Better late than never…

We decided to Stay in Darwin for Christmas.  It was nice, quiet, and we didn’t have a hangover due to my families tradition of Christmas eve drinks. Not to say we didn’t have the Christmas eve drinks, have to carry on the tradition.  The boys had great fun opening their presents, although Xavier decided to take over the unwrapping duties from everyone before we even got out of bed.  Ethan just got confused and I quickly re wrapped William’s present before he woke.  The wii was a winner, but I don’t recommend doing your first body test on the wii fit after Christmas lunch. It was a lovely day.

I know I have been slack.

This year there was a breakup party and concert for the preschool kids.

Will loved singing, the lines he knew, load and proud.  His foot even got in on the act with a bit of a tap every now and then.  The highlight for all the kids would have been the reindeer antlers that made a tune and flashed.  Fortunately they didn’t survive very long once they got home.

As you can see by the photos Ethan hated being the centre of attention.  We all had a great day that was topped off with cake with the neighbours. 

Where has the last two years gone????

These are just a few photos that were taken of William at preschool this year….

A couple of weeks ago we headed out as a family to a pet shop to suss out getting fish.  I thought a basic tank system and a few gold fish.  After a look at what was on offer, we decided on three fighting fish (betta)  in a divided tank.  Each one is a different colour so we know who owns what.  The names for the fish changes daily, but today it is Rhys, Jack and Max.  Will and Xavier are always eager to feed them.  ‘But they look hungry’  they will say several times a day.  The Dr Seuss book – fish out of water – comes into reference often.  They live in the kitchen and watch us as we walk by.   As much as I try to ignore them, I find myself down at their level watching them and their funny displays.  One in particular is always up for a fight and tries to jump out, fortunately we have a heavy enough lid.

Approximately 500km north of Alice Springs the are a cluster of round rocks piled up in two piles.  Its as if they have come out of nowhere.  Very random.  We decided that would be a good spot for a rest and a few photos to break up the final day of travel.

The kids didn’t want to leave.  Who needs a fun park when you can play on rocks?

After an week and a half of good times, a lot of wine, catching up with friends and family, we decided to extend our return trip by one day.  Day one we drove Corowa to Barmera, an easy 8hr drive.  From what we could see of the town it seemed ok but a freak rolling in of dust blocked our Motel view overlooking Lake Bonny, and limited our vision to around 100m.  The sports club where we had dinner was set up for families, so we might stop there again.  When there isn’t as much dust.  The next day we planned as a fun day, with only 2-3 hours in the car.  We headed to the Monash Adventure Park.  We should have checked the opening time first, but after some morning tea in Berri, a fun time was had by all.

Due to a last minute trip to Corowa, William’s birthday was pushed forward a few days.  Just had a few of his Preschool friends over for cake and watermelon.  He had two cakes on the day, one for Preschool than one for home.  They where aliens constructed and consumed  in record time.

The actual birthday was the day we arrived in Corowa.  It was late notice but Gwynfor whipped up some cupcakes so we could all acknowledge the day.  William had a great time at both of his birthdays.

For those who don’t know, I have just entered a new decade, the Thirties.  It has gotten off to a great start.  The Friday before the big event, the door bell rang at 6:15am.  I had only just had my first sip of coffee at this stage.  The brain ticks over pretty slowly until the entire mug is consumed.  I assumed it was our neighbour needing a ride to work, but it was still a little too early for this.  No, not the neighbour, it was Mum, Dad and Jill.  I’m not sure how many times I repeated ‘what…. what?’, but it was a lot.  My head was buzzing, and continued to do so for basically the rest of the day.  It turned out Terry knew about this since March.  Cheeky buggar.  I had wondered why he helped pick up the toys the night before.  Xavier was instantly excited, Ethan didn’t really know who they where, but took no time taking to them.  William was still asleep during all the commotion, woke a bit confused then got excited. It was a preschool day, he didn’t want to go but it gave him a chance to show everyone around his class room.

I still headed to the gym.  I needed to stop my head from bouncing.  And I needed that last workout before the previously blogged ball.  As part of Terry’s sneaky sneakiness, he had cancelled the gym crèche, taken leave for the duration of their stay and booked dinner the night of my actual birthday.  We don’t normally do much for birthdays, just a cake, nice dinner, a little party for the kids.  I had better start planning Terry’s reach of the summit (40) for March next year.

That night we headed out to Lee Point for bad Fish and Chips.  The sunset was beautiful, weather perfect (as normal), bugs biting.  The boys stayed as dry as can be expected… They didn’t.

Saturday morning we headed into the City to watch the retuning of troops march.  Will got a bit excited waving the flags.  It was more of a dance.  After the girls hit the shops and had lunch while the guys took the kids home.  Hey, this doesn’t happen very often, I was making the most of every moment.

Saturday night was the Ball.  We stayed the night at the Casino (another one of Terry’s surprises) and pulled up alright in the morning, surprisingly.

Sunday started with Dragon Boats and coffee at Cullen Bay.  We met up with the rest of the family there.  Its so pleasant sitting by the water.

Once the kids had had enough, Terry and I took the kids home for some quiet time.  Mum, Dad and Jill did some site seeing including the Fanny Bay Jail and lunch at the Yacht club.  That night we all met up at the Mindil Beach Markets.  Nobody bought anything apart from dinner.  We finished of with a drink at the Yacht Club while the sun went down.

The Big Day – Click goes Thirty.

Mum, Dad and Jill took off for most of the day heading out of town a little ways.  I went to the Gym for my weekly PT session and RPM.  Terry hung out with the kids.  That night we headed out to dinner to Tim’s Surf and Turf.  We had a huge meal and a good night, followed by several night caps and a Skype conference with Pete, Zett and Max,  Ev and Tan.  It wasn’t my birthday by the time we got to bed.

After a slow rise Tuesday morning, Mum, Jill and I set off for some girls time.  We had a pedicure, a shop and lunch.

It was a great five days, but it went way too fast.  Thanks again Mum, Dad and Jill coming up and helping me celebrate my 30th Birthday.

On Saturday 8 Aug we went to the annual Ball held by Terry’s unit, We also spent the night at the Sky City Casino / Hotel. Thanks Mum, Dad and Jill for looking after the kids.

One photo getting the hair done and one of the hair completed.

Ready to go