We spent our Saturday morning in search of a Christmas tree to bring a little holiday spirit into our house. There are no tree lots or fresh trees at the grocery store here, so we found a tree farm in Swan Valley to go cut our own. Not the prettiest trees we'd ever seen but it sure beat spending a fortune on a fake one!
The other side was a vineyard and Ben was dying to get into all those grapes.
Our lovely tree, tied up and ready to go home.
But first we stopped at Elmar's, a german brewery and sausage eatery, for some lunch out on their lawn. It's a great place with tons of room for the kids to run and live music on the weekends, not to mention the best sausage this side of the equator.
The kids made friends and found sticks so they were in heaven.
Later at home I got some help decorating the new tree. Ben helped with the ribbon and later with some balls and ornaments, most of which have already found new homes around the house. It's nice to have the fresh pine smell in the house!
We also caught a glimpse of a nice rainbow that afternoon...and not just the one on Ben's patch.
On Sunday, Ben had a school picnic with all the families of the 3 and 4-year olds at his school. There were a lot more people than I expected! It also included the biggest inflatable bouncy castle (or in this case, a footy field) I'd ever seen. Aussies love their barbeques but they're also huge fans of picnics, so everyone had blankets and baskets of food, and many even had wine.
Each class got up to sing a song. Somehow I missed the memo on the show starting exactly at 4:30 so Ben missed his class song but joined in for the Jingle Bell grand finale at the end. I also missed the memo that they were supposed to wear Christmas costumes...or maybe everyone just knew that since parties here always have costume themes. After more than a year here I still have lots to learn. My child is the only one in the yellow shirt.
Can't miss the solo dancing! (This is the Aussie version of Jingle Bells...see below for the full lyrics.)
After the singing it was time for some bouncy action. Alex quickly learned that he could hide from me on the other side of the field.
He also figured out he could tackle Ben as much as he wanted!
Ben's favorite activity was just running straight into the poles.
Alex was all over the place!
These little monkeys can never resist a good playground, either.
I also had to share a few precious pictures from Thanksgiving from my friend Melanie. Ben and Brynn, who'd been to a street carnival that afternoon. He's still as infatuated as ever!
Ansley and Alex...not sure what's going on in this picture but it's going to make for a great story in their teen years!
Sweet smiling faces!
Australian Jingle Bells
Dashing through the bush,
in a rusty Holden Ute,
Kicking up the dust,
esky in the boot,
Kelpie by my side,
singing Christmas songs,
It's Summer time and I am in
my singlet, shorts and thongs
Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,
Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day, Hey!
Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut !,
Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute.
Engine's getting hot;
we dodge the kangaroos,
The swaggie climbs aboard,
he is welcome too.
All the family's there,
sitting by the pool,
Christmas Day the Aussie way,
by the barbecue.
Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,
Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day, Hey!
Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut!,
Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute.
Come the afternoon,
Grandpa has a doze,
The kids and Uncle Bruce,
are swimming in their clothes.
The time comes 'round to go,
we take the family snap,
Pack the car and all shoot through,
before the washing up.
Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,
Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day, Hey!
Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut!,
Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute.
