Family Day

One of our favourite family haunts is Shellharbour Village, just south of where we live.  It was one of the first places Shawn and I visited when we checked out the area in 2007.  We stayed in a caravan park that's just off the shore of some of these shots. 

I love that our kids are still okay with hanging out with the family now and again.  However, it's not unusual for out house to be quiet and without kids more and more often.  I'm not sure I'm ready for this stage of life. 

We started out the afternoon by enjoying some fish and chips at a nearby shop.  Still searching for the best spot to get fish and chips... this wasn't bad, but there's better in Kiama.  If you don't believe me, come check it out yourself! ;-)

Family shot... 

on a very blustery day. :-)

 

 at the harbour.

 Trying to push Dad over...

I love these Daddy & daughter shots.

 Making D have a photo with me.

And he's smiling!!  :-)  Bonus!

I really like the angle on this pic... don't look so short here.

 Father and son.

 Me and my girl!  

Such a beauty!  :-)

 Sweethearts!

I was laughing 'cuz the wind was causing havoc!

 Precious siblings.

my how they've grown....

 Ninja moves on the rocks.

Silly kids!

Love that!!  :-)

 B trying to be the 'bigger' sibling.

and D just going along with the fun.

 The slow motion race...

...or just being obnoxious because someone was taking so many pictures.

now who would that be??

heading home...

A Championship Season

I've had this requested on a couple different fronts... so here's some pics of D and his NSW state champion football (gridiron for Aussies) team.

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Wollongong Brumbies

2011 NSW Champions

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Pre-game huddle... firing up the team

"Who are we?"

"BRUMBIES!"

 Cheering on the team

Brumbies' fans...

Yes, B and I made signs and a little pom-pom for the game!

I didn't get any game pics, 'cuz I was too busy cheering.

(read yelling loudly and jumping around)

 D listening to the trophy presentation.

 D and two of his fans.

The 'non-Griffith' guy is a friend from school...

gotta love that a friend wanted to drive up to Sydney with us to watch the game.  :-)

 Shawn and D

Love the photo... and their laughter in it.

 Me and my little boy...

uh... he used to be little. 

(it was a cold night!)

This season B moved from reading through the games to cheering along with me.

Another thing to love! ;-)

I'll try to add couple shots from earlier in the season in another post...  

(when I wasn't so distracted... or stressed)

Wordless Wednesday - in honour of Valentine's day

Family Photo

don't be too critical... we did it ourselves. 
:-)

 

Us

2011

the kids

2011

The Eve and The Day

After a bit of a delay, here the rest of our Christmas celebrations.

In the States, Christmas Eve was a big family day.  Without family here, we were a bit sad and lost last year, so we opted to start a new tradition...  a family trip to the movies!  We enjoyed that even again this year. 

On Christmas Eve evening, we gathered with some friends for a 'picnic' dinner, carols, and some reflection.  It was a beautiful time.  Wonderfully casual with focus on community and love.

the kids with a friend and some Christmas bush!

a sweet friend brought me this bunch of Christmas bush flowers!

until then, I didn't know they excited

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S and some mates

B having some fun and silliness

Christmas day, we woke up (I'm still telling the kids a 'wait till' time... of course it used to sound different... wait till 7 is the first number before you get up... now they tell time...) and enjoyed time as a family.  It's nice that some things don't change.  It was beautiful seeing the kids so thoughtful and caring with their gifts. :-)  Then we Skyped with some family.  I am so thankful for Skype!

our little tree

the tree skirt was a 'ham bag' that I got as a gift from work. ;-)

After a bit, we joined some friends at their family Christmas dinner/lunch.  What an amazing meal!!  There were traditional roast meats (but served cold, it was a hot summer day after all), chicken, pork and lamb.  Plus, the very Aussie, fresh, peel-your-own prawn (large shrimp).  But the star of the meal were the numerous salads.  Unbelievable!!  yummy spinach, roast pumpkin and other goodies salad; chicken, walnut and grape salad; green bean, sweet potato salad just to name a few.  Oh my!!

After some visiting, clearing dishes, playing for the kids, the desserts came out!!  Wow!  Traditional pavlova, trifle, and Christmas pudding/cake.  Better than the food though, was sharing the day with several generations of a fabulous family!

enjoying the fellowship and fun

all three desserts

Christmas cake, pavlova, and trifle

Pavlova

my favourite!

And we weren't done yet!!

We stopped home for a bit of a refresher, grab some drinks, and 'goodies', then we were off again... over to our friends, the Tylers.  The invited us to join them for a Christmas barbecue last year and we were welcomed there again.  Looks like another new tradition. The kids got to enjoy a couple of the Tyler Chrissie pressies... a slip-n-slide (I did say it was a hot day), a trampoline, and giant Nurf guns!  We had more good fun with great folks and yummy food.

hangin' out with friends

a repeat crowd from last year! :-)

the Shawns

my Shawn's shirt was a gift from his son

it reads, "Dads Against Daughters Dating"

D getting in on the fun...

he was a bit long for the slide, but enjoyed it anyway!

B after a good ride

she could aim the distance perfectly

even time for a bit of "gridiron"

D's big present this year.

 B enjoying the trampoline

with some squirt guns

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 the Nurf guns came out

and no one was safe!

Lots of food, friends, and fun.  Plus some family thanks to Skype!

Catching Up (Part 2) - Formals & Farewells

Sometimes, it just hits me.  I know it shouldn't be a shock, but sometimes, it just is.  

My kids are growing up.  

They're not little, cuddly ones anymore.  They're needing much less these days.  All good things, I know, but sometimes, it just doesn't seem right.

The last bit of 2010 had two big moments for the kids.

Darian had his Year 10 Formal.  Over here, Year 10 is a big year that ends with a big test.  It used to be the end of formal schooling for those who wanted to go into a technical trade.  (now things have changed a bit) So, amidst studying and before the big tests, Darian had a formal.  He went stag w/ some friends.  I only got pics before he left. 

the boys before they left

Shawn jumping into the pic.

The finish of primary school is celebrated with a Year 6 Farewell.  This is a less-formal formal, but still a big celebration that includes a 'bush dance'.  Brenna, as School Captain, spoke at the Farewell this year. 

before the event

suffering through some sibling pics before the dinner

(wish I would have had B pose w/ D his his fancy clothes)

the parents getting in on the action.

(again, should have done this w/ D, but he likely would have just made faces)

I wish I could have been there during both events to take pics and share the memories, but I guess that's slowly being worked out of my job description.

Catching Up (Part 1) - Thanksgiving

In 2010, we had our second Thanksgiving in Australia!
(and I'm just a bit behind in posting, I know... but I'm trying)

It was a blessing to gather with friends and reflect on things we're thankful for.  I think some of the adults thought we were a bit corny and some of the kids' friends figured we're just weird, either way, I enjoyed the moment of sharing.  The past year had been quite rocky and sharing some of the positives was a beautiful moment.

Here are some of the highlights in picture.  Sadly, we didn't get a group shot this year.  But we did have a delightful group to share in our day.

 

The meal changed a bit this year, since last Thanksgiving was such a HOT spring day, we opted not to do all the hot foods.  And we were very lucky that our neighbors offered us the use of their house/oven since they'd be out during the day.  So, we cooked our turkey there, since it was going to be another HOT day!  We asked our guests to bring something that's a family favourite.  So, 'rice paper rolls' and mangos joined the meal, making the day a little more Aussie.

Moving the turkey was a group effort!

The lovely flowers in the front, right corner of the pic were brought to me by one of D's friends.  A very sweet gesture and my first ever Thanksgiving flowers.

Some of the girls waiting for 'dinner' playing a game.

On the table are the place cards that Brenna made.

Some of the boys wait to eat... playing a game of their own.

(and putting up with me taking pics!)

Carving the turkey.

It was the very largest one we could find, and I was quite sad that it wasn't near my 'normal' 20+ pound bird... until I realized it wouldn't have fit in the oven if it was any bigger.

Sitting down to eat.

Not as good as a group pic as a couple folks are not in the shot and you can't see everyone's faces, but it's the best I've got.

One of my favourite pics!!

Two of our Aussie friends trying pumpkin pie.

It wasn't bad... but it wasn't quite right.

Pumpkin here is eaten as a vegetable, usually roasted, or in casseroles or soups.

It was a good effort, but the sweetness of the pie lost in the end.

We were so blessed to share the day with some wonderful new friends making new memories, but we all missed the family that we've shared so many Thanksgivings with in the past.