Liss and Dave's Wedding

Scott went by himself for this wedding. We took it in turns. He had a great time catching up with everyone and he was so glad to be there to celebrate with Liss and Dave. He also enjoyed staying with Jen and Phil - thanks for looking after him!

Alison and Jason's Wedding

I got to have another trip back to Sydney last weekend. Alison was a friend I worked with in Tamworth. She was only there for the first year because she followed her heart and moved closer to Jason, in SA. Although I missed her greatly, it was nice to catch up and celebrate with her at her wedding (which was held in Wollongong).

Scott Brews Wine

A few months ago, we made a discovery. We knew you could brew your own beer and spirits but didn't believe the sign when it said 'Brew your own Wine'. After a visit to the shop and a talk with the saleslady, we found out it was true and so the process began. After buying the equipment kit, we then had to choose the kit for the type of wine we wanted. Scott's favourite is chardonnay, so we decided to try that first. The wine has now fermented and settled and been bottled! Here is Scott opening the first bottle, which apparently still needs a bit more time to fully develop. With a total of 32 bottles from the first kit, I think he will have some to share with all of you!To make the wine seem more professional and also have the personal touch, he has also designed his own label for his first batch 2007 Chardonnay from the 'Forever Travelling Winery'.Scott has already begun the next batch of wine, Semillon Blanc, which will be ready to bottle in a week or two.

Cirque de Soleil - Varekai

After hearing from many people how good the Varekai show was, we decided to book our tickets and head to the circus. While we were waiting for the doors to open, Scott found some animlas to befriend (they weren't the most comfortable seats, but they were fun).It was an amazing show, with some incredible talents and performances. I loved the kids, they were so cute. The three Asian boys performed very well and they were quite professional! Scott was impressed with the juggling and he's not easy to impress (only joking) - the juggler was quite spectacular. After the show we headed up to King's Park for a fantastic view of the city. A must to do if you ever visit Perth. It is great to see during the day or at night!

Rachelle and Becky visit

Rachelle and her friend Becky cam to visit us in Perth for 6 days. We had a great time showing them the sights. We kept them very busy, i think they needed to go home to have a holiday. We went to Freemantle, the city, Hillary's Boat Harbour, The Maze, Perth Zoo, King's Park and more. Below is a photo of us in Fremantle and one of Rachelle and I at King's Park (with all the WA wild flowers).

Perth Zoo

On the weekend, we took advantage of the sunny weather and headed off for a personal guided tour of the zoo. Andrew who volunteers at the zoo, gave us an enjoyable tour of all the animals. Scott and Andrew met at church, when Scott was here in 1998-99 and it's been great to resume the friendship. Nathan, who works as a nurse for the RAAF, also joined us for the day. Going to the zoo with three boys, meant I was the only one calling animals 'cute' and 'pretty'. The penguins were one of my favourites - they were so cute. It was great seeing them sooo close.

5 days South in WA

We have just returned from a five day holiday in Margaret River and Albany. We had a relaxing time and enjoyed the beautiful scenery, but then had to return to work and real life.

We headed off on Saturday morning to head towards Margaret river for two nights. We took the whole day to get there, stopping on the way at lots of places.

Our first stop was Bunbury. Not much to look at, except the gorgeous coastline and a few shops. The second stop was Busselton. We walked along a jetty almost 2km long, wow! It got colder and windier the further we got from shore. At the end of the jetty is an underwater aquarium. Unfortunately we didn't get to visit this because it closes during winter due to water clarity.
Our next stop was Dunsborough, a small town about an hour north of Margaret River. We found an art gallery there with amazing photos of southern WA. I have included one of his photos below. This is a picture of Cape Naturaliste, situated about 10 minutes from Dunsborough.From here, we went to Margaret River where we had dinner and stayed the night. The next day, after a leisurely breakfast, we made our way to one of hundred of wineries. It was hard to know which ones to go to! Scott bought a selection of wines and I even found one that I like. The first winery offered tours of the wine making process. As some of you may know, Scott has just bottled his first home brewed wine, so some of the information on the wine making process during the tour was familiar. Here are the fermentation tanks, they are quite large!

After the first winery, we went to the Margaret River Chocolate factory - more to my liking! (especially the free samples: yum yum) After another two wineries and a leisurely lunch, accompanied by wine, of course, it was time for the Fudge Factory. Although neither of us really like fudge, they also sell chocolate. Now chocolate, is something i can't walk past. So Scott got his wine and I got delicious chocolate, so all in all it was a great day. Day 3 we drove to Albany. The best part of this day was the Tree Top Walk at Pemberton. I don't need to say anymore than this because the photos speak for themselves.

These lovely big trees are Red Tingles. Some of them are believed to be 400 years old! After a three o'clock lunch in Denmark (the town, not the country), we arrived in Albany. We found our hotel, then headed out to Mount Clarence for a spectacular 360 degree view of Albany and the surrounding area. it was a beautiful afternoon, with clear views. The next day, we were glad that we had taken the opportunity to visit the mountain, because we had a very rainy and overcast day (We even saw some sort of reptile/lizards).

The trip to Whale World, was very educational. We went on a tour of the site, which used to be the place where they brought whales to kill and harvest their fat. The place is now set up to teach people about whales and celebrate their uniqueness. We had a photo in front of the skeleton of a Pygmy blue whale. That means it's a small version of the real blue whale, which can be up to 30m long!

We also got out in the rain to look at a place called "The Gap", a deep ravine in rock and also a natural rock bridge formed by the see, but we left the camera in the car and we were not going back to get it!

Day 5 we headed home after having a fantastic trip. Where to next?

Kristie and Dennis' Engagement Party

Kristie and Dennis celebrated thier enagagement last weekend. Tamara was able to join with family and friends for the occasion, despite taking an unexpected over night stop in Melbourne. The day turned out to be a beautiful sunny day and everyone enjoyed the food, the weather and the company.

Scott's First Student Graduates

When Scott started instructing at Tamworth his very first student was Owen. When Owen finished at Tamworth he continued his training in Pearce WA. Scott was unsure if he would be able to see Owen graduate because Scott was based in Tamworth. As you know, circumstances have changed and Scott was able to reconnect with Owen here in WA. He was recently able to attend the postings dining-in, where Owen found out the aircraft he would be flying.

Nanna's 80th

We flew down to Melbourne, the day after moving into our Perth house, to surprise Nanna on her 80th Birthday. We arrived in Melbourne, where Deb picked us up and took us back to her house where we would be staying for the weekend. Ian had been unwell, so he waited for us at home. Saturday morning, we had a little sleep in (to help with the time zone shift) then headed to the hall to help with final details. On the way, we rang Nanna to wish her a happy birthday because she thought we were still in Perth. When she arrived and saw us in person, she was shocked and overjoyed. That was only the first of a number of surprise visitors that day, including a favourite singer of Nanna's, Brendan Scott. Mum did a tremendous job and did not leave a single detail undone. The day was a huge success!