The Green Family

Monday, August 28, 2006

Martin and Lou arrive

Martin, Lou and Georgia arrived on Monday morning (21st) at around 6:50am. Their flight was slightly delayed so I had a bit of a wait at the airport! We got home around 10am and they relaxed a bit and got themselves unpacked. We then headed off to Noosaville to have a picnic lunch with Dave followed by a slow journey home and a nap for the three of them!

On Tuesday we went up to Mooloolaba beach in the morning and then headed home for lunch. We were planning on heading out in the afternoon but the sleep monster caught up with Martin and he had a sleep for a couple of hours.

We headed up to the Plaza for a bit of shopping on Wednesday morning and then off to Yandina to the Ginger Factory. A bit touristy but the children enjoyed the trip on the train that they have going around the factory and the gingerbread biscuit they had as a treat.

Thursday was Martin's 30th Birthday so he fancied a trip to the beach and then a walk in the afternoon. We went up to King's Beach in Caloundra, which is beautiful. The children had a great time making sandcastles, and Sophie had a little sleep in her tent. We went home for lunch and then had a lovely walk through Buderim forest in the afternoon. There was a beautiful waterfall there and we would have liked to walk further into the forest, but it really wasn't very suitable for the children. Mum came over in the evening to baby sit and the four of us went out for dinner. We were still home in bed for 10!

We headed up to the Hinterlands on Friday and had a trip to Montville and then a picnic lunch at Lake Baroon. It was a lovely day and the weather was perfect.

On Saturday we went up to Noosa National Park. Absolutely stunning. We had a picnic and then a walk along the coast path. It was really breathtaking. From there we headed on an inland scenic drive that took us from Noosa to Maleny through the hinterlands and some stunning scenery. We stopped at Kenilworth where there is a cheese factory and the children had an icecream and a play in the playground.

We took Martin and Lou up to Mary Cairncross for breakfast followed by a walk in the rainforest. Matthew managed to eat his way through most of our breakfast and coffee! Sunday the boys took Georgia and Matthew over to the trains and then a few friends came over in the afternoon for a few drinks.

Monday, we headed up to Australia Zoo which was absolutely brilliant. Loads of animals, really friendly people, and very well organised. The children had a great time. We took out annual membership so that I can take Matthew up there as often as he fancies.

Wednesday 30th saw us flying down to Sydney for a few days. We landed and headed off to our apartment. An amazing place on the 74th floor of one of the tallest buildings in Sydney. A brilliant city, although Dave and I were a little overwhelmed by all the people. How quickly we have gotten used to space and a quieter pace of life! The boys did the Bridge Walk and we spent plenty of time walking around the city and doing plenty of toursity things. It was nice for us to get away for a few days.

During the last week of Martin and Lou's stay we had a couple of days on the beach, they had a day out by themselves and a bit of shopping. They left on Friday 8th and it really seemed like the time had gone by very quickly! It was very sad to see them go and Matthew has missed his playmate.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

A couple of days to go.....

until Martin and Lou get here. It only seems like five minutes ago that they said they had booked to come over to see us (it was about 8 months ago). Roll on Monday morning, although I'm not looking forward to the 4am start!!!!

The last couple of weeks have been pretty busy. On the 7th we met Sue, Abi, and Julia at a new playground in Landsborough, about 20 minutes from home. Abi brought along some sausages for the BBQ, so the children were left worn out by play and full by the end of the morning. Tuesday we had another successful swimming lesson. Sophie is beginning to really enjoy herself but still spends most of the lesson sucking her thumb. Thursday we went to playgroup and Matthew spent most of the morning in the sandpit, most of which he brough home in his shoes! I didn't meet the girls on friday as Sophie had a bit of a cough and a runny nose so didn't want to risk it....

We had a lovely weekend last weekend. On the Saturday Dave and I took the children down to Mooloolaba beach, which is only about 10 minutes from us. We had a great time. Dave built a great sandcastle for Matthew with a moat and a tunnel going through it, only to have Matthew use his toy digger to destroy it! Sophie had a dip in the sea and then a little roll around in the little sun tent we took down with us. In the evening we went next door to Andrew and Lisa's for a few drinks and a pizza as it was Andrew's birthday. It was the first time in ages that we both could relax and have a drink. Sophie slept soundly in the travel cot and Matthew and Jett spent all evening playing in the sandpit!

Our local beach


Sophie in the water
Matthew waiting for the tide
On Sunday we went up to Noosaville and had a picnic with Mum, Dad, Nan and Mum's friend who was visiting from Melbourne.

Week of the 14th was pretty busy too, with the usual meeting the girls on Monday and Friday. The children had a great swimming lesson on the Tuesday and Sophie is getting much more relaxed in the water and Matthew is becoming more confident each week. We spent most of the weekend getting ready for Martin and Lou's arrival on the Monday morning!

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Blog comments update

Just to let you know that I've updated the settings so you don't have to register to leave a comment anymore.

Sunday, August 06, 2006

Matthew's 2!

Today our little boy turned 2. Dave and I both can't believe that he has been in our lives for 2 years although we can't imagine our life without him.

We had a little birthday party for him on the Sunday afternoon and thankfully the weather stayed fine despite all the forecasts.

Attendees:
Nana and Grandpa
Tata (my Nan)
Lisa, Andrew and Jett (our friends from next door)
Abi, Harri and George
Jan and Roger (Abi's parents)
Valerie and Lilli (one of the Friday girls)
Sue and Indi
Janie and Jo (one of the Friday girls)
Della, Greg and Toby (Dave works with Greg)
Tracy, Chris, Dale and Ryan (Dave works with Chris)
Judy and Sam

Matthew was thoroughly spoilt by the pressies that he got from friends and family, both here and in the UK. We have had to bring them out gradually as he didn't know what to play with next! A big thank you to everyone. Another big thankyou to Mum for baking Matthew a Thomas the Tank Engine cake!

The birthday boy

Dad and Nan

From left - Della talking to Tracy, Chris, Greg, and Roger

Indi

From left - Janie with Jo and Judy with Sam

From left - Valerie with Lilli and Janie with Jo

more pictures on the way.....

Where to start....

Well it's been a couple of weeks since I've updated the blog and I've had to refer back to my diary to remember what we've been up to! Isn't time absolutely flying, I can't quite believe that we are in August already and we've now been in Australia for 9 months. Amazing.

Following on from Sue's for tea on Monday we had swimming lesson on Tuesday. Sophie had a few dunks and seemed to be ok although not too sure how much she's enjoying that at the moment. Matthew is becoming a little fish and absolutely loves the water. Mum and Dad had Matthew on the Wednesday so I was able to catch up on a couple of jobs. Playgroup on Thursday and then Mum and Dad had both Matthew and Sophie on the friday. A quite weekend (29th), although we did have our friends Chris and Judy with their son Sam over for a curry on Saturday night.

Sam enjoying a little tipple....

On Monday (31st), Julia, Abi, Sue, and I along with all the children met up at Maroochy Botanical Gardens for morning tea. The children seemed to enjoy themselves up until we discovered some fairly brutal ants that had a nibble at India. Jan, Abi's Mum, made some corned beef sandwiches which Matthew loved. I did make him some later in the week and he turned his nose up at them!!!

India (Sue's daughter) in Matthew's Radio Flyer

Josh (Julia's son)

Sue pulling along India and Harri(Abi's daughter)

India and Harri

Our little monster

Josh and Indi sharing a moment

Julia(holding the camera) and Sue

Tuesday we had swimming and then went on to Mum and Dad's for dinner in the evening to celebrate Mum's birthday. Happy Birthday Mum! We had a nice evening and the children settled down well in their travel cots and then into their own beds later on.

On Wednesday 2nd, I took Matthew and Sophie to watch an Australian Institution, Bananas in Pyjamas! He wasn't very sure at first but did enjoy it in the end and even left his seat for a little dance. It's the first time that I've taken him to see anything like that in the theatre but definitely something we'll try again.

The Bananas in Pyjamas

George (Abi's son)

Completely transfixed

Thursday we went to playgroup and I took along a little birthday cake for Matthew and the children all sang Happy Birthday to him

Sophie had a go in the ball pit and the swing

Friday I met up with the Kawana laydees and we went for a walk around Lake Kawana and stopped for tea and a cake afterwards. A very nice morning, but Sophie was pretty unsettled so we didn't stay very long. We've planned a trip to the beach next week so that'll be interesting!