Aurora Stadium - 9.30 display

Happy New Year's Eve!

May 2009 be all that you hoped,

more than you dreamed,

and beyond all that you've ever wished for!

Take care, and enjoy the festivities!

With best wishes from

Kylie, Shayne, Patrick and Lauren.

P.S. Lock up your pets BEFORE the fireworks start!!!

Mission complete!

Patrick finished his Star Wars Republic Attack Gunship

at lunchtime yesterday.

Asajj Ventress, Plo Koon, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Commander Cody

and a Clone Trooper piloting the Gunship

(apparently!)

*Click photos to enlarge

A Star Wars war!

There is so much detail - it even has a medical pod!

The finished project!

Well done Patrick!

Festive treats from afar!

Our friend Fumiko from Japan, always sends us lovely gifts.

The postie van just came with a parcel full of great pressies!

Fumiko always sends beautiful calendars and cards, and this year

a tin of lollies, some little animals that make noises for the kids

(and a sheep for Shayne!),

and a gorgeous face washer with a black cat on it!

Thanks Fumiko, we are always thrilled to get your gifts!

What a lovely surprise in the mail!

Fumiko and Lauren in February 2001

Lauren was nearly 6 months (little baldy wasn't she??)

We met Fumiko on a European Contiki in 1997.

Star Wars wars!

Patrick has been working on his biggest Lego project ever - the

Star Wars Republic Attack Gunship

he got for Christmas!

It's really starting to take shape.

There have been a few battles and a couple of wars,

due to differences of opinion in the building process!

Hopefully it will be finished soon without any more mishaps!

!!!!

NB I just read the instructions - it's for 9-14 year olds Shayne -

NOT 44 year olds

so don't be disheartened that you can't get it right!!!

THIS is the life!

I snuck out this afternoon under the pretence of feeding Mollie while Mum and Kel are away! Mollie and I both decided we needed to relax after the hectic Christmas rush!

Swimming!

We love Riverside Pool!

We went to Riverside pool today with Georgina and David.

It's our favourite pool and we think we'll probably keep going there after Windmill Hill re-opens next year. It's cheap, the parking is close, the slide is cool, and there's plenty of shade!

Everyone else is at Rob and Kylie's wedding down South at Gordon, so the kids are having a sleepover here.

Happy Wedding Day Rob and Kylie!

xxxx

Thanks to my apprentice Shayne for the slide photos!

Too funny not to share!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

And so this is Christmas....

....and what have we done?

****

Slept!

5.30 am

Lol was up, but Paddy slept until 7.30!

Built a Star Wars Republic Attack Gun Ship!

Chatted with Christmas Cousins

Clea 3 , Lauren 8 , Georgina 15

Compared presents!

Patrick 9 , David 9

Played and posed for Nanna (again!)

Quinn, nearly 2

Slept!

Luke 11 weeksRode around the bike centre!

Lol's new bike, aptly named "Miss Behavin'" !

Skated!

Paddy's new blades.

Posed in 2006...

....and again today!

Checked out the Christmas pressie haul! Posed with some favourites and...

slept!

5.30 pm

What a great Christmas day!

*Special photo credit to Patrick for a couple of the photos!

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

We hope the "big guy" was kind to you all,

and that your Christmas is full of family,

fun and...festive food!!!

Have a lovely day!

With many best wishes

and lots of Christmas cheer,

Kylie, Shayne, Patrick and Lauren!

xxxx

Oh Joy!

Where is the ONE place you try to avoid on Christmas Eve???

Town of course!

The City Centre where that frenzied last minute shopping is taking place!

Pestered parents, cranky kids and tired shop assistants

who have seen enough of the silly season to last the year (???)! Well, guess who said "oh yes please" when offered an assignment (shh) for today?

Of all the places it is smack in the middle of

Christmas Chaos Central!

Fortunately there was a spot for the kids at "Nanna's Daycare"

before the serious Christmas cooking begins (thanks Mum),

and hopefully I'll be home before Christmas...

30,000 and counting!

The Hawks had hoped to have 25,000 members signed up before the 25th, on their way to being the first Victorian club ever to have 50,000 members! I just checked out their site and they are up to 30,087 already! It's not too late so if you've thought about it JUMP ON BOARD! 2009 is going to be an exciting year for the 2008 premiers - The Mighty Hawks!

(except maybe for Renouf!!!)

A birthday barbie, special guests, and a special surprise!

Yesterday we had a family BBQ to celebrate Mark's birthday, and the arrival of Rob (Mark's son) and his partner Kylie in Tassie. Unfortunately, Rob and Kylie missed their plane from Perth and missed the BBQ, but they dropped in later. Rob and Kylie get married in Gordon (South of Hobart) on Saturday!

Patrick had his first try at BBQ cooking

It will go towards his Cooking Level 1 badge for Cubs

The delicious carrot cake made by Mum!

And the gingerbread cottage before Patrick took to it

with a rolling pin!!! The special surprise!!!

We got the kids a trampoline this year, and thought we'd make the most of the many hands, and get it set up, rather than try and do it on Christmas Eve! We are going to the Bike Centre for breakfast on Christmas Day, and it would be hard for the kids to leave the trampoline if they'd only just got it, so we surprised them yesterday. Lauren is out on it now!

****

Warning - objects in this photo are not as close as they appear!!!

The wall is not right next to the trampoline like it looks!

It's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas!

For me, the smell of a Christmas tree always makes it feel like Christmas. Unfortunately, after a few days it makes me feel like crying - streaming eyes, runny nose, itchy face - lovely! This year will possibly be the last year we have a real tree, so I'm making the most of it. We held off until today to ensure I didn't have to toss the tree outside before Christmas Day - I'm sure I can last a week...

Before

During After

We managed to get the tree decorated without too many mishaps this year! In the past I've had to do it my way, but this year let the kids help more (generous I know!). There's nothing quite like the experience of decorating a tree with kids!!!