Yesterday morning, we went for a lovely walk up a hill near their house, then back in the car after lunch for the long drive home.

The car we borrowed was a Hyundai Santa Fe 7 seater,  and a lovely car to drive.  We are just doing up our Subaru ready to sell, so we need to look at how much we can afford to spend on a new car.  Even so it was lovely to do the long drive in a brand new car.

The second day of the race was also the Anaconda Half race.  It started off with a 1.9km ocean swim at Seals Rock, which is a very picturesque village with a light house.  but no matter how pretty it was the swim was hard.  It went out around a headland and the current made it very difficult to make headway at one point.  I managed to finish though and got changed ready for a 17km run.  After an uphill towards the lighthouse there was a nice gentle run along the beach.  If there was going to be a hard run, at least there were nice views.  Then it headed off into the forest along sandy tracks, it was very different to a triathlon as most of the time I could not see anyone in front or behind me.  There were a couple of very steep uphills on sand dunes which made is difficult.

After a couple of hours running i arrived at Bungwahl to change onto my bike, then back into the forest.  After a long period of dry it had rained the previous few days so the tracks were very muddy in places.  And at one point I had to wade through mud up to my knees, it was hard work.  Some of the cycling was great fun though, single track and 4wd tracks through the forest.  One of the problems was that I had to hold on to the handlebars all the time so it was difficult to take and drink and something to eat.  I also did not have enough liquid with me so i could not eat my powerbars, as they need extra water.

I was very tired when I reached the Myall Lake at Coomba Bar and had cramp in both my calves, so I wasn’t looking forward to the lake paddle.  It was lovely to see Sarah and the kids waiting there for me, and just as lovely to see the big bottle of cold water that Sarah had for me.  Half straight down my throat and the rest in my hydration backpack for the paddle.  I had only practised a few times on the surf ski and still struggled to keep balance but set off at a reasonable pace.  And once I was going I was fairly steady and able to look around at the gorgeous scenery.

It was a 13km paddle which should have taken 90 minutes, but I stopped at every sandbank I came to, to stretch my legs.  Then I finally paddled past the wharf at Forster and across the lake to Tuncurry.  there was a bit of current heading out to sea which caused a few waves for me to get through.  I ended up falling off just before the end as I was too tired to keep balance.  At another sandbank though, so I was able to have a rest then get back on.

There was a 3km run across the bridge to finish at Forster Main Beach.  Even my normal slow running speed was too hard for me and I walked some of this, and it was a great relief when I finally ran up Main beach and into the finish chute.  I was absolutely shattered and feeling not too well after not getting nutrition right.  Still I will know better next time, which I am sure there will be.

All in all it took my 7hrs 24 minutes, and was very hard.  But I felt good about it afterwards.  It was one of the harder adventure races, so I shall pick an easier one next time round.

Once in England we will have 3 and a half weeks to fit everything in.  We want to catch up with all the family, all our friends and have a holiday ourselves.  The last week is already booked at a manor house in Derbyshire with all the Andrews family.

Then a slow boat to China, well a slow plane to Sydney via Beijing and Shanghai and back for work and school.

The first day we went to the Powerhouse Museum which is having a ‘Back to the Eighties’ exhibition.  This was fun, but even better (at least for Jack) was the learn to dance to Michael Jackson thriller workshop.  Jack plays Michael Jackson almost constantly and knows all the words so it was heaven for him.  It was extremely hot and humid that day, so after a short walk around Darling Harbour we headed up to Dave and Cas’ house for a barbeque.  Great to see them and Xavier who is growing up quickly.

It rained during the night and wasn’t a sparkling day on the Sunday so we stayed around the campsite and Lane Cove.  We went for quite a long walk up and down the river and had a long play in the pool.

Monday was the not best of days as we had to drive down to Nowra for the funeral of Don Pollock.  Don was Bob’s best friend and has always treated Sarah, and so the rest of us, like family.  There were a lot of people there for a very moving service, and we heard all about the work he did as president of Basketball Australia amongst other things.  All of Sarah’s family were there and we had dinner with Don’s children before we headed back to Sydney.

The next day was Australia Day and we were up early packing up the tent before heading into town.  We had tried to catch up with Sarah’s cousin Annette and her family over the weekend, but as they were away they invited us to their boat for Australia Day.  So we arrived at the wharf where their boat was moored and found an amazing luxurious motor launch.  Also a lot of Annette’s family who we hadn’t seen for a while.  Tod, Annette’s husband, steered us out of the mooring and into the harbour with thousand of other boats to watch the ferry race and other events.  Then after a couple of hours of this, we let down anchor in one of the bays and spent the afternoon with a barbeque, diving and swimming off the boat and playing in the tender (jet boat) and kayak.  An absolutely amazing day, we were so lucky to have been invited.

We drove home in the evening and collapsed straight into bed after a very tiring but great 4 days.

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.

On Friday we got the kids off to bed early(ish), after cricket and a party.  Then open a special bottle of wine.  When we arrived in Australia 3 years ago, I’d bought Sarah a bottle of Penfold St. Henri Shiraz for her birthday.  We’d been waiting for a special occasion to open it and had never found the right time,so this was it.  We had a couple of steaks on the barbeque and some salad and the delicious wine.

Saturday was very hot and after spending the morn potting an orange and a lemon tree, and some other gardening, we spent the afternoon at the beach cooling off.  then we all went out to a Japanese restaurant for Teppanyaki.   the food was cooked in front of our table and we all had great fun trying to catch food in our mouths and in our bowls.  After dinner we had ice creams beside Lake Macquarie before going home.

Today has been even hotter (42degC or 107degF).  Both jack and Grace had Nippers this morning, a special ‘King of the Beach’ carnival with the 2 other surf clubs on the same stretch of beach with Merewether.  they both had a good time and expended lots of energy.

We just stayed at home in the afternoon in the air conditioning and the kids have gone to bed very early.

Yesterday afternoon, we finally had our house warming party.  We only decided to hold the party at the end of last week, but still quite a few people came.  It was a lovely sunny afternoon and all the kids were able to play in the water slide and with water bombs on the lawn.  Meanwhile the adults sat in the shade drinking champagne and beer.  It was a really nice relaxed afternoon with plenty of good conversation and fantastic nibbles.

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.

Firstly the house, we are almost there with the back garden.  We had some steps put up in the retaining wall last week, so now we can actually walk up to the lawn, instead of having to climb up.  Then the wall is due to be painted in the next week or so, then we’re done (for the time being).  Sarah has been very busy planting at the back of the garden, and it is beginning to look good.  The only big thing remaining is the bank between the lawn and the back of the land.  We’re still not exactly sure how to do this, so it will have to wait for a while.

They have started digging the block next to us, so there will be work there for the next 8-9 months but it will be nice to have a house not a plot of dirt next door.

Bigger events that have happened recently were Jack’s birthday, Swine Flu in Forster, School Athletics carnival, Christmas in July and more.

Jack had his birthday party at home, with just a few of his friends, it was a nice relaxed party and they all had a good time.

We went up to Forster during the winter school holidays.  On the way up we stopped at Alum Mountain in Bulahdelah.  We drive past here everytime we go to Forster and I’ve often thought about having a closer look.  This time we drove up to the mountain and walk up a track beside the cliffs.  There were some amazing views over Bulahdelah.  The next day we went for a walk around the coast and the lake in Booti Booti National Park near Forster.  This was a 7 km walk and probably the further walk the kids have done.  We took it slowly and they had a good time.  That afternoon Jack complained of a bad headache, when we check his temperature is was almost 42 degrees.  So off to the Doctor who said it could be swine flu.  No tests were done but Jack went on the treatment and we made sure he didn’t go near Bob.  Next morning we abandoned Forster and drove home.

During July the kids had their School Athletics carnival in which they both did really well.  Jack won his heat in the sprint and then came 2nd in the final.  Grace came 2nd in her heat, but there was not a final for the Kinder kids.  She is really enjoying being at school and loves reading her books.  Great to see her.

Sarah and I went to a Christmas in July charity dinner for the school.  They have been raising money to put Smart Boards (computerised white boards) in all the class rooms.  It was a fun night with a lot of friends, Santa was there and our table joined in the auctions but seemed to miss out at the end.

Since then we have been spending a lot of time working in the house and garden.  I have started triathlon training again, though not for the Ironman this season, I have joined in with a group cycling each Saturday morning, which is much a social as anything else.  We were in Forster again last weekend, using Bob and Carol’s house while they are in Venice.  Had the nieghbours round for dinner but had a relax for the rest of the weekend.