Happy Christmas!

We have just enjoyed a wonderful Christmas.  As I said in the last post, I had mixed emotions during the month of December, but we were all excited by the time Christmas actually rolled around.  It really was nice to have the holiday all to ourselves.  We did not have to hustle and bustle to make it from one family to another and organize it around my work schedule (it is very difficult to get time off around the holidays when you work at a hospital).  This is definitely the most relaxed Christmas I have ever experienced.  

We will start off on Christmas Eve when we went biking at Narrabeen Lakes.  Well, Sean and the kids went biking.  I have not gotten a bike since we moved. So, I attempted to keep up with them on foot.  Long story short, they left me in the dust.  But, we all had a great time and everyone got a good workout so we didn't feel so bad when we laid around and gorged on food the next day.

View across Narrabeen Lakes

One of my last glimpses of the trio on their bikes

The red dot is on the Narrabeen Lakes

After cleaning up, the kids and I also made a quick trip into the city to the Queen Victoria Building to pick up a last minute gift for Sean.

The kids are standing in front of the Swarovski crystal Christmas tree at the QVB.

Carter and Aubrey on Christmas Eve when they were asking to open a present early.  Can't you see the excitement radiating from their eyes?

It was odd not to go to a Christmas Eve church service.  This is the first time in my life that I have missed one.  But, the church we have started going to did not offer a Christmas Eve service.  So many small differences. 

On Christmas morning, the kids woke us up at 5:00 am.  Sean and I reluctantly rolled out of bed.  We were all happy and fully awake once the coffee started flowing and presents were being unwrapped.  Thankfully, we did not have our hearts set on going to the beach on Christmas as it rained buckets all day.  It was the wettest Christmas in Sydney in 70 years.  It actually suited us better that the day was grey and rainy; we did not feel guilty that we stayed inside and hibernated for the day.  Sean had to bring up the fact that if the temperature was below freezing, we could have had a white Christmas.  We were a long way from freezing though (I think the temperature that day was around 70 degrees Fahrenheit).  

Carter on Christmas morning when he opened a very special present from Santa.

Carter and Aubrey showing off their favorite gifts.

What a mess!!

We had a great day of playing with our new toys, taking naps, watching movies, reading, and eating the turkey meal we bought the day before at Fourth Village Providore.  Sean and I both agreed that we couldn't do this everyday, but it was a perfectly beautiful, lazy Christmas.  We did make it out of the house to drive to Davidson (by Frenchs Forest) to look at Christmas lights.

A highlight of our Christmas light tour

The next day, Boxing Day, is a celebrated holiday here in Australia.  I  remember seeing that on calendars in the US, but I never really knew what it was all about.  It is observed in the UK, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.  It was traditionally when servants and tradesmen would receive gifts from their employers, known as a "Christmas box".  It is nice to have an official extension of the Christmas holiday.  In general, I've noticed that they like to extend holidays out in Australia.  In fact, many small businesses have signs on their doors stating that they will not be reopening until January 7th.  

On Boxing Day we took the opportunity to get the house back in order and then go biking once again.  This time we went to the Sydney Olympic Park.  As the name implies, this is the park that Sydney built for the 2000 Summer Olympics.  It has a huge entertainment district, sporting venues, and extensive parklands with over 35 kilometers of off-road bicycle paths.  This is now our favorite place to bike because the bike paths are paved and well maintained.  It is nice to find proper bike paths away from traffic with young kids.  Aubrey is getting pretty good, but she still tips her bike from time to time.  
  

The red arrow is Sydney Olympic Park

View of the Parramatta River from the bike trail

Overall, we had a great Christmas.  I am a little sad that this marks our last Christmas when both kids believed in Santa for all the Christmas Eve and Christmas morning traditions.  Carter kept a keen eye out this year and waited for us to slip up.  He believed in Santa, but at the same time, he was looking for clues.  All it took was some misplaced name tags.  He found the Santa name tags in Sean's desk drawer Christmas afternoon.  He came to talk to me and he asked a lot of questions.  I was honest with him once I realized he wouldn't just accept my traditional answers about Santa leaving them with us, etc., etc.  It was the right time and he is pretty proud of himself for figuring it out.  But, sometimes it is hard to see my little boy growing up.