Happy Christmas and a Wonderful New Year

Well, we are close to the end of another year. Boy they go fast these days - shows we are getting older and time is getting shorter. Ian and I had Christmas in Melbourne and were able to catch up with Lauren and Tim and just after Christmas, Anthony, Jenny and Luke. A quiet Christmas but a good one.

Luke is chatting away and delighted us all with his excitement around his new Thomas the Train rail set. Unfortunately it was way too short and we returned to Brisbane yesterday.

So now starts preparation for 2011. I am off to PNG for at least two years whilst Ian is still due to stay in Brisbane.We expect to still get together regularly as we expect Ian to have quite a few business trips to Port Morseby.

Therefore the next couple of days will be sent trying to pack both the items I need to take with me and those items I will leave for Ian to bring up over the next few visits.

Hope everyone has a great New Year and a Wonderful 2011 - keep safe

Palm Beach - Near Cairns

In September we took off for a week at Palm Beach. It was a week spent with Anthony, Jenny and little Luke whilst Lauren and Tim joined us for about 4 days. A terrific family holiday.



Luke, who has several months of swimming lessons had a great time in the pool. No fear and as per the photo seemed to think there were no reasons for all the safety warnings.

Luke, and his dad, Pa and Uncle Tim spent a lot of time playing with the ball. Mum joined in to play "jumping into the pool for dad to catch me" which Luke thought was great.

We celebrated Lauren's birthday whilst in Palm Beach. Lots of walks down the beach and then celebrated father's Day at one of the local restaurants. Great time - particularly as everyone lives in different states and we don't get together very often. It was also great to spend some time with Luke where he could really get to know us all a bit.

Hamilton Island

By February, the Project we are working on was up and running. All bids reviewed, all contracts in place and work started. It had been a busy and full-out period since Ian had joined me in Brisbane and we decided we needed a couple of days off to rest and relax. It was also our 35th wedding anniversary which did deserve something more than just a dinner out with a glass of wine. so Ian had booked a surprise trip to Hamilton Island. this island is off the Queensland cost and part o the Whitsunday group.

We had a wonderful suite on the top floor of the Reef Hotel.

Great rooms , great views from two lovely balconies. the island had terrific restaurants and we both ate far too much. It was rather fun getting around as the island traffic system was based on golf carts - which Ian tried very hard to "hoon" around in.

Being there also gave us the idea of having a full family get together at somewhere similar later in the year.

Christening

Its been a while since I updated this blog so thought I'd go back and update some of the important events of this year. In March wonderful grandson ( I know.... I am biased) Luke was christened at a lovely ceremony at the local church in Berrigan. For those friends who are not Australian, Berrigan is close to the Victorian/New South Wales border.

Luke behaved well - though he did seem to think it was a bit strange getting wet in the middle of the day rather than just bath time as can be seen in the look
he gave his Mum during the ceremony. Anth was a proud as punch. Jen's brother Keith and Lauren are godparents - also well behaved - so a lovely ceremony all round.

We all then went to the annual Berrigan horse race where we celebrated Luke's christening and his 1st birthday. Even though it sounds a strange place to celebrate - it was a great day and a lot of fun. Country race meetings are very different from those held in the city. It is all very casual and friendly with all the locals joining in and the races were interesting. some seemed competitive and some just needed to finish to get a place.