Sri Lanka.... again

Last month during mid-term break we headed to Sri Lanka for a third time, but the first time with Frankie.
We rented an amazing villa in the south, just outside of Galle with two other families, all up 6 adults and 7 children under 6.

It was a fabulous holiday with lots of laughs, champagne, fresh seafood, swimming and relaxation.

If anyone is considering travelling to Sri Lanka, do it, I could not recommend it enough. Of all the travelling we have done it ranks in my top 2 favourite countries.

The villa we rented was called Auraylia, right on the beach with about 2 acres of gardens, swimming pool and several pavilions for relaxing and dining in the evenings. It also came with lots of house staff, a chef and security guard, very luxe but worth every bit of it.

After a lot of beautiful weather and far too much food we left the south and headed to the capital Colombo. We have never stayed in Colombo in the past other than airport hotels while travelling so this was a first for us.
I am so mad we have not discovered just how awesome Colombo is underneath its grimy, confronting exterior before now. Homewares shopping heaven, friendly people and unique places, the Cricketers Club was a fabulous hidden gem for a cold beer and lunch after a morning of shopping.

Happy Birthday Frankie Lulu!

Wow, I can't believe the last time I posted was for Piper's 5th birthday, and now here we are with our baby girl turning 1 last week.

It has been a long time between posts, I am hopeless at lying and there has been a lot going on in our little world. While we have known for a couple of months some big changes were ahead we weren't ready to make any public announcements until details were finalised. You will notice I also stopped blogging during the first half of my pregnancy for the same reasons, I can't blog when I am only telling half the story.

All is in motion and there is no turning back - we are coming home.  Our house in Dubai has been packed into a shipping container and we have moved in with friends for the next month. We are coming home to Australia just in time for Christmas and the fun of an Australian summer.
We are returning to somewhat of a sea change rather than Melbourne and a change in roles of sorts. Naz is returning to work with Fire Brigade and I will be continuing my project role here in Dubai but working from home for a little while.

I am going to work backwards and get some post and photos up of the last few missing months. In amongst the craziness there have been some fun times, trips to Paris, and Sri Lanka, an amazing effort by Naz in the Dubai Half Ironman and other triathlons, and lots of fun sister moments.
I have decided to get these up and more of our final weeks in Dubai to close out our blog of our Middle East adventures, a nice little memory the girls can read and see one day.

Below are some pics of our Frankie Lulu on her 1st birthday.