First camping trip of 2014

Bushwalking to the point with the Meeches and Papa

Little moments, fun memories - the snake was a Bandy Bandy, only slightly venomous apparently

Lots of fun in and around the water - Papa got up on the windsurfer at age 73, Daddy and Mummy also had a ride

The Eigel's first outing with their tent was successful, and the mangoes - Yum!

We headed away for a week with family and friends and had a great time camping, swimming, windsurfing and just chilling out. Our bushwalk took us to a place where there were mango trees laden with ripe fruit (yum!!) with a nearby inlet to wash our hands. Campfires (thanks Uncle Phil!), marshmellows and s'mores, bike riding, sparklers, an unusual snake and so much more made our camping trip another time full of memories.

You can click on the images to see them larger.

Grandparents and cousins

Here's the annual shot of the grandparents with all the grandchildren on each side. After the gift opening of course! Always lovely to look back and see how they have grown over the year.

2013 was a huge year for our family and I can only imagine that things will continue on that path this year as well - what blessings and trials we've seen, yet God has been faithful throughout!

Trees and boats

The girls put up and decorated the Christmas tree themselves this year and did a very good job too. Apparently more really is more when it comes to Christmas! We also enjoyed an afternoon up at Aunty Wendy and Uncle Noel's place watching the annual Christmas lights boat parade where what seemed like an endless number of vessels decorated themselves with lights and paraded around the canals - Santa even made an appearance with the marine rescue crew while it was still light.
Aren't the 'stockings' that Aunty Beverly made impressive - what you can do with cheerios and cream cheese! (click for a bigger image if you wish)

Awards

I didn't get very good photos, but between them the girls received a number of extra awards at school at the end of last year, for music and sport, in addition to the ICAS awards that were given earlier in the year.
Some were a complete surprise, and it was lovely to see them rewarded for a lot of hard work throughout the year. Well done girls!