Our last days in Torquay were cherished ones. There were lots of final playdates, get togethers and celebrations. One of the most special days was our going away party at the beach at the pop up Bomboras bar space. Lots of people showed up to say goodbye and wish us well as we move back to Canada.

Reid and Alexis had to say good bye to their teachers and the friends they had made during their time here. Alexis enjoyed spending some time with some very special girls, Mahli and Ruby, who she had become friends with at school and Dianne, her very best friend who was one of the first kids she had met when we arrived two years prior.

Reid had a love/hate relationship with his kinder teacher, Stuart, but because of his determination to get through to Reid, he holds a very special place in our hearts. He introduced a very resistant Reid to school and tried relentlessly to win him over and show him that school is a great place to be.

Reid’s one and only friend that he met in kinder was Jagger. After trying very hard to connect with him outside of kinder, the two of them enjoyed some playdates together before going back to Canada.

Finally, after packing, cleaning, tying up all the loose ends and handing in the keys to our great little house, it was fitting to have lunch at Bomboras on Fisherman’s beach before heading to Melbourne airport. Joined by Glenis, Jo and Alan, we enjoyed some great Australian coffee at my favourite place in all of Torquay.

We will miss this place and the wonderful people we have met. I will forever be grateful for the chance to live in such a beautiful place and will cherish the memories in hopes to never forget this chapter in our lives.

But now its time to go home…we have lots of people in Canada that are very excited to see us and have missed us very much. Shane left Australia two weeks before Alexis, Reid and I because of his new job in Toronto. So after selling our car to someone in Ballarat, we drove our rental car, packed to the absolute maximum, to a hotel next to the airport in Melbourne. The following day, we dropped our rental car off at the airport, leaving the car seats in it, and started the 30 hour trek home to Toronto.

After a fairly smooth trip, three very tired travellers made it to Toronto, greeted by a very excited Shane with Tim Hortons coffee and bagels. It feels great to be home.