andrewsfamily.id.au

Lance and Mary arrived in Australia the weekend before Christmas and we welcomed them with some wonderfully hot weather.  We spent the first few days going to various beaches and enjoying the sea and sunshine, we also set up the croquet set for a few games on the lawn.  Lance also went to Newcastle Croquet Club for a game one morning.  On Christmas Eve, we all went to the Cathedral and then, after the kids had gone to bed, Lance and I spent a few hours putting up a trampoline in the garden.

Christmas Day started off with church for the Grandparents and breakfast for the others.  After a huge pile of presents we had some fun in the garden with new water pistols, badminton and of course the trampoline.  We had cheese and biscuits for lunch and then all went for a walk along the break-wall beside Newcastle Harbour.  The clouds started to come over then and the rains started.  Once home, we cooked up our Christmas dinner of prawns, lobster, ham, finished off with a delicious pavlova.  Very Australian and different from the usual English Christmas dinner.

Next day some of us went for a swim before breakfast and then a wet walk through Glenrock Reserve.  The sound of the cicadas was almost deafening at times.

Between Christmas and New Year we went up to Forster to stay with Carol and Bob.  Even though it rained every day we still had a great time and managed to go to the beach and Seal Rocks lighthouse.  When the rain was at its hardest we went ten pin bowling which was great fun for all.

Back to Newcastle for New Years Eve and we decided not to go to Sydney for the fireworks but to go to the display in Newcastle instead.  This was a much easier and more relaxed event.  We parked near the river, sat on the river side and watched the fireworks with no pressure and crowding from others.  Then it was an easy trip home.  When we’d got the kids to bed, Sarah and I went for a walk around the estate.  There is a family who’ve moved in a couple of months ago who set up their band in their garage.  The street had been blocked off and half the residents were having a party in the street.  We left about 1 but apparently the band kept playing till about 6am!!!

We spent the next few days building a vegetable plot in the back of our garden which we then planted with cucumber, beans, leaks, carrots, butternut pumpkin and watermelons.  Some are beginning to come up now so we’ll look forward to these and others we will plant soon.

After saying goodbye to Lance and Mary on the Tuesday, I went off to work and of course it was the first sunny day for about 2 weeks!!.  At least they had some good weather in Melbourne and India.

Last weekend we were in Forster for Sarah’s birthday, this is becoming the regularly birthday trip.  It is a long weekend, so we stayed there till Monday night.  The weather wasn’t great but we still had a good time.  We had a lovely dinner for Sarah’s day and a very relaxing weekend.

The day after we came home was Grace’s birthday.  She had some of her school friends for a party in the afternoon at Blackbutt reserve and we arranged for them all to cuddle a koala.  It was a very easy going party, all the kids played on the playground, Jack arranged some games and Sarah produced yet another wonderful cake.

This week I have been working very hard so Sarah, Jack and Grace have gone up to Forster again.  We will be meeting up tomorrow morning in Morpeth, where I have my first triathlon of the season, then we’ll have a picnic before coming home.

Last Wednesday David and Rachel had another baby boy.  Ethan William Crane was born in the evening and Sarah, jack and Grace went to the hospital to meet him the next day.  He seems very healthy and is now at home with the rest of the family.

Today has been my birthday and a very busy one at that.  I got up very early for a Newcastle Tri Club race.  Only 2 weeks to the Ironman so I am in peak fitness at the moment, and this paid off as I came 3rd in the race.  Then after a barbeque breakfast, back home to see the others.

We’ve spent most of the day at Norah Heads lighthouse.  We had a picnic with some of Sarah’s family who live nearby and then walked from the lighthouse down some steps to the rocks and sand.  We all had a good time playing here and the kids went for a swim in the rock pools.

Once we got home, Carol and Bob, David, Rachel, Blake and Ethan all came round for tea.

Then a couple of phone calls from the Uk and I’m very ready for bed.  Photos to go on the website tomorrow.

On Thursday last week Grace joined Jack at Merewether Heights Public School.  It was a big day for her and she was very excited.  We were amazed at how well she went, up till now she has always struggled to leave Sarah or I and go off by herself, but this time it was a kiss goodbye and off she went.

When she finished the day she was buzzing with excitement about her day and her new ‘buddy’.  All the Kinder kids have someone from the senior class in the school to help them settle in.  Grace has the school captain and she loves her.

This week Grace has been class leader and she is always looking forward to the next day at school.  She was very disappointed over the weekend when she had to stay at home.  Lets see how long that lasts!

Jack is also back at school, now in year 1.  His 3 kinder classes are now 2 year 1 classes, so he has a few different people in his class.  He still seems to enjoy it, though he would much prefer to play at concreting in the sand and dirt around our house.

We are now in our new house (for the past week) and have just got the internet connected.  A lot of stuff has been unpacked so it is livable in but there are still a lot of boxes in the garage.  Today we have had an excavator in moving dirt around the back yard.  The step up is much higher than we wanted it to be so we need to get some advice on what to do, but at least we have a nice flat section behind the house for a patio.  Both Jack and Grace enjoyed the excavation as the driver gave them both a go in the digger.

Over the past week we have had a driveway installed and some steps built to the front door.  Both are looking good.  Now we are all on holidays for Christmas and getting ready for Christmas Day.  Carol and Bob will be joining us and I’m sure Dee, Rachel and Blake will be over at some point.

I shall get some photos onto the website later this evening and try out Skype on the new internet service as soon as possible.

After almost 2 years we are now the pround owners of a new house.  We paid the final money and picked up the keys at 5 o’clock this afternoon.

Straight round to the house and few friends came over for champagne and nibbles.  It was wonderful to finally get in, and (even though there is a lot of small things to complete) it looks really good.

Now the hard work of the move and landscaping can start.

Busy day today. We went down to see the house this morning. Over the past 2 days th builders have put the frame up for the 1st storey. Very exciting!! We can see how the rooms fit in the house and how the house fits on the land. It will be quite a steep drive up to the garage but it works well for the rear garden.

Then after lunch Jack had his soccer match. Always good to watch. 3 short matches and Jack scored 4 goals (I think).

The school holidays are over and Jack is back in Kinder and Grace is back at pre-school.  Grace is now going 3 days a week and loving it.  Jack is making friends with his new kinder class and beginning to get back into the swing of things.

We’re still waiting for our house plans to get approved (can’t be long now) and all the extras – kitchen, bathroom, colours, flooring etc are just about finalised.  Dave Pascoe, Jack’s godfather, is coming up to stay this weekend with his family.  He is a landscape gardener, so we’re hoping for some advise from him on how to lay out the rest of the land.

Last week we had a small party for Grace’s birthday.  She’d invited a few friends from pre-school and some friends from Jack’s school.  We held the party at home and after a few games inside we all went out beside the pool.  First off there was a treasure hunt, looking for small parcels that were hiding around the garden, then for the cake.

Sarah had excelled herself again on the cake front.  This one was a plateful of cupcakes on a covered stand…. and all of it was edible.  The children were all very excited by it.  Then, despite the coldness of the pool, some had to had a swim.

Following Grace’s party a couple of the families stayed the afternoon for a barbeque.  There was more playing in and around the pool, plenty of eating, drinking and good humour.

To our surprise, last Thursday, we recieved an invite to the opening of Madison Gardens, the estate our land is on. This was an event not to be missed, so we delayed our trip to Forster.

The groundworks of the land have all been finished and it is now being registered with council. This meant we could all go onto the land (officially) for the first time. It all looked great, most of the undergrowth had been cleared and all top soil had been laid. We were able to see for the first time how big our plot is and roughly where the house will fit. We hadn’t really work out how wide the block is at the back, we’ll have a fair bit of space with a few big mature trees.

The best part of the estate was the communal area. This is a pond (for the storm water) with grassed areas around, paths and a fountain (of a sort) in. This had been finished completely and there was already a family of ducks in resident.

As well as seeing the land we met our new neighbours for the first time. Most of the people there seem to be families with young children, Jack and Grace will have a great time there growing up with so many others.

The ribbon was cut by the Lord Mayor of Newcastle, and there were a few speeches etc., but we were all there to see the land.

Pictures are in the ‘House Build’ folder in the Gallery.