Our Trip Down Under

Charlie and I have just returned from an amazing trip to Sydney, Australia where we stayed with our friends Kate and Rob and their girls Scarlett and Flo, in their beautiful house in Lilyfield. We had an easy flight over with Charlie enjoying the fact that he had his own TV whilst I indulged in films, reading and sleeping. We arrived to a warm balmy Sydney evening feeling remarkably refreshed and awake to copious amounts of champagne and wine chilled nicely by Kate and Rob.

We stayed in the Duthies guest room located in the garden and on first inspection round our lovely bedroom I found we had a large Huntsman spider also making his home in there too. I was fine with that until i woke in the middle of the night only to find it had moved. So i then spent the best part of an hour locating it - sitting spralled out in full glory (8 inches or so) on the bathroom door. So then after finding a suitably large container to catch it in and stealthily capturing the spider he then spent the remainder of the night safely inside and i got some well earned sleep.

The holiday was so relaxing and spent mainly on the gorgeous harbour and ocean beaches of Sydney, with glorious weather and warm water to swim in. We had a great day out Kayaking and after a rather shaky start from me canoeing stupidly in the wrong direction and Charlie feeling a bit nervous about he whole experience we eventually headed out across the sea for an hour of peace and tranquility.

Having become very well versed in all the Australian native creatures prior to the trip Charlie was in awe to finally come face to face with most of them. He was particularly taken with the crocodiles and kookaburras and having also visited a museum on a wet day we spent quite some time discussing the difference between dead, alive and pretend things.

Kate and Rob and I spent many evenings eating lovely food cooked by Kate and drinking large amounts of wine and recounting stories. Bed was often quite early as a result. We went out for dinner one night to great restaurant called La Scala where Kate knew the chef and were treated like royalty and showered with free appetisers to the point where we were really quite stuffed by the time our main courses arrived. The food was fabulous but we all laughed at the fact the all of us struggled to read the menu without our glasses and couldn't hear each other talk as it was too loud. Being over 40 really has taken its toll.

Easter Sunday Kate threw a fabulous lunch for some of her friends complete with an Easter egg hunt in the garden. I think we should have won an award for the most appalling diet you can give your children as we watched them all consume chocolate from dawn to dusk without any other food groups being involved. The result - 3 very tired and 3 very hungry children the next day. It was great to meet lots of the Duthies friends though and it was a really enjoyable day.

We had lots of other lovely days out at the local pools and parks and Charlie really loved doing so much swimming. The trip to the fish market was great too as was the journeys on the ferries and trams. We did pack alot of activity into the time we were there and have come home feeling relaxed and refreshed having narrowly escaped the volcanic airline disruption as we would have found ourselves stranded in Abu Dhabi which bearing in mind the amount of alcohol consumed may have been a very good place to dry out.

Bowling and Balloons

It has been a busy couple of weeks. We braved the harsh cold wind on the beach to finally let off the lanterns that i had ordered for Ruby's birthday. They were amazing, great big red hearts which Mike lit and let off across the beach. Unfortunately as novices of these lanterns and not reading the instructions properly, Mike managed to get hot burning wax on his coat and face (no scars thank goodness) Anyway we eventually lit them and it was great to see them floating off up into the clouds.

The following weekend we had a fabulous day out with the extended family as a pre pre wedding get together. Lunch at pizza express where you just can go wrong followed by bowling. This place was like an Aladdin's cave for toddlers where every corner you turned there was a machine full of sweets in a giant fish bowl, sparking and beckoning. So after a handful of jelly beans Charlie set to to show off his bowling shoes and bowling skills. It was great as he was able to let his ball roll down the assisted chute and managed to knock a very impressive amount of skittles over.

A Very Happy Thomas Birthday

Charlie turned 3 last week and to celebrate he had a very heavily themed Thomas the Tank engine birthday this year. It started with a lively party at Jungle Jims activity centre with 12 friends complete with Thomas cake. Then back home for a family lunch and a ridiculous pile of presents which consisted of several Thomas trains to add to his collection.

His favourite present was however was his very grown up bike which he mastered pretty quickly and was soon whizzing up and down the hall.

The following weekend we had a sleepover at my friend Michelle's to celebrate Max's 3rd birthday which we did by a trip to the Tenterden railway where Thomas and his friends were waiting to take us on a ride. It was a freezing but brilliant day out complete with the Fat Controller on the station waving us out. We had to walk back through the shop to get out so it was impossible not to buy something and so Charlie left like the cat who got the cream with yet another train for his train set.

Happy Birthday Ruby

Another year has passed and we celebrated Rubys 4th birthday yesterday in the snowy blizzards. It was a wonderful day and in fact the snow made it even better. After a lovely long lunch in Zizzis we headed onto the beach to look at the snow. It was incredible, the most snow i have seen since we lived in Whitstable and dotted all along the beach were a range of snowmen in various poses.

The weather was really glorious as the sun was so strong and the snow so gleaming white. After a long walk back home we jumped in the car and headed to the cemetery to put some flowers on Ruby's headstone. By this time it was snowing heavily and the sun was setting so it was a beautiful scene to wish our beautiful girl a happy birthday.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Christmas this year kicked off with a trip to Bodiam Castle to see Santa Claus. The castle looked absolutely beautiful surrounded by the snow and the day was picture perfect, sunny blue skies, quite breathtaking. Father Christmas was waiting in his enchanted cave, complete with the Snow Queen in tow. So once Charlie put in his requests for Thomas trains we made our way cagily down the hill to the cafe for a bowl of homemade soup and a large glass of Merlot.

Christmas Day arrived and Father Christmas arrived in abundance. Charlies face and reaction this year was brilliant. As usual he got far too many presents but was amazed to see that Santa had listened to his requests for Thomas Trains and brought him several. We had a great day at my parents with a large crowd of 10 for dinner with other family friends for drinks in the afternoon followed by visits to Mikes family for more lovely food and drinks.

We also had many day trips out making the most of the time off work. We visited the London Aquarium at the request of Charlie and despite the drizzly rain we braved the queues and waited patiently to get in. Charlie got himself a seahorse tattoo on his arm which he thought was fantastic and a ride on a merry go round and for the first time didn't try to launch himself off as has happened in the past. We had lots of lovely lunches out and braved the bitterly cold wind on the beach so that Charlie could take his scooter out. This of course was followed by another large glass of warming shiraz in the local wine bar.

On New Years Eve the 3 of us went for a gorgeous meal at the Crab and Winkle restaurant early evening and then headed off for some friends who live in a tiny village about 10 miles away. Their house is so unusual and quirky. A tiny little cottage that has been added to with many different rooms including the attachment of a large caravan. Seriously, they had used the caravan that they lived in for many years as an additional 2 more rooms to their cottage. In fact you would never know on the inside as it just flowed very easily into the main body of the house. It was a lovely evening of chatting and laughing and 6 of us saw the new year in with the kids all tucked up in bed. We then bundled Charlie into the car and drove home, only to find i had left my bag there with the door keys in so we headed back through the country lanes to pick up the bag and eventually got home at 1.30am

A Beautiful Memorial

Last weekend marked a significant point in our lives when Rubys headstone was finally put into place creating the most beautiful and special memorial to remember her by. It has been nearly 4 years since she died and her burial place has been marked by a wooden cross since then. Over the year the cross has become worn and faded and so to see this shining headstone there instead of the dark cross represented a time of lightness, beauty and joy. The words on the stone made us feel so emotional and so proud and seeing her name carved into the stone was such a tribute to her. It truely is Ruby's special place now.

Dancing Queens

We have had a busy few weeks socialising. Cousin Stella and her mum and dad came for lunch. I cannot believe how much my little niece looks like my brother, she really is the spitting image of him. We all went for a walk into Whitstable after lunch and she looked so cute in her baby sling and hat and drew attention from many passer-bys. There is an old fashioned sweet shop in Whitstable which was used to furnish the re-make of Charlie and Chocolate Factory. It is an obvious claim to fame of the shop owners who got to meet Johnny Depp on the set when they were supplying the film with all their sugary delights. I have taken Charlie in there loads of times when he was a baby but somehow managed to avoid it over the past year or so but this time there was no stopping him. It really was the epitome of a child in a sweet shop - eyes wide open, mouth wide open and almost transfixed to the spot. Not for long...we managed to escape with a quarter of white mice and some sherbert pips for me.

The following weekend, my sister and I donned our dancing shoes and took off for the Salsa Club night in Canterbury. Every since Strictly has been on the TV i have always longed to go back to my childhood passion and get dancing again. So I found a company who run salsa classes and club nights and we turned up having had a couple of glasses of wine and feeling a bit giggly. The classes started and they divided them into 4 groups and beginners were in the bottom corner which consisted of just me and Lou. However, not to be shamed into the new starters we were lucky to get a one on one lesson from the instructor. Dave was not your average salsa dance instructor. Think of Joe Pascale and an east kent accent and there you have it. He was brilliant and taught us so well. After the lessons, the 'freestyle' session started where you sit around the edge waiting for the men to ask you to dance like something out of the 1950's. It was important to adhere to the etiquette which meant that you could turn down the offer of a dance due to a) poor dance skills, b) poor looks, c) poor hygiene however you could not then take up the offer from someone else. It was hilarious as both Lou and I got asked to dance by many men, some of the instructors who were so excellent and quite literally spun us around like nutters. It was a brilliant and hilarious night.

Finally Charlie had his best friend Niamh over for a play date on Saturday and i couldnt resist putting this photo on as it makes me laugh so much.