Christmas in Australia

Christmas was a whole new experience for us this year. Away from Canada and on our own in the sunshine, we were free to make our holiday into an experience all our own. But where to start?

We let the kids take the lead on Christmas eve and asked them what they wanted to do. It was quickly decided that it was too cool for their first request - the beach, so second on their list was a trip back to Scienceworks to see the new exhibit "Think Ahead" full of futuristic fun and a few math puzzles too.  Christmas and maths all rolled in to one? Scott was totally on board with this one!

When we got home in the afternoon the sun was still shining and so the next request was to sit outside and pin their hats.  All year whenever we've travelled to a new city, seen a new attraction or tried something new and exciting we've picked up a hat pin for each of the kids to document the experience. We then took their school hats and went through the pins remembering all the incredible things we've done all year pinning them on along the way.  We really thought that most of the year would have been a bit of a blur for them, and we were amazed by how much they remembered, and reminded us old folks of the parts we'd forgotten! I'm told the hats are really too heavy to wear now, but they did agree to pose for a picture or two of these masterpieces.

And after all that we still had enough time for one last Christmas picture :) Thongs + sunnies = best Christmas ever!

It turns out that Christmas morning is exciting no matter where you wake up! And Santa always manages to find you!

Christmas Day brought us 30 degrees and sunshine, and the excitement of spending the day with our favourite Aussies was too exciting to keep us at home very long. So after some phone calls back to Canada, we got dressed up in our holiday best (minus the winter boots) and headed over to the Ruighavers for Christmas bbq lunch.

Oh yeah, it was definitely as good as it looks! Could you just imagine a turkey on here?!

Hannah's favourite part of the day was getting to be with her bestie on her 10th birthday.

We had the best day outside with our Aussie family who were sweet enough to invite us into their home for the day (and a few days after that too). Definitely holidays to remember.

Wine, Chocolate and Cheese in the Valley

The weekend before Christmas, our Aussie family treated us to a fabulous day in the Yarra Valley full of wine, chocolate and cheese!

We spent the day moving between wineries, the Chocolaterie (aka my happy place) a picnic in the park and the Yarra Dairy for some cheese tasting. It was a wonderful day spend with some amazing friends. 

The pictures tell it all this time. We love these guys. 

The School Year Comes to an End

None of us could believe how quickly the last day of school came along. Hannah and Tyler have had the most amazing experience of their lives. 

Ferntree Gully North Primary is where we've made all our very best friends, people who are now part of our Aussie family forever. 

All you have to do is spend 5 minutes in the kids classes, and it is evident how loved they are. All their classmates had the most lovely things to say about them, and even their teachers teared up and had trouble saying goodbye to them.  We're so honoured to see the impact that the kids made this year.

Hannah and her friend Tyson had their school shirts signed by all their friends, a great memory and an honour usually saved for the graduating grade 6 class.

And so the last assembly started. We sang the national anthem (I know all the words now!), we listened to announcements, gave the departing students 3 cheers, stood and sang the school song one more time, and then it was time to say goodbye.

Some of use were more teary than others...

But there were heaps of smiles too,

Thanks FTGNP, we'll never forget all we've learned :)

Getting Ready for Christmas in the Sun

Getting into the Christmas spirit when it's 30 degrees outside is perhaps one of the oddest experiences we've had all year. That being said, waiting to see Santa without freezing your behind off is pretty awesome!

On one of the hottest days at the beginning of December we packed up our chairs and picnic rug and headed down to join about 1000 locals at the Knox City Carols by Candelight performance. The only event we could compare it too was Canada Day. We sat out in the sun all afternoon drinking, eating and dancing.  And singing carols by candlelight of course :) 

Hannah's dance troop from school even got to lead the whole crowd in a mini-flashmob!

One sunny Sunday in December we took the train into the city to shop at one of our favourite markets, only to discover the city was fully decorated for the Christmas season.

Amazing lights and decorations stretched across the streets and along the tram-lines.

In Christmas square there was heaps of fun to be had.

including a special post box only for letters to Santa

And a giant Christmas tree! Of course we had to get in on that!

Most impressive of all were the Myer department store windows. This years theme was a favourite of Hannah and Tylers, Gingerbread Friends. We walked past the 6 different window displays, each one more elaborate in it's creation than the last. I wasn't close enough to get a good picture, so here's one I borrowed from someone else. 

We have a "Christmas street" around the corner from us where nearly every house on the street is decked out with lights and decoration. So in true Aussie form we put on our thongs and headed out in our shorts to check out the displays. 

And we're just getting started, there's way more Christmas to come!