2011

Hello / Gday / Howzit to all our beautiful faraway friends and family,

Here we go again, my yearly group email thing that I know you have all been waiting excitedly for . . . haha. Every new year I vow to get organised with my photos, emails etc and keep in more regular contact - and every year I fail dismally. I even started this update in the beginning of January and its now February already and I still haven't sent it (to stop procrastinating about everything is always another one of my new years resolutions).

Anyway here goes, it's never going to be perfect, I'll try to be brief and not put up too many pics of the kids, just kidding, you should know me by now . . .

January 2011 - Austin saw a picture of my cousins boy riding his bike without training wheels and decided he didn't want his on anymore so we took them off and away he went, just like that

February2011 - What you do with a tube of toothpaste of course . . .

February2011 - Enjoying our last few days in peaceful little Bundeena . . .

Feb2011 - Austin saying goodbye to his kindy teacher in Bundeena

March2011 - we packed up our house in Bundeena and have rented it out until we can find a buyer, which given the current market will probably be never . . .

March2011 - Lily looking nervous - first day at their new kindy . . .

March2011 - we finally got a more practical family car, loving the extra boot space . . .

March2011 - we moved into a tiny 2 bedroom unit at Narrabeen, which is a suburb close to Newport where the cafe is, at the time we had enough financial stress and thought it was best to only spend the same amount in rent that we were getting for our house in Bundeena, property at this end of Sydney is a LOT more expensive.  I don't have any pictures of the unit, it's cramped and very hard to get used to living in a confined space when you've come from so much. This is Narrabeen beach, which is only 50metres away and the best thing about the flat, we spend a lot of time here.

March2011 - Lily - LOVES to eat sand

April2011 - Lily turned 2 and we had a 'Charlie and Lola' party (her favourite TV show) for her at Zubi

April2011 - Kim came to visit us on a stopover, we had a great night out in Manly

May2011 - Pink milkshakes at Zubi

May2011 - Steve and Austin are still fishing away often without much luck - only the location has changed. Steve is now more determined than ever to get a boat - he spends his free time trawling through the boat classifieds and dreaming away . . .

June2011 - Steve and Austin practising their swing, this is just around the corner from us and they have a Pirate themed mini-golf course which Austin LOVES

July2011 - Lily spent a day in hospital because the doctors were worried she had pneumonia, in the end she was released with antibiotics for an ear infection

July2011 - We still have a lot's of bush and National Parks nearby, this is a short hike which takes you up to lighthouse on the most northern coastal tip of Sydney.

July2011 - Austin is constantly making little books with computer paper and staples. He makes up little stories about his pictures, which I then have to spell out the words for him.

August2011 - 2 years ago Austin fell and knocked his front tooth, its been 2 years of  drama - infection, antibiotics, root canal, fillings etc to try and save it - it eventually cracked in half and he had to have the root extracted by the dentist, such a brave boy . . . 

August2011 - our new family member Socket (those of you who remember our Jack Russell Spanner will understand why we called her that) - a gorgeous little Burmese kitten

August2011 - Austin is now swimming like a champion

September2011 - Still Bokke supporters

September2011 - Austin turned 5 and had an African animal party

September2011 - we had a reptile show at his party and he absolutely loved the snakes, definitely Daddy's child . . .

September2011 - Chris & Roberta came to visit which was wonderful, we went on a road trip up to Queensland which was a lot of fun.

October2011 - Lily's favourite thing to do - build 'nests' out of lots of strange things and go on crazy imaginary adventures

October2011 - Austin started Nippers

October2011 - Cooling down in buckets, not quite as much fun as a sprinkler in the garden but you make do with what you have I guess

October2011 - Kindy Photo

October2011 - Steve got some silkworm eggs from a customer and the kids got to experience their life cycle, it was really sweet to watch their daily anticipation and excitement

November2011 - Camping trip to Treachery Beach, about 3 hours up the coast and completely deserted

November2011 - Steve grew an ugly mo

December2011 - Lily had her first haircut, which was long overdue . . .

December2011 - Our big boy graduates from Preschool - off to big school this year, so sad . . .

So 2011 was quite an eventful year for us, but so many wonderful things have happened and we have met some awesome people along the way. It was hard to leave our little paradise of Bundeena and my sister and her family but we definitely made the right choice. We are so much happier in this part of Sydney, it's just more our kind of place, plus it's nice to be back in civilisation - and have access to little things like gym, restaurants, shops etc. The cafe is going great too, Steve works nearly every day but at least it's not nights and we are finally earning enough money to at least pay the bills, here's a newspaper article on Zubi if you're interested -  Zubi SMH Article. I know there's no photos of Zubi on here, that's because I actually don't have any - when I go there I'm usually too busy chasing around after the kids - I promise I will take some pictures soon and update this blog. I do the payroll and admin but apart from that I don't have a lot to do with the place, the kids go to kindy only twice a week so they take up most of my time, although Steve will tell you I'm a lady of leisure and spend my days having coffee and beauty treatments. With Austin off to big school this year though, I'll definitely have more free time so we will see. The only thing that isn't great is living in a poky unit, but with our lease up soon we are in the process of finding a house to rent, so hopefully that will change soon.
So it's hello 2012 and to all the challenges that await us . . . we hope that the new year brings you lots of love, laughter, health, success and happiness, you may be far away but you are forever in our hearts . . .

Love always Karen, Steve, Austin & Lily
xoxoxoxo