Granny and Grandad arrive!!!

Well, Judy and Tony arrived on the 19th at 9.30a.m having stopped off to visit Richard, Natasha and Hattie in Dubai en route. We were waiting out in the street to greet them and there was much excitement at their arrival. One of the most important things we did that day was watch the "Strictly Come Dancing " final, which we all really enjoyed.The next day, I took them into the city on the train and went up the Eureka Tower, followed by Dave's walking tour around Melbourne.

On the 22nd, we headed down to Anglesea on the Great Ocean Road where we had rented a house for 5 days. The car was so full of food and presents that Jack, Sam and Will had to take the train and bus down there! The first day we hired boards and wetties and had another surf lesson whilst J and T looked on (see fotos on Flickr). Christmas Eve was Granny's birthday and they played golf at Anglesea golf course, watched by the kangeroos who live there. In the evening we went out for a nice Chinese meal.

Christmas Day dawned a bit dull, but by midday the sun had come out and it was 27 degrees. We had a typical Aussie Christmas lunch - prawns, mussels and oysters freshly caught (not by me!) and cooked on the barbie by Chris. Later we went for a walk along the beach, before returning to cook the turkey and have the English Christmas meal!

Chris went for a hilly bike ride to Lorne on Boxing Day and the next day took J and T along the GOR to see the 12 Apostles.

Today (28th) they went to watch the cricket at the MCG which J and T were very impressed with (the MCG not so much the cricket!).

We have a fun-filled week in store before they head to Brissie in the New Year for a week.

Sam's Helicopter Ride

Jack survived Schoolies week and got his VCE results on Friday morning at 7a.m. He did well, getting all B's so now has to decide what he wants to do next.

Chris's operation went well, although he did faint afterwards on the operating table. Theoretically this should not have happened because they had eliminated the pathway that was causing the problem. So, on Friday, he had a stress test, which involved being wired up to a running machine and being put through his paces. I am glad to say that his ECG came back as being normal, so he will just have to see if the blackouts re-occur when he starts running again.

Sam and Will finished school yesterday and can now look forward to a 7 week Summer holiday. Today, Sam took two of his friends (Harry and Aaran) on the helicopter flight that Chris had arranged for the "One Year in Oz" party back in August. The flight took 20 minutes and flew all over the sights of Melbourne, as you can see on the Flickr fotos to the right. They all said it was awesome!

Granny and Grandad arrive early on Monday morning and this time next week it will be Christmas Eve.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!!

December already!

Well, I can't believe it's a month since I did the last blog, shoddy I know!

What's been happening this last month...? Nothing too exciting which is why I haven't up-dated it!

Jack sat his exams and overall they seemed to go quite well. We will see on results day! Since he finished, he has spent his days sleeping till at least 11a.m, watching TV and playing on the X Box. At the moment he is on his "schoolies" week - a week away with 15 mates in a house by the sea on the Mornington Peninsula. Not heard much from him, so assume he's still alive! How I'd love to be a fly on the wall there!

Sam and I attended the launch of the Australian Open yesterday. The CEO was there and gave an inspiring speech, as was Todd Woodbridge who was once a Ballboy himself, before becoming a player. This year is quite an historical year for Australian tennis - 50 years since Rod Lever won the Grand Slam and 100 years since the first Men's Singles title was won. They brought in the Winners Trophies... they call the ladies single trophy Daphne and the mens singles trophy Norman, don't know why, maybe after the first people who won them? Sam was given his uniform and we are glad to report that it is not pink, but a nice blue, the same colour as on all the AO signs, which looks great on Sam.

I had my second Triathlon yesterday, this time in Mordi, so we didn't have to go far. However, it was very windy (29kph) and so the sea was VERY choppy and I would never have gone in under normal circumstances. Unfortunately, they decided to go ahead with the swim and everyone struggled, with many people being pulled out of the water into the lifeboats (at their request). I managed to get round but it took me even longer than before, so annoyingly I came 10th overall this time (not happy! )

Chris goes in for his heart operation this Thursday (8th). He was recently diagnosed with a condition called "Woolf Parkinson White Syndrome" where he has an extra pathway in his heart that shouldn't be there. For the past 4 years, he would often feel like he was going to black out when he was running and his heart would go into tachycardia. The operation has a 95% success rate, so hopefully he should be able to return to exercise very soon.

Only 2 weeks till Granny and Grandad are here with us for Christmas so we are all very excited :)