoon for a weekend of fun and celebrations.

Dan organized a great Bed and Breakfast about 5 min drive from the beach- on a farm with a separate guest house. The family who owned it couldn't have been any nicer. We all said it felt like we were visiting family friends- they made us feel right at home. We were all surprised to see all the animals on the farm- especially the pony, Henry- who was one of the highlights! Dyllan especially enjoyed Henry- and they were nice enough to give her (several) pony rides.

Luckily we made it through the weekend without a trip to the hospital- Katie is 8+ months pregnant and the little guy thankfully decided Port Stephens wasn't the time to come into the world.

Dan did a great job organizing the whole weekend- I am so lucky! I had a great birthday weekend.. and even better? I still have a few weeks of celebrating till my actual birthday!

The Farm- Katie, Justin, Dan, Dyllan and I arrived around 3pm on Friday- just in time to meet the animals- the family who hosted us, and for Dan to put on a BBQ with his famous burgers!

Dyllan's bad hair day.. it just wouldn't settle down.. Katie said it best when she called her Doc Holliday

Dyllan was so excited to ride Henry the horse!

Katie, Justin and Henry (Katie is due any day now!)

The house

Bec and Andy joined us around 9:30pm Friday night- for movies, games, and a somewhat early bed time. We all woke up SUPER early Saturday morning - had breakfast then headed to Shoal Bay for the Jazz, Food and Wine festival.

We spent the morning at the festival and beach, then headed back to the house to hang out by the pool while Dyllan slept. Saturday night we had cocktails (virgin for some of us) and appetizers by the pool and a BBQ dinner. We stayed up talking around the table till late- then watched a movie and fell asleep.

Snug as a bug in a rug... Dyllan gets ready to hit the windy beach- after the Port Stephens Jazz, Food & Wine Festival

Shoal Beach

Beautiful sand and water!

Family

Potty training is going well... so well, she thought she needed to take her diaper off at the beach!

Dyllan was in heaven on the beach.. running up and down, in and out of the water.. spinning in circles, chasing the seagulls.. picking up shells.. she could hang out at the beach all day I think.

Handstands

Lifeguard on duty

Whats that you see, Dyllan? Need to make a rescue?!

Port Stephens Jazz, Food & Wine festival- big pan of Paella!

Dyllan couldn't WAIT to get in the pool... it was freezing.. so no one else really wanted to go in with her. The cold didn't seem to bother her.. she outlasted everyone.
Maca (named after McDonnald's) was on lifeguard duty.

Katie and her 8+ month pregnant bikini body! Not bad!

Andy and Dyllan

Warming up in the hot tub after the freezing cold pool!

Hot tubs and bloody mary's

BBQing with the boys

Sunday morning we woke up early (again) and headed over to One Mile Beach for coffee- the surfers were out- and fun to watch. After coffee and the beach- we went to check out The Lookout- and on the way spotted a Koala in a eucalyptus tree! Its not very often you see them in wild..or maybe its just me who doesn't often see them..? Dyllan got another ride on Henry before we left.