The Baynhams

We have had a really different but special Christmas day today!

The weather was warm as we have come to expect, but not as hot as the "tumble-dryer" day we had on Christmas eve! The kids were up at the very respectable time of 7am and were so excited that Santa had filled their stockings. Rhiannon woke before Gareth (they share a room) and she went through Gareths stocking and put some of his goodies in his arms as he slept!











We had the usual mad morning with mountains of wrapping paper and lots of fab presents.

Thank you for everyone back in the UK and Ireland for making a special effort in sending exciting parcels in time for Christmas; we're on first name terms with the delivery man!

After a few webcam and phone chats we decided to test some of our new Christmas presents - off we went down to the pool, all five of us dressed in our wetsuits, dragging Gareth's new dinghy behind us. We spent hours splashing and messing around the water, ate lunch wrapped in towels and wetsuits and then straight back into the pool for the rest of the day (hardly traditional !).

For all those who are dying to know what we ate for Christmas lunch; we broke with Aussie rules by sticking to a fairly traditional roast lunch, but then had a mountain of fresh prawns for tea - Rhiannon refused to eat them but has become a dab-hand at peeling them for the rest of us. Gareth, on the other hand, has his mouth open as soon as you have them peeled and you just can't keep up with his appetite.

It was a noisy day as Sian got to grips with the hundreds of functions on her new electronic keyboard and Rhiannon just let rip with her new drum set...!


Despite feeling a natural nostalgia for family and home, we can honestly say that this was a fantastic Christmas, and hopefully the beginning of new traditions for us here.

Here's raising a glass to you all, as the sun sets on our Christmas and rises on yours. Cheers!

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What a brilliant day. The kids have been suitably hyped up by us both and can't wait to get to bed!

The one downside was the heat. Every now and again a westerly wind appears and it's unbelievable. It feels like you're in a tumble dryer as the wind is so hot. We struggled in the house so we decided to go to a restaurant close by because we know their air-con is set too low...should be perfect for newbies like us, right? Nope. Within 10 minutes of ordering our food there was a power cut and the kitchens made the restaurant hotter than outside !!

Sian and Rhiannon had rehearsed for weeks for an evening Christmas Mass today which was fabulous. The church was overfull, with people like me just turning up at this time of year just to soak up the atmosphere. Both girls were "angels" in the mass and had tinsel in their hair. Sian was her usual perfectly well behaved self, whereas Rhiannon was also her usual self and
made everyone laugh by pulling faces and elbowing her friend next to her. Angel, my foot! Where does she get it from?


After Mass it was a quick drive down to the local jetty where we were met with about 500 other families. What for? Santa was arriving by boat to throw sweets at the children and there was a mad rush as his boat appeared around the bay, complete with loud music. It set the scene perfectly, as the kids knew that Santa was in town and they had to get to bed pronto.









We quickly went to Anne and Kel's house for a lovely meal and to exchange gifts. I'm getting into the Aussie way of thinking at the moment - my main gift from them was a large cool box (for keeping grub and beer cold) called an Esky and a fishing rod. Even Rhiannon has her own rod at the moment, Gareth had a big car and Sian received a jewellry box.


Bed time was swift for the sproggs, no messing around except for setting some carrots and a pail of water for the reindeers. Still hot tonight though...

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Hi everyone, this entry is just to say Merry Christmas to everyone back home in the UK and Ireland.

We're thinking of you all constantly at this time of year - to be honest it's a bit of an emotional roller-coaster. We're torn between wanting to be back with you all, and wishing that you could all come here and spend some time with us next to the pool.

Gina and I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who helped us make this move possible. You've been so supportive about this adventure of ours, even though it has taken so long to happen. Sorry for putting you all through it!

We feel so lucky to have so many friends and family back home thinking about us - fortunate also to have so many fond memories of previous Christmas'. This move would just not have been possible without help, whether it was buying our furniture and cars, buying our house, topping up our hangovers, gifts and messages of support - they all counted and are very much appreciated. Sometimes, we were totally overwhelmed with your support and generosity....

Parents/Grandparents are especially missed at this time of year - just letting you know that the little ones are coping better than us but you're in their minds too, especially as we have photographs of family all over our house!

Something weird happened today in the local shopping centre. The kids saw Santa while I waited outside. Before I knew it I was being called in. Why? Santa only had the strongest Welsh accent I've ever heard, and he wanted to meet me because he recognised that the kid's names were all Welsh. It turns out that Santa was from Rhondda, just a few miles from where I was born...I had a lump in my throat as I was walking back to the car.

Here are some photos of the last few weeks before we left the UK, click an image if you want to see a larger version of the picture:


Happy Christmas to you all.
Nadolig Llawen.
Nollaig Shona.

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Hooray! All our belongings from the UK arrived today !

You can't believe what a difference this is going to make - we've been sleeping on the floor for the past 2 months and now we have a bed. Our furniture, crockery, bikes, desktop computer, mirrors and pictures all help to make this rented accommodation more homely, and just in time for Chrimbo too....

Gina was her usual mad self and was whizzing around the place sorting through everything while I was working. Where does she get the energy from?

Oh yeah, my whisky collection has also arrived and will be receiving some special attention from me over this festive period. As for Christmas spirit? Santa can have port instead this year...

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I took Rhiannon and Sian fishing again this evening, it's becoming a regular thing, and a great way to wind down after work.

It's only a 5 minute walk to the local jetty and we shared a small rod between the three of us.

We didn't catch any fish but we got loads of bites and little fish scoffed almost all of our bait. I think we need to be casting a little further out. The girls are pretty good at casting now and don't mind handing me bait to hook on for them.

Just before we left a large pelican flew in and swam close to us for a look. For a laugh I threw him some bait (whiting) and we almost fell over laughing when he opened up his huge beak and caught it! That was it, the fishing came to an abrupt end as the girls lobbed food his way for the next ten minutes - great fun!

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Sunday night was brilliant. There was a carol service on the other side of the lake in a place called Speers Point. We all jumped into Kel's boat and motored over there for 7:30. We had a great meal and wine on the boat while listening to the carols. Kel had a bit of a fright when the water police were skimming around the harbour checking the boat licenses which he had left behind...luckily they went past us with a wave so we cracked open some beer to celebrate...

The kids loved it, driving the boat, climbing into the hold, throwing tomatoes overboard and the obligatory use of the boat toilet...."dad, I need a poo" - ask your mother, little fella, dad's got his hands full at the moment...

The fireworks were due to go off at 8:30, but when 10pm came and the kids were fast asleep in the hold the natives started to get restless. Foghorns, flashing lights and shouts soon hurried the singers along and the proper night could start at last. I managed to rouse Rhiannon and she had a great time with us watching a superb display over the water.

The trip back took ages, it was almost midnight, and we had to find Kel's small "tin" boat to take us back the last 5 minutes to the mooring - I don't know how he managed it because it was so dark.

This looks like it could be the start of a Christmas tradition. Might have to buy a boat...

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After yesterday's excitement with buying the land, we couldn't wait to go back to see the house that we're going to build. The show home is about 30 minutes drive away, and we even managed to get the kids excited by telling them that they could see their new bedrooms.

The house has four big bedrooms, and we intend to convert the downstairs study into another bedroom with its own bathroom and shower. It has a double garage, formal living area, dining room, kitchen, family living area and an extra room that's called a "rumpus" room over here (basically a place where you can lock the sproggs in !)

Upstairs has another family living area with room for sofas and entertainment such as a tele and hifi and four bedrooms. There is also a balcony upstairs too. Here are some pics:

Downstairs study-soon-to-be-grandparents-bedroom...

Formal living area for posh people like us...

Here's a photo of the kitchen (this was taken from their website)...

Here's a picture of the front of the house (again, from their website)...

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It's been another busy week. Today we officially placed a holding deposit on some land ! The land is about 600sq metres with a slight slope. It is in quite an elevated position in a completely new development.

We have been looking for what seems ages now for the right plot to come along as level blocks are fairly rare in this area, but the house we have decided to buid requires an almost level building area.

How long will all this take? Good question, the land needs to be "registered" and this doesn't take place until February 2006. After this, the house may take up to 10 months to build...this means that we could be in our very own house just in time for next Christmas ... you're ALL invited !!

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I spent a very enjoyable day sea fishing on Thursday - took the day off work and left the house at 5:30am, armed with sandwiches towels and a big tub of factor 30 suncream.

It was blisteringly hot, and four of us left Toronto at 6am after booking the main Swansea swingbridge to be opened at 7am. We finally anchored about 18 kilometres from shore and spent all day pulling in nanoguys and snappers.

It wasn't too choppy, but I still had a moment when I was a little "ill" over the side of the boat much to everyone else's amusement. The smell of diesel, prawns, squid and cigarette smoke couldn't have helped, nor the fact that it was 35 degrees with a nice big swell in the sea...

My sandwiches didn't look too appealing but luckily the sea got a little calmer in the afternoon so after tucking in it was back to studying the fish radar (!) to see where the shoals were hiding. We anchored over an old boat wreck where the water was about 100 metres deep, and at one stage we were hauling in fish every cast!

By the time we got back we were all exhausted, but not too tired to put the BBQ on. After doing the hunter-gatherer bit, I then finished off the evening by cooking the snapper in foil with lemon juice. Superb...

Bathtime was a perfect end to the day - kebabs and beer too !!

Gina spoils me sometimes....

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What a busy day...we got up at 5:30 to catch the early train into Sydney. Having rushed out of the house half dressed and still eating cereal we arrived at the train station only to be told that there was a bus service instead because of work on the line. It meant a two hour exciting journey on a double-decker train was going to take three sticky hours on a bus. No thanks, I don't think so! We decided to drive down instead and we got there in under 2 hours. It's fantastic to see the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge again, the kids love it too.



Rather than drive straight into the city, we parked a few miles out and decided to take a ferry across into the main harbour, right next to the Opera House. It was only about a 5 minute crossing but well worth it.


One of the main reasons for the trip to Sydney was to let the kids see Santa. We were recommended to go to a store called David Jones, and so withn a quick 10 minute hike we were there. It was magical, a proper grotto complete with carousels, talking trees (!), fairies, lucky dips and the obligatory 1 hour queue...It turned out very well, Santa looked the part as he was very jolly, fat and a classic Aussie accent. He was very funny and I even got a chance to sit on his knee too...

We then spent a few hours walking around the centre of the city. It really is a fantastic place, fairly easy to walk around with loads of street entertainers, classy shops and restaurants, arcades, parks and the constant view of the monorail overhead. For those newbies like us there are City Rangers in every street who are people that you can ask directions. We went to a brilliant old building, called the Queen Victoria Building, often called the QVB. It's over 150 years old, which is old for Sydney, and is breathtaking inside. It is just huge, with 4 stories with balconies on each level so that you can see other levels at all times. With its large open central that is used this time of year to place the biggest Christmas tree we've ever seen - it covers all floors with the star in the roof.

From QVB, we walked to a place called Darling Harbour. It's just around the corner from the main harbour, and it has a very relaxed and chic feel to it. We had lunch outside then took the kids to a great park, complete with sand pits and waterways to splash in.

By the time we got back to the ferry for the trip back to the car our feet were aching and Gareth was in such a deep sleep that he completely missed the return trip on the sea.

It's always a sign of a good day when the kids sleep on the way home and crawl into bed once we open the front door. To top it all, Gina has just finished cooking me a steak dinner and I can hear the wine being opened....... I'll raise a glass to you all, Iechyd Da!

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Here's a quick snap of Gareth having fun at his local playgroup. It's held in the grounds of Sian and Rhiannon's school every Friday morning. It's a really peaceful setting, a wooden hall set in the middle of a forest of gum trees. The smell is wonderful as he runs over the eucalyptus leaves chasing lizards back under the hall.

There are lots of kids at the same age as him, and many will go on to the same school.

As you can see, he seems to enjoy his time there!

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Gina leaves Gareth alone with Anne in her kitchen for ten minutes and look what happens!!!

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Phew! It's averaged 35 degrees over the past few days and the wind is warmer than a tumble-dryer.

It was so hot in my office in the house today that I sent Gina out to the local store to buy an air-conditioning unit - over $900, ouch !

The kids are coping really well with the heat, especially at night when it doesn't get below 30 degrees at the moment. It's strange having to put sun-cream on the girls every day before they go to school but they're so used it now that they remind us if we forget.

It was so hot today that the kids didn't even want to go into the pool. At least the fridge is holding out which keeps the beer icy cold.

It sounds like it's a bit chilly over in the UK, we're thinking about you all especially so close to Christmas. Although its only around the corner, it doesn't seem right to see huge Santas everywhere surrounded by fake snow when everyone is walking around half-naked in the heat...

Send snow.........

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It's been over 2 months since we arrived now, and we are still getting surprised by the bugs and other animals that are surroundng us every day. The cockroaches are something that always give us a fright but we've got some terrific poison spray that kills them on contact - extremely satisifying.

Other bugs include Christmas Beetles, which are about an inch-around and fly around bumping into things with a wallop; they are forever dropping into the pool and landing on the bbq when I'm cooking steaks - again a very satisfying way to get rid of 'em...

Mosquitoes are a complete nuisance, especially as we're close to water. Each night we have to spray ourselves with anti mozzy stuff that smells like cat wee, very conducive to romantic evenings out by the pool.

Each morning as I go into my office downstairs I do a quick sweep up of all the dead bugs that have died around my desk and chair overnight including hornets, flies, spiders, ants and cockroaches....nice.

Rhiannon had an eventful day in school recently. She kept trying to interrupt her teacher who kept telling her to be quiet and sit down. But, being like Gina, she couldn't keep quiet and eventually the teacher gave up and asked her what she wanted. "Miss, there's a snake hanging from the ceiling". Sure enough, the classroom had to be evacuated while somebody came in with a ladder and scooped the offending creature away. Ah, the safety of school......

I had a fright last weekend in the garden. I was doing my weekly chores, including checking the pool filter which is inside a cubby box and about 4 foot square. I opened the lid, reached into the darkness to open the filter cap and froze.......something was looking at me.......something big, coiled and long......a nice fat snake face was sizing me up and I reckoned it could probably move faster than me. Then it moved, slowly at first, then even slower. Hang on, it had legs, a snake with legs methinks? Nope, after it stuck its tongue out (which was bright blue) we all realised that my "snake" was a harmless blue-tongued lizard; a nice big beasty that eats poisonous spiders.














It's not all bad though. Seeing pelicans flying overhead and sitting on top of lamp posts is a great sight. Kukkaburras, Rainbow-Breasted Lorikeets and other parrots such as Rosellas and Gulahs are everywhere, not to mention Butcher Birds, huge Magpies and Cuckatoos. The picture at the top was taken in our garden.

By the way, did I mention the Hunstmen spider? Take a look at the following link, Rhiannon found a whopper in our bathroom: http://www.amonline.net.au/factsheets/huntsman_spiders.htm

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Sian has written some poems this weeks, see what you think...

Fairies

Fairies can fly
adorable of course
rushing away if people are near
intelligent because they can hide
ensured!
sweet.


Nits

Nits are nuisances
Nits are masters
Nits are terrible
Nits are spell-casters.

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