Tress and I returned from Canberra on the 1st of Jan. We went back to work for a couple of days, and then flew out to Perth. Ryan, the eldest of Andrew (my cousin) and Jasmine, was to marry Hannah. Andrew and his family have lived in Perth for a very long time. Ryan and Hannah met in London when they were both working there. I was in awe when I found out that Hannah, who was from Brissie, had wanted the wedding to be in Perth so that Ryan’s grandparents (Jasmine’s folks) could be there for the occasion. Like Andrew said in his father of the groom speech, the bride was a gem and we’re all glad Ryan didn’t stuff it up and the beautiful couple tied the knot.

The wedding was in an Anglican church in Dalkeith (St Lawrence), which was as the crow flies from the Air B and B place we stayed in Nedlands. Andrew and his family’s home is also in Nedlands, so everyone was just a few minutes away. We were all close to the beautiful Matilda Bay off the Swan River, so Tress and I started each day with a walk along the shores of the Bay. On the second day, we discovered a bakery up the road which was very good, so on the last few days, we finished our walk by stopping there for a coffee and a bite. It was idyllic and we threw caution to the wind as far as extra kilos were concerned, as we enjoyed the offerings from the kitchen of that bakery.

Other than Andrew, Jasmine and Ryan along with Haydn and Kirstyn (Andrew and Jasmine’s other kids), we also caught up with my uncle Tom and auntie Pauline, my cousins Pai Li, Carol, and HW, SL and Chris (Pai Li’s and Carol’s husbands) as well as Emily, our niece (or sorts – she’s the eldest of Liza and Sam). Hannah’s family flew in from Brissie, Sydney, Wollongong etc., so the occasion had people from Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, UK, and all over Oz., congregating in the capital city of WA.

It was a wonderful visit for Tress and I. We also caught up with Andrew Chan and Dot his wife, along with their 2 boys, at a dinner with Carol and Chris. They were people we knew from church back in Klang (“KCMC”), and Carol is a cousin of mine. We heard the beautiful miracles that were the stories of those 2 boys, as well as the providential assurances that accompanied Andrew and Dot’s journey from Melbourne to Perth.

Other than the catch up’s Tress and I also got to visit Rottnest Island and see those beautiful quokkas, and played tourists in WA. A small part of me wondered if Kiddo, Mic and little Abby might one day make Perth their home. I think Tress and I would relocate to join them there at the drop of a hat.