A lazy Sunday

This weekend has been fairly wet and rather cold - so we've spent a lot of time in-doors.

After spending a whole week in Melbourne I was glad to get back to Sydney and was looking forward to a weekend of Soccer - however the rain got in the way with James and my games both washed-out.

After a lazy Saturday Emma & I went to see Bjorn Again - an ABBA imitation band along with another 10 friends and a crowd of 5,000 we danced the night away. Our friend John got a bit scared when a group of 40'something women out for a good night decided he should be at the centre of their dance routine. John survived unscathed...just.

Sunday was more of the same - breakfast in Manly, short walk, lots of games in the house. The kids have made body part models using playdough moulds and pollyfilla. On the next blog I'll get them to show you their Ear, Hand, Feet and my nose - they have worked out well.

We then moved on to face painting - as the photographs show. The kids also painted me but there is no way I am putting the photograph on the blog!

Emma & the kids are now watching The Sound of Music and I can already hear the kids starting to sing-along. Finally Olivia might stop singing Mamma Mia all the time!

More soon - probably from Vietnam.

Ken

Good Morning Vietnam

Yes, on Friday we finally head off to Vietnam and as a result the Blog updates may be a little less frequent (unless Emma lets me spend time in an Internet cafe).

So what you may ask are we doing in Vietnam...our itinerary is as follows:

Sat 27th. We fly to Kuala Lumpur then on to Hanoi - arriving Saturday afternoon.

Sun 28th. Hanoi - looking round old quarter, visiting some markets

Mon 29th Hanoi - Water Puppet Theatre, Ho Tay Lake

Tues 30th Hanoi - History museum, relaxing

Wed 1st Hanoi - temple of Literature (This is the first official day of the Tour)

Thurs 2nd Halong Bay - a swim in the China Sea and overnight on a boat

Friday 3rd - Halong Bay - sail around the area, more swimming and exploring caves then back to Hanoi.

Sat 4th - Hue - After overnight on sleeper train, arrive in Hue - visit Emporors Tomb and Citadel

Sun 5th - Hue - Perfume River trip and some chill-out time

Mon 6th - 4 hour drive from Hue to Hoi An visiting China Beach, Hai Van Pass and Marble Mountain

Tues 7th - Hoi An - this is supposed to be a Shopping Mecca....new suits for all

Wed 8th Hoi An - cycling trip then relaxing on the beach

Thurs 9th Nha Tran - short 1 hour flight then chill out by pool

Frid 10th Nha Trang - full day boat cruise and stop at a private island for lunch

Sat 11th Nha Trang - chill out day - head to beach

Sun 12th Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) - 1 hour flight then hit Be Thanh Market and chill by pool

Mon 13th Ho Chi Minh City - Dam Sen Water Park

Tues 14th - Ken heads to Sydney and Emma & Kids head to UK

To give you a bit more of a flavour, a few photos from

the web of the places we will see.

If Ronaldo is worth 80m what is this boy worth??

Today we had a very unusual soccer match. A) James did not score and B) Our team lost. (1-2).

But on a cold winter morning (10 degrees) the kids played well and James had loads of chances to score but just could not find his accuracy today.

As ever he played his heart out and deserved a better result.

Olivia cheered from the sides.

Ken

Queens Birthday

I think we forgot to sing happy birthday to the Queen today - we were too busy enjoying a Monday holiday.

Emma & the kids hit the zoo, while I did a few hours of work in the office and went shopping for a new camera lense (see below).

This afternoon was work, work, work for Emma & I, and play, play, play for James and Olivia.

Our main achievement was chopping down a 7 metre palm tree - and chopping it up into smaller pieces.  Next time you are here the view from the lower deck should be a bit better as a result. 

James made friends with a new South African family who have moved into the street beneath us and played soccer for hours with his friends.  Olivia had Kayla over this afternoon and played with dolls and bounced on the trampoline for a long time.

I thought I should show-off the new camera lense (David - its a Tamron 18-270mm zoom).  The shots below taken from the balcony this afternoon demonstrate the wide range it provides.  We wanted this for the Vietnam trip (which will be the subject of the next blog).

Olivia

I stumbled upon this clip of Olivia - I posted a photo of this last week.  She is making Anzac biscuits with Emma.

A typical Winter weekend in Sydney

After several weeks of unusually cold, wet and windy weather, Sydney returned to normal.  It's Winter now and after 10 years we have got used to this time of year.  20-24 degree days, blue sky, cool winds.  This is a great time for walks and bike rides.

Despite this being a long weekend (Queens Birthday for the Brits who don't really celebrate this) James & I still had soccer.   Due to recent rains James had a late cancellation so we arranged a 'friendly' against some of his friends.  James and his team played in the red t-shirts and had great fun for an hour against many of their school friends.  I think the score was 6-6 when we finally made them stop, sit down and have cold drink.

James & Olivia had sleep-overs last night while the Parents headed out to the Sydney Football Stadium to watch Australia v The Barbarians (A kind client provided me with the tickets).  The ladies would have no idea what the score was as they spent the entire 80 minutes 'chatting'.  They did not miss much as the rugby was very dull and one-sided (Australia won 55-7).  It was a good night out though with Nigel & Helen and Tom & Kirsten which ended with all of us in BBQ King eating Peking Duck and drinking lots of wine.

For those of you who we have not taken to BBQ King, it is a great experience.  It has to be one of the dingiest and worst looking Chinese restaurants in Sydney.  The formica tables are all chipped and wobbly, the lino on the floor is disgusting and the walls have been needing a fresh coat of paint for at least 20 years.  BUT the food is good and the Peking Duck is their speciality.  Thanks to the internet you can see what I mean.

Today is Sunday and Emma & I enjoyed a long lie in bed (the benefits of kids sleepovers) and once we finally got out of bed around 9:30am we spent 2-3 hours at the Manly Food & Wine Festival.  In between tasting the wines and eating lots of Thai food we also bumped into Kim & John, Brenda & Phil, Kathy & Craig and more.  It was a popular destination today.

Now we are heading off to Lenka & Jules house for a curry.  As you can see it has been a really tough weekend here in Sydney!

Ken