So we invited them over for Dinner, to see us settled into the new house for the first time.
Jacob waiting in the "Lobby Bar" for them to arrive.
Multiple Lasagnas (or is that Lasagnii?) cooking in the new oven
Desert at the Table, with our new Knife Block in the background (Thanks Tina!)
Day out at Bundeena
Today, we decided to go for a ferry ride to Bundeena, and discovered that you don't have to go far from home to see beautiful places:
Jake and Mike were treated with some "boy toys" on the beach:
And the trip back was just as good - it was a lovely day out together!
So we cheered in the New Year with sparkle and colour.
Lets hope this is a good one for everyone.
The TV was not set up yet, but Jacob connected a pair of "Bunny Ears" to the aerial cable so the blokes could keep an eye on the cricket.
The cousins always know how to have fun when they get together.
In the afternoon, the fellas all helped to assemble a BBQ that Mike had got for Fathers Day.
After too much food again, the tide had gone out, so the kids all went out to play on the mud flats:
While the "Mums" looked on from the Boatshed:
(Apparently assembled in height order, or is that Kate cheating again?)
After all, with a new house and a new car in the garage, and most importantly each other, we have everything our hearts could desire.
We must have been good though, as Santa brought the kids LCD TVs for their new rooms, while Mum and Dad got a new Dyson to help keep the new house clean (and replace the old dinosaur we were using).
On Christmas Morning, Nanny came to share Christmas Breakfast with us:
Here's Jess with the traditional lolly tray:
Hope you've got everything you want too.
With lots of love from 4 very relieved hobbits.
We had to share this next picture with you for comparison; here's a similar Photo of Mike in his Grandad's VW at about the same age - this one is taken at the old house in Peninsular Rd, just up the hill from where we are now, with next door neighbour Donna Label:
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it?
Moving on to the 21st Century, it was part of our plan for Kate to get a new car when we had built a garage to put it in. After such a good run with the old one, it was hard to go past another Hyundai:
Some of the subtle differences that the new one has include two extra doors, keyless entry, iPod dock, cruise control, 6 airbags, ABS, ETC (think that stands for Electronic Traction Control, not etcetera) and much more. And being a Turbo Diesel, it apparently puts out less emissions than a Prius, so soft on the environment.
Looking forward to at least another 15 years with the i30, while the kids get to use the old girl.
Apologies to all our blog-watchers, who have been pleading with us for an update since we moved in.
While we were all extremely happy to finally be in (it still seems a bit surreal), we did spend the first four weeks trying to get various telecommunications companies to connect us with a phone and internet, in the end our very good friends at Telstra came through with the goods, so now we are on-line again. We appreciate the wait has been difficult for you, and you can surely understand how frustrating this has been for us. It even affected deliveries (see more below). We have backdated this post to mark the momentous day we moved in. Anyway, enough dribble, here's what you've been waiting for, our NEW HOME:
The first thing you see when you come down the driveway (other than the distinctive curved roofline) is the cedar garage door, now finished in Mahogany Red. Yes we need to finish off the safety railings and fencing.
The recycled ironbark posts at the front entrance have now been revealed. While we are waiting for contractors to come back to work after the Christmas break to build our front steps, the access will have to be though the garage and internal stairs:
When you make your way down the stairs you arrive at the Family Room. Once we had moved in the Fantastic Tub-Chairs, this area became affectionately known as "The Lobby Bar" :
In between these two living areas, at the hub of the house, is the Kitchen:
And this is the work area in the Pantry behind, where the toaster and other small appliances now live:
One of the minor dramas with the move was getting these two new Fridges delivered; waiting patiently without any home phone or mobile coverage, the delivery driver assumed we were not there and twice took them back to the warehouse. On the third day, when they finally understood we were home waiting, the concretors had poured wet cement along the full length of the driveway. So that was interesting but they're here now:
The leather lounge was imported from Malaysia, and although it came in 4 pieces, not one of them fitted through the sliding glass door at the side of the house. Luckily the delivery driver and his offsider were happy to manoeuvre them around the front of the pool area to get them in the larger terrace opening.
Its big enough to seat 10 (which we later proved on Boxing Day), nearly as good as the Chrysler in B52s Love Shack, you know the one that "Seats about 20"!
Our Outdoor Table looks inviting on the Terrace. Jacob found this corner was the only place he got an ounce of mobile coverage, and sent SMS messages from here and waited patiently for any replies.
Upstairs now, and here is our Master Bedroom:
And Ensuite:
Here's Jessica's Bedroom:
And Jacob's Room:
And finally, here is the Coffee Making Unit outside the Office:
We do hope that you will drop in for at least a coffee with us one day!
