.jpg)
G'day folks, I hope you are well and gearing up for the festive season. All is well at Chez Chissell and as ever we have been up to mischief since my last blog update. This is a bumper issue so grab a coffee, beer, glass of wine etc. and relax!
The Chisslets finished last term on a high with their annual sports day. They are both in 'Kendall' (an Aussie poet) and the house colour is a groovy orange. I dressed Ryan in the same colours as no doubt he will be included in this house grouping in the future. Bless him as he was so desperate to join in the fun. The weather was glorious but also very hot and so we drank lots of icy cool water and slathered on the sun block throughout the day.
The final day of term was a fancy dress affair, whereby students had to dress as characters from a book. Conor dressed up as Arthur Pendragon, Olivia as Barbie the Island Princess (thank you Aunty Sheelagh) and Ryan dressed up as Peter Pan (old faithful, eh Nanna?). It was such a lovely day being entertained by the school choirs, guest singers, and the junior and senior orchestra. Even the teachers made a special effort to join in. The Chisslets rounded off the day with cookies and a latte at the Coffee Club in Cleveland.
We also had an extra special visit from Phil's eldest brother Tim. The children were so excited that he came and we visited some new and favoured haunts during his stay. Even on the morning of his arrival, despite the jet lag he was keen to see the ship featured in the new Narnia movie recently being filmed at Cleveland Point and at Sea World on the Gold Coast (see earlier blog message).
Viewing the film set Cleveland Point and strolling along Raby Bay contemplating having an ice cream.
Fun time in the back garden.
Lunch at the Redland Bay Hotel and then off to watch Phil play footy with the Suncorp footy team.
Ryan the team 'mascot' having a snuggle with uncle Tim and then with his daddy :-)
Phil cooking up a tasty meal of snags and burgers on the barbie in Wellington Point, whilst uncle Tim entertained the Chisslets.
Followed by a timely dip in the bay.
Waiting for the City Cat to arrive for a blissful cruise up the river into the city.
The view from the South Bank in the afternoon and dusk. It gets dark here like a flick of a switch.
Picnic time atop Mount Glorious and a fabulous view of the Wivenhoe Dam.
Tim checking out the view of the city atop Mount Coot-Tha.
Having lunch in Beerwah, before visiting the Glass House Mountains (see December 08 blog for more scenic shots).
Catching the waves in Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast.
Chilling out at Chez Chissell.
Sad farewells as Uncle Tim says goodbye to the Chisslets at Brisbane Airport! Thank you for making those amazing home DVD's of the Chissell boys growing up. Watching your parents wedding and seeing you all as babies and youngsters was amazing. Sharing them with you was the icing on the cake! We cannot wait for you and Paul to jet out to see us again in 2010 xxx
The Chisslets cheering themselves up by hosting a play date with Jacinta, Adrian and our dear friend Lucia xxx.We also attended our first Australian Bush Dance, which was a crazy school fundraiser that was hilarious. Unfortunately I only have video footage of Olivia's 'Hannah Montana' moves, which include "pop it, lock it and polka dot it" hee hee. Below are some snaps of Conor dancing to the hokey kokey (not sure how to spell it, sorry!) and other various country dances (that we all learned in primary school) accompanied by the band 'Stone the Crows'. Conor was a natural and got lots of requests to keep dancing by his partner Cheryl!
Olivia lamb chops celebrated her 6th birthday on the 10th October with her posse of friends. Below are some pics of her special day.
A huge thank you to everyone who sent cards and presents, she truly appreciated each and every one. I hope by now that you have received your respective thank you cards xxxx.
As you all know, one of the Chisslets favourite events in the Chissell family calendar is Halloween! Yep we dressed up again and headed down to the annual Manly Halloween Street Party and had a complete ball with our dear friends Simon, Alison and their lovely daughter Jess.
This dubious duo greeted us at the restaurant and the children played with their neon light sabres after watching Monsters Inc in the park. Each year it just gets better and better, you should come over and join us - seriously :-)
Well you will be relieved to know that brings you up to date with the Chissell's shenanigans. We will leave you with these final extraordinary pics!
The lemons growing on the trees in our garden - who knew? Weird insects on the stems of our plants (what are they?) and an albino spider on my washing line!The school summer holidays begin on the 11/12/2009 over here and the Chisslets are already brushing up on their Carols and festive pop songs, ready for their candle light concerts. Phil dug out our favourite festive movies as requested by the Chisslets (and me), to laugh, cry and sing with in December. Best wishes from all the Chissells for a fantastic festive (silly) season. We will be thinking of you and your lovely families (and those whom you have lost) at this special time. Behave yourselves at the office parties, never take each other for granted and remember to keep in touch and keep sending those lovely family/holiday photos!
Big hugs and festive kisses from the family Chissell from all across the world xxx
P.S. Sue, you would love to hear about my recent dreams hee hee!
