This is what 6.00am on Christmas morning looked like at our house!! Ella had an idea that a new "Wethepeople" BMX bike might be under the Christmas tree - but seeing is believing! (Check out the expression on Abi's face - so where are my presents?)
She had high hopes for this one....
but found only a box with a doona cover and cushion in it!...
But this was the one that lit up her morning!
There were presents to share.....
...and Jody's beautiful hand made gifts - including this wonderful hamper for Rob.
..and her truly amazing felt fireplace (with toasty marshmellows)!
....green dragon roar.........
..and a beautiful morning to test out the new wheels.....
..with Josh - also the proud owner of a new BMX bike for Christmas.....
Jody, Josh, Ella and Abi went for a 5 klm ride together (Abi on scooter, Jody jogging)...the first time they have all been able to do that as a family.....but it won't be the last!
By 12.00 the rest of the Canberra (region) family arrived...and time for more present unwrapping......
..including gifts and cards from the London branch...We loved (nearly 6 year old) Eddie's card to us - which he had obviously hand written especially for us.......
We were a little unused to the English letter forms so we took a while to work out his message (maybe the lychee martinis didn't help!)............
We all agree Eddie is a legend! (and we worked out the right hand side of our card says: You are a Star man OMG!)
While the adults sat around recovering from our wonderful lunch: Joshy's roast lamb, Maxie's baked ham and my prawn salad + all the trimmings the kids went crazy on the back lawn. They started on Abi's cute new hopscotch water game.......
But ended up on the full scale water slide (+lawn sprinklers).
Such a happy day!
You know it's Christmas when the KP mangoes (preferably from Bowen) are at their peak, the cherries from Young have ripened and there's a premium price being paid for the wild Tiger prawns from the Gulf of Carpentaria. We queued up at 6.45 this morning at Sea Harvest at the Fyshwick markets to snag this bounty. It was a very festive queue experience, luckily, with everyone in good humour (despite the bleary eyes) and free cappuccinos being handed around by shop management to make the wait easier.
You also know Christmas is coming when the usual rituals commence: school break ups with all the accompanying concerts, ceremonies and graduations......
Abi performed in her first Christmas concert this year....
And we helped celebrate Sophie's excellent Year 12 result (ANU here we come!) and Maddie's hugely successful "Gap Year" (ACU here we come!) at the Hyatt last Wednesday afternoon..
.......and then there are all the other celebrations, end of year work parties and Christmas get togethers. It's all rather hectic actually.
We had our annual pre-Christmas get together at Murrumbateman last night, a ritual (and celebration) we all really look forword to. Even the cows were keen to join in too.....
But we kept things pretty traditional with everyone contributing beautiful food: Merimbula oysters for starters and whole baked salmon for mains, and fine wines (of course).......
We were lucky to have Sophie and Thomas join us this year..and they even indulged us in a bit of (mostly off key but very enthusiastic) Christmas carol singing too...
I think we're ready for Christmas now!
December always starts with Maxie's birthday - a wonderful big birthday for her this year (one of those birthdays with a zero on the end!). Celebrations were spread over a few weeks of dinners, lunches and general frivolity!
Then it's Thomas's turn. We celebrated his birthday in Sydney this year at the Chop House on Bligh Street. Phoebe made him his panda bear cake. They are both regular Sydneysiders now, making their marks in the world of big money and finance.
December is also the month of end of year concerts, gatherings and parties, school reports, end of year deadlines at work, shopping and madly preparing for Christmas - it's crazy really!
In amongst the madness Claire and Jeremy hosted their end of year party at the gallery last Saturday night. They had the wonderful The Bridge Between band set up on the mezzanine playing fast and loose and very loud...wonderful stuff!
In amongst the December madness it's great to have an opportunity to share some special moments with dear friends and family and be reminded how good life is!
This wasn't Abi's first ride on Canberra's famous Merry-Go-Round (which began life in Melbourne in 1914) but it was certainly her first ride in a L-O-N-G time. Ella, in comparison has had many a ride in her day, but did her big sister thing anyway, and joined in the fun of the ride with good humour!!
A picture speaks a thousand words.....
Second ride - now on Black Beauty....
Third ride..... now on Canace.......
A lovely afternoon with the girls - finishing off at our C5 park. St Germain now has a roof and windows on all floors except the top floor - soon be at lock up stage!
There's a lot of creativity happening in "the workroom" at Josh and Jody's house at any given moment: fabrics being dyed, textiles being printed, new and amazing costumes being invented and constructed. It's no wonder that Abi gets immersed in her own projects too with a supply of cardboard, pens, stickers and glue.
I was amazed watching her construct this "laptop computer" the other morning - and all her own work!
She even worked out a way of getting a battery installed under the keyboard!
Next job was to get Grandpa to involve himself in her owl and elephant making project. She talked non stop about it as she worked!
Very expressive owl and elephant creations!
The pics below aren't so much about creativity - but are beautiful pics anyway of O, E and A taken on the afternoon we celebrated their Great-Granny Kenyon's life at Maxie and Rod's.
And this last pic is of all of us at Mt Nanima on a perfect Saturday, late Spring evening as we celebrate eating some beautiful Indian food together (with a "pack a punch" Aperol Spritzer starter).
She had high hopes for this one....
but found only a box with a doona cover and cushion in it!...
But this was the one that lit up her morning! 
There were presents to share.....
...and Jody's beautiful hand made gifts - including this wonderful hamper for Rob.
..and her truly amazing felt fireplace (with toasty marshmellows)! 
....green dragon roar.........
..and a beautiful morning to test out the new wheels.....
..with Josh - also the proud owner of a new BMX bike for Christmas.....
Jody, Josh, Ella and Abi went for a 5 klm ride together (Abi on scooter, Jody jogging)...the first time they have all been able to do that as a family.....but it won't be the last! 
By 12.00 the rest of the Canberra (region) family arrived...and time for more present unwrapping......
..including gifts and cards from the London branch...We loved (nearly 6 year old) Eddie's card to us - which he had obviously hand written especially for us.......
We were a little unused to the English letter forms so we took a while to work out his message (maybe the lychee martinis didn't help!)............
We all agree Eddie is a legend! (and we worked out the right hand side of our card says: You are a Star man OMG!)
While the adults sat around recovering from our wonderful lunch: Joshy's roast lamb, Maxie's baked ham and my prawn salad + all the trimmings the kids went crazy on the back lawn. They started on Abi's cute new hopscotch water game.......
But ended up on the full scale water slide (+lawn sprinklers).
Such a happy day!
