We recently celebrated two very special Birthdays: the first being Australia Day (26 Jan) and the second being Jared's 9th Birthday (30 Jan). The former was a reasonably traditional affair, with snaggers on the BBQ, massive amounts of beer, all well accompanied by Pavlova and Vanilla Slice! We were joined by another Australian exchange family - the Dries' and we gave the 710ml Coronas a nudge. I was decked out in my "I Love Australia" apron as I cooked some national Fauna on the hot plate (Kangaroo and Crocodile), whilst wearing my Australia headband (a farewell present from home - Thanks Dicko!!)
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| Massive Corona, headband and apron on Australia Day. |
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| It's not Australia Day without Pav. (First time we have ever made one and thankfully it worked!) |
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| ...and Vanilla Slice |
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| The kids having a ball! |
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| Watermelon Echidna |
The next big event was Jared's 9th Birthday. Apart from the Nerf Gun that will have your eye out at 25m, he was extra specially excited to get a present from Uncle Trav and Aunty Stacey (and kids) that actually made it from Western Australia on his Birthday - great timing. And of course he was stoked that it was a new set of West Coast Eagles pyjamas!! Jac made him a chocolate fudge cake which also went down well, and despite Tom having been crook for the days leading up, he still got stuck into the cake too.
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| Eagles pyjamas from WA. |
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| The Birthday Boy |
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| Blowing out the Candles with a little help from Ben. |
With the large dump of snow that we received we managed to spot our local backyard Squirrel that hangs around. I managed to get a couple snaps of him in between shovelling snow off the driveway.
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| Shovelling Snow. |
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| Our Little Squirrel. |
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| Mr Squirrel again. |
The last part of this entry was a big day at the snow. We got up early and armed with a short temper courtesy of a nasty hangover we managed to pile the kids and all our gear into the Jeep for the 2 hour drive to Calabogie. Not being skiers at home we had absolutely no idea, skis and beanies were flying everywhere as we got ready inside the building that houses the ticket booth etc. And I really do pity the young lass that came around the corner and copped an eyeful of me stepping into my thermals...I couldn't tell if she was stunned or impressed, we'll run with the former I think.
I'm not sure how Calabogie compares with our resorts at home but I'm pretty sure it was much colder here. It was a beautiful day and about minus 15 according to one of the JAFA's I ran into, they were everywhere!! (Just Another F*#$^% Australian). Everyone did well, except for Ben who decided, against specific instruction not to, that he might jump on the lift to the top of the training hill (with his snowboard) then started to come down without his bindings done up. This resulted in him and his board separating and his board attempting to kill someone. Awesome!! Skis for him next time anyway. Here is a selection of photos from the day.
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| Jared paying attention to the instructor....NOT. |
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| Tom and Ben boarding down the hill - with an adult this time. |
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| Jac being rescued from the swamp by the instructor. |
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| Ben assuming the pose on his board. |
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| Jared speeding down the hill.... |
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| ...with Dad close behind and closing at a great rate of knots. I still haven't found the brakes yet! |
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| Tom boarding down the hill. |
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| Part of Calabogie |
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| One of the Calabogie runs. |
