Christmas and more

Well, it's been a rather long time since my last blog.  I'm not sure where time goes out here.  We seem to have been busy most days and weekends but tis still fun if at times hard. 

I'm really enjoying work and the projects are different and varied and the people I work with are all really friendly and willing to help.  We have made some good friends amongst them and have gone down the beach or over to swim in their pools.  It has been really nice that Anna can meet up with other people in the same situation and do things during the day.

We had a nice trip out to the beach the other day to watch the sunset (its only 10 min drive from us):

We asked some Aussies for a picture.

Twas a really nice night and Finley enjoyed running into the waves, it was just the rather large drop off a few metres out that we were a little worried about.  All home safely though if a little wet and tired!

We had a great day a few fridays ago when all our stuff from the UK arrived, much happiness until the realisation that we needed to unpack everything sank in.  Anna, however was fantastic and most of the big stuff and toys etc was already unpacked by the time I got in.  We spent the next week or so trying to find all the little things that we had missed.  I tell you, cooking with your own saucepans again after nearly two months with just one saucepan, a cooker that takes for ages and a frying pan that is useless, is fantastic!!  We also got all our Christmas decs up the night that everything arrived, made it feel much more like a home.

We went to the boys Christmas Concert at Nursery the other week when all the kids sung to the parents half a dozen Christmas songs, much fun and Marcus and Finley both sung really well (ok, Marcus joined in the clapping and swaying in time to the music, which is more rhythm than i have ever had!).

However, it hasn't really felt like Christmas.  All the decs are up and people have lights on their houses but it's just not quite the same without it getting dark at 1500 or the cold and wet :p  We did however have a really nice day, we were invited to some friends and her family Christmas so we weren't sat around missing people as much as we would have if we'd stayed at home.  They have a fish tank outside which is quite large and a smaller one inside.  The boys had a really good time, both Finley and Marcus were fascinated by the fish and the excitement on Finley's face when he saw the crayfish in the water was fantastic.

It was still strange not seeing Family for the day but we got to skype my mum and sister on Christmas eve and Anna's mum and dad on Christmas morn so we at least shared some of Christmas with Family. 
Boxing day saw us out to Calamunda in the hills to the east of Perth and a visit to a camel farm.  You can ride camels but it's expensive, you even have to pay for Marcus ($35 for a 30min ride) so all in all it would have been nearly $200 for a 30 min ride.  So we decided to feed the camels instead.

 It's behind you Daddy

Mummy fed the camels :)

And then all the food was gone:

Greedy chicken, or was it the big Birdie?

I mean the Cassowary on the right!

The pretty one on the left is Mummy!

The day after we went to the beach, again, sigh it really is becoming tiresome going to the beach and playing in the water but it has to be done, it is, after all the Christmas Holidays.  It does rather beat the boxing day swims that some sadists do in the waters around the UK!  Thankfully the beach we go to is small and sheltered, unlike some of the others.  Tragically another two swimmers lost their lives to Sharks today.  One off Cottosloe beach and one off Rottnest island.  There seem to be an awful lot of sharks around this year by all accounts.

Talking of wildlife I saw my first wild Kangaroo going to site the other day :) twas big grey and bouncy.  But we have seen lots of other things as a family as well, our first red back spider on the walk to nursery, a praying mantis on the fly screens, insects and pretty birdies, see below:

So far we are doing okish with the heat but today and yesterday it was up at 38 and 39'C so rather warm.  We have every fan we can find turned on and put the AC on several times aday, it is pretty useless though and doesn't really cool anywhere down.  We are hoping for a new unit in the new year if the owner agrees to have it upgraded and then we may be able to get the lounge down below 30'C on the hot days. 

Hopefully Anna and i are off to the beach tomorrow morn before it gets hot again so that should be fun and a little quieter to as a lot of people are working this week. 

Fingers crossed it wont be so long before my next blog!  However to leave you with something nice, here is the boys nursery photograph (ages 3yrs 5months and 17months)

Oh, PS. Mum and Jon have arrived in Sydney fine :)