We arrived back in Perth late this afternoon after a relaxing and uneventful return flight. 
We have had the most wonderful 4 days in Melbourne, hitting both ends of the emotional scale. We were so delighted to see everyone (relished the looks of shock when we walked into my Nanna’s 90th birthday function), but absolutely devastated to have to leave again. 
I caught up with Aunties and Uncles at Nan’s party that I haven’t seen for years, not to mention cousins who I last saw in primary school. My Nan is a spirited lady who is always good for a giggle. It was just amazing to see her so surprised to see us. Priceless! 
We got to enjoy plenty of cuddles with Ryder and meeting him was so special. We had looked forward to it for so long and the moment we finally saw him was bliss! Photos and Skype are great, but nothing beats actually holding a newborn baby and being in the moment. We spent some time with Ray’s dad and visited him while he has some respite care after coming out of hospital. He is such a wise 92 year old and its always amazing to listen to his perspective on things. 
It just happened to be Harry’s birthday on Saturday so we were just in time for his birthday too. We all stayed at Tarwin Lower, South Gippsland, at my mum and dad’s property, swapped travel stories and tried without success to locate a few things we wanted from our room of boxes at their house. It was like old times again, chatting until the wee hours of the morning. Gee, I miss them all!
Harry, Caleb and Hannah caught up and it was lovely to be part of the excitement of them seeing each other again. Of course seeing my brother Chris again was the absolute highlight of the trip home and we are certainly not having anywhere near as much of a good time since he has been home and not travelling with us anymore. (Is that what you told me to write Chris?)
We managed to catch up with some other family and friends over coffee which was a total bonus to our initial plans. 
Since we’ve been travelling, the essence of family and friends have been sorely missed and we have had such an awakening as to what are the most important aspects in life. Being at home again was such an appreciated opportunity and we will restart our journey reinvigorated with many new precious memories and a renewed appreciation of “home”. 

We won’t forget.