Australia Day '09

26 January 2009

11 months & 1 day since we arrived in Australia. A year ago to the day our Australian work visas were approved.

And Australia Day! The day Australians don their Aussie flags like super hero capes, Aussie flag bikinis, thongs (slip slops), t-shirts, hats, shorts, dresses, tattoos, face paint. Green & gold lamingtons, wigs, blankets & beach umbrellas. Thong throwing competitions, ferry races, Australian of the Year Awards, Citizenship Ceremonies, barbies, beer, picnics, beach treasure hunts, fireworks. The day when Australians celebrate being Australian.

The annual ferry race in the harbour

One of Scott's tattoos for the day

And mine - I had one of these on each arm

Us with our Aussie paraphernalia!

Scott & I went off to Newport Beach for brekkie - bacon & egg rolls - and coffee. We watched the Citizenship Ceremony with big lumps in our throats! In a few years that'll be us! I think there were about 13000 new citizens sworn in on Australia day throughout the country. Each council put on their own ceremony.

Waiting for our coffee

The beach is behind those Norfolk Pines - that's where the thong throwing competition & treasure hunt took place.

The white roofed tent in the background is where the ceremonies took place.

The Certificate of Australian Citizenship

Then it was off to the thong throwing competition. This is for adults & children alike. You pay your $2 for 3 throws and away you go. The furthest throw on the day was reported on the news as being something insane like 65m! Whoever threw that must've had a tail wind & a bloody heavy thong!!!

A kid in his green & gold about to have a go

The flag on our balcony

We headed home and just mooched around most of the day. The weather was cooler than the past few days - in the mid 20s instead of the mid 30s/early 40s! But by the afternoon it had started drizzling. So not really an ideal day for the beach. Instead we just had a barbie on the balcony with big fat lamb chops and a couple of cold beers.

Our celebrations were a little subdued though. We were anxiously awaiting news from my folks....

And I've saved the absolute BESTEST news for last..... My dad called us at about 10pm in the evening with his results from his CT scan.....

THE CANCER HAS SHRUNK!!!!!

So the chemo is doing what it's supposed to do and he'll continue with another round of treatments before his next CT scan. And it's thanks to positive attitudes all around, Mom's healthy cooking and Dad's fighting spirit!!! Woooohooooo!!!!!!

So on that positive note.... until next time!

Cheers!