Christmas Country Style

Christmas 2007 has been HUGE!!! A fitting end to an enormous year. To all our family and friends we'd like to say thank you for sharing our most amazing year ever. Christmas, for us, has been injected with all new excitement now that we have our Snow Man on board. No wonder people keep having babies!!!

I've already posted several entries on the blog about the celebrations we've had prior to the 25th Dec. This post covers our six days out west.... and it's a long one. With lots of photos! I suspect that most people reading this will find it terribly boring, so feel free to skip it - this post is only for the most dedicated followers (I know you're still with us Nanna Jude).

I was going to call this post "Christmas at Columbine", but that title wouldn't have been entirely accurate, given that we visited three other properties (Wongala, Cooinoo & Glendower). It was an absolute whirlwind and a lot of fun.

DAY 1

We set out on the 22nd with a car that was absolutely chock-a-block. Luckily for the dogs it wasn't Christmas Eve, so Santa's sleigh was available. Unfortunately the reindeer were resting up, it wasn't hot enough for the six white boomers, and two black labs don't have quite enough dog power to pull the sleigh. So we attached the sleigh to the Vectra, Mojo and Bella jumped on board, and off we went.

The drive to Columbine is a long one and this trip took seven hours! Our perseverance was rewarded when we turned off the highway onto Gowan Green Road. Gown Green Road is the 8km dirt road that leads into Columbine and it's my favourite stretch of the journey. We always see Eastern Rosellas as we approach Columbine and this year there were heaps of them. The property looks stunning once again due to recent heavy rain. We must be good luck charms because the last three times we've been to Columbine it's rained just before we arrive.

When we arrived we were greeted by some sort of wild beast that Bop had captured on the back of his ute.

We let our two beasts loose and they promptly joined forces with their Mum. Will thought it was great fun playing with the dogs. Here he is teaching them how to stay, while he runs at full pelt right past their noses.

DAY 2

On Sunday there was a bit of time in the morning for fun and activities around the house. Nick tried out the new swing that Bop had tied to a tree in the garden.

And later on he joined forces with Matt, Ben and Bop to fix a few holes in the tennis court.

The main event on Day 2 was a trip to Wongala. Wongala is home to Bill and Di aBeckett (Matt's Uncle and Aunt). It was Di's 80th birthday bash and a great chance to catch up with the extended aBeckett family.

The birthday girl is pictured above with one of her grand daughters, Greta. Greta made the icing for Di's cake. Of course there was loads of fabulous food as well as a feast of musical talent, with many of Di's family putting on a concert (the audience is pictured below). We were treated to guitar, violin, trumpet, keyboard, banjo, penny whistle and vocals. It was great fun.

Above: Matt and Mum give Ben his dinner on the front veranda at Wongala.

Right: Mum and Ben in the garden at Wongala.

Below: Ben has fun with his Auntie Sal on the veranda at Wongala.

Day 3

Day 3 was Christmas Eve. Matt spent most of the day playing golf with some old mates, while Mum and I helped out with preparations for Christmas lunch.

We found an old Rolf Harris record (yes one of the vinyl ones) with the song "Six White Boomers" on it. The boys loved it! Will's pictured to the left dancing to the tunes and doing his best Boomer impersonation. Pretty good for an 18month old!

In the evening we went to Cooinoo, which is a property close to Columbine and home to the Whittles. Di Whittle is a bit of a green thumb and her garden is beautiful. It's also functional, with grape vines, vegetables and fruit trees. Di's partner, Peter gave us a tour of the vines and then we whiled the evening away with a few drinks.

Day 4: Christmas Day!

On 25th December we were visited by Santa Claus!! Santa must have heard that there were three dietitians at Columbine, because he'd really trimmed down....

Here's Santa emerging from the chimney. In addition to losing metres off his waist Santa seemed to have lost the ability to read. He needed to find an assistant to help him examine the "Naughty or Nice" book. Lucky for us, we all seemed to make it onto the "Nice" page and Santa deposited this swag of presents. Finally, Santa made some last minute quality assurance inspections before the present unwrapping frenzy hit.

After everything was unwrapped Nick and Will put some of the presents through their paces. Will couldn't stop running around the house with his new block set. And Nick gave Ben's new Dino Explorer a work out on the front lawn.

The excitement continued at Christmas lunch, when we were joined by Matt's Aunt Nell and the Allworth cousins. Of course the food was delicious, complimented beautifully by the fantastic company.

Aunt Nell had broken her wrist on the 22nd, but she didn't let that bring her Christmas vibe down. Santa had left his hat for her, just in case she needed cheering up.

Day 5: Boxing Day

On Boxing Day, we got up early and Matt helped Bop with some mustering. Bop had been given a new saddle for Christmas and he was keen to try it out. Ben wasn't quite big enough for the saddle so he decided to try riding Bop's favorite horse, Gigi, bareback. Ben showed absolutely no fear of Gigi, putting his hand right inside her mouth.

For lunch on Boxing day we all piled back into the car and headed off to Glendower to catch up with the Gordons (Anne's Brother and his family). I forgot to take my camera, but it was another huge event with a lot of people and a lot of food. It was great to catch up with the Gordons and we even made plans to meet in Melbourne and enter a team adventure sports event!!

Day 6

We drove home!!! Still unpacking!! Happily exhausted.

Christmas Picnic

The Friday before Christmas Ben and I caught up with Alfie and Elliott (and their parents of course) for a Christmas picnic. Unfortunately Matt wasn't able to come as his accounting expertise was once again required by the many grateful enterprises that employ the services of the small business advisory branch of Lawler Partners.

So without Matt we struggled on. The fact that it was a beautiful day helped. Paul put on a brave face.... .......and the boys entertained us with an on-ground simulation of their latest team parachuting routine.

In addition to consuming some yummy picnic food, gifts were exchanged. Ben did very well!! He's pictured above with his new ducky top, kindly stitched by Elliott. Is there no end to his talents? - Elliott made matching ones for himself and for Alfie too! Ben also got a head start on his academic development with the teachers' son giving him the highly educational Wiggle Waggle Bunny book.

A great time was had by all, particularly this picnic suitcase, which must have had some kind of baby attractant on it. The boys just couldn't stop climbing all over it!

Christmas and the Coffs Harbour Curse

Christmas has been something of a "road show" for Team aBeckett this year. After our extended Loretan family get together on 15th December, Ben and I hit the F1 north to connect with Dad, Brother and the rest of the Coffs Harbour crew. I really wanted to get to Coffs before Christmas, but weekends were at a premium, so Ben and I decided to go mid week. Leaving Matt at home meant that there was room for our friends Maz and Jacob, who seemed keen to join the road show. It was great to have Maz and Jacob along for the ride, but I reckon they accepted our invitation thinking they would get three days of tropical holiday (Understandable, given, that I had pretty much promised them as much). Unfortunately it was not to be. Maz, Jacob, Ben and I didn't set foot on a beach or even cast an eye over a breaking wave during our trip north. Instead we were subjected to the cold, hard sting of the Coffs Harbour Curse!

Things started off really well. We managed to cram all the baby paraphernalia into the Vectra and the boys seemed happy in amongst it all. It wasn't long before they were asleep and they both held up to the rigours of the long car trip very well.

Maz and I were feeling pretty pleased with ourselves when we arrived in Coffs and, despite the fact that the boys were a little hard to settle that night, we kicked back and relaxed with a glass of Viottollo. I guess I should have known that the faint twinges in my neck were a warning that The Curse was soon to rear it's ugly head. It seems that every time we go to Coffs Harbour someones health suffers. During our last visit the entire family fell victim to the gastroenteritis inducing Adenovirus. The time before that Ben got his first cold and the time before that Matt cut his leg on a wayward boat trailer stopper. The Curse is a Cunning Beast. This time it found an old weakness in my neck. I woke up on Wed morning, picked Ben up and my neck went crunch. Rendering me completely useless from that point on. The rest of our time in Coffs was spent trying to get my neck moving again. I ended up visiting the chiropractor three times before I could get any significant movement back. Meanwhile, the whole experience for Maz was far from a holiday. She ended up having to look after Ben while I was being crunched on the chiropractor's table. Luckily SongXin was able to help as well, but this didn't save Maz from one of Ben's more disgusting nappies and it meant that all our holiday plans were dashed.

Anyway... all was not lost. Maz and I put our heads together on the way home and thought about some of the positive things about our trip. Here are my top ten (in no particular order):

1) Catching up with the family and exchanging gifts.

2) Getting to know Maz and Jacob a little better.

3) SongXin's sensational Sushi.

4) Watching Ben and Jacob together. Here's Jacob giving Ben a few tips on crawling, stairs climbing and pulling yourself up on stuff (Ben used these tips to great effect while in Coffs).

5) Taking Maz to her first "Big" thing.

6) Giving Ben his first bounce on a Swiss ball - he loved it!!!

7) Checking out the progress in Brother's shop (it's looking great).

8) The relaxing glass of red.

9) The fact that my neck popped out before the 25th Dec (and was able to be fixed).

10) Seeing that at least one other Mum has as much difficulty as I do with:

a) feeding her son vegetables, and

b) changing a nappy on a very squirmy boy.

Christmas Lights

Last Saturday night Jane and Trent suggested that we take the boys to the Hunter Valley Gardens to check out their Christmas lights display. The lights were spectacular. Many of them were taken from the "Graceland's Collection". The gardens were also stunning, but I didn't manage to get any great shots of either. I guess it's something you probably have to go see for yourself.

We arrived with enough time to have a picnic on the grass............and have a Santa photo taken.

Nick and Will competed for the title of silliest facial expression.

And Ben attracted a lot of comments in regard to his festive attire. We spent about an hour walking through the gardens. We might have spent longer, except that there were hoards of people, which made it a bit difficult to get around, and the boys were starting to unravel. It was definitely worth going, but we would aim for a Thursday night rather than a Saturday next time.

When we got home our neighbours had turned on their Christmas lights. There are a lot of them! Lucky they've got an asbestos roof!!

Loretan Family Christmas

Last Saturday we an early Christmas celebration with some of my extended family. My cousin Josh and his family have recently moved to Swansea Heads, and he and his wife Allanah hosted the gathering. Auntie Chris drove up from Sydney. My Great Auntie Peggy (my grandfather's sister), her husband Reg, and son Terry were there too. My cousin Jake, his partner Rhonda and her little boy Bailey joined the crowd. And of course Mum came along too.

Picture L-R: Uncle Reg, Auntie Peggy, Me, Matt, Mum, Bailey, Auntie Chris, Jake, Rhonda (obscured by Josh's hand), Josh, Janayah, India, Allanah, Darcy and Mattise (making a break for it out the front).

It was nice to catch up with some of the family. Christmas was always the perfect time to meet up with the Loretan (and Tindall and Powditch) cousins. Many summers were spent at my grandparents' place at Manning Point. So it was fun to see the next generation getting up to some of the things we used to do together...

...like climbing trees....

...making amazing things in the sand.....

...being spoiled by adoring Grannies.....

.....and just clowning around.