Various

 We took the car up to the top of Jolly Nose.
It is a great vantage point to see all the way from Crescent Head down to Laurieton. It is only accessible by 4 Wheel drives or motorbikes.

 Jacob is looking through one of the wooden sculptures at Shelly Beach

 Jessie struts her stuff down at Flynns Beach

 Our turn for a spin on the bikes!!

 Jacob and Jessie ready for Charlie Penns fancy dress birthday party

Camping trip

The forecast for the last weekend in October looked good so we decided to go camping with Mel and Will and their Kids. We didn't want to venture too far so decided that we would go to Diamond Head.

The weather was great and hot enough for us to go to the beach and take a swim and a little surf.

It was a very relaxing weekend, we all enjoyed each others company and had a good old yarn sitting round the campfire at night. 

Jessie decided to do a little pole dancing for us!!!!!!

The water was still slightly too cold to go in without rashies on!

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The Kangaroos are really tame and roam around the campsite unphased by the human presence surrounding them.

  

The Kids had a great time both down at the beach and around the campground

Time for bed!!

Scott and Cathy's wedding

We met Scott and Cathy via our friends Colin and Karen a few months ago.
Since we met, we have got together several times socially and  Scott and Nigel have become " Bike Buddies"
Scott and Nige, both have Motocross bikes and regularly go for rides around the nearby trails and tracks.
They thoroughly enjoy their motorbike rides and come back covered in mud with big smiles and very sweaty? I'm not completley sure why!!!!

Scott and Cathy have both been married before and both have children but met each other here in Port Macquarie and are very happy together.
We were very priviliged and honoured to be invited to their wedding which took place on Saturday 16th October.
Unusualy for Port Macquarrie and for the time of year, it has rained practically non stop for the last couple of weeks. The forcast for the weekend, rain and colour of the sky on friday were both ominous signs and it didn't look promising.
We woke on Saturday morning to find it was a lovely sunny day although a little windy.
The ceremony took place at Douglas vale Vinyard Port macquarie. It was a beautiful setting and both Bride,Groom and bridal party looked fantastic.
The food and company were wonderful and we had a very enjoyable time ( Our First Aussie Wedding!!!)
Sunday morning, e all went round to Cathy's parents house where A wonderful breakfast was laid on for all who attended the wedding and the children too.
Once again we had a great time and a lovely feed. A great start to a Sunday morning.

We wish Scott and Cathy all the best luck in the world and a wonderful life together xx

Bago Bash

Jacob has been accepted for enrolment at St Josephs Primary School. Our friends Colin and Karen's children both go to the same School.
The School put on a family day at Bago Vineyards. The Vineyards are located about 30km away from us up in the hillside of Bago Bluff.

Half of the Neighbourhood turned up!! Colin and Karen, Rach and I, Scott and Cathy,Cathy's sister Karen and Linda from the Gym to name but a few!!

They put on a band called Ghost Road, they are blues band and played pretty easy listening type of music perched on the deck of the Cellar Door while we all relaxed under marques drinking either our own beer or the Vineyards wine and eating our picnics.

There were two jumping castles for the kids???!!! Lolly stall and Barbeques golf chipping game and treasure hunt and raffle.

Rachel managed to win a meat platter from the raffle and the kids also enjoyed sliding down the hill on cardboard boxes.

It was a beautiful sundrenched day and a beautiful setting. We all purchased some of the local quality wine and had a fantastic time testing it!!

Winter 2010

Winter here isn't exactly as it is in Blighty!

The morning and evenings are cool and on rare occasions we have to put the airconditioning on heat for an hour or so to warm the house. In the main though, it tends to warm up by mid morning. I have still worn shorts all winter and most days can get away with a polo and no jumper or fleece.

We get some beautiful clear blue sky days and now we are into mid August they are becoming more frequent and it is warming up very nicely.

Rachel has managed to secure a job at a local office superstore very similar to Staples in the UK. She works in the service department as a service co-ordinator dealing with repairs and maintenance to photocopiers printers and faxes.She really enjoys her job as it is so varied and she gets on well with her colleages which  has made it easy to fit back in at work after five years of being a stay at home mom.

We have another addition to our garage too! There are some great places to ride around here and after borrowing my bosses motocross bike for the weekend, I scoured the internet and found a bike for sale which fitted my requirements. Unfortunatley it was located in Morayfield, Queensland which eight and a half hours North of here.

So Friday afternoon after work, I set of in one of the Utes from work and drove up to Brisbane. I stopped at my friends, Karl and Jane for the night. Had a good catch up with them and a few beers, managed to get in three hours sleep and then headed up to Morayfield. I picked up the bike and drove back to Port Macquarie getting back for around 3:45pm.

I took her out the weekend with my boss Jamie for a blast round some of the fire trails nearby. I had a fantastic time, got extremely muddy and can't wait till next weekend when jamie myself and another friend Scott are off to play again.

Australian Formula

McInherney Park is a popular foreshore reserve which is enjoyed all year round for both active and passive recreation. The park is situated on the banks of the Hastings River and features an undercover shelter with free barbecues and picnic tables. This is the setting for the Australian Formula Power Boat grand Prix.

This was a free event where we spent the morning watching the action and having a lunchtime picnic.

The kids played on the beach as we watched the qualifiers

Jessie's Second Birthday Party

Jessie Birthday falls on a Tuesday this year but we decided to have a few friends over for a little party for her on the Saturday.

The kids had a few snags (sausages) and Birthday cake for desert and Rach cooked a Curry feast for the adults.

Jessie spent most of the evening being chauffered around like the Queen in her toy pram, dressed in her party frock which Nanny Beryl bought her.

She received some lovely presents and managed to blow out the candles on her cake by herself.
The Curry dishes seem to go down very well with the adults with second helpings in most cases.

We are going to have a little picnic for her proper Birthday on Tuesday when she can wear her other new Party dress which nanny Joan bought her