As you know we recently surprised Bebe with a weekend away for his 8th Birthday. A few weeks ago I asked him to make a list of the things he would like for his birthday and he came up with this list: Stay at a holiday house, go to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary or Currumbin Beach, go bowling and/or the arcade, go to Sushi Train and have the day off school.
I just love that his wish list is all experiences, not toys, as that is something that we’re passionate about instilling in the boys – memories and moments are so important. We decided to tell him that we were taking a trip down the coast to Currumbin Beach for his early birthday present and I sneakily packed a suitcase and hid it in the car so he didn’t suspect anything.
After a few hours of soldier crab catching, building and general boys at the beach shenanigans we told the boys we had to go find a bathroom. Of course Bebe can read and pointed out all the public bathrooms we drove past on the way to Quest Apartments Robina where we had organised to stay for three nights! When we arrived we asked him if he’d like to stay as his birthday present and Bebe’s response… YES FOR TEN NIGHTS! Dream big baby, dream big 😉
The Team at Quest Apartments Robina had kindly left us a hamper with yummy treats for the boys, wine for us and breakfast goodies. What we love about Quest Apartments is that they’re self contained AND serviced apartments. So we have the convenience of being able to cater to the boys with eating in, and doing washing while you’re there so no washing mountain when you get home, while also having the luxury of housekeeping during your stay.
And of course I got us special pajamas for the get away LOL!
The next day Bebe requested we go fishing back at Currumbin, which is only about 15 minutes away from the Apartments, so headed back to the beach for the morning. It’s such a great spot for kids, nice and calm with heaps of beach to play on! Bebe even caught a few fish and if you listed to Bambino, he was bitten by a crab (did not happen… by the end of our trip the crab had basically eaten off his leg, a true fisherman in the making with his tall tales ha ha!).
When I was pregnant with Bambino, Bebe BEGGED me to share the room with ‘HIS’ baby. He told me how he’d help the baby and sing to the baby… well Bambino is an EARLY riser and very loud ha ha! So fast forward 3 years and Bebe no longer has an interest in sharing his room with his brother, but they did sleep in the same bed at Quest Robina and it was the CUTEST thing!
Sunday night friends of ours drove down and met us at Currumbin, Lou is a photographer (Life With Lou Photography) and kindly snapped a few family photos for us before dinner! We also realised all our kids had the same jumpers, so of course we HAD to get a teddy bear’s picnic photo of them. Bambino has no pants on because he ran into the water about ten seconds after we arrived and I didn’t take a spare set of clothes. Kids hey! Bebe absolutely loved having a fish & chip picnic at the beach!
It’s so handy being able to organise meals in the apartments, not only does it keep costs down by not eating out every meal, but you can enjoy a slow morning or casual dinner with the kids. Bambino spotted a hot air balloon over the nearby stadium off our balcony one morning.
Monday morning we headed to the beach for more fishing and swimming, and when we arrived back to Quest Robina for lunch and Bambino’s nap, housekeeping had been. Bebe had left his soft toy ‘Tabby’ in the lounge and the lovely staff had folded up his blanket and popped Tabby on top. He thought it was the funniest thing!
That afternoon we headed down the road to Robina Town Centre to see the Mini Beasts Illuminating Sculptures that are in the Promenade until the end of August. They react with sound and light to movement and the boys loved them!
And then he was EIGHT!
We checked out of Quest Robina after a wonderful three night stay, and headed back to Robina Town Centre down the road to celebrate our beautiful birthday boy!
On Bebe’s birthday wish list was Bowling and the arcade, and conveniently Robina Town Centre has a Zone Bowling! We played a game of Bowling that Bebe won ( I lost spectacularly! I got so many gutter balls that I think next time I need the bumpers like the kids ha ha!). Then Bebe let loose in the arcade section for a bit, he was living his best life!
And if you hadn’t already guessed what he wanted for lunch…’
After lunch we drove back to Brisbane. I quickly unpacked while the boys let off some steam with our dog in the backyard and then… SURPRISE! Some of our friends and family came over to cut a cake with Bebe. His Aunty made him an epic SUSHI cake which he was SO chuffed with!
And so the festival of Bebe turning 8 ended! Needless to say we all slept well after the big celebration!
Do you do big gestures for birthdays or are you more low key?
Rachael xx
