Down Under with Jan Mikaela Nora and Ella

It's the hottest Christmas on record this year. Even the koalas come down the trees for some refreshment in our back yard. Santa has something for everyone !!! Merry Christmas everyone !  

So what's the first thing you do when Mofa (Grandpa) is back in town? That's right: book a weekend away without the kids! Mum and Dad enjoyed the luxury life in Clare Valley, one of South Australia's great wine regions. Lots of wine tasting and fine dining, and a pool to stay cool !        

Get ready everyone, Santa Claus is back in town !!! No less than 88 floats kept the girls very excited this morning at the Adelaide Christmas Pageant. Make sure you wave at father Christmas !

Not one but two birthdays this week. It was Mum’s turn on Friday. She was spoiled with great presents and a very nice dinner at the Marina. And then of course there was the party yesterday. Ella asked for Halloween dress-up party, so the garden was decorated with lots of scary stuff.  The dress ups were great and the guests stayed late: well and truly into the night, which of course made the Halloween party extra scary ;-) Happy birthday Mum and Ella!

Hurray ! Ella's turned 4 years today. One, Two, Three, FOUR !!! Off racing on her new bike, and on to the party this coming Saturday ! 

After watching her older sister for two years, it is now finally time for Ella to start swimming lessons. Here she is in Lane 1 for the very first time. Keep kicking Ella !

It felt a bit odd, ice skating on a warm and sunny day with views across the beach, but it was absolutely great. Right on the Glenelg Jetty a Winter Wonderland ice-arena was prepared. It even came with a snow machine! For Mum and Dad it had been at least ten years since they last put under some skates. And for the girls it was the very first time on ice. Fantastic experience !

Finally after such a long wait Nora’s first wobbly tooth came out. It was carefully brushed and put in a glass of water at her bedside. But does the tooth fairy really exist? Well, this morning we got the answer. The tooth fairy had visited us over night and carefully swapped the tooth for some gold coins. Allegedly Nora saw her from under the blanket: she was small and had blue wings. And the tooth fairy even told Nora that she was 8 years old. Just so you know …

Haven’t seen one all day but 'Whale watching' was the perfect excuse for a nice day out in Victor Harbor. Charlize came along for the ride. The girls walked all the way up & down & around Granite Island just to verify if there wasn’t any whale hiding on the other side. They even looked from high up the Ferris wheel. These whales take their hide & seek game very serious ;-)

Today we watched a star in the making: Nora's first Theatre Bugs performance. She played Giant Boris in the musical 'Jack and the bean stalk'. Lots of dancing and even three lines of text. Perfect show Nora, round of applause !!!