Christmas and New Year 2019/20

Hi everyone, when I started this page I said “Happy New Year” everyone, its been a long time since I wrote but life is so busy and I am having so much fun I haven’t gotten around to writing. However, much has changed and the world has gone crazy so I hope you enjoy reading my adventures. 

So December 16th Tj’s sister arrived for a 3 week holiday and we were out and about visiting places with her.  First trip was to the Maze near Bribie Island, I was thinking it might be only for little ones but to our surprise it was aMAZing lol.  Set in beautiful gardens with a magic waterfall as you enter, (girls didn’t see the magic eye that stopped the flow as you approached) we spent longer than we thought we would chasing the girls round the maze and trying out the different activities. 

  Finally they were tired so we stopped for a coffee break (or ice cream) and then set off for the Sandstone Hotel for lunch.  We love this hotel, set on the edge of the water opposite Bribie Island with open deck areas, a little animal petting farm and children’s play area – everything for a relaxing lunch.

Tummies all full,  we drove the 10 mins to the beach and set up for the rest of the day. Everyone had a wonderful time in the sea, building sandcastles and making memories with the girls.  So tired, they slept most of the way home. 

At home work was underway to finish the wall along one side of the deck to accommodate the new BBQ – Bob and Adam worked tirelessly to get it more or less finished for Christmas as we had decided to have a BBQ for Christmas lunch.

Every time we come here Bob and I go to the Australian PGA competition, this year it was on the Gold Coast so we booked the tickets for the Friday before Christmas and the Mercure Hotel for overnight and spent the day watching the professionals show us how it is done!

 

In the evening we looked at the hotel restaurant and decided we didn’t like the prices of their meals so we drove out to a shopping area and bought a pre-cooked chicken, some salad and a bottle of wine and made a meal for a quarter of the restaurant cost- and it was delicious! The following day TJ’s friends,  Sam and Ollie, invited us to join them at their holiday apartment complex close by so we went and spent the day in their pool. Adam and Tj drove down to the Gold Coast for the day with the girls too. 

 

 

 

Sunday Adam, TJ and I went to see the new Star Wars film, Bob has never gotten into sci-fi films so he was left to babysit. We all thoroughly enjoyed the film and the girls were good for Grandad.

With Adam and TJ finished work now for the Chrismas holidays, Monday they cracked on with the wall, managing to get the tiling done before dark.  We were all hungry so Mia suggested that we go to the Sushi Train restaurant which is one of her favourite places to eat in Bulimba.  Zoe is so funny, after eating lots of sushi she said ” I think I can smell NomNom Ice cream”!  They both love this ice cream parlour, its made in Maleny Dairy and its soooo creamy and its cheap too!.  

To finish off the day we went for a drive around  the local houses decked with Chrismas light displays.  Must say they were nice but I have seen much better in the past, perhaps austerity has arrived in Australia too? 

 

Its Christmas eve and I have lots of sewing to do and finishing off card making and Adam has gone off to look at a chair for his man-cave.  Tj is busy cleaning and said the house needed a tidy up because her friend Sam was coming over ??? We don’t usually tidy up for Sam so I left Tj to continue.  The door bell rang and Tj called out to ask me to answer the door as she was on the phone?  I opened the front door and shock…. for a moment I thought that’s not Sam – why is Lucy, Adi, Dan and Charlie standing on the doorstep?? Am I imagining this – NOOO they really are here in Australia – OMG – I cried, then I realised that they had all be lying to me  , Adam wasn’t looking at a chair, he was at the airport and TJ wasn’t on the phone she was filming me, and Lucy Adi and the boys had kept the secret of their visit a surprise for weeks  . 

Click to see – Surprise Christmas Video 

My little girl came to see me .

They were all tired from a 30+ hour journey but needed to keep awake as it was only about 11am so we decided to eat and head for the swim pool where we just had an amazing time with all the family together – we think it must be about 10 years since we were all together for Chrismas.

Needless to say they all went to bed reasonably early, once Santa and his reindeer had been catered for and the scene was set for Chrismas morning… 

What a wonderful day, a huge pile of presents opened for the girls and some too for the boys, a big breakfast and a lovely family day preparing lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boxing Day in TJ’s world means shopping and bargains. I said no I wasn’t going to get up at 5am to join a queue for the bargains but happily the shops here didn’t open til 9am so the girls and Dan went shopping while the rest of the boys and girls played at home. We shopped til we dropped, everyone bought something, we had a coffee stop and I found 2 new dresses- real bargains. 

 Dan had been saving his money for an iwatch and as they are cheaper here, he was so happy coming out of the Apple shop with his watch and new ear pods too.

 

 

 

 

 

Friday was activity day, Thunderbird park at Mount Tambourine. Adi and the boys went off on their high ropes course, swinging and sliding through the forest.                               

 

 

 

 

 

The girls tried out the junior course and after some encouragement, their faces showed their delight as they conquered the longer slides across the  deeper and higher course. Unfortunately it began to rain so we headed for the cafe for a drink. Adam TJ and the girls ventured off to see the waterfall then joined us for the trip home.

Saturday is photo shoot day, we are going to the Gold Coast near Sea life centre for 5pm to have some family photos done. The girls needed nails done so 6 of us managed to get a great deal which included Mia and Zoe’s nails and toes done for free.

About 2 hrs later we emerged sparkling from the glitter!*    

We travelled down to the beach to meet the photographer for our 1 hour session. We got mossie bites in the mangroves and then the wind blew our hair everywhere but we had such fun that we didn’t even realise that she had been with us for almost 2 hrs.  Some great photos were taken with the sun setting and the girls just playing by the water.  We had to wait about 3 weeks to see the photos but I have a selection here..**

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We were all starving and it was too late to go home and cook so we drove around to find a fish and chip shop –  they were just closing but luckily said they would cook for us. They even let us sit in the cafe to eat although they were putting the chairs up around us.  Ice creams were needed to finish off the day , Adi found a corner shop and went to get ice cream for all of us and we sat on the pavement like gypsys eating them.  

Sunday was Zoe’s 4th birthday and her request was a beach day. *

 

After breakfast and opening presents (I always think it must be hard to have a birthday so close to Chrismas, then having to wait a whole year for presents again? ) we packed the cars and set off for Wellington Point beach.  The sand here is very red and the tide was out so you can walk about a km to a little island.  I have been before and been bitten by mossies out there so I declined and stayed in my beach chair.  The girls love chasing the little crabs, as you walk towards them they dive into the sand.  Dan and Charlie buried Mia and Zoe and then we realised that their swim costumes had stained with the red sand – not to worry they had a great time. *

There is a swings and slides park on the grass by the beach too so they spent some time there before we packed up for home.

Time for more fun, there is a water park near a shopping centre north of Brisbane and it’s cheap, the reviews say its good so we decide to try it.  Well it was great, pools and slides for everyone, a shaded area and lovely coffee- can’t ask for more!  *

We took some snacks and fruit with us but we were all hungry when we finished so we went to the shopping mall, parking was terrible, so we agreed to meet in the food hall and get some lunch. 

Its new Years eve and we have soooo much to do. At 3 pm about 20 children will descend on us for Mia and Zoe’s joint birthday party and it will continue into the night for new year.  There is food to prepare and tables, chairs and decorations to get out and set up so everyone was given their jobs for the day.  Adi was finishing his masterpiece fairy house in the forest cake. 

Everyone had their jobs to do !

 

 

 

 

 

The party went well, the entertainer (a lady dressed as a fairy) painted their faces, played games and generally organised them for an hour.  Most of the children and their parents stayed til late, Lucy and family went into the city to see the big fireworks, but just before midnight we went outside to watch the firework display from the Leagues Club just the other side of the main road.  Great display but now bed zzzzzzz.

New Years day was a chill day, the boys went to see some 20/20 cricket in the afternoon but I has happy to stay at home with Tj and the girls and relax. Sara was going home the next day but not til the evening so we all went to a bowling alley for a couple of games and a competition.  I still don’t know who won but it was very funny.

Lucy isn’t feeling well,  I think the flight and everything at home with jobs and house problems is catching up with her. They had decided to go away for Christmas to get some chill time but the flights were expensive, however, “Mrs TJ bargain hunter” was on the case and found flights for them so this is how the surprise was planned.  They had all kept this secret from us for weeks. Dan and Charlie knew they were coming to Australia for Chrismas even when we were having a pre- Christmas dinner with them in the UK before we left for Australia in November – I cant believe that we didn’t even get an inkling of what they were planning !!

The house is a little quieter with Sara gone home, Lucy and Adi can move from the rumpus room sofa bed to a proper bed in the nook bedroom. Claire, a friend of TJ and her brood of 3 children asked us for a play-date with Mia and Zoe so the girls all went to the Rocks park and the children had lots of fun in and out of the water pools and fountains in the morning. Adi was preparing his bike for his 4 days away cycling up near Rainbow beach in the outback tomorrow.  Adam is very proud of his BBQ set up and the house renovation and loves having BBQ with friends to show it off. An ex neighbour, Selina and her family, who now cuts TJs hair and who we haven’t seen for some time, (a lovely couple from Holland I think) came over to see the house extension and for a BBQ, they came with wine, beer and a dessert with her dad and partner tagging along too. They loved the house and their children (who are older) played nicely with Mia and Zoe and Dan and Charlie, a super evening catching up with the gossip and we have been invited to see their new house too in the not too distant future.

After all the fun its time to catch up with the housework, Adi has gone off early to meet his friends for his cycling adventure,  I am ironing, Tj is tidying, the kids are at an extreme sport complex for a couple of hours.  Dan and Charlie asked if they can go swimming in the afternoon to the pool about 1/2 a km away, I forget how old they are now, Dan 13  and Charlie is 12.  We take down the Christmas decorations while they are gone and then we are all ready for dinner.  We decided to go to the Marketta, a sort of market of food stalls with a band playing at one end and tables all down the middle.

 

Its a great atmosphere, everyone can choose what they want to eat from the round the world and we all sit down together. I had a paella from a couple of Spanish guys from Valencia, it was so nice to be able to speak to them in Spanish.    There was some discussion as to a dessert, there wasn’t that many choices so a unanimous vote for NomNom ice-cream parlour to Zoe’s delight was chosen.  

Sunday 5th January and another day out at the beach, this time we went north to Scarborough, we set up the gazebo and chairs and everyone had a lovely day playing in the water and sand. Dan and Charlie did lots of digging, burying and sandcastle making with the girls, giving the adults some relaxing time. Towards the end of the day, we spotted something on the waters edge and investigating found that it was a sea snake.  *

Adam took photos to check if it was ok but realised it was very venomous. Luckily we were all out of the water when we discovered it but someone found a large stick and tossed it back into the sea. We read later that the recent storms had churned up the seabed and sea snakes were finding themselves washed up on the beaches. Lucky us !

In the evening, Lucy, the boys, bob and I went to the cinema to see Knives Out, a crime story with a twist, we all enjoyed it. This is the last day of the Christmas holidays for Adam and TJ and Zoe.  

Tuesday was a very quiet day, Mia has gone to vacation care, Zoe at daycare, Adam and TJ at work, Bob golfing and Adi is due back teatime from his mamouth cycle in the outback. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dan and Charlie went off to the swimming pool on their own so Lucy and I are on our own – its so quiet.  Time to catch up on the soaps and chill before the house is mad again. 

In the afternoon we took Dan and Charlie and Lucy to Victoria Park Crazy golf range, it was lovely to have time with just the boys and the competition was hot – I think grandad won though as usual! 

Wednesday is Lucy and Adi’s last full day, so they set off for the city on the ferry, hiring bikes to get around and explore more. They stopped off at Adams office and went out for lunch with him.

 

  Bob and I are happy to have the house to ourselves, time to read for me and Bob is mowing the lawns as they have been neglected for a few days with everything going on.  Last dinner was back in Bulimba for a Vietnamese and of course NomNom ice-cream for afters.

 

January 9th is finally here and we have to say goodbye to the Smith family, its so sad, I want them to stay forever ! Their flight isn’t until late tonight though so last trip on the ferry to Southbank this time for a swim

and then home for our last dinner together. Bob and I went with them to the airport to wave them off and there were tears..