Christmas 2004

Two very spoilt little girls woke up about 6:00am on Chirstmas morning, ignored breakfast and moved onto opening presents as soon as they were allowed. The Thomas the Tank railway and the Brat doll that Courtney had asked Santa for were there and also a heap of other things.

After a quick play with everything, it was off to Grandad and Nana's house for more presents and a lovely christmas lunch and a swim in the pool.

It was really hot early in the day but all of a sudden it started raining and the wind came up so it cooled down very quickly.

The girls received all sorts of loot. A trampoline, a table and chair set, videos, books, toys, pool noodles.... you name it, they got it. So far, their favourite presents seem to be Courtney's Nintendo Gameboy and Brooke's My Little Pony.

Last night we went up to Rob and Sue's house and we all stayed over after a few too many drinks...

Historical Event

A tsumami kills over 150,000 people in the Asia region.

Happy Birthday Ben

Today, little (all 6 foot plus of him) Ben turned 16 years old today. Unbelievable. Sounds like you had a great day.

We all have one more year of peace on the roads - Lookout everyone !

Getting close now

Less than a week to go until Christmas. Courtney is getting into it, she has worked out how many sleeps are left although she is not yet fully wound up with excitement - it's coming. Brooke on the other hand remains happy to go along with what ever Courtney thinks is a good idea. Having said that, she understands that presents are for unwrapping and she has been eyeing off the ones already under the tree.

CJ has written out her Christmas wish list and a letter to Santa - Top of the list is "A Thomas the Tank set with a tunnel and a bridge" and "Brats" (whatever they are) Time will see if Santa produces the goods.

This weekend has been big for birthdays. On Friday Dad turned 29 again (for the second year running) and then on Saturday the girls went to Rockingham to celebrate Little Pop's 80th.

Last night the girls tried to watch Carols by Candlelight on the television however, after the Wiggles, there were too many songs that they didn't know so their attention span didn't last very long however, Courtney wouldn't go to bed until Guy Sebastian sung his song.

Tonight was BBQ night at Nana and Grandad's again - Courtney ate EVERYTHING - We hope she doesn't have too much of a belly ache.

40 degrees in the shade

Very hot in town today. The girls went to Nana and Grandad's this afternoon for a swim in the pool to escape the heat and then they had fish-n-chips for dinner.

Tonight Dad took the girls for a drive to find the best of the Christmas lights. We found one house that had it all... heaps of lights, dancing santa puppets, trains...everything. The people that owned the house were really nice and showed us around their front yard.

If you're out this way, check out Constellation Drive, Ocean Reef. Tell them that the Crane girls said Merry Christmas.

It ended up being a very late night.

The Christmas lights at Dads house. There will be a better picture soon. We hope

Dino Jim's

The girls' weekend did not get off to a very good start. Mum had made numerous (read hundreds) requests of late for the girls to clean up their play area. On Saturday morning, they decided to trash the area and drag every thing out on the floor and then started dragging their feet when it came pack up time. New rule in the house is that toys left out get put in the boot of Dad's car... we'll see how that goes.

Brooke is really trying hard with her toilet training, she has no interest in wearing nappies at the moment and protests everytime they are offered. She is so proud of her knickers. She's still having accidents but the penny is starting to fall that she can sort it out for herself.

The girls have discovered an important thing about Christmas = They can shake presents under the tree and try to work out what is inside. Their list of Christmas wants are growing however there are a few constants that we hope Santa will bring. We're pretty sure he won't disappoint.

After weeks of asking, Dad took the girls to Dino Jim's today. The whole place is basically a two storey padded obstacles course, ball pits, trampolines and mini putt golf course. Needless to say, they both had a ball. Courtney joined into a game of "brandy" in the ball pit during which she made herself a human shield, protecting Brooke from three of four assailants.

Brooke overcame her fears with a little help from Courtney and together they crossed the bridge (which is only about a foot wide) from one landing to another.


The girls high up (more photos on the other page)

Unexpected discovery : Kids amusement centres are nearly empty on Sundays?

Tonight everyone went to Nana and Grandad's house for BBQ. Grandad is selling his MG and Courtney thinks she's like a ride in a little sports car before it leaves - expensive tastes in the making?

Did you know? : Brooke is afraid of Snails. She'll swat a bee with her bare hand but will stop dead in her tacks and shout "Nail Nail" should she see one in/near her path. Courtney on the other hand, likes to step on snails... she thinks it makes Pa happy....

Game Day

Today was the last session of Courtney's soccer. Mum painted both the girls faces and teased up Courtney's hair so she looked like a lion. Nana and Grandad came and watched along with Mum, Dad and Brooke. Courtney scored about 7 goals and she had a good time except for when she got hit in the face with a soccer ball - standing behind the goals.

Courtney got a medal and a certificate and the coaches made a special mention of how good the face painting was.

Grandma visits

Yesterday Grandma came to visit for a couple of nights.

This morning the girls went shopping with Grandma and Dad because Dad needed to buy some new shoes. Grandma couldn't help herself and the girls ended up with new shoes as well.... and a matchning pink dress each.

The Christmas Tree

Nana picked the girls up from school today and took them to Courtney's swimming and then they went back to Nana and Grandad's house for dinner, a bath and some play.

Dad picked them up and when they got home, Mum had the Christmas tree ready to be decorated. The tree looks fantastic... it looks like a Prohart masterpiece. The girls concentrated on putting all the tinsel and balls on one side of the tree. Let's just say it is almost completely covered over, not much green left to see.

Brooke has kidnapped a Santa stocking and stuffed reindeer, they are currently on her pillow, helping her count down the sleep until Christmas.