Edithvale Beach

We all went down to the beach today. Family friends the Fosters live within walking distance and the weather was perfect so we set off with a stack of supplies. Sunscreen all over and hats on! First a 10 minute walk from Fozzys to Edithvale beach. A beautiful bay beach with golden sand and very calm water. We set up all tent for a bit of shade.

The weather was about 28 so warm but not silly, however the sun did have some kick as usual. Xander and Marshall haven't had a great deal to do with the sea but Ben and Beccy were seasoned sea farers and showed the boys how to wade and swim. The water was really warm and daddy just jumped in!!

We all had a game of beach cricket, 1 Englishman vs 9 aussies, and then fish and chips on the beach. The ten minute walk back was a bit harder with added sand to chaff but we then jumped in Fozzys spa to clean off.
What a smashing day.

Achievements

Well the Dawson children have all achieved something in the last few days. Starting off with Amelia who is now on all fours and rocking back and forth. She's very close to pulling herself up without help. Marshall has learnt how to jump properly with two feet, very exciting. Xander has learnt to pedal his bike and start off from scratch going up hills!!! (Can you tell we're proud?!?!) They are all growing very quickly.

Christmas Day

Well, we had a really great Christmas Day.

Marshall was the first to rise at about 6ish and came in for a quick cuddle in bed before Xander and Amelia were up. Santa had brought both boys a bike and they were left under the fireplace with their new name tags on. Santa had left Amelia a standing play centre with a big red bow. The boys were very excited but were so good opening presents slowly and looking at what each other had received. We were even told off at one stage by Xander because we were going too fast! Santa left Dette a guitar, (no lessons though) and Richard some new clothes and a GPS system. (sat navigation).

We had lots of fun opening all the gifts and we have to say a big thank you to everyone that sent, or left, things for us all. We were very lucky and we are very grateful.

Daddy cooked up a full breakfast with Xander and Marshall's choice of pancakes, bacon and hash browns. Then we played with the new toys. Mummy slaved over a hot stove (luckily the weather wasn't too hot on Christmas Day!) and served up a 3 roast (yes, she even cooked the dreaded turkey!) and 8 vegie gourmet meal! Both Mummy and Daddy's best Christmas present was Xander eating everything on his plate except for the beans, and Marshall digging in with almost as much enthusiasm. Then it was - finally!!- time for the children to have a rest. After we all woke up we popped down to Pete and Karen's and wished them all a Merry Christmas. Fraser and Gemma had some great gifts from Santa too and we all had a play.

Last stop was Cath and Hugh's in Mount Eliza for the Donnelly family get together and some more exchanges of presents and another gigantic meal. The boys had fun running around with all their cousins, and Amelia enjoyed being the centre of attention. Thanks again to everyone for the surprises. It was a long day but we all had lots of fun and too much food. *Video to come!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Here is the first of the Christmas Videos



Merry Christmas from the Dawsons

All is in preparation

Well all is quiet at Cobblestone Ave in preparation for the man in the red suit. The boys are very excited. Xander just asked if he could sleep on the couch next to the fireplace so he would see santa come. We are having turkey, chicken and pork for lunch so tonight im doing the turkey,(Dette wont have a bar of it). I've set up two video cameras in the lounge to catch the pressie opening action so assume a future blog video.

We met Santa

The Dawson family had some meetings with Santa today. In the morning Santa rang and had a conversation with the boys. Xander was very excited and asked Santa if he could have a bike for Christmas. Marshall wasnt quite sure but ran around the house "santa cors"

Then in the afternoon we all visited Santa in his grotto and had a photo taken!!

A Little Conversation

Yesterday morning, just after Richard left for work, the boys got themselves up and started playing in the rumpus. After about 10 minutes of playing i heard the following conversation.

Xander: "What do you want for breakfast?"
Marshall: "Porige!"
Xander: "Nah, I can't reach it"
Marshall: "Mummy do it?"
Xander: "Ok, let's get Mummy up"

Gotta love the way Xander tries to look after his little brother!

Bushfires

HOT. its been a ridiculously hot weekend (42c 108f at the max) and we have been house bound to escape it a bit. We had Mark and Tim, Michelle and Mark and Dee over for Christmas Dinner on Saturday. It was a great night and we topped it off with a game of Texas Hold em. There have been bad bushfires around us all weekend with a blanket of smoke covering the whole of Melbourne.

Tri Family BBQ

On Sunday we had a BBQ at Franger with Brooke and Adam, Milney and Amanda the the kids at Wilson Botanic Park. The weather was lovely and we had a great spread of tucker. Of course with England batting so well we had a game of cricket. Xander got the hang of it and hit a couple of cracking shots.

As previously mentioned on Sunday we had a look around the new Cranbourne Police Station and was given a guided tour. The boys are fascinated by Gaol so they were flabbagasted when told that the bad poeple had to sleep on the hard bed with no pillow. This is a photo taken by a member walking around with the station camera.