It has been another busy week in the Cadman household. While Elaine enjoyed a "sleep in" on Monday morning, Roy was up early to head to the condo to meet the carpet contractors. After that the whole family took a trip to the Chandler mall to do some Christmas shopping before heading to Costco for some much needed alcoholic supplies of beer and wine, some of which was consumed later with a barbecue and another gathering around the fire pit.
On Tuesday, Roy and Keenan enjoyed a "father and son" day, although all of us were definitely sleep deprived following an emergency trip to the hospital overnight with Carter. Fortunately that matter was resolved just prior to daybreak which allowed all of us to get a little more sleep before William and Brayden woke up.
It is safe to say though, that by the end of Wednesday we were both, not only sleep deprived, but suffering from "sticker shock" after the continuation of Elaine's root canal treatment here in the USA, which, unfortunately, could not be completed in New Caledonia due to complications that set in towards the end of the procedure. Although a much better experience completing the treatment than she had envisaged, it was more than ten times the price - New Caledonia $150USD, USA $2370USD. The latter does, however, include a new crown, although New Caledonia was able to reuse the old one. One cannot help but wonder though, that something is definitely amiss with medical charges in the USA! In pain, Elaine spent the rest of the day on the sofa watching Disney movies with William while the rest of the adults decorated the house for Brayden and Carter's First Birthday celebrations.
And what a fun day of celebrations it was. Brooke and Elaine spent a relaxing morning at the hairdresser and then baked cupcakes to accompany the "Cookie Monster" themed birthday cakes for the twins, before preparing the last minute dinner items and getting the birthday boys ready. Roy and Keenan completed the last minute To Dos and by early evening the guests had arrived and the party was in full swing. The day was topped off with lots of giggles and laughter when the adults enjoyed a few rounds of "catch phrase / phrase frenzy" around the fire pit. It was also lovely that Elaine eventually got to meet Brooke's dad, but we all definitely missed "Nana", Brooke's mom, who was unable to join us.
Today was a quieter day and, after taking Keenan to the airport, we enjoyed a delicious lunch at one of our favourite restaurants, Brio's, at the San Tan Mall, followed by a relatively peaceful afternoon and an early night.
It's hard to believe that we only have one week left with the family before we have to make our way back to Paw Paw. We do know that all is well on that front though, thanks to the staff at the Southport Yacht Club and our friends off Raya, Ros and Rick, who were kind enough to visit Paw Paw in her berth after their passage from Fiji. Thank you to them for turning over her engines and checking her docklines, as well as closing the hatch we had inadvertently left open - We were obviously in a bigger rush to see the family than we realised!
