For the past year or so, our family has been anticipating a trip to Australia to visit Mike’s sister. We visited in 2014/2015 for an epic 3 weeks traveling around the country. Now, over a decade later, we’re up 4 kids in the family – for a Party of 10 – and came together again in the land down under. We saw Wendy and kids 2 summers ago when I was pregnant with Kenna (read about it!) but haven’t seen Andy since Spain in 2022 (read about it!).

The timing of the trip ended up coinciding with a house move on our end, which means things were really crazy busy leading up to leaving. But alas, amongst packing up our lives/house, we also loaded up 3 suitcases, some backpacks, so many snacks, our new JetKids BedBox , and set way to The Gold Coast.

First we hopped on a quick flight from SFO to LAX and then boarded the 14 hour flight to Brisbane. We bought the BedBox specifically for this trip and could not be more pleased with the purchase. It was expensive but Cam used it through all of the airport walking we had to do and Kenna was able to sleep 8+ hours on our long haul flights. Worth every penny.

We arrived at 5am local time and felt energized at the allure of vacation ahead of us. We rented a car, repeatedly said “drive on the Left!” for Mike, and arrived at Wendy’s about 2 hours later. Kenna has met her Nana and Papa but this was the first time she got to see her aunt, uncle, and cousins (a more traditional first meeting than Cam had in the midst of the pandemic in 2020).

We enjoyed smoothies on the pool deck and tours of Wendy and Andy’s new (to us) house. They moved from Melbourne to the Gold Coast at the end of 2025 and have an amazing 4 bedroom with a pool, hot tub, and resort-style landscaping. 🙂 After a mashup of unpacking, lounging, a walk to the store for some stables (berries, cheerios, milk), and Kenna napping at a surprisingly convenient time for adjusting to a new timezone, we had the Trader Joe’s viral dumpling dinner and called it a night.

Day Two

Of course, morning came early for Kenna girl – even by Gold Coast standards, which apparently leans heavy on morning culture. Kids and timezones are so tricky, especially when you are traveling and not in the comfort of your home. Mike and I took a walk for a mini, “controlled” nap in the stroller (Kenna wakes up the moment it stops moving so we use this trick when a quick nap is needed) around 9am. Our plan worked and she fell asleep; we were able to enjoy a nice stroll, iced coffees, AND get her on a pretty regular nap/sleep schedule for the reminder of the trip. Whoo-hoo!

After nap, the whole family caravanned down to Broadwater Parklands, about a 10 minute drive. Here Cam got to experience a bounce pillow for the first time!

Day Three

We started the morning with a trip to the mall to try to maximize the good fx and get some shopping done!

In the afternoon everyone went to various water activities (Mike and Cam to the beach we were at the day before but this time to try an aquapark – more on that later!) while I stayed home for Kenna’s nap. ..Kenna’s very long nap that let me sneak in yoga by the pool and an indulgent few chapters while dipping my toes in. I was really hoping to finish one book/a quarter this year – for a whopping, yes, 4 books/year – and am so close to completing this gorgeous one!

We also made a quick dust run to see KANGAROOS! We were there for only about 10 minutes and saw a bunch of them (although it was hard to get a decent picture). Also a bunch of bites from mosquitoes. Why do they love me!?

Day Four

We finally hit the beach! I didn’t snap any great pictures on this day – I loveee the beach and it is chaotic with kids, especially with a toddler. The waves were a bit big at Main Beach, where we were, but Cam got some time in the water. And, importantly, some time with his “best cousin” Ollie. Cam and Ollie were almost inseparable for the majority of our trip. It was really cute to see them bond! They are only 2 years apart and seem to get along really well whenever they spend time together.

Day Five

BLUEY’S WORLD! Ok this one was for the kids but, honestly, also for me and Mike. We love Bluey and SHE IS FROM BRISBANE. We took Cam and Kenna to the 60 minute immersive experience that tours the Heeler family home and oh, what joy. It was done so well. Each group had a magic garden gnome tour you through the “house,” while also on an adventure to find one of Bingo’s lost stuffies. All of the rooms were so impressive, immersive, and fun. It felt like you were in the show. We ended with a proper Aussie sausage roll from the cafe and let the kids play on the indoor playground after. 10/10. No notes. Go if you can!

After Bluey’s World, we met up with the rest of the family at a brewery where we ordered chicken sandwiches and samples of beer. We took the ferry to a public pool that sits on the river that was FREE to use. We commented a few times how unlikely something like that would be in the States… Again and again there were undertones of things just being …more pleasant there. The people seem so kind and just pretty unfussed about most things. Vibes are high down under folks!

Day Six

This was probably my favorite day of the trip. We went to Burleigh Heads for a costal walk and then an afternoon at the beach. The day kicked off right when an amazing parking spot right next to the trail entrance and a bathroom. The walk was about 20 minutes to a place where you could turn around or continue onward at an incline. Kenna fell asleep so Ella and Wendy turned around with her while the rest of us continued up into less stroller friendly sections of the trail. We went from a beach-y walk to almost a rainforest hike as we made our way farther into the hike.

Pastries and smoothies on the beach were next. The older kids played out on a paddle board on a sand dune, which made a small shallow section in the middle of an ocean pass-way. Mike and I also swam across to the other beach across the way, which I’m always a little impressed with myself when I swim in the open ocean so like to document it. 😉

Day Seven 

We took a quick drive to HOTA (Home of the Arts) on Sunday, which coincided with food trucks and vendors in the parking lot adjacent. We couldn’t resist buying a loaf of banana chocolate chip bread, fresh squeezed OJ, peaches, and oh yeah, the kids squeezed us for some ice cream too. 🙂

HOTA dubs itself as “the home for all things creative” and/or “a cultural precinct.” We weren’t able to explore much of it but it was a beautiful place – big and modern and airy. The kids were able to do a little craft which is always appreciated. My sister in law seems to visit galleries and exhibits often; and I have to say it has inspired me to try to do more of it back here at home. Until then, I made Mike snap this extremely artsy picture of me and the kids inside the gallery:

Day Eight

Cam and Mike had such a good time at the aqua park earlier in the trip, they wanted to do it again. This time Nana watched babygirl Kenna so I could join too. You check in, get a life vest, and have 50 minutes to go absolutely nuts on a bunch of inflatables in the bay. Mike mentioned Cam was a bit timid the first time and I can see why – you definitely need to get used to the pace out there! People seems to be professional aquaparkers? running around, play tag, etc. I caught eyes with Wendy ~5 minutes in, who was still on the beach, and gave her a huge thumbs down and shook my head. Haha

Luckily, once I got a bit more comfortable out there – looking out for people speeding by and opting to just jump in the water sometimes vs. wrangle my way through a crowd – it was actually a lot of fun. And Cam LOVED it. So that was the really fun part.

We got professional pictures as a whole fam at the beach that afternoon/evening. It was fun to dress up and twirl and splash around in the waves. I can’t wait to see the results in a few weeks! We also had this moody little sunset capping off our time – which hopefully made for some fab photos.

In dramatic sad news, I accidentally left my sunglasses on the beach there; that I have had for over a decade (!) and has traveled the world with me (Bali, my bach in New York), survived a pandemic with me, graced my face on many walks with both of my newborn babies. Ughhh. I’m obviously SO bummed about it. But that’s the rub with special things; you use them and risk losing them or just keep them locked away to collect dust…

At least she had a good life, full of adventure? 😎

Day Nine

We spent the first half of the day mini golfing with Cam and Kenna at a public golf club on a whim. I found this place via Google maps. What a find! There was a decent cafe where we split sandwiches and smoothies on a slopped, shaded little patio WITH A BOUNCE HOUSE for the kids. Cam was entertained (Kenna still too small to go in but had fun enough running) and we were thrilled to have something for him to do while we waited for our food.

After lunch, we stayed for a round of mini golf while Kenna napped in the stroller. We took our regular stroller with us on this trip exactly for afternoons like this – when we were out of the house but could tilt Kenna back in her big comfy stroller and let her snooze.

This golf course was so pretty without all of the animated windmills and castles. (Which I’m not necessarily against, it was just nice to have a change of pace…) Cam seemed to have a great time and improved a lot since Canada the summer before when he couldn’t really hit the ball and was so frustrated because he also DID NOT WANT HELP.

That evening Nana and Papa braved watching all four of the kids so we “kids” could have a dinner out. We went to a nice beach side restaurant with a gorgeous view of the ocean and a few surfers trying to catch the last waves of sunset.

Unlike Spain 4 years ago, we passed on the shots of tequila this time and we’re back home by 9pm. Less of a hangover the next day but no less good times had!

Day Ten

On our final full day, we went to Dream World, an amusement park 15-20 minutes from Wendy and Andy’s. A good amusement park with kids is gold; there is something to do for everyone! Even for baby Kenna, who found and LOVED a little splash pad area while the others rode rides.

Via multiple combinations of parents and cousins and grandparents and aunts and uncles, we finagled our way through the park and had a great time enjoying rides and different attractions.

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Before we left for the airport, we had a final brunch at a local surf club. After breakfast sandwiches and smoothie bowls, we splashed in the waves for a bit before smooching our vacation and a glorious 10 days down under goodbye.

Looking back, it is crazy how quickly the days flew by – we were always busy with a beach or a hike or a coffee or a dip in the pool. It was such an amazing time spent with family in a beautiful place.