Avoca Beach

Yesterday we took a drive up north to visit Tilly and her family near Avoca... then went down to the beach for lunch and a swim.

While we were waiting for the food, Keira and Claire took turns with the camera... Here's a couple of shots from Keira.

Here's Tilly with Chris and Ashley.

Here's Tilly...last time the girls were together, they were quite a bit smaller... which you can see here...

The girls got along nicely, and Matilda helped point out all the features of her local beach.

Before a pre-lunch rest.

Keira loved the swings... As did Claire and Tilly.

Just a pose...

Our growing photographer...

Naturally Keira...

Finally we got down to the beach, which was beautifully clear and clean...

Claire even had a go on Chris's board...

She's already a better surfer than her daddy.

And some videos to show her skills... Chris and Ashley were so good with Claire... hopefully when we are living here they'll offer some more lessons...

Merry Christmas Sydney...

After the hype of the move...we arrived safely in Sydney last week to view our new home for the first time (at least first time for the girls)...  And what better way to see it than all decorated for Christmas...

Christmas morning, and Auntie Karen and Uncle Brian came around with Tyler... here's a very rare photo of Tyler and Brian...

And our happy little girls with their brand new chairs...

Doing what they seem to love best... watching tv...

So far this week, the girls have been lucky enough to go with grandma and grandad to the Wiggles exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum...

Apparently they spent quite a long time in this red car...

The next day, they headed to the Manly Aquarium...

Where Claire tried to make her mouth as big as this shark's mouth.

Followed by a swim in the pool.

It was a little cold for Keira (and daddy must admit, it was shockingly cold when you jump in!).

Much nicer to be wrapped up in a towel.

The other thing the girls have loved is bouncing on their new trampoline (thank you grandma and grandad)...

A great addition to the backyard, and a nice way to warm up after a swim.

They both absolutely love it.

Today, we headed to Freshwater Beach...  So the kids had a nap in the car...

Which makes for a nice peaceful drive for mummy and daddy.

A beautiful day for a play on the beach.

Though it would seem mummy and daddy forgot the girls swimsuits.

Mummy got stuck with the towels while daddy splashed with the girls.

Packing, playing and Snowing (?)

Well here we are...in 9 hours the Beaver's will be officially leaving Singapore.  Yes, we will be back in early January (for around 24 hours), but that doesn't count as we'll be tourists then.

These last couple of days have been quite hectic, and the photos don't tell the half of it...but here goes.

Claire with Ie Merry posing with what looks like a 'Go Gaga' display.

After Day 1 of the packing...and the house is still full...

Day 2 and the container is here (well, parked around the block at least)...

We must have a thing green containers... though this one won't end up sitting in Grandma and Grandad's driveway for years!

After the packing was all done, Sierra and her mummy came around to say farewell (but not after a great deal of running around like crazy in the empty house).  It's amazing how much sound travels in an empty house.

Today, to try and get the girls to have a good day, we headed to SingKids, a playground at VivoCity.

Claire managed to jump onto the swing stools... (almost knocking a lady over as she swung around!)

Both girls loved the balloon room though... what a cool idea.

We took the train one last time...

Before going back to the hotel for a rest...

Alas, as soon as Keira saw the camera, she was ready to pose (followed by her now trademark "let me see it")...

She is a very cheeky little girl :)

Tonight we headed to Tanglin Mall for their annual snow show... First we had cakes at a new cafe in town, Brunetti (which our friends tell us is a great Melbourne establishment)...mummy and daddy had to sample a few of their small cakes...which were very yummy... but back to the kids.

Here's a rather close close-up of Claire.

The girls, waiting for the fun to begin.

Gasper and Joshua (and their mums) joined in on the fun...and as it was all mummies, daddy got to stay dry and hold the bags...

 Which, when you consider how much foam there is, is quite a good thing.

Claire and Gasper deep in foam / snow.

Now Claire & Joshua... 

Finally Keira, who whilst hesitant at first, finally got into the spirit of the night.

Daddy stood a safe distance away and took some pictures of the crowd.

And one which looks rather historical...

The night ended with a hug between mums, and a big hug from Claire to Gasper and Joshua.  Claire exclaimed to them how much she is going to miss them.  Seeing her say goodbye almost brought mummy and daddy to tears... But we are all excited about the path ahead...