Christmas

Christmas Eve tradition - watching the Christmas carols on the TV.

Christmas stockings ready for Santa to fill.

Even my stocking from my childhood got filled by Santa.
I must have been a very good girl.

Looks like Santa's been.  Minnie is sniffing for her presents.

Obligatory photo in front of the Christmas tree on Christmas morn.

Breakfast before presents.

Fam-bam Christmas

We hosted the extended family Christmas this year.  Rather than go with a formal festive lunch, I opted to do a grazing table so everyone could eat what and when they wanted.  It was a pleasant afternoon of catch ups for siblings and cousins, and presents.

More COVID-19

 

Two days after we saw The Killers, one of my friends contacted me to let me know her son (who was with Henry at the show) had tested positive for COVID-19.

I was at work at the time the message came through.  Given I work in a clinical area of a hospital, I tested myself immediately.  I was negative.

I let Michael know he, Henry and Milly needed to test.  Michael and Henry were negative, but Milly tested positive.  She had no symptoms except a runny nose, which is always a bit runny because she suffers from a few allergies.  We would not have tested her otherwise.

She spent the next four days isolating in her room.  She felt fine and didn't get any other COVID symptoms.

We were due to host family for an early Christmas get together, so everyone was put on notice we might have to postpone.

As it turned out, she was negative by the time our Christmas event came around.

Four out of five of us have now fallen.  Buster is the last man standing in our house.  

The Killers

January 2007 was the last time Michael and I saw the band The Killers.  We went with my brother, I was six months pregnant with Milly, and the show was at The Hordern Pavilion in Sydney.  It has a capacity of just over 5000 people.  It was one of the best live shows we'd all seen.  

Now, 15 years later, Michael and I had tickets to see them again.  Taking Henry and Milly along for their first live band experience.  The venue was Hope Estate in the Hunter Valley, which has a capacity of 50,000.   Again, they were amazing live.  

Some of Henry's friends were also at the concert.  It was great watching them jump up and down, sing along, and basically have the time of their lives. 

Hamilton Island - Day 8 farewell

It's time to start saying goodbye to our home for the past week.  Michael takes a final swim in the pool and he and the kids start packing up.  I'm walking around like a zombie, having been coughing most of the night.  We need to check out by 10.00am but our flight isn't until 2.00pm.  We get to keep the buggy until flight departure.

I finally visit the chemist for some lozenges and cough medicine, and wonder why I hadn't done so sooner.

With plenty of time to kill, we go to the recreation centre and the kids play table tennis while we wait for the restaurant to open so we can have an early lunch before the flight.  Just as lunch is served I have a major coughing fit.  I leave the restaurant to cough and choke outside away from people.  It's at this point I just want to be home.

The flight back to Sydney was smooth, and there were no issues getting the shuttle bus to the long term car park at the airport.  There was some traffic getting out of Sydney but when we arrived home we were all happy to see our furry baby wagging her tail just as pleased to see us.

Where we stayed - Hibiscus Apartments.

Reflecting back on this holiday, it truly was memorable.  

Accommodation:  we loved our apartment, it's location, the views it provided, it's proximity to the beach and pools.  It was a perfect size for a family of five.  We were on the top floor located in a corner.  There was no one in the apartment next door for our entire stay, so we felt a nice distance from other holiday makers - something we wouldn't have had in the high-rise apartments next door.

Things to do:  I managed to tick off all the activities I wanted to do, except two.  I really wanted to do one of the hikes through the National Park, especially the one to Passage Peak, which is a high point of the island with a lookout.  My health, combined with the heat put a stop to that.  I also wanted to have a lesson on a mini catamaran, so I could sail one around the bay.  Again my health and simply running out of time didn't allow this.  

Family highlights:  For me, the trip to Whitehaven Beach with it's beautiful and spectacular views looking across Hill Inlet.  Also, watching the kids reconnect with each other playing in the pools.  For Michael, he loved swimming in all the pools, and like me also loved all the incredible views.  Henry says Catseye Beach and kayaking were his favourites.  Milly also loved kayaking and the pools.  Buster couldn't pick a favourite, he says everything was fun.

My health:  I'm still not fully recovered.  The cough has lingered.  I still haven't been to a doctor.

In summary, Hamilton Island is a stunning holiday paradise.  Save your dollars, it's expensive, but sometimes you've got to invest in your life and making memories.

Hamilton Island - Day 7

Our last full day on the island is spent at Catseye Beach.  My voice has started to return but my cough is nasty and I contemplated seeing a doctor but there were no available appointments.

Catseye Beach gave us another glorious day in the water.  Buster and Henry joined me on the kayaks and we had fun paddling around the bay looking for turtles.  Then later joined Michael and Milly in the pool area.  It was another incredibly hot day and being in the water was the only place to be.

When hunting for our sunset location the previous night, I took Michael back to the first spot I took a photo of when we had arrived on Hamilton Island.  It was a view overlooking the marina on the way to the airport, and there was no one else there.  When we returned for our last sunset it was deserted, we had the area to ourselves.  It was a perfect and peaceful end to our last night in paradise.

Well it was almost peaceful.  Once we were back at our apartment, gazing at the full moon, we were entertained by fireworks.  Now that really was a celebratory way to end our holiday.