I've just been going through our little digital camera (which we don't often use) and clearing off some photos and have found some really lovely ones that I had to share with you. They are mostly of Bec, Jade and Terry's visit (though strangely Terry doesn't feature in any of the pics! Think we took those ones with Joel's proper camera!). There are also some pics from my trip to Greece with Mum and Dad this summer.
So here they are!
Saturday, October 02, 2010
Girls Weekend in Oslo
(Note: This blog was written earlier this week!) I just returned from a lovely weekend away with Louise in Oslo. We decided that the blokes are always off here or there on boys trips and seeing as Joel was offshore this would be a perfect time to get away for a girls' weekend! We looked into London but the flights were too expensive, so Oslo was our next best option. We went to a concert on Friday night, Amy McDonald. It was a venue called Sentrum Scene, a fantastic venue, really small and intimate, and even short asses like Louise and I had a perfect view!! Amy McDonald is a really great Scottish singer/songwriter, she has a fantastic, unique voice and great songs. You may know her songs This is the Life http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6MRYLWJb1o&feature=channel and Mr Rock and Roll http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tR7SdaXHPH4&feature=channel. She's great, buy her albums!
We did some shopping on Saturday morning and then went to a pub on Saturday afternoon to watch the St Kilda v Collingwood grand final "live". The actual result was known by about 10am on Saturday morning but I switched my phone off and managed to avoid finding out the result. The Aussies out there of course know the outcome of that saga - the scores were even at full time, and unlike most other sports, a drawn grand final means a rematch the following week. It was such an exciting, nerve wracking, depressing, inspiring game of football, I was absolutely beside myself for most of the game. Poor Louise - I'm impressed she didn't leave the pub after my carrying on! It was actually Louise's first game of AFL football (she grew up in the States but spent most of the last 10 years in the UK) so I definitely blame her Aussie husband Charles for leaving her this long in the dark. Louise is a fan of rugby and cricket, so I reckon it's a matter of time before we get her hooked onto AFL!
Dinner at a lovely French bistro Saturday night, then Massages on Sunday, lunch at Aker Brygge and we met up with some of Louise and Charles' friends in the afternoon for a while. We had a ball, thoroughly enjoyable and just the right mix of activities and relaxation! So thanks Louise for being a great travel buddy!
Update Today (Saturday 2nd October)
Baby - We've hit the 20 week mark now with the pregnancy, everything is going well. Next ultrasound was postponed until the end of next week so Joel could be there. Really looking forward to seeing Baby again!
Football - I don't want to talk about it.
Joel - Still off shore, finishing up the last few things at the field and will start heading back soon. Hopefully home Monday night, maybe Tuesday at the latest.
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| Amy McDonald playing at Sentrum Scene, Oslo |
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| Game (GF1) about to start |
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| Me and Louise at the pub about to watch the GF1 |
Meanwhile Joel is now up to day 24 offshore, working like a trooper doing really long hours and having to deal with lots of issues due to bad weather. AT this time of year the wind and waves can really pick up and cause a lot of issues for the cranes onboard the ships to lift the heavy equipment off the sea bed and into position. They are doing a lot of Waiting On Weather which at this stage of the project, in what should be the final days/week it's extremely frustrating. They just want to get the job done and get home. His return date may be this Sunday but could very easily stretch into early next week. But there's not much we can do about it, we're at the whim of the weather, so we're just hoping for some calmer seas and good progress out at BP Valhall.
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| Cooba is missing his daddy |
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| Bump Watch 18 Weeks (2 weeks ago) ....and new hair! |
Baby - We've hit the 20 week mark now with the pregnancy, everything is going well. Next ultrasound was postponed until the end of next week so Joel could be there. Really looking forward to seeing Baby again!
Football - I don't want to talk about it.
Joel - Still off shore, finishing up the last few things at the field and will start heading back soon. Hopefully home Monday night, maybe Tuesday at the latest.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
A sign of good things to come?
Well this little baby of ours is already showing some good signs of being a very compliant and obedient little one, and upon it’s mother’s request for it to ‘get a wriggle on’, has done just that. In the last week or so I’ve gone from feeling some very faint little movements and the very occasional little kick or poke, to these days being able to feel more and more movement. Every day now I can feel him/her wiggling around and it is absolutely thrilling each and every time. Perhaps the novelty will wear off (I doubt it), but feeling our baby moving around is just so reassuring (it’s alive!) and really feels like things are progressing.
Tomorrow will be the 18 week mark according to our current due date and that makes us 2 weeks away from the half way point. That in itself is something I have to wrap my head around as in one way it feels like the time has flown, but on the other hand the weeks have dragged by at a snail’s pace!
Due to a pretty poor weather forecast over the rest of this week, Joel’s ship has come back to the port nearby to pick up some more equipment and shelter from the rough seas. He arrived in yesterday morning and was able to leave the ship at about 6:30pm to come home for a few hours to see Cooba and me. He’s working 12+ hour shifts on the boat (6am – 6pm). The ship will probably be at port until some time Friday night so he’ll hopefully be able to do the same thing again tonight. He prefers to sleep on the ship which is completely understandable – if he stayed at home he’d have to get back to the ship by taxi by about 5.30am. Plus he really needs to be ‘on call’ in case something happens during the night shift and he’s needed.
It’s so fantastic to be able to see him, such a treat and not something we had expected. It really does break up the 4 week stint to have a couple of evenings together half way through. I was really hoping that Baby would be cooperative and try out a few good kicks so Joel could feel it, but even with the patience of a saint and plenty of poking, prodding and verbal encouragement, we couldn’t get him/her moving. I’m pretty sure though that by the time Joel gets back from this offshore trip he should be able to feel the baby moving. It will be amazing to be able to share that together and it’s something we’re both really looking forward to.
Joel was also able to check out all the loot I picked up at the Stavanger Kids Sale last weekend http://www.stavangerkids.no/ and he was so happy with everything I chose. Among other things I bought a cot, travel cot, car seat with base, baby monitor, auto breast pump, baby bjørn, bouncinette, lots of clothes (onesies galore, sleeping clothes, socks), burping cloths, wraps. We need a change table, a bath and a mattress and some linen for the cot (which Mum is going to make for us – thanks Mum!) and then I think we’ve got most of the basics sorted out. I think I saved about 2/3 of what it would have cost to buy it all new. I’m also hunting online for a rocking chair for the nursery. We’ll have heaps of space in there and I always sort of liked the idea of using that for cuddles and maybe feeding. But we’ll see what comes up on http://www.finn.no/.
Tomorrow will be the 18 week mark according to our current due date and that makes us 2 weeks away from the half way point. That in itself is something I have to wrap my head around as in one way it feels like the time has flown, but on the other hand the weeks have dragged by at a snail’s pace!
Due to a pretty poor weather forecast over the rest of this week, Joel’s ship has come back to the port nearby to pick up some more equipment and shelter from the rough seas. He arrived in yesterday morning and was able to leave the ship at about 6:30pm to come home for a few hours to see Cooba and me. He’s working 12+ hour shifts on the boat (6am – 6pm). The ship will probably be at port until some time Friday night so he’ll hopefully be able to do the same thing again tonight. He prefers to sleep on the ship which is completely understandable – if he stayed at home he’d have to get back to the ship by taxi by about 5.30am. Plus he really needs to be ‘on call’ in case something happens during the night shift and he’s needed.
It’s so fantastic to be able to see him, such a treat and not something we had expected. It really does break up the 4 week stint to have a couple of evenings together half way through. I was really hoping that Baby would be cooperative and try out a few good kicks so Joel could feel it, but even with the patience of a saint and plenty of poking, prodding and verbal encouragement, we couldn’t get him/her moving. I’m pretty sure though that by the time Joel gets back from this offshore trip he should be able to feel the baby moving. It will be amazing to be able to share that together and it’s something we’re both really looking forward to.
Joel was also able to check out all the loot I picked up at the Stavanger Kids Sale last weekend http://www.stavangerkids.no/ and he was so happy with everything I chose. Among other things I bought a cot, travel cot, car seat with base, baby monitor, auto breast pump, baby bjørn, bouncinette, lots of clothes (onesies galore, sleeping clothes, socks), burping cloths, wraps. We need a change table, a bath and a mattress and some linen for the cot (which Mum is going to make for us – thanks Mum!) and then I think we’ve got most of the basics sorted out. I think I saved about 2/3 of what it would have cost to buy it all new. I’m also hunting online for a rocking chair for the nursery. We’ll have heaps of space in there and I always sort of liked the idea of using that for cuddles and maybe feeding. But we’ll see what comes up on http://www.finn.no/.
Friday, September 10, 2010
The view from Joel's home/office
This is where Joel will be spending most of the next 3 weeks out at sea – on a vessel at the BP Valhall oil field. It’s in the North Sea, between the UK and Norway. The 10m seas that he experienced transiting from picking up the equipment in the UK and getting out to the field have calmed down, and from the picture below it looks like it’s quite pleasant out there indeed!
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| Map showing the position of the BP Valhall field |
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| BP Valhall taken with Joel's phone camera |
Thursday, September 09, 2010
Reflections of Motherhood
This post on mamamia (http://www.mamamia.com.au/) came at a very opportune time. Today is Regina and Ulf's baby's due date (http://www.misshermelin.blogspot.com/), 2 nights ago I felt our baby move for the first time (2 little pokes, amazing! Nothing since but you can bet I'm on the look out!). So motherhood is really on my mind. I don't know if its the hormones or the day or maybe I'm missing Joel and my sister and my mum, but I cried my way through this video this morning over my toast and coffee! I hope you enjoy it too.
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
An interesting visitor – 52 marathons in 52 weeks
I was first a bit sceptical – we’ve had quite a lot of visitors this summer which has been fantastic, but I must say Joel and I were quite enjoying having the house to ourselves once again. Hosting a marathon running stranger wasn’t exactly high on our ‘to do’ list that weekend! But then I took a look at his website (http://www.runlikecrazy.com/) and read a bit about his mission, and wow, did I change my tune.
The guy’s name is Tristan Miller. He’s about my age, grew up in Melbourne, and quite likes to run. He decided to sell his apartment and all his worldly belongings to fund a year-long mission to travel the world and run 52 marathons in 52 weeks. He’s raising money for charity (Unicef and Facing Africa). His marathon in Stavanger was his 34th. Joel and I agreed that Tristan was doing something pretty special and we would be really happy to help him and his mate John (An Aussie living in Sweden joining him for part of the trip) with some accommodation.
Tristan has been running marathons all over the world, from Tokyo to Mongolia, Rwanda, South Africa, the Great Wall of China…you name it, he’s run it (or is about to run it). It’s quite remarkable, but honestly what really struck me after meeting him is that running the marathon is not even half of it. In a way that’s the easy bit! Can you imagine crisscrossing the world many times over, spending no more than a few days in any one place, having to work out flight plans, train and bus timetables, travel visas, hotels, maintaining clean jocks and socks, just all of the logistics and headaches and flying-by-the-seat-of-your-pants exhaustion that must come from spending a year travelling? Add to that the physical and mental exhaustion of running a marathon every single week…I just find that utterly amazing and inspiring.
I wanted to help Tristan generate a bit of publicity for his cause. I contacted a couple of local newspapers and managed to get a pretty good response, Rogalands Avis ran almost a full page article on him as well as a snippet on the front page http://www.rogalandsavis.no/nyheter/article5254795.ece. Stavanger Aftenblad ran about a quarter page article in their sports section. Not bad for a PR novice hey?! A TV2 film crew also arrived (through one of Tristan’s connections – I can’t claim that one!) and did a great story for the Saturday night sports news http://www.tv2sporten.no/ovrig/maratonmannen-foeler-seg-som-forrest-gump-3276858.html. Joel also took some fantastic photos. For Tristan, having a photographic and video record of the trip is hugely important. He is getting about with his little digital camera but Joel’s Digital SLR with fancy lenses and filters provided some great pics which Tristan took with him.
What was also special about this particular weekend was that Tristan was running the Stavanger marathon on Saturday, then leaving on a 6pm flight to Denmark, taking a bus down to a ferry port, and then taking an overnight ferry to a little island called Bornholm to run an Ultra Marathon – that is 100kms after travelling all night. The man ran 142km over a weekend. That is just mind blowing.
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| Tristan at the finish line, Stavanger Marathon |
We spent a bit of time with Tristan before and after the race. He’s a fantastic guy, and not nearly as crazy as you’d think! He’s basically a normal guy who’s been given some great (but also fairly “normal” – not unlike you or I) opportunities in life, who found himself in a bit of a rut and decided to just turn it all around, to think big and do something amazing. That was really his message – that you can do anything you set your mind to it if you set a goal and then go about planning the steps it takes to achieve it.
Joel and I have been really proud to help Tristan out over the weekend with hopefully a welcoming smile, some good food and a warm, comfortable bed to sleep in for a night. I hope the publicity helps him get the attention he wants for the charities he’s supporting. We’ve also donated a small amount to Unicef in his ‘everyday hero’ appeal. I also know that each and every donation is so appreciated by Tristan, he was reading his twitter “runlikecrazy” and checking the Unicef donation page and commented about how thrilled he was that people had been inspired by his self-proclaimed “Captain InsanO” double-up marathon/ultra weekend and were making donations.
It was a really interesting weekend, and definitely one that we felt great about – it’s fantastic to every now and then open yourself up to new people and experiences and to give something of yourself and your time to help someone else. However I’d argue that we were really the beneficiaries as we really felt like we’d been part of something special and important. We truly wish Tristan all the best for the months ahead and the many kilometres still to run. He plans to finish up with an ultra marathon in Antarctica (!!) and his final run will be in Melbourne during the daytime on New Years Eve. If you’re interested to read more or get involved (maybe run with him on NYE!) I highly recommend his website http://www.runlikecrazy.com/.
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| L-R John, Tristan, myself and Joel |
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| Bump Watch, 16 weeks |
Monday, September 06, 2010
Get a move on Baby!!
So I’m 16 weeks and 3 days along now. From what I’ve been reading and hearing from friends, it is around the 16th week that I could start to feel the baby. It’s been described variously as bubbles, a flutter or the feeling like a snake or something in your belly that slithers around. Nice image hey?! The midwife told me the best way to feel it is to lie tummy down with a soft cushion under my stomach. Mari has said she feels it best when lying on her back on a hard surface and applying some gentle pressure to the uterus. Naturally I’m trying both those positions daily but without much success! I have to stop myself from dashing off from my desk into an empty meeting room to lie on my back and press on my stomach! Can imagine how that would look to anyone who happened to walk in!
The thing is I’m told that you may not be able to feel it that often, maybe only occasionally, so if I happen to be busy or occupied when the baby decides to Get Physical I could easily miss it! In fact I may have been ‘feeling’ the movements for days but without being aware of it. Also it’s hard when you don’t know what you’re feeling for! There are so many different movements and things happening in your stomach and abdomen when you’re pregnant. Digestion takes on a life of its own, so I predict it’s actually quite difficult to distinguish between lunch bubbling around down there and baby!
I have to say I’m most looking forward to feeling the baby move as I think it will create a different kind of connection to this little 12cm, 150g person that I am apparently incubating! It’s a weird sort of feeling for me (but I’ll try to explain it), this baby is so wanted, anticipated and is something we feel we’re 100% ready for, and of course I’ve had some physical changes signalling that everything is progressing as normal. Intellectually, I know I’m pregnant and if all goes to plan we’ll welcome a baby in Feb 2011, but emotionally I think it’s a bit of a different story. It seems abstract and theoretical. I just can’t really believe sometimes that there’s a baby there. It still came as such a (wonderful) surprise to hear the baby’s heartbeat at our last check up a couple of weeks ago. I’m not worried about it as I feel that this is something that will develop naturally as the pregnancy progresses, that you start to feel that maternal bond and protectiveness. I think and hope that feeling the baby moving will jump start that process and bring this all into reality for me, that yes there really is a baby – OUR baby in there.
So Joel is offshore now for a month, so it’s just Coobs and I at home. We’re lucky to have some wonderful friends who ensured that my first solo weekend was full to the brim with heaps of fantastic visits and good times. No time to feel lonely. The weather has also been absolutely sensational, such a lovely surprise at this time of year when we expect autumn to really hit. It’s most likely the last taste of warmth and sunshine for a long time, so we’re just soaking it up as much as possible.
I devoted Saturday to spending the first part of Joel’s offshore paycheque (!) and picked up a really comfy and I think quite stylish maternity skirt by Boob http://shop.boobdesign.com/sv/product/263/gravidkjol-once-on-never-off#filter-2 and a fab pair of leggings (tete–a-tete) from the same shop. I can’t remember the name but it’s opposite Rom for Mer and has some maternity clothes upstairs. I hope to just get by with a few essentials (a capsule maternity wardrobe, in fashion-speak?), mostly focussing warmer clothes to see me through autumn and winter. I also found some gorgeous St Tropez ribbed tops made from 70% silk at O’La La in Kirkegata which are really long and quite stretchy which will be good for layering under and over other tops during the winter, but will I hope also be able to be used post-baby, unless the bump just stretches them too much!
I promise, more bump watch photos to come!
The thing is I’m told that you may not be able to feel it that often, maybe only occasionally, so if I happen to be busy or occupied when the baby decides to Get Physical I could easily miss it! In fact I may have been ‘feeling’ the movements for days but without being aware of it. Also it’s hard when you don’t know what you’re feeling for! There are so many different movements and things happening in your stomach and abdomen when you’re pregnant. Digestion takes on a life of its own, so I predict it’s actually quite difficult to distinguish between lunch bubbling around down there and baby!
I have to say I’m most looking forward to feeling the baby move as I think it will create a different kind of connection to this little 12cm, 150g person that I am apparently incubating! It’s a weird sort of feeling for me (but I’ll try to explain it), this baby is so wanted, anticipated and is something we feel we’re 100% ready for, and of course I’ve had some physical changes signalling that everything is progressing as normal. Intellectually, I know I’m pregnant and if all goes to plan we’ll welcome a baby in Feb 2011, but emotionally I think it’s a bit of a different story. It seems abstract and theoretical. I just can’t really believe sometimes that there’s a baby there. It still came as such a (wonderful) surprise to hear the baby’s heartbeat at our last check up a couple of weeks ago. I’m not worried about it as I feel that this is something that will develop naturally as the pregnancy progresses, that you start to feel that maternal bond and protectiveness. I think and hope that feeling the baby moving will jump start that process and bring this all into reality for me, that yes there really is a baby – OUR baby in there.
So Joel is offshore now for a month, so it’s just Coobs and I at home. We’re lucky to have some wonderful friends who ensured that my first solo weekend was full to the brim with heaps of fantastic visits and good times. No time to feel lonely. The weather has also been absolutely sensational, such a lovely surprise at this time of year when we expect autumn to really hit. It’s most likely the last taste of warmth and sunshine for a long time, so we’re just soaking it up as much as possible.
I devoted Saturday to spending the first part of Joel’s offshore paycheque (!) and picked up a really comfy and I think quite stylish maternity skirt by Boob http://shop.boobdesign.com/sv/product/263/gravidkjol-once-on-never-off#filter-2 and a fab pair of leggings (tete–a-tete) from the same shop. I can’t remember the name but it’s opposite Rom for Mer and has some maternity clothes upstairs. I hope to just get by with a few essentials (a capsule maternity wardrobe, in fashion-speak?), mostly focussing warmer clothes to see me through autumn and winter. I also found some gorgeous St Tropez ribbed tops made from 70% silk at O’La La in Kirkegata which are really long and quite stretchy which will be good for layering under and over other tops during the winter, but will I hope also be able to be used post-baby, unless the bump just stretches them too much!
I promise, more bump watch photos to come!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Bump Watch 10-13 Weeks
We've been promising some bump photos, it's still early days but I have made the bold move into maternity jeans and am the better for it!
This one says 11 weeks 3 days but then at our scan the date was put back exactly a week, so that would make it 10 weeks 3 days. Quite a nice belly there, but the disclaimer is that the bump size varied a lot in the first weeks depending on certain things...I won't go into detail but I'm sure every woman who has been pregnant knows exactly what I'm talking about....
The next one here is at exactly 13 weeks:
Not much difference? Yeah I agree! I'll try to wear something a bit more fitting next time so you can compare apples with apples. Anwyay, it's all coming along nicely. I'm at 14 and a bit weeks now so hope that soon I can start to feel the baby moving soon! If I'm lucky that might happen in the next week or so.
Until next time!
Emma.
This one says 11 weeks 3 days but then at our scan the date was put back exactly a week, so that would make it 10 weeks 3 days. Quite a nice belly there, but the disclaimer is that the bump size varied a lot in the first weeks depending on certain things...I won't go into detail but I'm sure every woman who has been pregnant knows exactly what I'm talking about....
Emma.
Friday, August 06, 2010
BABY IRELAND
Some Pretty Big News!
We are so excited to be able to fill everyone in on some pretty special news in our family. We will in about 6 months time have a new little person to introduce you all to! We are 12 weeks pregnant!
We had a 12 week scan on Friday and everything looks great. We’ll include some videos below from the 2D and 4D scan for those who are interested. These new release videos have been on a high rotation in the Ireland household! Everything looks great and we are just hoping for a safe, boring, normal pregnancy. Our due date is Feb 19th.
We don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl, we’ll be having the baby over here in Norway but if all goes to plan we visit Oz next year. We would love nothing more than to get to Melbourne to be part of Brett and Sam’s wedding on March 20th (and our friends Jenn and Ian who are tying the knot the day before!) but it will depend on when Ireland Junior decides to arrive, and also on the red tape involved with getting a passport for him/her. We’ll have to take that as it comes.
Everything is going really well so far and Emma has escaped the major pregnancy symptoms (nausea, tiredness etc). So far so good! We are really looking forward to the next 6 months and beyond and cannot wait to be parents!
We are so excited to be able to fill everyone in on some pretty special news in our family. We will in about 6 months time have a new little person to introduce you all to! We are 12 weeks pregnant!
We had a 12 week scan on Friday and everything looks great. We’ll include some videos below from the 2D and 4D scan for those who are interested. These new release videos have been on a high rotation in the Ireland household! Everything looks great and we are just hoping for a safe, boring, normal pregnancy. Our due date is Feb 19th.
We don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl, we’ll be having the baby over here in Norway but if all goes to plan we visit Oz next year. We would love nothing more than to get to Melbourne to be part of Brett and Sam’s wedding on March 20th (and our friends Jenn and Ian who are tying the knot the day before!) but it will depend on when Ireland Junior decides to arrive, and also on the red tape involved with getting a passport for him/her. We’ll have to take that as it comes.
Everything is going really well so far and Emma has escaped the major pregnancy symptoms (nausea, tiredness etc). So far so good! We are really looking forward to the next 6 months and beyond and cannot wait to be parents!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Emma's Bucket List
So I've been following some blogs lately, one of my latest addictions (in this instance http://www.mightygirl.com/) , and was inspired by one of the posts to start my own Bucket List, as in things I plan to do in life before I kick the.....
you get the idea.
So I'm just starting off and I'm sure will be adding to this a lot over the years (and hopefully crossing some off too). Some are lofty and expensive (...well most of them!), some are simple and free (gotta find some more of those ones!). I just thought sharing this might actually raise the stakes a bit and give me that extra motivation to get off my butt and actually achieve some of these things.
I'd love to hear if you have anything you would add to your bucket list, or if you have one of your own.
I plan to get off to a good start tonight and sign Joel and I up for child sponsorship - our wedding present to each other - which we've been meaning to do for ages. Number 38 - Tick!
you get the idea.
So I'm just starting off and I'm sure will be adding to this a lot over the years (and hopefully crossing some off too). Some are lofty and expensive (...well most of them!), some are simple and free (gotta find some more of those ones!). I just thought sharing this might actually raise the stakes a bit and give me that extra motivation to get off my butt and actually achieve some of these things.
I'd love to hear if you have anything you would add to your bucket list, or if you have one of your own.
I plan to get off to a good start tonight and sign Joel and I up for child sponsorship - our wedding present to each other - which we've been meaning to do for ages. Number 38 - Tick!
- Go on safari in
Africa - Get my PADI diving certificate
- Try snowboarding
- Skydive or bungee jump
- Make a quilt
- Learn to pick up a dropped stitch (knitting)
Bake a sponge cake(completed for Regina's baby shower)- Take a wine course
- Swim with dolphins
- Go in a hot air balloon
- Be a mum
- Start my own business
- Renovate a house
- Live by the sea
- Hike into Macchu Picchu
- Own a holiday house (other than McCrae!)
- Stop chewing/picking my nails/fingers
- See the grand canyon
- Play poker in Vegas
- See the running of the bulls in
Pamplona - Go parasailing behind a boat
- Have a walk in wardrobe
- Take a short barista course
- Own a convertible
- Sail around the
Greek Islands - Eat tapas in
Spain - See the pyramids
- Scuba dive on the
Great Barrier Reef - Grow a vegetable garden
- Have a compost bin
- Learn to stand up on a surfboard
- Sing in a choir
- Be in a murder mystery party
- See the Northern Lights
- Visit
Antarctica - Stay at a health spa
- Do a road trip along the coast in
California
Sponsor a child in need
- See Uluru at sunrise and sunset
- Eat one 100% vegetarian dinner a week
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Peru, Feb/March 2010
Our return to Norway after the wedding, and the long dark days of winter were not for long. In February we packed up our bags and bikinis again (or boardies...?) and headed back to the sunshine and the southern hemisphere. Our friends Paola and Paul were getting married in Arequipa, Paola's home town, in Peru. Neither Joel nor I had ever been to South America, so we were so excited to visit such a fascinating, unique country.
Paola had promised us lots of dancing, fantastic music, great food and pisco sours galore, and Peru really delivered! We had such a great time, we met in Arequipa with a big group of Aussies over there for the wedding including lots of Paul's family, family friends and mates. My mum and dad were invited too and the chance to visit South America was just too good to pass up! We had about 4 or 5 days in Arequipa to be tourists, see the city and of course attend their amazing wedding.
The wedding itself was undoubtably the highlight of our time in Arequipa. The ceremony was held in a magnificent, huge cathedral with painted frescoes and statuies behind the altar that were absolutely divine. The reception was in an enormous marquee draped in soft white an blue fabric, everything was so beautiful. The entertainment team (and I mean team - lighting, DJ, smoke machine, bubble machine, foam machine, fireworks, movie/slideshow) ensured everyone was alternately crying, laughing and dancing all afternoon and well into the evening! Later in the evening the 'hora loco' "crazy hour" really shifted the party up a notch with everyone geared up in crazy hats and glow sticks, it was just hilarious and truly crazy! The Peruvian dancing was absolutely fantastic and all Paola's family and friends were so fun, they pulled everyone into the circle to dance!
Before leaving Arequipa, I went on a tour to Colca Canyon with my mum and dad which was beautiful. Such a lush, beautiful valley in amongst quite an arid landscape. One of the highlights there was seeing Condors swooping overhead above the canyon. They build nests there and enjoy gliding and hunting using the thermal air currents arising from the canyon. Spectacular. While I was doing that Joel went on a trip with some other intrepid hikers (Simon, Gaelle and Like with a guide) to conquer Chachani, the volcanic mountain rising above Arequipa. It is over 6,000m high, higher than any mountain in Europe. The conditions were pretty horrid, altitude sickness makes the climb extremely difficult even in the best of circumstances, snow storms and wind made it even tougher. Only Luke actually made it to the summit, but wow what an experience!
We then moved on with a group of friends and family to Cuzco. Dissapointingly Macchu Picchu was closed due to flooding and damage to the trails and railway, but we made the best of it with a fabulous tour to the Sacred Valley. We stopped at some breathtakingly beautiful spots and explored Incan ruins galore.
After the Sacred Valley we sadly said goodbye to most of the crowd from the wedding and continued on with Louise (Paul's sister) and her boyfriend Zane to Puno, heading east towards Lake Titicaca. We had some fantastic visits to idyllic Isle Tequile and Isle del Sol, visiting some of the famous floating reed islands on the way. It is the worlds highest navigatable lake (or something like that - means there are ferries and things on it). Highlights? There were many. One that stands out was eating at a tiny local candle-lit restaurant with no electricity at about 4020 metres, the trout was indescribable!
We had such a brilliant time, Paul and Paola went to so much effort to make our stay there so easy and fun, it was amazing and will definitely be back to South America. Joel had an absolute ball taking around 1500 photos. We put the best of them into a slideshow. Grab yourself a cuppa as there's quite a few there...! Double click on the image and select 'slideshow' to see them in bigger format with the captions. Enjoy!
Paola had promised us lots of dancing, fantastic music, great food and pisco sours galore, and Peru really delivered! We had such a great time, we met in Arequipa with a big group of Aussies over there for the wedding including lots of Paul's family, family friends and mates. My mum and dad were invited too and the chance to visit South America was just too good to pass up! We had about 4 or 5 days in Arequipa to be tourists, see the city and of course attend their amazing wedding.
The wedding itself was undoubtably the highlight of our time in Arequipa. The ceremony was held in a magnificent, huge cathedral with painted frescoes and statuies behind the altar that were absolutely divine. The reception was in an enormous marquee draped in soft white an blue fabric, everything was so beautiful. The entertainment team (and I mean team - lighting, DJ, smoke machine, bubble machine, foam machine, fireworks, movie/slideshow) ensured everyone was alternately crying, laughing and dancing all afternoon and well into the evening! Later in the evening the 'hora loco' "crazy hour" really shifted the party up a notch with everyone geared up in crazy hats and glow sticks, it was just hilarious and truly crazy! The Peruvian dancing was absolutely fantastic and all Paola's family and friends were so fun, they pulled everyone into the circle to dance!
Before leaving Arequipa, I went on a tour to Colca Canyon with my mum and dad which was beautiful. Such a lush, beautiful valley in amongst quite an arid landscape. One of the highlights there was seeing Condors swooping overhead above the canyon. They build nests there and enjoy gliding and hunting using the thermal air currents arising from the canyon. Spectacular. While I was doing that Joel went on a trip with some other intrepid hikers (Simon, Gaelle and Like with a guide) to conquer Chachani, the volcanic mountain rising above Arequipa. It is over 6,000m high, higher than any mountain in Europe. The conditions were pretty horrid, altitude sickness makes the climb extremely difficult even in the best of circumstances, snow storms and wind made it even tougher. Only Luke actually made it to the summit, but wow what an experience!
We then moved on with a group of friends and family to Cuzco. Dissapointingly Macchu Picchu was closed due to flooding and damage to the trails and railway, but we made the best of it with a fabulous tour to the Sacred Valley. We stopped at some breathtakingly beautiful spots and explored Incan ruins galore.
After the Sacred Valley we sadly said goodbye to most of the crowd from the wedding and continued on with Louise (Paul's sister) and her boyfriend Zane to Puno, heading east towards Lake Titicaca. We had some fantastic visits to idyllic Isle Tequile and Isle del Sol, visiting some of the famous floating reed islands on the way. It is the worlds highest navigatable lake (or something like that - means there are ferries and things on it). Highlights? There were many. One that stands out was eating at a tiny local candle-lit restaurant with no electricity at about 4020 metres, the trout was indescribable!
We had such a brilliant time, Paul and Paola went to so much effort to make our stay there so easy and fun, it was amazing and will definitely be back to South America. Joel had an absolute ball taking around 1500 photos. We put the best of them into a slideshow. Grab yourself a cuppa as there's quite a few there...! Double click on the image and select 'slideshow' to see them in bigger format with the captions. Enjoy!
Our Wedding! 21st November 2009, Lorne
Joel has done an amazing job preparing all these photos! We received the raw files from our photographer and many hours later, here is the slideshow. We still have some more to sort through, but here are the highlights!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
Our Honeymoon!
I'm putting the cart before the horse here a little bit (seeing as we haven't blogged about the wedding yet!), but we had the most wonderful honeymoon in the Cook Islands (http://getaway.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=1020086) after our wedding in December. We spent a week at Rarotonga (Sea Change Villas), the main island, and then a week on the tiny island of Aitutaki (Pacific Resort Aitutaki http://www.pacificresort.com/). It was everything we imagined it might be - beautiful weather, stunning turquoise water, incredible tropical fish, spotless beaches, warm welcoming people. We stayed in the most beautiful on-the-beach accommodation. It was just simply heaven. We can't recommend it highly enough, especially for a romantic getaway.
Here are some pics that show many of the highlights of our trip. It's a long slide show (100+ photos) but seeing as it has taken us 3 months already to get this posted, perhaps it's better to just put them all up rather than wait longer to edit them down to a more manageable number!
Here are some pics that show many of the highlights of our trip. It's a long slide show (100+ photos) but seeing as it has taken us 3 months already to get this posted, perhaps it's better to just put them all up rather than wait longer to edit them down to a more manageable number!
Easter at home
We had a fantastic Easter this year at home finishing off (or starting...) a few projects around the house and having a very social holiday seeing lots of friends. We had a great party over at Louise and Charles' place on Friday night - a dress up party. Those of you that are facebook friends of mine can see the album there, Joel's outfit was a big hit! Then on Sunday we had 12 friends over for a big roast lamb for lunch. Everyone pitched in and brought something along which made things really easy for us, lunch for 12 wasn't so daunting when we only had to worry about the main course! It was a fantastic day which turned into a very fun evening, the last guests left around 2am!
Around the house we've now finished our living room renovation and actually completed the skirting boards in our bedroom which have been missing since December 08! The living room looks fantastic, very modern and fresh. I'm toying with the idea of a wallpaper feature wall, any suggestions? I also got out into the garden for the first time this spring and planted some flowers in the multitude of pots that I'm a little bit obsessed with and can't stop buying! It's wonderful to have everything thawed out now and some longer days, sunshine and even temperatures over 10 degrees occasionally.
Enjoy the pics from our Easter Sunday lunch, as always double click to see the pics in full size.
Around the house we've now finished our living room renovation and actually completed the skirting boards in our bedroom which have been missing since December 08! The living room looks fantastic, very modern and fresh. I'm toying with the idea of a wallpaper feature wall, any suggestions? I also got out into the garden for the first time this spring and planted some flowers in the multitude of pots that I'm a little bit obsessed with and can't stop buying! It's wonderful to have everything thawed out now and some longer days, sunshine and even temperatures over 10 degrees occasionally.
Enjoy the pics from our Easter Sunday lunch, as always double click to see the pics in full size.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Emma and Joel - 2009 the year that was ...
What a year! Where to even start?! This year has been an absolute cracker! It has been one we will always remember.
It began in great form celebrating New Years Eve with Joel’s brother Simon at home in Stavanger. The rest of Joel’s family who joined us for a wonderful holiday in France and Christmas day here with us (http://skandyadventures.blogspot.com/2009/01/pre-christmas-family-visit-big-surprise.html) had left to continue travelling or head home. We were flying out to Melbourne on New Years Day.
We had about 2 weeks back in Melbourne, as always when we come home to visit it was extremely hectic but so amazing to see all our friends and family. It had been around 2 years since our last visit. Using Brett and Sam’s place (Port Melbourne) as a base we were able to get around to see lots of people and of course experience some of the Melbourne things we really miss.
Our visit culminated in our Engagement Party down at Patterson Lakes (http://skandyadventures.blogspot.com/2009/02/melbourne-extravaganza.html). We were blessed with a beautiful evening with lots of sunshine and about 100 of our friends and family there. Especially it was amazing to see all the babies that have been born since we’ve been away! It was like a crèche in mum and dad’s living room!
Having just been in Melbourne and being able to spend time with my beautiful Grandma Holloway was so poignant, as she passed away peacefully in February. It was difficult being so far away from my family during that time, but Joel was a wonderful support and our friends here were absolutely amazing. Work colleagues too were incredibly supportive. There are some tears as I write this but she had such a wonderful life and lived to the age of 92, I know it was her time and that she was ready.
Late in March we were very excited to welcome the arrival of our first nephew Lenny Ireland born to Joel’s brother Simon and his wife Clare. We have since had the chance to meet him and he is truly a beautiful little boy http://skandyadventures.blogspot.com/2009/04/welcome-to-world-lenny-ireland.html, I don’t know I’ve encountered a baby who is so quick to smile and just light up with the slightest encouragement!
In April, Easter was spent in Sauda with Louise and Charles, where we also got to catch up with Mari, Kev and Oscar (it’s Mari’s home-town). We enjoyed the skiing and it was a fantastic place to celebrate my birthday. http://skandyadventures.blogspot.com/2009/04/easter-at-sauda.html.
In May we sadly mourned the passing of Joel’s Nan, Pat Ireland. She died very peacefully and at the age of 93 having lived a full and wonderful life. Pat was Joel’s last surviving grandparent. With Joel having just supported me through my Grandma’s death, now it was my turn to be there for him, and like me, he felt the pain of being away from family during a time of grief. We were very thankful for the time we spent with Pat during our Melbourne visit, she was a gracious, strong woman and she is missed.
June was a month of work travel for me with a 3 week trip to KL, New York and Toronto http://skandyadventures.blogspot.com/2009/06/kuala-lumpur-new-york-and-toronto-in-3.html. I also had the chance to spend some time with my 3rd cousin Elle. She was celebrating her birthday and we certainly had plenty to talk about with both of us planning weddings in 09! She and her husband James are now expecting their first baby, very exciting!
The highlight of July was without doubt the wedding of our very close friends, Mari and Kev. They had planned a beautiful celebration, a total mix of Aussie and Norwegian guests and traditions. They brought everyone together beautifully and Mari was a stunning, elegant bride. And Kev scrubs up ok too. Unfortunately our camera battery died in the church before it even started (!), but there are some gorgeous pics on their blog http://mariandkev.blogspot.com/2009/08/mr-mrs.html). I loved being part of their celebrations by helping with the hens party preparations and Joel and I had a pre-wedding get together at our place for all the wedding guests. It was such a happy, fun occasion and 6 months down the track, they’re a very happy family with 1 y.o Oscar (Emma’s god-son).
From there the year seems to have flown by so quickly. Joel had a month-long offshore trip in September. It was the culmination of over a year’s planning and was extremely successful. He worked so hard in the lead up to this trip, his overtime was absolutely ridiculous from around May onwards! But I think he would tell you that it was all worthwhile as the project was carried out extremely professionally and he has since received many congratulations and compliments on his dedication and the results. He’s certainly a clever cookie and I’m extremely proud of him. We enjoyed a long weekend in Stockhom hosted by our friends Regina and Ulf. It was our first time to Sweden and we had a fabulous time out at Reg’s parents property http://skandyadventures.blogspot.com/2009_09_01_archive.html.
Our November/December trip to Melbourne was absolutely wonderful. The wedding was such a happy, memorable occasion that brought together so many people who are part of our lives. We were absolutely stunned and so grateful to have 7 friends from Norway join us in Melbourne for the event. It was also especially touching for us to see how even after 3 years living overseas and not seeing much of our ‘people’ back home, they still went to so much effort and care so much to see us and be part of our big celebration. It is very humbling actually to have been on the receiving end of such goodwill and generosity. For those who are closest to us you can multiply those sentiments by 100 – they truly went above and beyond to give us an amazing wedding celebration.
The year has been special for our family as well, here is a quick update:
Ann and Nigel, my parents, have had a fantastic year. Dad celebrated his 60th birthday in April with (in true Cousins style…) a huge party at the Peninsula Golf Club. They have been enjoying lots of trips with their new deluxe caravan heading off to different parts of Victoria and interstate. 2010 is shaping up to be a big year for them with travel as mum is retiring in January and Dad has some long service leave owing. A visit to Peru with us in February for Paola and Paul’s wedding followed with hopefully a visit to us over here some time around Summer are in the offing.
Joel’s mum Bernadette has had a great year especially enjoying her Grandkids, Eliza and Lenny with many trips up to Colbinabbin and down to Frankston. She continues to work hard in her job as a supervising nurse in a nursing home. She is always extremely busy catching up with friends and families, so many times when we phone her she’s off walking or catching up for coffee with a girlfriend. We hope she can come to visit us in 2010, her visit in 08 was so memorable and we would love to be able to do it all again!
John and Sharyn (Joel’s Dad and Stepmum) have also been enjoying their Grandkids. With the building of their home Westbury up on a big property in Trentham now completed they have been able to trade in the weekends of building and hard yakka with some time to really enjoy the fruits of their labour. Of course there is always something to do, with revitalising the ginseng crop, building up the vegetable garden and I’m sure a million other projects. John’s next adventure will be bee-keeping, and at his recent 60th celebration which we were fortunate to be part of during our trip, the gift of a bee keeping course, club membership and some kit to get started will hopefully come in handy. They had a near miss in the bushfires early in 2009 with fires coming within kilometres of the property. In July, Sharyn’s went to India to work as part of a team of doctors and nurses from The Alfred to help build up a trauma training program. The numbers of people who die from traumatic injury in India (particularly from road accidents) is just heartbreaking. It’s wonderful that Australia can share our skilled medical personnel and experience with a country like India where the resources are so scarce, and we know Sharyn found the experience incredibly challenging and rewarding.
Sally has been working incredibly hard this year – her paid job being only part of it! As my maid of honour she has been running around all year to help me prepare for the wedding. From dress hunting in January, to making decorations, planning appointments, sourcing cake makers and anything and everything in between, she has had a busy year and has earned a rest from it all now her big sister is finally hitched! On the other hand her efforts in her job have also been rewarded with a promotion at the end of this year, entirely well deserved and hard-earned. She is looking for an apartment to invest in, and now that her part time job as maid of honour has finished I’m sure that will make the hunt that much easier.
Brett and Sam moved into Clonaig St early in the year and have made it a beautiful home. He spent a few weeks in LA mid-year as part of an acting workshop which not only allowed him to hone his acting skills, but also build on his network of contacts which in the acting world means an awful lot. Brett has been working hard on developing a film script, and his efforts were rewarded late this year being awarded a grant from Film Victoria to further develop the script with funding and support of some seasoned industry professionals. It’s a huge credit to him and his skills as a writer, not just an actor. We wish him all the luck in the world with the script. Sam continues to impress as the seasoned career woman that she is, highlighted by winning trips to Hamilton Island and tickets to virtually any sporting/cultural/Fashion event that’s worth going to. She is a formidable social coordinator herself and the many parties, weekends away etc. that she plans certainly make me rather jealous that I can’t live closer to be part of it!
Joel's sisters Emma and Rebecca have been busy. Emma has completed her studies in nursing and midwifery, doing many hours of practical work experience at The Royal Womens hospital. Her studies and hard work paid off with an offer of a job next year at The Royal Womens - her top preference, and she was on top of their list of candidates. Rebecca continues her Health Science studies, is working part time at Grill'd, and spending time with her boyfriend Ian who we met in Melbourne (a lovely guy).
Clare and Simon’s year has been highlighted by the arrival of their first child, Lenny. They bought a beautiful home in Colbinabbin (about 60km NE from Bendigo), and were able to move in just before Lenny’s arrival. We haven’t had a chance yet to visit their home, hopefully we can make it there on our next trip down under. They are wonderful parents (as evidenced by their totally adorable, chilled out little boy!) and we thoroughly enjoyed spending time with them in Melbourne and Lorne.
Fraze, Zac and Eliza have some very exciting news that they were able to share at the end of 2009, they are expecting a baby! A little brother or sister for our beautiful niece Eliza. It was fantastic spending time with them during our visit, and the change in Eliza since their visit in late 08 was remarkable! She has grown up so much, and you can imagine how quietly thrilled we were when she calls us “unky Joel” and “auntie emma”! Thank you Zac and Fraze for ensuring that we are still part of her life, though we live far away.
So as we are about to get started cooking the ham and stuffing the turkey, looking out over snow-covered Stavanger, we look forward to a very happy and relaxed Christmas Day. We are thinking of all our friends and family at this very special time of year. Really, since the wedding we’ve had some time to reflect on it all and are so appreciative and want to thank you all for being part of this momentous year for us. More than ever before we are really feeling the love and support from everyone in our lives and there is no better way to start out on this journey together as husband and wife.
Wishing you all a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
Here is a slideshow of the year that was for Emma and Joel.
Ps: Australia and Cook Island pictures and blog still to come.
It began in great form celebrating New Years Eve with Joel’s brother Simon at home in Stavanger. The rest of Joel’s family who joined us for a wonderful holiday in France and Christmas day here with us (http://skandyadventures.blogspot.com/2009/01/pre-christmas-family-visit-big-surprise.html) had left to continue travelling or head home. We were flying out to Melbourne on New Years Day.
We had about 2 weeks back in Melbourne, as always when we come home to visit it was extremely hectic but so amazing to see all our friends and family. It had been around 2 years since our last visit. Using Brett and Sam’s place (Port Melbourne) as a base we were able to get around to see lots of people and of course experience some of the Melbourne things we really miss.
Our visit culminated in our Engagement Party down at Patterson Lakes (http://skandyadventures.blogspot.com/2009/02/melbourne-extravaganza.html). We were blessed with a beautiful evening with lots of sunshine and about 100 of our friends and family there. Especially it was amazing to see all the babies that have been born since we’ve been away! It was like a crèche in mum and dad’s living room!
Having just been in Melbourne and being able to spend time with my beautiful Grandma Holloway was so poignant, as she passed away peacefully in February. It was difficult being so far away from my family during that time, but Joel was a wonderful support and our friends here were absolutely amazing. Work colleagues too were incredibly supportive. There are some tears as I write this but she had such a wonderful life and lived to the age of 92, I know it was her time and that she was ready.
Late in March we were very excited to welcome the arrival of our first nephew Lenny Ireland born to Joel’s brother Simon and his wife Clare. We have since had the chance to meet him and he is truly a beautiful little boy http://skandyadventures.blogspot.com/2009/04/welcome-to-world-lenny-ireland.html, I don’t know I’ve encountered a baby who is so quick to smile and just light up with the slightest encouragement!
In April, Easter was spent in Sauda with Louise and Charles, where we also got to catch up with Mari, Kev and Oscar (it’s Mari’s home-town). We enjoyed the skiing and it was a fantastic place to celebrate my birthday. http://skandyadventures.blogspot.com/2009/04/easter-at-sauda.html.
In May we sadly mourned the passing of Joel’s Nan, Pat Ireland. She died very peacefully and at the age of 93 having lived a full and wonderful life. Pat was Joel’s last surviving grandparent. With Joel having just supported me through my Grandma’s death, now it was my turn to be there for him, and like me, he felt the pain of being away from family during a time of grief. We were very thankful for the time we spent with Pat during our Melbourne visit, she was a gracious, strong woman and she is missed.
June was a month of work travel for me with a 3 week trip to KL, New York and Toronto http://skandyadventures.blogspot.com/2009/06/kuala-lumpur-new-york-and-toronto-in-3.html. I also had the chance to spend some time with my 3rd cousin Elle. She was celebrating her birthday and we certainly had plenty to talk about with both of us planning weddings in 09! She and her husband James are now expecting their first baby, very exciting!
The highlight of July was without doubt the wedding of our very close friends, Mari and Kev. They had planned a beautiful celebration, a total mix of Aussie and Norwegian guests and traditions. They brought everyone together beautifully and Mari was a stunning, elegant bride. And Kev scrubs up ok too. Unfortunately our camera battery died in the church before it even started (!), but there are some gorgeous pics on their blog http://mariandkev.blogspot.com/2009/08/mr-mrs.html). I loved being part of their celebrations by helping with the hens party preparations and Joel and I had a pre-wedding get together at our place for all the wedding guests. It was such a happy, fun occasion and 6 months down the track, they’re a very happy family with 1 y.o Oscar (Emma’s god-son).
From there the year seems to have flown by so quickly. Joel had a month-long offshore trip in September. It was the culmination of over a year’s planning and was extremely successful. He worked so hard in the lead up to this trip, his overtime was absolutely ridiculous from around May onwards! But I think he would tell you that it was all worthwhile as the project was carried out extremely professionally and he has since received many congratulations and compliments on his dedication and the results. He’s certainly a clever cookie and I’m extremely proud of him. We enjoyed a long weekend in Stockhom hosted by our friends Regina and Ulf. It was our first time to Sweden and we had a fabulous time out at Reg’s parents property http://skandyadventures.blogspot.com/2009_09_01_archive.html.
Our November/December trip to Melbourne was absolutely wonderful. The wedding was such a happy, memorable occasion that brought together so many people who are part of our lives. We were absolutely stunned and so grateful to have 7 friends from Norway join us in Melbourne for the event. It was also especially touching for us to see how even after 3 years living overseas and not seeing much of our ‘people’ back home, they still went to so much effort and care so much to see us and be part of our big celebration. It is very humbling actually to have been on the receiving end of such goodwill and generosity. For those who are closest to us you can multiply those sentiments by 100 – they truly went above and beyond to give us an amazing wedding celebration.
The year has been special for our family as well, here is a quick update:
Ann and Nigel, my parents, have had a fantastic year. Dad celebrated his 60th birthday in April with (in true Cousins style…) a huge party at the Peninsula Golf Club. They have been enjoying lots of trips with their new deluxe caravan heading off to different parts of Victoria and interstate. 2010 is shaping up to be a big year for them with travel as mum is retiring in January and Dad has some long service leave owing. A visit to Peru with us in February for Paola and Paul’s wedding followed with hopefully a visit to us over here some time around Summer are in the offing.
Joel’s mum Bernadette has had a great year especially enjoying her Grandkids, Eliza and Lenny with many trips up to Colbinabbin and down to Frankston. She continues to work hard in her job as a supervising nurse in a nursing home. She is always extremely busy catching up with friends and families, so many times when we phone her she’s off walking or catching up for coffee with a girlfriend. We hope she can come to visit us in 2010, her visit in 08 was so memorable and we would love to be able to do it all again!
John and Sharyn (Joel’s Dad and Stepmum) have also been enjoying their Grandkids. With the building of their home Westbury up on a big property in Trentham now completed they have been able to trade in the weekends of building and hard yakka with some time to really enjoy the fruits of their labour. Of course there is always something to do, with revitalising the ginseng crop, building up the vegetable garden and I’m sure a million other projects. John’s next adventure will be bee-keeping, and at his recent 60th celebration which we were fortunate to be part of during our trip, the gift of a bee keeping course, club membership and some kit to get started will hopefully come in handy. They had a near miss in the bushfires early in 2009 with fires coming within kilometres of the property. In July, Sharyn’s went to India to work as part of a team of doctors and nurses from The Alfred to help build up a trauma training program. The numbers of people who die from traumatic injury in India (particularly from road accidents) is just heartbreaking. It’s wonderful that Australia can share our skilled medical personnel and experience with a country like India where the resources are so scarce, and we know Sharyn found the experience incredibly challenging and rewarding.
Sally has been working incredibly hard this year – her paid job being only part of it! As my maid of honour she has been running around all year to help me prepare for the wedding. From dress hunting in January, to making decorations, planning appointments, sourcing cake makers and anything and everything in between, she has had a busy year and has earned a rest from it all now her big sister is finally hitched! On the other hand her efforts in her job have also been rewarded with a promotion at the end of this year, entirely well deserved and hard-earned. She is looking for an apartment to invest in, and now that her part time job as maid of honour has finished I’m sure that will make the hunt that much easier.
Brett and Sam moved into Clonaig St early in the year and have made it a beautiful home. He spent a few weeks in LA mid-year as part of an acting workshop which not only allowed him to hone his acting skills, but also build on his network of contacts which in the acting world means an awful lot. Brett has been working hard on developing a film script, and his efforts were rewarded late this year being awarded a grant from Film Victoria to further develop the script with funding and support of some seasoned industry professionals. It’s a huge credit to him and his skills as a writer, not just an actor. We wish him all the luck in the world with the script. Sam continues to impress as the seasoned career woman that she is, highlighted by winning trips to Hamilton Island and tickets to virtually any sporting/cultural/Fashion event that’s worth going to. She is a formidable social coordinator herself and the many parties, weekends away etc. that she plans certainly make me rather jealous that I can’t live closer to be part of it!
Joel's sisters Emma and Rebecca have been busy. Emma has completed her studies in nursing and midwifery, doing many hours of practical work experience at The Royal Womens hospital. Her studies and hard work paid off with an offer of a job next year at The Royal Womens - her top preference, and she was on top of their list of candidates. Rebecca continues her Health Science studies, is working part time at Grill'd, and spending time with her boyfriend Ian who we met in Melbourne (a lovely guy).
Clare and Simon’s year has been highlighted by the arrival of their first child, Lenny. They bought a beautiful home in Colbinabbin (about 60km NE from Bendigo), and were able to move in just before Lenny’s arrival. We haven’t had a chance yet to visit their home, hopefully we can make it there on our next trip down under. They are wonderful parents (as evidenced by their totally adorable, chilled out little boy!) and we thoroughly enjoyed spending time with them in Melbourne and Lorne.
Fraze, Zac and Eliza have some very exciting news that they were able to share at the end of 2009, they are expecting a baby! A little brother or sister for our beautiful niece Eliza. It was fantastic spending time with them during our visit, and the change in Eliza since their visit in late 08 was remarkable! She has grown up so much, and you can imagine how quietly thrilled we were when she calls us “unky Joel” and “auntie emma”! Thank you Zac and Fraze for ensuring that we are still part of her life, though we live far away.
So as we are about to get started cooking the ham and stuffing the turkey, looking out over snow-covered Stavanger, we look forward to a very happy and relaxed Christmas Day. We are thinking of all our friends and family at this very special time of year. Really, since the wedding we’ve had some time to reflect on it all and are so appreciative and want to thank you all for being part of this momentous year for us. More than ever before we are really feeling the love and support from everyone in our lives and there is no better way to start out on this journey together as husband and wife.
Wishing you all a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
Here is a slideshow of the year that was for Emma and Joel.
Ps: Australia and Cook Island pictures and blog still to come.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
A White Christmas!
What a difference a fortnight can make! This time two weeks ago we were living it up at the Cook Islands enjoying high 20's temperatures and the most amazing beaches you can imagine. Today we are experiencing below zero temperatures and around 40cm of snow in the last 24 hours! It is really quite amazing, probably the most snow we have seen around our home since we moved here. And the timing is perfect - it looks like we're set for our first ever white christmas! Here are a few snaps! Click on the album to view in larger format.
We will be receiving our professional photos soon and will of course make a few blogs covering our amazing wedding and honeymoon, watch this space!
We will be receiving our professional photos soon and will of course make a few blogs covering our amazing wedding and honeymoon, watch this space!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Stockholm Long Weekend
We had a fantastic weekend just recently, our Swedish friends (who will be at the wedding btw) Regina and Ulf invited some of us to Regina's parents house on a property about 50mins out of Stockholm. It was a lovely weekend, really relaxed. Some pics here:
Monday, July 20, 2009
Mari's Hens Party
As we’re more than half way though July now Mari and Kev’s wedding date approaches (31st July). So while Kev was off to London for his bucks weekend, the girls took Mari out for the day for her hens party. The forecast was terrible actually – heavy rain all day. So we were so happy to start the morning with overcast skies but no rain (at least for a while). We took full advantage motoring down to Grassholmen to jump onto Nordvik (Ryan, Pete and Mitch’s boat – ref earlier post) to kick off the day. Champers and OJ started things off beautifully and a little cruise around Hundvåg and over to vågen (the barbour) in Stavanger. Unfortunately half way through the trip the anticipated rain started, so we finished off the tour in the cabin.
We then headed off on the ferry over to Tau and drove about 40mins to a spa hotel (Spa Hotell Velvære in Hjelmeland). We had booked a table for lunch followed by a spa treatment. It was lovely – we each had a 50 min treatment and spent some time in the general spa/pool area together before/after the treatment. Later in the afternoon we returned to Stavanger and after a short break when Mari and Merete went home to feed their bubs we all reconvened back at our place for a bbq dinner (cooked by me in gumboots and a golf umbrella while it poured with rain!). It was a really lovely evening with some good food, drinks and in keeping with proper hens party tradition – a few games and quizzes to keep everyone laughing. To me it really felt like this was the beginning of the whole wedding period with now less than 2 weeks to go. We’re really looking forward to the big day – it’s amazing it’s almost here and really brings home for Joel and I that our wedding will be here in no time!
We then headed off on the ferry over to Tau and drove about 40mins to a spa hotel (Spa Hotell Velvære in Hjelmeland). We had booked a table for lunch followed by a spa treatment. It was lovely – we each had a 50 min treatment and spent some time in the general spa/pool area together before/after the treatment. Later in the afternoon we returned to Stavanger and after a short break when Mari and Merete went home to feed their bubs we all reconvened back at our place for a bbq dinner (cooked by me in gumboots and a golf umbrella while it poured with rain!). It was a really lovely evening with some good food, drinks and in keeping with proper hens party tradition – a few games and quizzes to keep everyone laughing. To me it really felt like this was the beginning of the whole wedding period with now less than 2 weeks to go. We’re really looking forward to the big day – it’s amazing it’s almost here and really brings home for Joel and I that our wedding will be here in no time!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Summer Days
We've been having a stretch of magnificent weather here in Stavanger, July has been awesome. Joel and I joined Mitch, his girlfriend Hanna and Pete on the boys boat Nordvik last weekend. We putted out of Stavanger and headed towards a little island called Kvitsøy. It's a beautiful, picturesque spot. We did a bit of fishing and caught enough cod and mackrel to feed us all for lunch. We caught up with Merete, Åsmund, Trym, Mari, Kev and Oscar who drove to the island. It was a perfect day.
Joel has been working some major overtime so it came down to me to stain our deck. It's something we've been meaning to do since Joel built it at Easter 08. We're hosting a pre-wedding bbq for Mari and Kev in a couple of weeks so that has given us the push we needed to get the job done. I think the finished result is great. What do you think?! As usual double click and select 'slideshow' to see the pics in large format in picassa.
Joel has been working some major overtime so it came down to me to stain our deck. It's something we've been meaning to do since Joel built it at Easter 08. We're hosting a pre-wedding bbq for Mari and Kev in a couple of weeks so that has given us the push we needed to get the job done. I think the finished result is great. What do you think?! As usual double click and select 'slideshow' to see the pics in large format in picassa.
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