Being so far away

The past couple of weeks have given pause for thought. We had some sad news last week and I found it difficult being so far away, not being with family when they needed me the most was quite tough. Times like this are the hardest to overcome and emhasise again just what we have left behind. Fortunately, it has put me back in contact with my Irish cousins, so it is nice to hear what they are up to. There is little doubt in our minds that we have made the right decision by making such a huge move, but we do still miss our family and friends. A lot of our friends have had family visiting and now it's our turn....dad arrives tomorrow, so am really excited. George is really looking forward to going to the airport to pick up grandad and even made him a hat at playgroup this morning. We have got a busy couple of weeks planned for him and hope he is not expecting a quiet holiday! I think George will have him playing trains before he has even unpacked! We just hope that he sees how well we have settled and how much we are enjoying, although so far away, our new life down under.

Birthdays, Picnics, A Big Day Out, Pre Kindy and a Bushfire

We have had another couple of busy weekends, with birthday parties and various things going on. I have put a lot of pictures of our friends and George's friends on this time....mainly so you can put a face to the name and see who we talk about and socialise with.

Wes went to the Big Day Out with mates. It's a music festival, loads to see and plenty of drinking going on. He left at 8am on the Sunday morning....arrived home 2am the next day! It was a long day, but he had a brilliant time with the lads.

Another milestone for us.....George started pre kindy last week. He already goes to two playgroups on a Tuesday and Wednesday morning, with swimming lessons on a Friday. His kindy session is on a Friday afternoon. He was doing really well all week and was aware that I was going to leave him. He was so proud carrying his rucksack with his new water bottle, fruit and sun hat in it and settled well. He gave me a kiss and cuddle, said goodbye and I left, but I think another child must have set him off because he was kicking and screaming, shouting 'I WANT MY MUMMY!'...he did settle down eventually and had a great time.

With the hot weather and high temperatures over here, bush fires are inevitable. Luckily, we are far away from the disaster that is happening in Victoria, although, we did have a fire on the reserve next to our house. It was probably started deliberately, but with the land so dry and with a little breeze, it took force very quickly. It was scary to think it was across the road from the house. The fire brigade came with 5 engines to put it out, although, they did not seem to be in much of a hurry to put it out. Am guessing, it is small fry compared to some that they deal with.

Anyway, thank you to all those that have sent kind words, it is nice to know people are thinking of us over here, but we are all safe, well and keeping busy.

Australia Day

We celebrated out first Australia Day in true Aussie style...beach, beers, barbie and a few fireworks thrown in! For those of you not aware, Australia Day is celebrated on 26 January and marks the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, the unfurling of the British flag at Sydney Cove and the proclamation of British sovereignty over the eastern seaboard of Australia. The day is also given to some controversy as the Aborigines see it as the day that Australians celebrate the destruction of their culture, so it has also been known as Invasion Day.

We were up early with George and met our friends Zoe and Martin at the beach, with Buster and Millie. Wes was up for a challenge and brought his garden spade with him. He dug the biggest hole on the beach and not surprisingly, passers by stopped to have a nose! It was so deep Wes and Martin were able to hurl themselves into it and also, George and Buster had trouble climbing out!

After the beach, we had been invited to a pool party, with friends Steve and Jo, Clare, Dave and Tilly, Badger and Kayla. Steve and Jo are renting in a complex, so have the use of a shared pool. We were lucky to be the only ones in there and had a barbie around by the pool. After freshening up, we headed in on the train to the city to watch the fireworks.

You might think that catching a train to the city on a bank holiday would be chaotic, but we had a smooth journey in. We arrived at the Esplanade to find the police handing out sweets to the kids. There were free rides for the kids to go on, plus lots of planes and helicopters flying past. The fireworks started promptly at 9pm out on the Swan River and off the top of the skyscrapers. George did not know which way to look! The fireworks went on for over half an hour...am guessing mega bucks were spent on organising them! When it was time to leave, we looked towards the station and saw masses of people, so expected to take forever to get home. The whole event was very well organised, with certain stations only accessible for certain train lines and guards making sure the station was not too full. The gates were closed on the station to allow the crowds to filter through, but once they were open, we walked down and got straight on a train, so we were home within about half an hour. It is difficult trying to imagine a journey home running so smoothly in the London. We had fantastic first Australia Day!!