Gem, Aunty Dympna, Bill & Murray at the river's edge
Me with Liz & Joe - pity you can't see the ocean behind us
Grant & Audrey's pool decor
Roast Chicken lunch on the patio - Audrey - with Billy underneath
Niece Claire with her son Billy and Jethro (on her lap)
Nephew Peter tapping the mini beer keg
Sam holding Jethro, my son Benn & nephew Peter
Sister Ret having a hug with brother Tony and his wife Yudian looking on
Jethro had been to bed but this was taken at midnight - his first New Year!
Jethro slept like this for almost 2 hours
Some fun time splashing in the pool
Benn taking photos of Jethro in his new Wiggles boat
Benn, nephew Greg & Pete holding Jethro
Me with Lynne at Chinese Restaurant
Great nephew Riley back in Ballina (see the faded Big Prawn behind him)
Sister Rose in Port Adelaide
New Year celebrations were in a different state with a different group of family & friends, as our Christmas ones, but they were as wonderfully relaxed and enjoyable. We drove up to the Gold Coast and had a great two days catching up with family & friends and seeing the New Year in. But before we even left Ballina, we had a pre-New Year dinner at an Indian Restaurant with sister Gem, her husband Bill & our Aunt Dympna. Not wanting the beautiful evening to end, we wandered next door to enjoy a coffee, some desserts & a brandy (for Bill) as the setting sun went down over the river. Daylight savings enables us to enjoy the later sunset times.
We kickstarted our time on the Coast with a 9.30am New Year's Eve morning tea at Palm Beach with retired Air Force friends Liz & Joe - Liz was a nurse and Joe was a Ground Defence Officer. Joe's sister & her husband had recently returned from a trip to Africa and kindly invited us to all meet at their stunning 3 level home at Palm Beach - literally on the beach - well, 14 wooden steps from their lawn down to the sand. The views were as amazing as you could expect, but the house itself was of a calibre I had never seen before - only being completed 12 months ago, it has all the mod cons. But someone had great architectural vision & skills to be able to create such a magnificent abode. Fortunately, while I can appreciate other people's settings and layout, for us & our lifestyle, we can't beat Holden Lane!
Next stop was what we thought would be a tasty but simple BBQ at Audrey & Grant's home after we had done our usual walk around to check out their ongoing renovations. It is the home where we celebrated Murray's 60th. No BBQ for us - instead we were served a delicious roast chicken dinner which we consumed with a glass of champagne served on the patio no less, and looking out over the transformed pool area to the Tamborine Mountains in the distance. Delightful.
Then it was on to my sister Ret's and her husband Pete's home for the Main Event: the family New Year's Eve party! By the time we arrived my son Benn had flown in from Hong Kong - he had a 36 hr stopover which was perfectly timed - and he was collected off a train from Brisbane by my nephew Peter who was up from Sydney & staying with his mum Ret, with his wife Sam and 9 month old son Jethro. Jethro ended up being the main attraction for the duration of his visit! Such a placid and adorable child - a constant source of entertainment. Another nephew Greg from Brisbane stayed over, and other Brisbane residents - niece Claire, husband Al, and 4 yr old son Billy, also joined in the festivities. My brother Tony & his wife Yudian (thanks for the delicious Key Lime Pie) completed our gathering. With the numbers attending we were very creative in preparing the menu - there was a lot of variety, enough food, and we were all well and truly sated. Washing our delicious food down with 2 bottles of Veuve Cliquot and 3 bottles of Moet seemed very fitting - thanks Benn, and no doubt Tony! New Year's Eve was a glorious evening and so we sat outside in our summer attire and enjoyed the company and the feast. You get to a stage where you wonder if you will last until midnight - but we did - and then we connected the iPad to the TV and everyone called out a song to bring up a video, and we sang and danced to our favourites. At 1.30am Murray, Benn & I headed back to our motel. A truly wonderful night.
Not wanting the fun to end, we all rallied again the next morning for a brunch at the Parkwood Golf Club - they have a verandah overlooking the course and it is a nice setting - the menu was extensive and service was good. Only this time we had coffees instead of champagnes! Murray, Peter & Benn went off for a game of golf, Ret, Greg & I went to the shops, and Sam stayed home with Jethro who slept for almost 2 hours sleeping on her tummy. He looked so comfy. The sun was shining and the pool looked inviting, so before long, Jethro was sailing in his Wiggles red boat and the other 'kids' (Benn was the youngest) horsed around while Benn took underwater photos of them all.
Time for a quick shower then we dropped Benn off at the train station for Brisbane (he was part of the flying crew heading to Hong Kong) and we continued across the highway to meet my nursing friend Lynne for dinner at a Chinese restaurant. After a most enjoyable catch up Murray & I returned for one more night at the motel. The next morning we called in to visit another nursing friend Jenny and her husband Peter (lots of Peters in my life I can tell you), and I spent a pleasant few hours with her setting up her new Mac and working with her iPhone. Murray and I then hit the road for Ballina, but spent most of the trip recounting what a wonderful few days we had just spent.
We had only been home one night and then I drove south to Grafton to pick up Ret & Pete's grandson Riley. He is 9 years old and lives over in West Australia but had come back with his mum to visit the family. Ret & Pete drove down to Ballina that afternoon to collect him, and we all had a BBQ here at home. They joined our other sister Gem, aunt Dympna and Murray & I for a breakfast on the river before they headed back home.
While we were celebrating the New Year in Queensland, my other sister Rose was celebrating it with a friend in South Australia. She had spent Christmas with us, and then took the opportunity for a southern holiday for New Year, but she kept us posted with photos of her outings.
If the rest of 2012 is like the start, then it is going to be a beauty. Bring it on...
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