Five Years Down Under Folks!

G’day folks, I hope you and your lovely families are happy and well wherever you are across the globe. I understand the summer weather has been a mixed bag for those of you in Blighty and many of you are no doubt planning to escape to the sun (or have recently returned).

It is mid-winter for us in Brisbane and on the whole it has been quite agreeable. Can you believe we have been living down under 5 years this week and that little man Ryan will soon be 6 years old. It only seems yesterday that Phil, myself and the Chisslets said goodbye to you all and headed off literally into the sunset bound for a whole new way of life! I think I shall scroll back to my very first ‘Post’ tonight and with a glass of bubbles in my hand and a tissue or three to revisit our journey so far, will you join me?

In The Meantime…… 

Life as usual has been very busy since my last blog update and we headed into the Easter break with the usual end of term sports & Easter Bonnet Parade. An aussie celebrity dropped by to say hello and a local radio and TV crew arrived to capture all the fun.

Ryan with one of his Prep teachers; Mrs Bool.

Jack Vidgen, winner of ‘Australia’s Got Talent’ 2012

John Schluter from Channel 7.

Ryan was thrilled to  be given the opportunity to explore the helicopter too .

We also managed to get away for a lovely break over the Easter holidays and celebrated Phil’s birthday, exploring the beautiful Fraser Coast.

Checking out the beach in Hervey Bay and noshing on a lovely BBQ on the roof garden of our holiday apartment.

The historic town of Maryborough and the birthplace of PL Travers; the creator of Mary Poppins

The original Bundaberg Distillery which is situated next to the modern distillery and museum.  

The awesome Mon Repos where the turtles come in from the ocean to lay their eggs in the wee hours (as featured in David Attenborough documentaries). 

The children enjoyed the exciting opportunity to feed the sharks and stroke the shells of adult turtles at Reef World

In between trips we splashed around in the pool or relaxed on the beach, bliss. 

Our last evening was spent frolicking in the water at Wetside Water Conservation Park which was an awesome way to blend fun, water education and a funky disco for all the family

Another annual fixture in our aussie calendar is ANZAC Day. As always I was humble and proud to watch Phil and the children participate in the March and the unexpected fighter jet flyover was spine tingling.

The following day, we visited the awesomeness that is ‘Aussie World’ which was immense fun.

I did something recently that I thought I would never do – I went camping in the bush . Despite my concerns I had a really great time and the family camp with Cleveland Scouts in Landsborough (on the Sunshine Coast) was genuinely great fun and I would definitely do it again  

Scout Leader Chil Phil on parade – and then the fun began!

Ryan and Olivia made bush pancakes using coke cans and tea light candles. Yummy in your tummy eh Ryan?

Meanwhile Conor was erecting tents with his patrol….

 

And Olivia and Ryan went on to make bush cakes. Masterchef eat your heart out…..

The cup cakes were cooked in a Bush oven which consisted of a cardboard box and some foil, who knew? 

Judging by the smiles I think the cakes tasted great  

In the afternoon, the Chisslets went on a trail and faced some interesting team building bush challenges en route.

 Meanwhile Ryan channelled his inner Smurf

Campfire hilarity ensued in the evening with traditional songs led by Barloo (above). The Joey Scouts gave a command performance featuring guest star Ryan (below) -  in the middle of the pic behind his yellow mask and Chil Phil is wearing one too - rear right.

The next morning, the Chisslets were up with the larks to enjoy some thrilling abseiling

Both Conor and Olivia were naturals. Sadly, Ryan was too little for the available equipment, but he did not seem to mind too much xxx

We packed some BBQ tucker and visited Alma Park Zoo for our next adventure, which is located North of Brisbane. It is much smaller than Australia Zoo, but it has real charm and is a lot more intimate.

       









    

    

The Chisslets have been performing on stage at school this month. Olivia and Ryan sang at the launch of the ‘SPEAK’ project and Conor sang and danced at the Twilight Concert. You may be aware that Conor is appearing in a production of ‘Oliver’ and we had a sneaky peek of one of the main songs “Oompah pah” featuring the character Nancy. He is actually in the main cast and performing two additional ensemble roles in the musical. So lots of costume changes and dance routines to practice along with his lines. We are so proud of him and everyone involved in the musical. We cannot wait to see the full production in September

Both Phil and I celebrated our birthdays in between all the above events and we both wish to say a heartfelt thank you for the lovely birthday gifts, cards, phone calls, letters, postcards and good wishes. We are truly fortunate to have such great friends and family. 

That is all our news for now folks, best wishes to you and all your lovely families for a happy and healthy remainder of the Summer/Winter. Think of us as you crack open a tinny or three to watch the plethora of sport at decent hour o’clock! We will be the Pommie nutters, still getting up in the wee hours or staying up late to watch the rest of the footy , Wimbledon and of course the Olympics.

With deep respect, love and affection, Amanda, Phil, Conor, Olivia and Ryan xxx