On Tuesday, Dec 21, the kids and I made the 1000 km drive down to Sydney again. We did it faster this time than last September, the kids are getting better at bladder control and I had the super secret weapon, “Toy Story 3” for the DVD player. The kids love the movie and we only had a few episodes of “how much longer” and “are we there yet?” We took the Pacific Highway down and stopped for lunch and some playtime in Coff’s Harbour again. We stayed with the Creech’s again and had a wonderful time. Katherine (Aunty Kat) was down from Brisbane for Christmas and had brought her two dogs. The kids were delighted to have three dogs around (Bonnie lives there). Emma was originally due to fly down Thursday evening after work but had to fly down to Sydney on the Wednesday morning to close a deal in Sydney. While she had two crazy days at work, we were glad to get to see her when she came in late and before she headed off in the morning.
The Christmas spirit was in the air and the kids could not get enough. They were singing carols non-stop (“Jingle Bells”,”Rudolph”, and “We wish you a Merry Christmas” are the three they know!) The kids helped Emma make a gingerbread house and wrapped a lot of presents. On Christmas Eve James and partner Heidi flew in from Brisbane, (lots of visitors from Brisbane) and some friends of the Creech’s came over and brought their two boys who were close in age to Alex and Ellie. After meeting the kids Ellie then asked “Where is the girl?” She can’t understand why some families don’t have a girl for her to play with. It is always interesting to see the differences between boys and girls. Alex was quickly racing around the garden with the boys playing all sorts of games. Ellie won’t play with kids until there has been a formal declaration of friendship as she runs after kids asking “Will you be my friend?” or “Will you play with me?” Of course the boys don’t stay still long enough to hear the question or answer. Ellie finally joined in and by 2130 she was so worn out she begged to go to bed. She put out some carrots and water for the reindeer and was out. The boys finally left around 2200 and after putting some cookies and milk out for Santa, Alex was finally asleep. The master plan was a late night might buy us some sleep the next morning. A few more hours of “grown up chores” and the grown ups were finally off to bed.
The kids were sleeping on the floor in our room as there was a full house. We told Alex he couldn’t go out when he first woke up as it was too early. He lay there singing Christmas carols until we finally relented. While we were trying to awaken some of the other grown ups, Alex had a peak through the door into the living room and quickly reported Santa had brought lots of presents. The kids were overjoyed with the presents that Santa had brought for them. They were impressed that they had received most of the items on their list to Santa. It took most of the morning to admire all their gifts and there were only two kids in the house! The rest of the Sydney clan was over for lunch with the Sargeants and Mrs J all in attendance. We had a wonderful lunch outside, it was so warm we needed to put up some extra shade, with lots of festive music and decorations. With more present excitement building, after lunch we exchanged gifts and there was another wave of excitement for the little kiddies. Most of the grownups were now ready for a much needed nap. The kids of course were too hyped to sleep so we broke out the slip and slide. While Ellie took a while to get the idea, Alex slipped and slid so much that by the end of the afternoon the slide was ready for the bin.
The rest of our time in Sydney was just as much fun. We went into Sydney for another visit to the sharks at the Aquarium and another ride on the monorail train. Another day we took the ferry into Darling Harbour and went to the Sydney Wildlife World, and a ride on the carousel. The highlight was probably our boat trip around the harbour on a yacht. Some friends of the Creechs’ have a yacht on the harbour and they took us all out for a trip around the harbour with a stop for a wonderful lunch at the Royal Sydney Yacht Club. The kids really enjoyed being on the boat with Captain Greg and Janine. With all the adults around, Emma and I went out for a night out at dinner and the movies. We planned on seeing “The Kings Speech” but didn’t realize it was opening night so we couldn’t get a seat. We saw the only other option “Megamind”. Ironic that the first movie we have seen on our own since Cayman and we see a cartoon! Our last day we went out to the Sargeant’s spread for a swim and a BBQ. The kids had a great time swimming and playing with their three dogs. The loved having so much space to run around and explore.
On Dec 30 we headed north along the Pacific Highway to Yamba, a wonderful town right where the Clarence river meets the ocean. We had four days at the Blue Dolphin resort. We were staying in a cabin right by the pool. There were also lots of campers and there were some serious camping set ups. Some of the sites had Christmas trees and Christmas lights, refrigerators, and most other comforts of home. We spent most of the time in the pool and on the water slides. The kids just loved spending all day in the pool. They also got to feed the pelicans, build a sand castle in the sand castle competition and spend a couple evenings playing on the beach. One afternoon Ellie was “a bit tired” and wanted a break from the pool. Alex didn;t want to get out so Ellie and Emma had a girls afternoon out to town to check out the cute shops. As they were getting in the car, Ellie asked Emma if Alex and I were coming too, and Emma said no we weren’t coming. Ellie replied: “Good, the boys bug me sometimes.” New Year’s Eve once again found us asleep well before the fireworks. Apparently I even missed the loud cheering and shouting and horns at midnight. We were in northern New South Wales which is right now one hour ahead on Queensland time. Since there were so many people at the park that were from Queensland, apparently there was another loud celebration at midnight Queensland time which I slept right through also. Monday January 3 was time to head home. It was only a three hour drive home but we took our time to explore some small beach towns and then had a picnic lunch in Brunswick Heads, another town where a river meets the coast. After lunch we went swimming in the brown river. It is brown because of the tea tree oil that seeps into the river farther up stream. My skin is looking wonderful now! It was nice to get home after two weeks away. In spite of all the rain that Queensland had while we were gone, our house was fine. Unfortunately our mailbox is not waterproof, so some mail was soggy beyond repair.
The kids are so hyped up on Christmas that they are still singing carols, asking to watch the Christmas specials of all their fav shows, and playing Christmas everyday. Other than that, we are all back in our routine. Alex has been at swim camp this week as it is still school holiday season down under. The kids are back at pre-school and in a few weeks will come the big move when Ellie moves up to Kindergarten to join Alex. Since the school cut off date here in Queensland in June 30, Alex and Ellie will be in the same school year! We have enjoyed everyone’s cards, letters and emails. We are hoping that historic rain and flooding here in Queensland and the historic drubbing of Australia by England in the Ashes are not portends of the year to come.
The Christmas spirit was in the air and the kids could not get enough. They were singing carols non-stop (“Jingle Bells”,”Rudolph”, and “We wish you a Merry Christmas” are the three they know!) The kids helped Emma make a gingerbread house and wrapped a lot of presents. On Christmas Eve James and partner Heidi flew in from Brisbane, (lots of visitors from Brisbane) and some friends of the Creech’s came over and brought their two boys who were close in age to Alex and Ellie. After meeting the kids Ellie then asked “Where is the girl?” She can’t understand why some families don’t have a girl for her to play with. It is always interesting to see the differences between boys and girls. Alex was quickly racing around the garden with the boys playing all sorts of games. Ellie won’t play with kids until there has been a formal declaration of friendship as she runs after kids asking “Will you be my friend?” or “Will you play with me?” Of course the boys don’t stay still long enough to hear the question or answer. Ellie finally joined in and by 2130 she was so worn out she begged to go to bed. She put out some carrots and water for the reindeer and was out. The boys finally left around 2200 and after putting some cookies and milk out for Santa, Alex was finally asleep. The master plan was a late night might buy us some sleep the next morning. A few more hours of “grown up chores” and the grown ups were finally off to bed.
The kids were sleeping on the floor in our room as there was a full house. We told Alex he couldn’t go out when he first woke up as it was too early. He lay there singing Christmas carols until we finally relented. While we were trying to awaken some of the other grown ups, Alex had a peak through the door into the living room and quickly reported Santa had brought lots of presents. The kids were overjoyed with the presents that Santa had brought for them. They were impressed that they had received most of the items on their list to Santa. It took most of the morning to admire all their gifts and there were only two kids in the house! The rest of the Sydney clan was over for lunch with the Sargeants and Mrs J all in attendance. We had a wonderful lunch outside, it was so warm we needed to put up some extra shade, with lots of festive music and decorations. With more present excitement building, after lunch we exchanged gifts and there was another wave of excitement for the little kiddies. Most of the grownups were now ready for a much needed nap. The kids of course were too hyped to sleep so we broke out the slip and slide. While Ellie took a while to get the idea, Alex slipped and slid so much that by the end of the afternoon the slide was ready for the bin.
The rest of our time in Sydney was just as much fun. We went into Sydney for another visit to the sharks at the Aquarium and another ride on the monorail train. Another day we took the ferry into Darling Harbour and went to the Sydney Wildlife World, and a ride on the carousel. The highlight was probably our boat trip around the harbour on a yacht. Some friends of the Creechs’ have a yacht on the harbour and they took us all out for a trip around the harbour with a stop for a wonderful lunch at the Royal Sydney Yacht Club. The kids really enjoyed being on the boat with Captain Greg and Janine. With all the adults around, Emma and I went out for a night out at dinner and the movies. We planned on seeing “The Kings Speech” but didn’t realize it was opening night so we couldn’t get a seat. We saw the only other option “Megamind”. Ironic that the first movie we have seen on our own since Cayman and we see a cartoon! Our last day we went out to the Sargeant’s spread for a swim and a BBQ. The kids had a great time swimming and playing with their three dogs. The loved having so much space to run around and explore.
On Dec 30 we headed north along the Pacific Highway to Yamba, a wonderful town right where the Clarence river meets the ocean. We had four days at the Blue Dolphin resort. We were staying in a cabin right by the pool. There were also lots of campers and there were some serious camping set ups. Some of the sites had Christmas trees and Christmas lights, refrigerators, and most other comforts of home. We spent most of the time in the pool and on the water slides. The kids just loved spending all day in the pool. They also got to feed the pelicans, build a sand castle in the sand castle competition and spend a couple evenings playing on the beach. One afternoon Ellie was “a bit tired” and wanted a break from the pool. Alex didn;t want to get out so Ellie and Emma had a girls afternoon out to town to check out the cute shops. As they were getting in the car, Ellie asked Emma if Alex and I were coming too, and Emma said no we weren’t coming. Ellie replied: “Good, the boys bug me sometimes.” New Year’s Eve once again found us asleep well before the fireworks. Apparently I even missed the loud cheering and shouting and horns at midnight. We were in northern New South Wales which is right now one hour ahead on Queensland time. Since there were so many people at the park that were from Queensland, apparently there was another loud celebration at midnight Queensland time which I slept right through also. Monday January 3 was time to head home. It was only a three hour drive home but we took our time to explore some small beach towns and then had a picnic lunch in Brunswick Heads, another town where a river meets the coast. After lunch we went swimming in the brown river. It is brown because of the tea tree oil that seeps into the river farther up stream. My skin is looking wonderful now! It was nice to get home after two weeks away. In spite of all the rain that Queensland had while we were gone, our house was fine. Unfortunately our mailbox is not waterproof, so some mail was soggy beyond repair.
The kids are so hyped up on Christmas that they are still singing carols, asking to watch the Christmas specials of all their fav shows, and playing Christmas everyday. Other than that, we are all back in our routine. Alex has been at swim camp this week as it is still school holiday season down under. The kids are back at pre-school and in a few weeks will come the big move when Ellie moves up to Kindergarten to join Alex. Since the school cut off date here in Queensland in June 30, Alex and Ellie will be in the same school year! We have enjoyed everyone’s cards, letters and emails. We are hoping that historic rain and flooding here in Queensland and the historic drubbing of Australia by England in the Ashes are not portends of the year to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment