Sydney Chooks

The girls (Denise,Liz,Cath and Rosemary) joined Alice and friends for her Hens bash in Sydney.

By all accounts a good time was had by everybody.

Meanwhile preparations continue for the big day. . . .

Tree Time

In the tradition of having a bigger tree each year, we had to move it to the where the ceiling is higher. . . .

All the family were home for Christmas which was a great family day.

More pictures may be found here!

Smiles with styles

Its wonderful to have the girls back home fro Christmas. Cath has come for a wedding in early December and is staying until Chris and Alice's in early February.

There's a bar in there

There is now a bar as well as a fridge in the garage. Santa has no time for presents this year, but has built a bar and up-cycled croquet set for the forthcoming wedding celebrations. Construction work continues . . .

Winners are grinners

Sue Beattie has been bringing home the silver at recent croquet competitions and Matt Bowen did very well in the Australian Special Olympic's golf. Very well done both.

Oktober Fest with Styles

To celebrate Ryan's 30th birthday. Cath and Ryan met up with Trevor in Germany for Oktober Fest.

Snakes Alive

On a recent walk around Tamar Island, Dave found a couple of wriggly critters. All snakes in Taasie are poisonous, but they are more often seen around March.

Coming of age

Faversham rocked to the party put on by Ann to celebrate her coming of age! Continuing in the kitchen after the noise-police closed down the band in the tent on the lawn. A fantastic time was had by all - many thanks Ann And special thanks to Ryan who managed to BBQ for over 100 guests!

London Calling

Dave made a quick visit to London and caught up with Cath and Ryan for a few beers and a bit of sight seeing. They have a nice flat in Shepherd's bush and are both actively employed and enjoying life :-). Their next stop is Oktoberfest for Ryan's bithday. . . . . . (click on pics to enlarge)

Feller Buncher Birthday

Max wanted a Feller Buncher cake and party for his third birthday party and , thanks to a very resourceful mother he got one. A great time was had by all!

Save the Date

So it's really true! The wedding is now scheduled for February next year :-)

Blow-in from the West

We were all delighted when Sarah made a trip home from her studies in WA for a week. Here she is at Low Head in the new rain jacket which has been put to good use with the recent rains across the whole country. She has now resumed study in the west and still waiting for first semester exam results. . .

That's Nailed it !

Max and Jack have been very busy building a cubby on the patio. Much hammering of nails. Starting from old pallets makes it fairly quick and there is plenty of old decking that has recently been replaced.

Happy 5 Day to Jack

Liz excelled by making not only a magnificent cake, but also an igloo from plastic milk bottles to go with the "snow" themed party. A great time was enjoyed by all

All Hands on Deck

Dave had a couple of willing helpers to lay new decking on the balcony.


Many nails were Jack hammered - thanks boys

Springtime in Canada

After a long winter, Cath and Ryan are enjoying springtime in Canada. They will need to be quick though as they are going to be heading on to London, UK by the end of June. . . .

AGFEST Time again

Denise and Dave took the boys who delight in climbing on all the equipment. And the winner, as always is the DIGGER !

Although plenty of time was also spent on Bobcats, motorbikes and quad-bikes. Lots of fun, even in the rain :-)

Let it Snow!

While we are enjoying the sunshine down under, Cath and Ryan are making the most of some very cold weather in Toronto. (click on the picture to enlarge) Next they are going dog-sledding (can't do that here)

Fun in the Sun

Sarah tells us it is a very intense course with lots of work. So We guess that they deserve a break. Here she is one on Rottnest Island with most of the audiology students. :-) She has settled into a flat-share and even bought a bicycle :-) (click on the picture  to enlarge)

Coles Bay Camp

Liz, Rob, Jack, Max and Dave spent a pleasant few days camping at Coles Bay. It was very windy the first day or so, but then turned out beautiful.

There are other nice places is Tasmania, but it is hard to beat this one.

(click on the picture  to enlarge)

Go West young woman

Sarah is off to Perth, Western Australia to study for a masters degree in clinical audiology, so its all go here just now. . .

To fill in time until term starts she has been driving a bus of blueberry pickers (mostly Bhutanese) out to a local blueberry farm and picking blueberries in 30C+ heat. Thirsty work but a good way to earn beer money.

She leaves next Thursday (23 Jan) for 5 weeks of intensive study followed by 10 weeks of clinical placement. The first project is to find somewhere to stay. She will spend a few days with Cath's father-in-law (Trevor) whilst checking out some options.

Its going to be a bit quieter here, although we do currently have Ben staying with us at the moment.

Whisky Wednesday - Intercontinental

Seems to be happening on Friday. 6pm Toronto time; 10 am Tasmania and the cold weather appears to turn some attendees a bit blue. Nice to keep up the tradition. That's 11pm  (Friday) for the Faversham crowd. . .

Graduation

Click on the pictures for a larger view

High Achiever

Sarah has finished her last semester at uni with excellent results; 3 high-distinctions and a distinction. Well deserved after much hard work. Well done! Here she is now more relaxed at the top of mount Arthur (Although still some stress over interviews for continuing study in Audiology next year)

Pinball Wizardry

- Santa's workshop has been knee deep in sawdust again - The design was copied from one found on the internet, but the alignment of the middle ramp is not on the trajectory from the flippers! I think we may have to make a few changes to suit 4 year olds, but overall its about what we had in mind. . . In other news. . . Cath and Ryan are now in Canada after a few weeks in Hawaii California, Las Vegasa and Seattle

They're Off

Cath and Ryan have  now left Tasmania after their farewell tour and are heading for Canada via Hawaii, LA, Las Vegas, and Seattle. . . .

Coming and Going

Chris and Alice - Are in New York on a trip around the US, driving south to Georgia, Florida and Texas. Its hard work for some. . . .

Cath and Ryan - Have given notice at work, gotten work permits for Canada and currently have half their possessions on Gumtree and are looking forward to new adventures. . . .  tough eh?

Sarah - Continues to get excellent grades at uni (3 distinctions + high distinction) and is contemplating a course in Audiology (pardon) on the mainland next year. . . .

Denise - has recently been to shows in Melbourne with the Bowen girls (Rosemary and Suzanne) and Alison's wedding in Perth with Liz.

Dave - Has not been out of the state for over two years - it must be my turn soon. . . .

Two to the Max

Max turned 2 this week and celebrations were held at both ends of the state, including a family get-together at the Hills' in Launceston.

Bob the builder and various diggers, including the cake seemed to be the order of the day.

Chris on the run !

Chris, Alice and some of her friends have just completed a half-marathon in QLD. Chris made the very creditable time of 93 mins. Alice and one friend finished under 2 hours and her other (very fit) friend in 78 mins. Well done everyone!!

Happy Jack day (4)

  Jack turned 4 to-day !

Denise,Dave,Sarah,Cath and Ryan went down to Hobart to help celebrate at the party, which was themed: "Mickey Mouse in the snow" at Jacks request. Everyone had a great time.  This was followed by a trip to the "Far Out" play centre the next day where Jack showed Ryan what to do on the bouncy castle. . .