Feeling hot, hot, hot

It's unusually hot for November. It got over 40 today, which in old money is over 100 - in fact 108 degrees this afternoon.

We've just enjoyed the final swim in the pool for the day. The water feels cool despite being 28 degrees. The kids have spent a lot of time in the pool today - it's been a lazy Sunday with a bit of shopping, gardening, swimming and out friends Tom & Kirsten (plus 4 kids) over for BBQ dinner. We are now waiting patiently for the Southerly change that is arriving and will drop the temperature by some 20 degrees in the next 4 hours!

James & Olivia had their school discos this week. They both had a great time. When I saw the photo below I thought James had put gel in his hair - but no, he had gone to swimming class before the disco and was still a little wet.

Friday was supposed to be a Class Play at Clontarf beach but a huge storm hit just as all the kids left school. So instead of the beach it seemed like the entire school came back to our house. When I arrived home at 5:30pm the pool was overflowing with kids - who were having a ball. Sadly another lightening storm arrived and we had to quickly get everyone out of the pool and under cover.

It really is a wild time weather-wise in Sydney at the moment. Huge swings in temperature, high winds and bush fire risks all around. Already there are fires raging in South Australia (they have had 17 days in a row above 30 degrees) and parts of NSW also have fires out of control. It is looking like a hot dry Summer - El Ninio is having it's usual effect.

Sorry if this is all a bit painful given the Winter weather many of you are now experiencing....

Ken

Rock Star life style....

One of our 40th birthday presents was a weekend away in the Hunter Valley. The weekend had several special features - no kids and a helicopter trip to lunch.

We set off on Friday morning after dropping the kids at school. By 11:15am we were enjoying our first 'tasting' at Peterson's Champagne House - the bubbly was the perfect start to our weekend. Another quick tasting followed and then we were ready for lunch - at a lovely Italian cafe.

After all the eating and drinking we were in the perfect mood for our 3:00pm massage in the Golden Door Health Spa. My massage was so relaxing I actually fell asleep - which I think is a good sign.

After a relax by the pool we prepared ourselves for yet more indulgence at Rock - the best restaurant in the Hunter Valley - and one of the best in NSW. You can see the menu we enjoyed at http://www.rockrestaurant.com.au/default.asp?page=/menu We had the Dinner Menu.

We slept well on Friday night.

Saturday was really more of the same - but the highlight arrived at 12:00. Our helicopter may have been small, but it was great fun. A 15 minute flight over the nearby mountain took us to the small village of Broke, and Margan vineyard. This small vineyard produces an excellent range of wine and has a superb restaurant. After the compulsory wine tasting we settled in for our 3 hour lunch - enjoying a series of tasting plates washed down with their own white wine (Semillon). Highlights of lunch included Belly Pork with Cherries and Zuchini Flowers stuffed with goats curd.

Just on 3:30 our helicopter arrived to take us back to the hotel - another short but wonderful flight away.

The weekend continued to be just about perfect. Sunday was 34 degrees so we spent 2 hours by the pool, did some wine tasting, enjoyed a final lunch then drove home. I'm pleased to say that after 6 years Emma has finally started to enjoy open top motoring - and even smiled as we blasted back down the motorway with the wind in our hair.

So, all in all, a great weekend. The kids also had a blast staying with friends - so it was win-win.

The big challenge now is working out how we can afford our own helicopter. Please send donations!!!!!

Ken

Family weekend

We've almost completed a fun filled family weekend.

Saturday kicked off with Cricket - another win for the Kookaburra's and a solid performance from James - another 11 runs and a wicket. One of his team mates Billy got a hat-trick - each time clean bowling the opposition. This is no mean feat as the kids struggle to get good accuracy - so hitting the stumps three times in a row deservedly got Billy man-of-the-match.

Saturday afternoon felt a bit touristy. We headed down to Manly for ice-cream and the surf festival. The first few photos above show the event - the surf was a little messy but it was still fun to wander round and the kids certainly enjoyed the ice-cream.

We had a lazy afternoon tidying up, gardening followed by a dip in the pool and a Star Wars DVD.

Today we went for an adventure. We decided to cycle to Manly - and then hope the kids would make it back. After getting Olivia a new helmet and waiting for the rain to stop - we headed off. We made it to Manly in one-piece having stopped at a friend on the way. We timed our lunch stop to perfection as the rain got pretty heavy for a while - thankfully we could watch if from the cafe. Finally we set off back to home - all uphill. Despite a couple of minor falls from James & Olivia we made it back to Seaforth - to Deb & Ben's house. Tea & cake were just what we needed for the final few hills.

A great family day - the kids are just out the bath and we're now going to finish the weekend off with a game of trivial pursuit (Disney DVD edition).

More soon.

Ken

p.s. It cooled down from Tuesday's highs - a mere 22 degrees today.

Just a quick mid-week entry

As I said on Sunday - it feels like summer has arrived.

If you need proof....my iPhone does not lie...it's a scorcher. Actually peaked at 39.5 per my car.

Has Summer arrived?

It certainly felt like Summer this weekend, despite technically still being Spring.

Saturday saw the first Cricket Match of the season for the Kookaburras. James opened the batting along side Alex Cowan and finished joint-top run scorer with 11 runs from his 3 overs of batting - including a great 4. His bowling was a bit mixed but he got a wicket with a good run-out - he hit the stumps with a throw from a good pick up. The team won - which is a great way to start the season.

Saturday night was Halloween. Some American friends had a bit of a party - all the kids and most of the adults dressed up. James was an evil Jedi night and Olivia was a witch. Emma went as a witch (I told her the dress up was not really required for that look but....). The kids had a great time and finished up with 'trick-or-treating' in a nearby street. They both now have a small bucket overflowing with sweets.

Given the glorious weather we decided to hit the beach today. It was about 27 degrees when we got to Queenscliff and despite the wind we were all soon splashing in the water. James, after some initial reluctance, got into the swing of it and was soon body boarding with Stuart Hoffman and playing football with me. Olivia spent most of the time trying to surf with Quinn - they both stood on a board in the shallow water until a wave came along and knocked them over. This was very amusing as they did it at least 200 times. Emma won the bravery award by having a proper swim - I wimped out at waist deep as the water was still very cold.

The two videos below show James & Olivia attempting to 'sand board' - basically surfing on the sand. James got the hang of it a little more than Olivia did.

The afternoon was a bit more like a normal weekend - Olivia had a party and I did some gardening and then we all had dinner in Manly with the Hoffmans.

A great weekend - shame it has to come to an end.