On December 19th, we flew to Australia for 12 days of fun in the sun! After picking up the hire car, we drove to Burleigh Heads for breakfast on the beach. Ale was very impressed with the 'big breakfast', and it was so wonderful to relax by the ocean after a fairly uncomfortable 9 hour flight!
We then drove to Brisbane, and after a quick stop at Carindale (old habits die hard!), we arrived at the Hoger residence. Mum and Dad were there to happily greet us.
Sunday was a busy day - church in the morning, followed by afternoon tea at my uncle and aunt's place (great to see my cousins and their families, too :)), and in the evening, we relaxed with Luisa, Sam, Lily, Benjamin, and Ananda, on the deck of Luisa and Sam's beautiful home in Paddington.
On Monday afternoon we drove 2.5 hours north of Brisbane to Noosa Heads. We checked into the Sheraton Noosa, and then indulged in 2 days of good food, resort shopping, and drinks at the swim-up bar in the resort pool :)
On Tuesday, Kathryn and 3 of her girls (Cassie, Ashleigh, and Brittany) visited us for lunch. We had a wonderful time together at the Noosa Heads Surf Club - great company, great view, and delicious food!
Dec. 25th
On Thursday, we drove to Kathryn's place at Sippy Downs (45 minutes south of Noosa Heads) to celebrate Christmas Day with some of the Hoger family. Lots of fun was had by all - cooking, chatting, eating, laughing... a lovely afternoon. In the late afternoon, we (Ale, Mum, Dad, and yours truly) began the long drive back to Brisbane. The remainder of Christmas Day was spent by the pool at David and Dee's place - more delicious food, lots of laughs, and wonderful company.
Dec. 26th
On Boxing Day, we drove 3 hours south of Brisbane to Ballina (in N.S.W.) to visit our good friends Ainsley and Greg. We all enjoyed a swim in the ocean (too cold for me!), Ains and I took a stroll along the beach, and then we all went to Seven Mile Cafe Restaurant
in Lennox Head for dinner. On the way to the restaurant, we did the 'tourist thing' and stopped for photos in front of the famous Ballina attraction, 'the Big Prawn'.
Sadly, our visit with Ainsley and Greg was short - they flew back to Adelaide the next day, and we drove back to Brisbane via Byron Bay. Before leaving though, Ale snapped a few photos of 'Ains and Rose' by the Christmas tree.
The rest of our time in Brisbane was spent with family (Mum and Dad; my brother Matthew, his wife Annette, and their family; David, Dee, Kurt, and Sam), and our good friends Jo and James, and their lovely daughters Chelsea and Matilda.
New Year's Eve
Well, as we had to be up at 5 a.m. on Jan. 1st, our New Year's Eve celebration was not a wild one! We enjoyed a lovely dinner with Mum and Dad, and then walked around to David and Dee's place and had a few drinks and a few laughs. The following short video highlights the comic nature of the evening...
We had a wonderful holiday with family and friends, and we're already counting down the days until next Christmas when we'll all meet again.
P.S. Click on any photo - it will take you to even more photos of our holiday (on flickr)
