Anzac Day at Thredbo

On Friday 24th April, we headed down to the Snow to prepare and stock up our supplies for the impending ski season. Staying at Thredbo, we headed into Jindabyne on Anzac Day morning to check out the festivities, and came across some very Australian natives grazing along the side of the Alpine Way:

That evening, we ate at the House of Ullr, where you cook the steaks yourselves, and had the whole restaurant to ourselves; probably a good thing given the funny aprons (from Italy) that they give you:

On Saturday Night, a cold front came over and provided the first snow of the season - our car had about 15cm on the roof:

Out the back of the apartment, the snow looked pretty in the garden:

In the village, the little fir trees looked great with snow on them:

We had some fantastic Bacon & Egg rolls from our favourite eatery - the Snowflake Bakery, and the snow continued to fall throughout the day:

If you take too long trying to take a photo, you can count on Mum to hijack it:

No surprise that the Bobsled was closed!

But Jake was happy, he found one of his favourite buses, a 1982 Mercedes-Benz O305 MkII (apparently)!

We went for a walk through the bush to walk off breakfast:

It was amazing to see how well the snow held our footprints - Jake was wearing his Redback boots; if you look carefully, you can see the spider in the middle of the sole:

This plant almost looks like a frozen echidna!

On Sunday Morning, after over 20cm of snowfalls, the sun and blue sky came out. On the mountain, the snowdrifts were often 1metre deep.

Back in Thredbo village, there was still plenty of snow about:

At the Snowflake bakery though, the only choice was to eat inside!

Still, it was a great place to be; and as the chairlifts started to open early, it was looking good for the season ahead:

Easter at Lake Conjola

After such a hectic week with work, we didn't have anything planned for Easter. Jen mentioned that they were thinking of heading down to Conjola, and we were welcome to come.

So, we spent Good Friday morning catching up on laundry and packed up some supplies and headed down that afternoon.

Our Friday Night dinner comprised of Tina's Fish Cakes, which we had last Good Friday on Norfolk.

On Saturday morning, we headed into Milton and strolled around the markets there, and picked up a few things for lunch.

After lunch, Jenni, Mike, Kate, Jess & Cassie (the dog) went for a stroll along the beach, and ended up walking 6km return to Buckleys Point and back: While we were off walking, Mark and the boys went fishing. Cassie was very well behaved, but must have trotted twice as far as she zigged and zagged in between us. We burnt off a few Champagne and Galliano's along the way, but our ankles were feeling the effects of the hard sand

When we returned, we found the Slater's had arrived with Granny and Poppa.

Granny was Dave's new best friend as she produced a Caramel Slice covered in Easter Eggs: We lounged around in the backyard of Jenni & Mark's place in the afternoon:

Mike had his usual relaxed holiday face on, complemented by a glass of Chambubbly plus more Galliano and orange juice:

Cassie was exhausted after the long walk, and collapsed on Chelsea's dog bed:

Jess enjoyed cuddles with her Uncles:

While we were all relaxing, Mark prepared some wood for a bonfire.

Poppa told him he had seen some Washing Machine parts by the kerb down the road, which he turned up with a few minutes later, and proceeded to add an array of perfect holes to help the air flow as braziers:

As the afternoon turned to evening, Dave allowed himself "just one drink" and produced the biggest Vodka Cruiser we'd ever seen!

As Mark cooked up a feast on the BBQ, it began to sprinkle with rain, so Granny & Poppa waited on the lounge for Dinner to be ready:

After Dinner, Jacob volunteered to wash up the dishes, and emerged from the little kitchen almost an hour later with Dishpan Hands:

Finally it stopped raining outside, and Mark prepared the fire so we could toast marshmallows:

And it was a beautiful fire:

It kept us all warm:

Cousin Power:

The kids toasted (including melted / charred / incinerated) the marshmallows using long sticks:

At times, the smoke got too much for Nic:

Jake borrowed his big cousins sunglasses in a vain attempt at protection:

Afterwards, Chelsea gnawed the remains of the marshmallows off the sticks:

That's Bronte hiding under the bucket:

On Easter Sunday morning, the Easter Bunny found us all at Conjola, and left a Map for the egg hunt.

There were lots of hiding places for him among the teapots and stubbie holders:

He was especially sneaky this year, some of the eggs were even hidden inside a banana skin:

While Granny and Poppa went off to Church in Ulladulla, Jake and Jenni cooked loads of bacon and eggs:

After fasting for Mass, Poppa must've been anxious for his breakfast:

Finally everybody was ready to sit down for the Easter feast:

As usual, the senior Lyles were colour coded. Mark commented that they "plum forgot" what each other was wearing:

Then we got a nice surprise as Tina rang from Norfolk Is.

We passed Mike's iPhone around and everybody got to have a chat with her, Sienna & Teddy:

Then we went down to the lake.

Granny was first in for a swim:

While Poppa and the girls looked on:

Mark then dropped his daks for a dip:

Granny loved the line-up on the shore, so took this photo for us:

Chelsea taking Granny for a "walk"

While Cassie refused to go in:

Unfortunately we then had to leave them all, as Jess had a prior commitment back in Sydney.

We're sure they have more fun and games and stories to tell.

Many thanks to Jenni and Mark for their hospitality, and for a wonderful and memorable weekend.