Safe and Sound ...

I thought I would post just to say that we are safe and sound unlike those less fortunate than us further north in Queensland and Northern NSW. What we are watching on the television here is nothing short of total devastation, you can only imagine what it would be like to have water completely cover your house, or wash it away. There seem to be so many personal stories of bravery, courage and unfortunately loss.

Jordan's final act of bravery.

The stats are bewildering... we're talking about an area the size of France and Germany combined. Lets hope that Queenslander's can get back to something approaching normality and that the weather over the next couple of months, in what is the wet season, is kind.

If you're interested in donating from the UK you can with the following details:

Account Name: Premiers Disaster Relief Appeal
BSB: 064 013
Account number: 1000 6800
SWIFT code: CTBAAU2S

Into everything ...

Charles continues to grow! As you can see from his Michelin Man arms and legs he's well fed, often waking during the night for a top up!!!

He can crawl, pull himself up on things and open drawers ... happy days! I never quite see why parents are so preoccupied with when their kid can crawl/walk. Alfie is coming to terms with the fact that at any time after lining up all his cars in neat rows that Charlie might arrive and do some reorganisation!

... in a month or so we might see him up on two feet!

Nanny and Gramps ...

Nan and Gramp's continue to entertain and be entertained by Alfie and Charlie. Here's Nanny tonight ...

Throw a shrimp on my own BBQ ...

Living in Australia there is a fair chance that if you arrange to have a few people over for a BBQ and some beers that the weather will at least be dry... no having everyone inside with the sausages under the grill with the rain hammering on the window. I've managed to master some BBQ skills under the guidance of some Aussies wanting to educate me in the art of cremating food. I've been a willing listener... armed only with a spatula, some tongs and my Union Jack apron!

I remember fondly the days of lighting BBQ briquets aided only by a full box of matches, those little white cube things and a bottle of lighter fluid. With a fair wind, a little luck and two hours you could be BBQing food!

Then the gas bottle was invented ... and the rest as they say is history. With the Aussie BBQ being the most important piece of furniture after the TV and the beer fridge we've been lucky enough to have had at least two BBQ's donated to us and we were so thankful for that.

However having been here for four years we decided to get our own and here she is...

... I've been out there for the last two nights. I'm sure that the novelty of cooking on it and then cleaning it will wear off soon! ;0)

Garden Renovations ...

With Alfie's trampoline (... he calls it a Jump-a-lina!) taking up yet more space on the grass in the garden the normal par six course with the mower became a par seven. I was spending more time moving toys than moving the mower! So we decided to do something with the corner of the garden which has been nothing more than a pile of rocks and long grass.

This was the view in June 2007. We'd only been in the house for three months and this was taken the morning after the mother of all storms! The garden still shows signs of having the horse living in it...

Here's the same view today. We moved the stones to create a new border, filled the hole with bark, shoved the tramp up there off the grass (... yes we now have grass!).

We've got some more plans for the garden including a tree house with a completion date that passed about six months ago!

Guess who's back ...

Bluey the Blue Tongue lizard! He turned up again in the rock pile which was the corner of the garden. I think we disturbed him as we moved the rocks, but created a new shelter for him and fed him the last of the cooked beef lurking in the back of the fridge.

He gobbled that up and has since gone to ground! Nice animal that looks a little too much like a snake when it sticks its head out between rocks!

Down on the Farm ...

This week we went to Oakvale Farm to check out the animals. Its a great place to visit an get close to the animals. Nan, Gramps, cousin Joel as well as friends Maz, Daniel and Jacob. A great family day out...

The Piglets make their way back to the corner of their pen for yet more sleep.

"G'day. I'm an Aussie goat!"

Two littleuns get acquainted!

Alfie wrestles with a very hungry goat!

All aboard ... Hold tight for the Tractor ride!

... minutes later Charlie would be seen sucking on Kangaroo food!

... there comes a point when you're just ready to leave home!

Happy 70th Gramps ...

On Friday we celebrated Gramps' seventieth birthday (... and another perfectly timed England win in the Ashes!) The Aussie Walkers arrived in the morning to give Gramps his cards and gifts and have some birthday cake.

We had told Jon that we would be going to a hotel for a meal in the afternoon... what he didn't know is that we'd booked a '57 Chevy Limo for 12pm through one of our neighbours! There was an anxious wait as some rain delays and un characteristically resilient Australian batting delayed the finish.

As if scripted the wicket went down at about 11:55am and the need to carry John from the house under protest was avoided. Jean and John loved the trip in the car to the pub where we had a fantastic family meal. This was followed by a lazy walk on the beach before the limo returned for the trip home. What a great day...

Happy New Year ...

We had New Years at home this year and set things up for the kids to do in the garden during the day and then as night fell we set up a temporary movie screen for Toy Story 3, which the adults seemed to enjoy more than the kids.

There was time for a quick bit of karaoke from the kids before bed leaving the adults to see in the new year ... which we did... just! Some might have even missed it had they not been given the nudge!

In the morning it was out on the BBQ for egg and bacon rolls - A perfect New Years Day breakfast.

Nan and Gramps ...

With all the excitement of Christmas I failed to mention that Nan and Gramps arrived at the end of November ... if you've been tuning in waiting for the official announcement I can now confirm that they arrived safely! ;0)

They are the last in a list of house guests during 2010 ... we've had Grandma Ivey, Amy great friend and ex neighbour before she departed with Mitch for pastures new and a friend of a friend for a couple of nights all before the Walkers Senior arrived.

As you can see from the video clip they are great in entertaining the boys and helping out around the house and home to share in our Aussie Life. They are here until the end of February but after that we have no further bookings ... So give us a shout if you fancy a trip Down Under!! ;0)

Christmas 2010 ...

This Christmas was certainly a busy and enjoyable one. In the build up we seemed to be busy picking something up, visiting someone or simply trying to recover from the camping trip.

Alfie was certainly 12months wiser on the Christmas front and the "Santa only gives presents to Good Boys!" line was well used to the point that we'd need to come up with something for the other eleven months. The kids had a great time with Alfie getting a new bike which remained in the middle of the living room as we walked around it with smaller presents. He also got a trampoline for the garden which thankfully Santa delivered fully assembled so that I wouldn't need to spend any time out in the dark with a torch on Christmas Eve!

We had fourteen for Christmas dinner served on three tables outside. Sun burn was a greater risk than the frost bite we'd have experienced at home. We welcomed the Walkers of Australia as well those from the UK. We also invited some other Brits over to share the day. Its hard when you celebrate the day without your family. We had the traditional Christmas dinner with the BBQ being used to cook the beef and the spuds.

After the meal it was very much the same... time for a nap if you could find a quiet spot although we replaced the Queens speech and Quality Street with some more beers in the garden and a slip and slide!

Thanks so much to everyone who send cards and gifts for the kids, they had a wonderful time and so many toys to play with! On Boxing Day Beth went to Sydney for the start of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race, I stayed at home with Charles and Alfie - it was the easiest day of child care in history!

Christmas Picnic ...

Right time to wrap up the Christmas festivities. We kicked things off in December with a family picnic for the teachers at school and their kids. We've tried to organise something every term, its so hard when you've got kids (...particularly before the live in baby sitters arrive!) ;0)

Santa duly arrived in a Toyota Corolla of all things and made his way across the carpark with a bulging sack and a pair of malfunctioning trousers...

... he gave out presents for all the good boys and girls before heading off! Its was a great morning and something we'll look to do again next year.

Month by Month ...

Late Christmas Present ...

As they say the best things come in small packages ... and after the best part of thirty years ... to those who wait!

Nice work guys... an England team to be proud of. Hope to go down to Sydney in the next couple of weeks to watch one of the one day games.

A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year ...

No it's not belated wishes more of a summary of a busy couple of weeks. Lots more updates to follow on what we've been up to but here is a picture of our visit to see Santa. Always an experience, we waited in line for a long time until Santa had to go for a ten minute break, something to do with reindeer's, only to return a good twenty five kilos lighter. How does he do it ... whats the secret I need to find out!

As you can see it was an experience clearly enjoyed by all! ;0)