The Latest Exploits of the Chissell Family

Warning this post contains Sea, Sun and Festive Fun!

G'day and a happy New Year to you all. I hope you were all good boys and girls and that Santa spoiled you all rotten. The festive season was especially fun for us this year as Nanna flew out from the UK and it was her first trip to Australia. She was a bit nervous of the journey at first because she has never travelled so far before. But Singapore Air were fabulous and transported her around Heathrow, Changi Airport and Brisbane like a royal VIP. They even carried her hand luggage, took her to a reclining lounge for a sleep between flights and woke her up in time to board her plane. She coped with the journey (both ways) really well and adapted to the dramatic change in temperatures too. It was 31 degrees on her arrival and she had peel all those winter layers off before exiting the airport. Below are some photographs of some of the fun during her stay. We packed so much in that the month just whizzed by.

Above photographs capture some to the fun we had at Sea World on the Gold Coast, which hosted the Sun Corp family Christmas Party. The weather was superbly hot, the children got go some amazing rides, my mum wanted to dive in with the dolphins, daddy pretended to feed Olivia to the Sharks, Conor loved exploring and Ryan got to meet up with his hero Elmo at the Sesame Street attraction. I was not permitted to photograph this (we had to buy the official one) but I did get it secretly on film. Ryan showed no hesitation when he met Elmo and literally ran onto the stage for a snuggle. It brought a real tear to my eye as it was so tender. After a tasty Aussie barbie by the pool, the children got to meet Santa in a festive marquee and recieved some lovely pressies. They then ran into the pool to cool off for a while.

We had a lovely lunch with our dear friends Chris & Sylvia (who was in good spirits) before the big day and all the children spent a fabulous afternoon swimming in their pool. Please keep her in your prayers.

After the open air service at 'Star of the Sea' church, we toured around the locality to see the christmas lights. Some individuals spent thousands on their properties and invited people to wander around their gardens. One house created a huge 'Santa Land' for charity and the children got presents from Santa in his grotto in the front garden. It was such good fun that even us oldies felt like wide eyed children in wonderland. Had I known how good the displays were going to be, I would have taken my camera with me.

On Christmas Day we had a traditional aussie style festive spread on the patio. This followed the usual morning full of manic present opening and much laughter. A huge big thank you for the wonderful gifts, cards and the chrimbo video from Huw & Sally in blighty (it was so good to see the old gang at your party and to see the beautiful new babies and children). They all helped to make our christmas special and unique. Your 'Thank you' cards will be winging their way over shortly.

After Christmas we had a lovely meal with our good friends Simon, Alison and their daughter Jess, who had miraculousy missed the worst of the Cyclone from last November (their suburb was devasted). The children again had fun in the pool. It was wonderful to introduce my mum to many of our friends. It was a shame that some invitations clashed and that she never got to meet with the Willis clan. May be next time Kim :-(

We had a lovely cruise along the Brisbane River before taking a pit stop for some exotic fruit smoothies and Ice Cream to cool down. Fully refreshed we then hit the malls for some retail therapy.





The above photo is of Phil's office. He is based on the 27th floor and has an amazing view from his office window.

Above is the view of the Glass House Mountains which is spectacular. We then headed up along the Sunshine Coast to Maloobaloo. Where we spent a blissful afternoon in the ocean (until mum and I got mildly stung from an invisible Jelly Fish & shot out of the water like bullets). We got off lightly, some other bathers came ashore with some large nasty lumps on their backs. Some tasty seaside fish and chips later on and it was all soon forgotten.

We had a wonderful day in the Springbrook National park, surrounded by the Neranga Mountains on the New South Wales border. The walk along the 'Natural Bridge' was quite steep slippery wet in the rainforest/cave sections, but mum coped really well. The views were spectacular and well worth the effort and despite being by pelted by an occasional over ripe Fig dropping randomly from the trees above.

On New Years Eve we took mum to the Gold Coast to enjoy the delights of Surfers Paradise. The children enjoyed riding their Chrimbo body boards along the surf and the weather was fabulous. We then strolled along Cavill Avenue absorbing the festive spirit and enjyong the sights including an interesting performance of a didgeridoo by an aborigine resplendent in authentic paint etc. Unfortunately it was too dark to photograph him. We headed over to a favourite haunt 'The Hard Rock Cafe' which had an amazing New Year's vibe. We all had a lovely meal and just as we finished the fire works began. The children were wide eyed with excitement and it was definitely one of the best end of year celebrations I have ever had. Mum was even kissed and hugged by the restuarant staff!

Our next jaunt was to take mum to the Lone Pine Sanctury where she got up close and personal with the Koala's (see top). We had lovely picnic before entering the sanctuary and had an amazing time among the Emu's, Kangaroos Wombats and Snakes etc.

We also showed mum the delights of Brisbane Botanical Gardens and the amazing views from Mount Coot-Tha. She also got visit Mount Tambourine and enjoy all the local beaches and places close to home such as Raby Bay, Cleveland Point, the Marina and Wellington Point.

As her trip began drawing to a close we spent the day on the City Beach (see below) which is a man-made open air beach (with differing depth pools to suit all swimming abilities) that sits alongside the Brisbane River on the South Bank. Phil joined us for a dip after work which was really great. Later that evening we had a meal in a lovely Greek Taverna style restaurant by the river and had the most amazing Seafood Platters. The children behaved impeccably and were rewarded with an ice cream. We rounded off this fabulous day with a night time stroll along the South Bank and a late night spin on the Brisbane Eye.

The neighbours came over to say goodbye with a drink or three and we had our last supper with Nanna on the patio before departing for the airport.

Suffice to say we all have a really magical December and early January and we are now back to earth/work/normality with a bump. Thank you to all our friends and neighbours who contributed to making my mum's trip so very special. Thank you to you mum, for bravely making the journey out to us (all by yourself) and thank you to our wonderful little family for making each day unique and never ever boring!

Au-revoir Nanna :-(

I will leave you with one final image which never fails to make me laugh. What do you think happens when a two year old sneaks into his mothers bedroom and helps himself to her RED lipstick (which was hidden away in her dressing table)?

He only got upset because we laughed and it hurt his feelings - One for the 'Embarrassing Pics' collection - what do you think? Take care you bogan hoons, love Amanda & Phil xxx