Merry Christmas

As soon as Grandfather left, Christmas was just around the corner. In the week between his departure and Christmas we slowly grooved back into our everyday lives. Michel would watch volleyball in the morning with or without Pepe and I would spend this time with one or both children, usually at home or in the city. Since it has become very hot now, we have to think carefully about when we go where.

A very lucky person came from a yoga participant. She offered me a car in exchange for osteopathic treatments. Of course I agreed straight away and so we have had a car since mid-December until we leave. Now we enjoy the flexibility and visited many places that are difficult to reach by bus. We were actually quite happy without a car, but the difference now with a car in a city that is very spacious and there are no bicycles or sidewalks is enormous.

The weekend before Christmas we were invited to Vivi's birthday. There were a lot of friends there and there was a buffet and kava. This was a good opportunity for me to try kava again. Vivi gave me the tip to think about a raw potato with soil and it actually helped me that I didn't find the brownish drink totally disgusting. Just a bit disgusting ;) I had enough of 2 shells for now and left the rest to the others.

On the Thursday before Christmas we met our nanny Lowra's family at the playground. The children played and then we ate lunch together at the market.

The beach volleyball players' Christmas party was on the Friday before Christmas.

We drove with the whole gang to a private property right on the sea with access to a beautiful coral reef. It started around 10 and the hard liquor was unpacked straight away. A few participants prepared the food. We used the time to go snorkeling and play football or in the sand with the children. After a while the music got louder and louder and photos and Tiktok videos were constantly being taken. You can hear loud laughter all the time. It's fun to watch the squad, even if we were a bit suspicious of the 75% unlabeled rum. After a very tasty barbecue buffet, we slowly made our way back. The rest of the gang turned night into day. On the way back we got everything for our Christmas dinner and the last presents and looked forward to “Christmas Eve”.

We had an appointment with two families where Santa Claus had arrived on the morning of December 24th. came and so he came to us quite early this year. It was super exciting for Pepe when the bag suddenly appeared in the living room after we finished our morning pool session. Pepe received a book, scissors and a skateboard, while Toni received a few toys and a bowl of cereal.

We were playing hard right away when our friends Vicki and Brigitte showed up at the door with champagne and banana bread around 9am. So the morning started quite happily and we sat together for 1-2 hours. When the two of them left, Anton took a short nap and then we drove over to our Christmas date.

The other family was already there and the first sausages were on the grill. We gave the family a volleyball net for the pool, which was installed straight away and so the children spent the whole day in the pool or in the garden by the football goal. An adult took turns playing along or riding along the lagoon in a kayak or sub. It was a really nice, hot day with a delicious buffet in the evening and two children sleeping quickly when we got home quite late.

It was a good thing that we had nothing planned the next day and spent the day relaxing at home and then jumping into the water on the beach.

Of course we missed the family at home a bit, but we can also recommend Christmas with a barbecue and pool :)

Now we are enjoying another week without obligations and preparing for our move. Before we fly to Brisbane, we move in with friends and look after their house while they go on holiday in Brisbane :) It's not a big hassle for us and we save a bit of money.

Today we had a really nice birthday for Anton. Vivi and little Tiani came over for coffee and cake and while it was raining heavily all day we made ourselves comfortable inside. We will also spend New Year's Eve relaxing on the sofa with a film.

Lukim yu and a happy new year 🥂