New Year Resolutions....

Well what a year that was... got married, gave up two jobs, started working for Hamilton, I ended up managing the office, moved to the other side of the world. You may have noticed that I have omitted one other big event... but I thought that the blog wasn't the place to discuss the finer points of conception!!! That said we very much look forward to what 2007 brings....

Here are my New Year resolutions for 2007, the first one is non negotiable while the others will be the usual "last a couple of days... week at the most" resolutions... but here we go anyway!

1. Be a good Dad.

2. Get fit ... Beach Boot Camp starts 8th Jan. 3 days a week 6am-7am for one month!
3. Get good at Wake Boarding... wake to wake without eating Lake.
4. Get a game at any level for the local football side (see point 2!)
5. Surf three times a week... dependent on weather conditions/ probability of being eaten/stung!
6. No beer... during week. (Small print... unless out socialising!)

Beth's far reaching New Years Resolutions are:

1. Eat an apple everyday!!!
2. Do thirty minutes of something!!!... I think she means something physical!

Growing up and out!

Here's a picture of my little brother back home who now weighs in at 12 pound. Thanks for the picture James... keep um coming!

Days at the Lake..

We've spent the last couple of days on water with Matt on one day and then the family on another. I've bought a new wake board which is kinda like a surfboard come snowboard for riding behind the boat. I thought I would treat myself after leaving my other surfing sticks behind! The first day went all wrong with me in the wrong position being pulled across (and beneath!) the water desperately clinging to the rope... I thought my arms would come off at one point! In the afternoon after too many failed attempts and getting knowhere near. Matt called up some friends on the trusty mobile and we got some useful tips... they later came out and showed me what great fun wake boarding can be when you actually get up on the surface of the water. I finished the day a little disapointed but feeling that I would do better next time! Beth also sat in the captains chair (under her brothers close supervision.... it's a lovely boat!!) and guided the boat safely around the lake, showing an impressive understanding of port and starboard at the same time...

Today we went out with all the family and mixed water sports with fishing, swimming and eating. Liam and Joel both got tubed around the lake before plucking up the courage to have a go on their own. Sharron also went on a marathon water ski from one side of a bay to another. Then came the wake board success with me eventually getting more of a handle on the take off thing and actually wake boarding for brief moments... (due to the end of a tape we are unable to show you this piece of history!!!.... next time maybe!)

A couple of fantastic days!

Christmas Day @ the Beach

After all the eating, drinking, giving and recieving we took ourselves down to Redhead Beach for more cricket (Pommies need practice.... yeah yeah yeah!!!) and a swim. It was the best part of the day weather wise and it was good to stretch those legs and take in some sea air. We recorded the little video below for you all... and I went for a swim dressed in Santa hat and beard!

Bump Watch #1

Due to the absence of dangerous creatures revealing themselves in my presence (I know they are still out there!!!... we did have to get a spider removed from our room... we were unsure of it's intentions!)there have been no updates for the When animals attack item.... however I have come up with another regular feature.

So here it is... I bring to you Bump Watch!

Look out for weekly updates on how bump progresses!

The Christmas Day Test

In a show of English pride we slopped off to the cricket pitch for a game of cricket and were only abused once about the Ashes result on the way!!! To say that the Aussies are pleased to have the Ashes back is an understatement. A Ford motors advert proclaims "Tonk a Pom!" and tell you how to get little cricket balls which have a stereotypical English gentleman on them, then when you get it you can smack it all around your yard... one kid on the advert shouts "I tonked a Pom onto the garage roof!"

There was no result at this game as Xmas lunch was ready!

Christmas Lunch

Christmas lunch was fantastic, with half of it being prepared on the BBQ outside by Matt and the other half being prepared inside by the girls. I did make some conributions in the form of chopping for the stuffing and some speed peeling of the spuds! ... fastest peeler in the west!

Christmas Day Morning...

We were woken in the morning by loud knocking before Liam and Joel burst in looking for clues so that they could find their Christmas sacks, which they eventually did! There was the usual Christmas morning carnage with wrapping paper going everywhere. The boys were particularly pleased with the Playstation, and being the caring Uncle that I am I have taken it upon myself to tutor the boys in the art of Playstation (Tough job... someone has to do it!) The Playstation does have its downside in that there is a game called Singstar which involves (mostly adults!) singing (term used loosely in this case!) into microphones! After a couple of dodgy covers from Beth and Sharron, the boys weighed in with an impressive Vanilla Ice.

On the gifts front, Bump did particularly well, but then so did Mum and Dad too! Beth got lots of clothes that she can fit more comfortably into and I got some one day Cricket tickets for February.... hopefully I will have picked up more of an Oz accent by then and will be able to pass myself off as a local!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was a traditional one, particularly for Jean Beth's mum who insisted we all had the traditional Christmas Eve meal of Pork and Mash (might be a Bristol thing!) I have to say it was delicious and the table setting spectacular. Before the boys went to bed we put our the reindeer food and carrots, and a glass of water for Santa. I wanted to leave him a beer, but Liam said that his teacher told him that Santa isn't allowed beer.... b****y teachers!!! We even heard Santa's bells in the distance! Then it was off to bed for an early night as we were going to be up early in the morning!

Bargoed Picnic

The day before Christmas Eve we spent with Matt and Sharron's friends on the lake. We went to Bargoed a place reserved for workers in the local power company (I'm not sure why we were let in!) We had a fantastic day playing tennis, bouncing on trampolines, footy tennis, canoeing, spending time with he kids and eating and drinking. Still feels a bit strange doing the Xmas thing in our flip flops (thongs here!!!) and shorts but we'll get used to it.

We've also bought a car (no not an aircooled Volkswagen.... sorry!)we got a good price for it too... pictures to follow after we've had it all cleaned up on the 3rd January.

Enjoying some Summer Warmth

Beth took the opportunity to grab a well deserved rest up in the hammock after doing all the Christmas shopping during the week, she is doing really well with bump and looks fantastic!

At the bottom of the garden....

Found this little chap lurking at the bottom of the garden. In the shade of the bush and behind a house brick... I'm reliably informed that this is actually a lizard rather than a snake, although I was unable to confirm this from the safety of the house! Now less likely to retreive balls from bushes than before!

Messing about on the ...... lake!

You Doughnut...

After a fairly indifferent week weather wise (I know we won't get any sympathy!), including one day of solid rain, which according to the Aussies we brought with us, we decided to take Matt and Sharron's boat out on to the lake to take advantage of some more seasonal weather. The lake was calm and the water warm so it was good to take a dip, eat, drink beer (gotta fit in with the locals!), fish and hurtle around the lake at 35 knots clingling for all my life to an inflated doughnut, which I managed for about one minute... click on the link to see the end result!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bOfE6yPxiA

A great day!

Our First Baby Pictures

We had a scan at the Hospital today and thought you'd like to take your first look at Bruce/Sheila Ivey. Everything seems to be in the right place... we still didn't want to know the sex but I'm sure I saw something... like father like son? ...although it could have just been the cord!!!!! We also spotted a pointing finger and so it might be another Beth.... "go get me a ........." type girl!!!!!!!! Either way we are going to have our hands full as he/she seems to be a wriggler!!

Thunder bolts and lightning.... very very frightening!

I hear through the grapevine that the weather at home is fairly grim. Not to miss out on the action we thought we would post a picture taken on Monday night.

We had a really hot spell which ended with a crash, bang and whallop! The beach you see is Bar Beach close to the centre of town... we live on the headland in the darkness just to the left of the tallest street light pictured.

Getting Fit...

I'm going public with my desire to get fit in the hope that every so often you will ask me how the regime is going. A summer of camping in the camper, followed by weeks of coming to see all you people (partying, eating, drinking!) has taken its toll. Its hard to imagine that I once ran a Marathon and now running a bath is almost too much effort!I have taken action and started running every day although after my last two runs I need to think about what time of the day I go!!! ... mad dogs and Englishmen and all that!!

I have also registered for a Beach Bootcamp which involves circuit training on the beach at 6:30am! I'll keep you posted....

Where we live...

This is Newcastle (not the Upon Tyne version!) Basically Newcastle was a very industrial town and still is in some respects. More coal is shipped out of the port than at any other place on Earth... some 70 million tonnes were exported last year. Once famed for its steel works which bellowed smoke into the sky, it is now more likely to come into conversation because of its beaches, the vineyards and the lake. The building with the tower is the Brewery. In the name of Blog research I will visit and feedback!

When animals attack #2 Puffer Fish

The latest in the series is the Puffer Fish...

The puffer fish's unique and distinctive natural defenses are necessary due to their particular form of locomotion. Puffer fish use a combination of pectoral, dorsal, anal, and caudal fins for propulsion that make them highly maneuverable but very slow, and therefore comparatively easy targets for predators. As a defense mechanism, puffer fish have the ability to inflate rapidly, filling their extremely elastic stomachs with water (or air when outside the water) until they are almost spherical in shape. Thus, a hungry predator stalking the puffer fish may suddenly find itself facing what seems to be a much larger fish and pause, giving the puffer fish an opportunity to retreat to safety.

Some puffer fish also produce a powerful neurotoxin in their internal organs, making them an unpleasant, possibly lethal, meal for any predatory fish that eats one. This neurotoxin is found primarily in the ovaries and liver, although smaller amounts exist in the intestines and skin, as well as trace amounts in muscle tissue and in its blood. Many puffer fish have bright colors and distinctive markings and make no attempt to hide from predators. This is likely an example of aposematism, where the puffer fish advertises to potential predators that it is not safe to eat. Obviously being poisonous does not help the puffer fish once it has been eaten, so the evolutionary mechanism at work benefits the species, with predators learning that puffer fish are at least distasteful and probably sickening, and so avoided next time that predator encounters that species of puffer fish.

It should be noted that puffer fish toxin is not necessarily as toxic to other animals as it is to humans, and some species of fish routinely eat puffer fish, such as lizardfish [1] and tiger sharks [2]. Puffer fish toxin evolved as a response to aquatic predators such as larger fish, rather than for use against humans.

Boat Trip

Saturday started early with a 40minute drive around the lake to meet Les (and Jarvis) at his marina as he was moving his boat out through the Lake channel to sea and into Newcastle Harbour. It was really nice of him to invite us along and a great opportunity to see the Lake and Newcastle from the sea. We made good speed down the Lake (3o mins from end to end) and got to the swing bridge at Swansea in plenty of time for the bridge to open to let us out. We also took the opportunity to do some fishing and by looking at some of the gear we were using we were meaning business... having said that the catch was poor with me weighing in with the largest fish an aptly named Yellow Tail which we left live on the line to attact something bigger. There have been reports of Fishermen in Newcastle paddling off shore on surf boards through the surf with hooks and lines with 2ft fish on the end as bait for Great Whites before paddling in and using the winch on a 4X4 to pull the thing in!!! There are bigger fish to fry!

We are quickly getting into the Aussie way of life... first beer offered at 9:30am and remember take your cool box (esky!) everywhere!

Warners Bay

Despite being a coastal town it also has a very large large lake inshore. It seems that most people go out on the water during their leisure time. On Friday night we took a picnic to a free weekly concert at Warners Bay, lots of other people had the same idea.... not a BBQ in sight though... what's going on!?!

When animals attack #1: Blue Jellyfish

Hopefully the first of a very short series picturing the potentially hazzardous wildlife I've spotted! Firstly introducing the Blue Bottle...

The blue bottle feeds on small fish and other small ocean creatures. They envelope their prey with their tentacles, where a poison is released thus paralysing its prey before being consumed. The tentacles adhere extremely well to their prey. If a tentacle is put under the microscope you will see that it looks like a long string of barbed hooks, which explains the ability of the tentacle to attach.
If a tentacle attaches itself to a human, it releases a poison (through the use of nematocysts), and if you continue to rub the skin after the tentacle has been removed more poison or venom will be released. If you are stung, it is best to wash the area without touching. A cold pack should be used to relieve the pain. If stung, please consult a doctor immediately. No fatalities have ever been reported within Australia or New Zealand from the sting of a blue bottle.

Destination Sydney

After one hour flight, and a further seven and a half hour flight we eventually touched down in Sydney International. It was the end of a very long journey lasting nearly three years from first mentioning that we might go to sitting here typing this blog. We had our visas stamped and our passports marked "arrived." Liam and Joel ran up the ramp to give us garlands and flags. It was great to see Matt and Sharron there to greet us along with Beth's mum and dad having made the two hour round trip.

Further surprises followed at home with a huge banner! Known to Joel as "apple" due to always being tagged on the end of Beth "and paul" (say it quickly!) and of course being part of the family and having "our" as a prefix the sign obviously says R'apple!..... obviously not to the neighbours who think I'm called Rapple!

It was then back into the car for a trip down to the beach.... I'll only mention it this once but the weather is lovely!