When it comes to parties, any excuse is a good excuse to throw one. This February was no exception and we thought it was a good opportunity to say goodbye to our friends before embarking on our next adventure.

Weather-wise, February had been magnificent right up until the day of the party. We had planned a pool party and so were hoping for more of the same good weather February had so far graced us with. When you live in Victoria, however, the weather can be a b**** with an attitude problem, so we weren't surprised to wake up on Saturday and find ourselves in a downpour with cyclone winds. The forecast said that the wind would abate, but we were still in for a cold one, so in a last-ditch attempt to salvage some form of outdoor component to our get together, we hot-tailed it down to Bunnings to buy a patio heater.

As if we didn't have enough to do in the afternoon to prepare, we got home to find the heater in a flatpack with 1,000 components. It took almost 2 hours to put together, during which time I dropped one screw onto the decking and couldn't find it. I assumed it fell through a crack in the decking and was lost forever, and due to the fact that all Bunnings suppliers feel the need to always supply the EXACT number of bolts and screws needed to put anything together, I had to finish the construction project leaving the one screw out. Once I finished putting the thing together (without injury, mind you….very proud of myself), I picked up the empty box and heard the clack-clack-clack of the missing screw bouncing across the decking. Needless to say, it went in a spot that entailed me disassembling half of the damn heater before placing the errant screw in the correct position. No wonder I hate DYI projects.

Anyway, the heater did do the trick and the weather did settle enough for us to throw open the decking doors and have an indoor-outdoor party.

Shandelle and Steve provided the live music and they kept everyone going all night. Everyone started on their best behaviour, but as the night progressed the behaviour descended appropriately into a crazy mess. They're the best kinds of parties.

Some of the highlights:

1. A silly face-off competition between Madi and Jordie. Jordie was the favourite, having had years of experience pulling the most idiotic faces. He really has honed it into a fine art. See the attached pics for plenty of examples. But in true Steven Bradbury style, Madi came from behind to clinch the title in her imitation of a constipated horse (pic also attached). Special commendation goes to Emma for pulling a stupid face when everyone else was being serious. Gold.

2. After everyone was appropriately liquored up, the Cuban cigars came out. You know you've had a good night when you wake up the next morning feeling like you've been licking the bottom of a cat litter tray. Cris deserves a mention for her Godfather impersonation with a cheeky Rad looking over her shoulder (pic attached)

3. The award for best dancer of the night had to go to Peter Bell, with no competition. Pete's dancing style is reminiscent of Michael Flatley on speed and the true highlight was watching Michelle's reaction. If there was a trap-door under Pete, Michelle would have been pulling that lever as if her life depended on it. She instead had to be content with an eye-roll and slapping her hand to her forehead.

4. Shandelle finished the night with "I still call Australia Home", followed by "You're the Voice". We all thought WE were the voice and one and all decided to hold an impromptu competition on who could sing the loudest. I'm sure we all thought we sounded fantastic, but too many espresso martinis definitely affects not only your ability to sing in tune, but also your hearing, so what we thought sounded like Johnny Farnham at his best probably sounded like dysentery going through a cat shelter.

Anyway, everyone had a great night and we thought it was a great way to kick off another great year!