I can’t tell you how fantastic it is to have our pool in and being enjoyed by all! I can’t really remember now what we did on a hot day before we had the pool but it mostly involved sitting under the fan inside! It has been an absolute lifesaver over the rather warm Christmas period we are currently experiencing, especially for our pregnant girls!! They loved just floating around, keeping cool and chatting about all the changes they are both going through and how they are looking forward to the next few months and the arrival of their little bundles of joy! Lauren found out 2 days before she flew to Australia that she is having a little girl so we have been having the BEST time shopping for the cutest little outfits for her! Any baby clothes from a western brand selling in Vietnam would cost a fortune so she is making the most of having all the great Aussie shops on her doorstep for a while!

Sam and Liv don’t know what they are having and are keeping it a surprise (thank goodness or I would be going twice as crazy in the shops) and it will instead be fun in a few more weeks when he/she arrives! Both girls are very well and enjoying their pregnancies for the most part so it has been a very special time having them both here with the Daddies-to-be looking after them.

Christmas was a lovely relaxed affair as it isn’t “our year” and if it wasn’t for Lauren’s surprise arrival we would have been home alone until the 27th. However we did end up celebrating both at home and with our extended family who had rented a large house in Bundanoon for the 3 days and it was lovely to see the little children’s faces as they opened their gifts. I love the chaos of Xmas Day with a crowd – the culmination of so much planning, shopping and cooking and a day that is valued so much that people drive for hours to share it with their loved ones.

The past couple of weeks have been full of simple fun as our Expat ticks off all her favourite Aussie experiences – beach walks, bacon and egg rolls at the surf club, fish and chips at the beach, barefoot bowls with the family and of course lots of yummy home cooked food of the non Vietnamese kind eaten on the veranda watching the parrots in the trees and the cows in the fields!! By default this means that we all enjoy these iconic summer activities too, simple really is best! It was lovely that she could share lots of this with her big brother and they are all looking forward to next Xmas already when “Uncle Tom’ will fly from London to visit his little nieces/nephew and complete the family circle.

Needless to say having our two pregnant girls here together the talk was mostly about the impending arrivals and comparing nursery requirements and goo-ing and gaa-ing over the tiny little clothes that are being collected. It really is quite special having two little cousins “cooking” at the same time and although they won’t see much of each other for the first 18 months of their life while half the family remain in Vietnam they will hopefully later on become good buddies. This is the first of many photos together no doubt!!

After a late start to our summer the weather has given in spades. Hot and humid in the mornings with big rolling thunderstorms in the afternoon. A huge downpour of rain for 10 minutes and then the afternoon sea breeze usually kicks in to cool things down so needless to say the garden is thriving. The grass is going troppo and the MOTH is on his mower every second day and the veggie patch is as happy as Larry. The rain means we don’t have to be a slave to watering and everything is lush and green. The cows are up to their thighs in grass and it’s hard to believe that we were in a drought just a couple of months ago. Water restrictions were officially lifted yesterday and we’re just hoping that things are also getting a bit easier for the farmers inland too. Sometimes the rain doesn’t make it over the first mountain range and it’s just the coast that gets the benefit of these summer storms.

We can’t actually keep up with the amount of fresh daily produce but manage to swop with the neighbours when there’s a glut. There are only so many dishes you can make with tomatoes and zucchinis! The worst part is we love roasted vegetable salads but who wants to put the oven on when it’s 36 degrees!!

So here we are in 2019, another turn around the sun and another year older but enjoying all that this life has to offer (except for the getting older bit hahaha!) The kids pledged their faith in me by getting me some painting equipment for Xmas and therefore this is the time for me to try my hand at something new. If elephants can paint then surely I have half a chance to do SOMETHING semi recognisable???? Watch this space folks…………….