The Hughes Zoo

To kick off our second week in Brisbane, Nonna took us in toSouthbank for a coffee and some exploring. Jeremy spent heaps of timerunning around along the edge of the river, looking at boats and gardens, andgenerally running away from us

On Friday we caught the train down to the Gold Coast to spend a coupleof days with Suze and her family. We were made to feel very welcome, andwere spoilt with lots of home cooking, guided tours and great conversation. Jeremy settled in very quickly, although his 6am starts at full volumewere a bit of a challenge

On our last day we went to the Currumban animal sanctuary. We rode the train,patted kangaroos, and Jeremy ate his dinner while watching the lorikeetseat theirs.

On our way back to Nonna’s house from the coast, we stopped in at Oma’s fora relaxing afternoon. After Jeremy had his sleep, and we ate ourselves silly, weall headed into the city to have a wander around before jumping on the train.

Here are a few photosfrom the week.

Our third and final Christmas was heaps of fun. On Tuesday Ange (with a little bitof assistance from the boys) did most of the cooking for the next day’s lunch, and that night Nonna kept watch while we escaped to the movies for the first time in 6 months or so.

On Christmas morning we headed off to the Hilton for a huge, laid-back breakfast, then came home and to get lunch ready. Uncle Andrew and Aunty Laura arrived just in timefor Jeremy to go to bed, so we put present openning off until after lunch.

Jeremy (and the rest of us) has lots of fun openning presents. The favourites werea digger from Uncle Drew and Aunty Laura, Jack the Front Loader from Mum and Dad, and a baby laptop from Nonna.

After presents and Jeremy’s lunch, we headed over to join in the Hogan’s Christmascelebrations. It was great to catch up with everyone, and Oma’s tractor was addedto the list of J’s favourite presents.

There’s lots and lots of photos here.

While we’ve been up here we’ve managed to catch up with Melanie, Lissie and Mel. We’re heading down to the Gold Coast tomorrow to catch up with Suze and herfamily for a couple of days, and will see who else we can fit in once we get back to Brissie.

At the start of the month we went to Wagga to have Christmas number 2 withJeremy’s Nan, Aunty Sue and Nan-Nan. We went down earlier in the day on Saturdayand stayed an extra night, which made it a much more relaxing trip. Getting to work on Monday morning after a 3hr drive wasn’t so much fun…

There’s a heap of photos here. All the toys were great hits, but the car and xylaphone have become favourites. We’re actually a littleworried that Jeremy might wear the car out because at least once a day we have to godown stairs and watch him ride and push it around for an hour or so.

We’re in Brisbane at the moment for Christmas number 3, and everyone has travelled and settledin well. Jeremy even managed his first (coherent) 3 word sentance today - “car down Mum” - encouragingAnge to drive faster down the hills on the way to visit Melanie. We’ll be back in Canberra in early January, after making a quick trip to the Gold Coast.

Merry Christmas