So we’re in Brisbane. Now. Not exactly what we had planned, but that’s life for us most of the time. That’s one of the best things about being married to Hubs. He not only “allows” me to do crazy things, he actively encourages it. He’s the best. I woke up on Sunday morning, Mum’s birthday, and rang her for the usual cute singing kids and best wishes. After I hung up, I sighed. It was going to be another hot day with not much to do. Hubs was starting work at 1pm, and by 8am I already had the air con on.

As a bit of a joke, and just for fun, I looked up flights to Brisbane for that day, thinking “wouldn’t it be fun to just turn up and surprise Mum for her birthday!?” but not actually believing it was possible. I found 2 flights, and was surprised by the prices. They were pricey, but not obscene, and certainly not out of reach. I gently mentioned it to Hubs (who was having a sleep in) and then came back downstairs, thinking “it’s so crazy, it won’t happen.” When he got out of bed I told him he had to talk me out of it, otherwise I was going to seriously consider it.

Instead, he said “You might as well go.”

Whhhhaaaaaaaaat????? He was serious. Like I said, Best. Hubs. Ever. He justified it by saying what I was spending on airfares, we’d probably save on me not using the air conditioning every day for 2 weeks. Probably not quite true, but he did have a point. Plus, he’s probably a bit sick of me complaining about the heat…

I was immediately excited and jumped online to book.

It was 10:30am by that stage, and the flight I had decided on left at 2:30pm. There was so much to do! But thanks to my packing spreadsheet, it was no trouble at all in the end. We caught a cab and got to the airport at 1:40pm. I had arranged for my good friend to borrow a couple of car seats and pick us up from the airport at the other end, so I was all set. I sat down at the airport, and the enormousness of what I had just done, and what I was about to do, hit me.

Guys, I was ridiculously delirious with excitement, I actually felt a little ill! I couldn’t wait to surprise Mum! We boarded the flight before anyone else, and got settled in. The kids were, as usual, absolutely amazing for the whole flight, and for the first time ever, the time went really fast. Before I knew it, we were descending.

Now, you know how you build something up in your head and sometimes your expectations aren’t met? This was not the case for the surprise. We arrived at Mum and Dad’s place at Kelvin Grove, where I knew Mum was having a little get together. I had no idea who would still be there (it was 5:30pm by then) as I rang the doorbell. Apparently Mum thought, and said to her guests “who the heck could that be on a Sunday afternoon? Probably some religious people going door to door!”

She looked outside via the window next to the door, and that’s when the screaming started 🙂 Bingo. I don’t think anyone could understand her at first, as she was trying to unlock the door to let us in, squealing the whole time. Quindy went straight to her for “duddles” and Chanbe started looking for Grumpy. Oh, and the Lego. There were still about 8 people left, so it was lovely to share the surprise with them all.

And as an extra added bonus, My brother and his partner have stayed here as well, as they are about to move to Melbourne – they leave early tomorrow morning – so apart from Hubs, Mum and Dad have had their whole family under one roof. It’s been such a lovely, fun, time, and I’m just so happy to be down here; out of the heat, and out of our tiny townhouse; in a city where there is never any shortage of things to do.

Hubs will drive down next Wednesday and arrive late Thursday, and then we head out to Dalby on Friday for my cousin’s wedding. We were all going to drive down together then, but this way I get an extra bonus 12 days down here.

Happy Birthday Mum! Thanks for giving me an excuse to come down! As if I needed it…