The Baynhams

The day after Christmas is known as St Stephens day in Ireland but as Boxing day in the UK and here in Australia. I have got used to calling it Boxing day as I left Ireland in 1996, however I still find myself flipping between the two names depending on who I am talking to.

In Australia it has traditionally become a day of water sports at Anne and Kels house. Whoever owns a boat launches and ties up to Anne and Kels jetty and those that don't turn up by car. Everyone brings a big Esky of chilled food and puts it on the big table near the boat house. The day is spent chatting, eating and taking turns water-skiing or being pulled behind the speedboats in a "biscuit" - an inflatable shape with a hole in the middle! The less adventurous can just sit in one of the speedboats and enjoy feeling the wind in their hair as the driver does his best to shake the poor unfortunate off the back of the biscuit!
This year unfortunately the wind picked up early in the morning and the lake became too choppy for watersports. We had to postpone it until another day in the near future.

Instead we went off to our favourite local park in Rathmines and Sian and Rhiannon broke in their new roller blades while Gareth whizzed around on his bike. Byron and myself sat in our fold away picnic chairs and drank a flask of fresh coffee and munched on some cookies that the girls and I had made that morning with my new "cookie-press" Perfect!(except for the waist bands are beginning to feel tight!)


Later in the afternoon we called in to Anne and Kels to say Hi and exchange presents with my brother Joe and his wife Rhonda who had just arrived up from Sydney. We had a great time, chatted, drank, ate more cookies (waist bands are feeling tighter!) Eventually we reluctantly threw the kids in the car and drove home to put them in bed. Byron was trying to hang on to the last few hours of his Christmas holidays as he was back in work the next day. We stayed up another couple of hours, watching a new DVD and eating yet more cookies, mince pies and chocolates (Ouch, those waist-bands again!)

It has been a lovely Christmas. It is so exciting counting down to it but it goes by too quickly.

Gareth is already asking

"How many sleeps till next Christmas?"