Weekends in Oz

After George's party weekend, the past couple have been a little quieter.....although when we look back and say we had a quiet weekend, we still seem to have achieved a lot more than we would have back home. Last Friday after work, we went fishing with a few friends off of the local jetty. I was expecting to sit there, bored out of my brains, waiting for a nibble....but we caught quite a few, as the photos show. The local seal popped up a few times to catch the fish that we threw back in and we even saw a dolphin, although I was a little slow off the mark with the camera. It was amazing to see how busy the jetty was, it seems to be a very popular hobby over here. When we woke on Saturday, we could smell burning in the air. There have been a few bush fires about and a lot of the city was very hazy. None of them close to us, but the smoke drifted over the city. We packed a picnic and headed north to a park Wes discovered whilst on route at work. This was amazing, it had the usual slide and swings, but loads more to keep George entertained with and considering there were two parties going on as well, it did not feel at all busy. After our picnic, we had a short drive to the Botanical Gardens, where we were able to play crazy golf. George had great fun trying to whack the ball, but ended up picking it up and placing it in the holes. It was a lovely afternoon and again, something we could all do and enjoy. Sunday, we took George swimming for a couple of hours, headed to a park on the way home and came back for a well overdue roast dinner!

This weekend we went to the pub for a couple of drinks after work and ended up at a friends for a barbie. Yesterday, was less hectic, we lazed around the house, popped to the shops and Wes went to the driving range to put some practice in before Dad comes over at the end of February. Today we headed into the city to do a little shopping, stopped for an iced coffee and cake before wandering down to the river side where we climbed the Bell Tower. We timed it well to see and hear the bells being rung. One of them was originally from Royal Ascot! We had great views of the city and across the river. With it being a very hot day, an exhausted George asked to go home to play trains....so we headed back to the station to get the train home.

Tomorrow is Australia Day, we are spending it with friends as hoping to see the fireworks in the evening....will be sure to take lots of pics!!

Party Weekend!!!!

Last weekend was very busy, very enjoyable and very tiring....but we loved it! It started on Thursday when Wes went to volleyball....team mates..Suntan Dave, Badger the Smasher and Top Net Steve (as named by Wes) nearly won!! Only 3 points in it, but they came home full of it...the funny things is, they still have not won a game, but are having such fun clowning around in the sand :-) Friday night was meant to be a quiet one before George's birthday on Saturday...but certainly did not end up that way. Wes met the lads after work for a drink and the girls came over to our house. Needless to say, we had a barbie, ate and drank loads, had a water fight and ended up in the pool toasting George's Birthday, (he was in bed asleep at this point.) With the help of friends in the early hours, Wes managed to build the trampoline we had bought for his birthday and we eventually got to bed at about 3.30am. The next morning was a mad rush, tidying and getting ready for the party...we made it with minutes to spare before George's friends arrived.

George was in his element having so many of his friends around him at the same time and played very well, sharing all of his toys. Having the outdoor space made such a difference. We would never have been able to invite so many people if we were in our old house back in the UK. Connie the Clown arrived and admittedly the kids were a bit wary of her, but got stuck into the dancing and pass the parcel. Some of them had their faces painted and I did try to get George to have his done, but he was having none of it. They all played bubbles and the clown left them with balloons each, although we had more fun trying to work out what she had made them. We had an afternoon in the garden and yet another water fight, the last of our friends left about 6pm. It was a lovely, but long day and a military clean up operation afterwards. As much as this was George's Birthday, it was a way for us to say thank you to our new friends for being so kind and supportive over the past few months.

We are trying to get George to speak on the phone and say thanks in person, but he does not always play ball when you want him to, so to those of you that sent cards, money and presents over, George would like to say a huge thank you XXXX

Seeing out 2008...

Last minute plans took us camping down south to Hamelin Bay, about 40 km's south of Margaret River. We have absolutely no camping gear whatsoever, but the friends we were meeting had a spare tent, so we thought 'why not?' We found out Monday night, so just threw stuff in the car on Tuesday morning and started the three and a half hour journey. On arrival, we put up our tent and headed into Augusta to the local tavern. The gardens were on slopes, so George and Tilly had great fun rolling down them and we over looked the river. The setting was beautiful. We headed back to camp with fish and chips, then decided to go for a early evening swim keeping a careful eye out for sharks, as dusk is prime time shark bait!

George was up early on New Year's Eve and on the beach by 7am! It was a bit chilly but soon heated up. Dave and Tilly met us on the beach for a morning stroll, then headed back to camp for a cooked breakfast. We decided to head to Cape Leeuwin lighthouse, this is the point at which the Southern and Indian Ocean meet. Wes and Dave climbed to the top, whilst the rest of us had coffee and scones. We made a move back to the tavern and then back to camp, down the beach for a wander. We were paddling in the water with sting rays, it was so surreal. Clare cooked a curry for dinner and it was off to the beach again to watch the sun set on 2008. We bought our chairs, camp light, music, esky full of beer and bubbly, then us girls went for a dip, remembering to bring the bubbly in with us. There were some very drunken antics as the sun set on the year. The kids were shattered so we took them back to the tents, George slept very well considering it was his first time camping. The rest of us saw the New Year in and made it to bed about 3am. As we only had the pitch til New Year's Day, we had to pack up camp, take down tents in the roasting hot sun with hangovers...but it was worth it! We started the drive back home, stopping to see Bunker Bay, a gorgeous beach. It was a long drive home, but we were so pleased we went. Many of you are aware of the tough start we have had to our new life in Oz and can only hope 2009 brings us many more nights like New Year's Eve.

Catching up with Christmas

It has been a busy few weeks with the build up to Christmas, family here, catching up with everyone and already now back to work. Christmas was very different this year and not what we were used to. The day started early with Martin ringing to get us up...George had not worked out the whole early start to the day and was fast asleep, but once I told him Santa had been, he was out of bed. He did pause in front of the tree before attacking his present sack and then wanted to play with what he was opening, so it took a while to open everything. We managed to web cam with family, so everyone got to see George open his presents, which was a nice touch. We tucked into bacon and egg sandwiches and headed to meet everyone at the beach. Although it was warm, it was very windy. We managed to swim and jump off the jetty, but retreated to the park where we shared bubbly with friends and played with the kids. After a shower and change, we headed to Lew's for Christmas Dinner and considering we are not fish lovers, we tried crayfish, crab sticks, bug tails, prawns and mussels....let's just say we missed our roast turkey with all the trimmings, but still gave everything a go.

Thanks again to everyone that sent presents, money, cards and letters. It was lovely to be remembered xxx