Happy New Year

Happy New Year to All.
I should have taken a photo of Moo in her party dress before she left for her night on the Harbour. Moo has some great pictures of the fireworks.
Mum and I watched the Edinburgh Tattoo. We have been to the Castle so it brought back great memories.
Jules -despite a hangover- mowed the lawn for us on NewYear's Day. Jack, Fran, Liam and Connor joined us for lunch. Jack and family are off to the Snowy for a week. The trout are already running for cover because the word has gone out that Liam and Connor are geared for a big catch.
Had a card from Katie which was posted on Christmas Day so there was little update on her phone call.
Marty is looking to come down for a few days in January if the cyclones permit so we are frantically hoping to get some time together with Jack, Marty, Annie and Moo.
Annie will be in Sydney fro Jan 8-12. A whirlwind visit but they always manage to fit in plety of activity.
I hope Ricky Ponting and the boys can get a bit of fire in their bellies for the third test. Murray and I are used to seeing Australia win and we don't want to be disappointed.
Good luck in your Uni application Tom.
Best Wishes for 2009.
Love to All. Dad.

Greetings and Happy New Year to all. Hope 2009 is fantastic!

Happy Christmas

Greetings from Penshurst,Glenbrook and the Welsh arm.

As you can see from the pictures (which Liam expertly logged on) Moo and Mum prepared a great meal and the gathered troops are enjoying it.

Thanks for your call Annie, Marty and Kate.

All has jelled to make a most enjoyable day.

What a great family who have put a renewed step into a couple of old crocks.

Love to All Dad & Mum.

my turn

Hi all. Been a while since I 've been on. Steve wrote about Lucy's formal. As usual at this time of year I have been really busy. Have been performing around nursing homes with choir as well as end of year stuff at school. As well as Yr 7-10 presentation night also had to do yr 12 graduation this year, the lot of a music teacher! As Moo said had a great time in Melbourne, thanks girls again for a wonderful weekend, should have done it a long time ago, and we should make it a regular thing, providing Moo is in the country! Am at melba-copland for another year, hopefully this stupid mobility will go in our new EBA next year, if not, they can probably find something else to argue for me to stay! Kate hope you and Hasi have a great time in Indonesia, stay away from rabid dogs! Will send you your chrissie present when you get back. Marty, say hello to the boys for us and have a great time in Alice. We are having our tradtional Kennedy Christmas drinks next Tuesday night, and then spending Christmas Day at Jenny's. Hope Mum and Dad have a good day at the Faggions. Moo and Jules hope you have a good day whatever you decide to do. That's about all from me. Oh, almost forgot, congrats Tom on your HSC results and getting your licence. See you all and talk to you all soon!! We will probably be in Sydney from around the 8th Jan to the 12th. Love Annie

Greetings from the South Coast
welcome to the Glenbrook mob!- in particular Liam (child of the light) for your 'go for it' attitude. You got to love a man on a mission. I must say Ive been a bit slack lately with the blog-probably because Moo has been my neighbour for the last 3 months, which has been awesome.

I had a great night with Moo and Jules a few weeks ago, when Jules sung in The Wollongong Welsh Choir. He was brilliant, and that voice of his resonated above the others, which Moo and I loved, but Im not sure if the older choir members were too impressed. Too bloody bad!!

Tom, congratulations on your HSC results- you clever guy! and you can drive too.
Our car is free for January, if you need it for a road trip!
I could be in a library at this very moment. All's quiet with Mum and Moo having a cryptic crossword challenge- so competitive those two. Like mother like daughter.
Oops -As I type Dad has put the races on on that tinny little tranny of his.

Only 1 day left of work for me and 2 for Hasi - this time next week we hope to be in the east of Indonesia-if we get our passports back from the consulate in time. If they dont arrive tomorrow we will probably be in jail for the murder of a travel "stylist.

I am sad that I wont be seeing Lucy and Clare before I leave. Honestly its been way too long since we have had some time together, but somehow life has been a bit chaotic in the last few months. Luc you looked gorgoeous in that little formal number and Im patient, I'll wait for the real gossip when I see you.

Hasi, Mrs Pong, Mona and Lisa are all doing well. The girls are fat and happy and looking forward to the Welsh influence coming to their space in the near future.
"
Enough!! Luv to you all, Zak

The Monsoon is Here

Well the rain has started. The last few weeks have been hot and humid. Covered in sweat just reading the paper. Anyway it rained most of yesterday and last night and it looks like being the same today.
Lost my job last week. A woman coming off workcover needed to be placed in a position and now she has mine. I guess thats what happens when you take up a short term position. it looks like I have a position at Northern Territory Open Education Centre (NTOEC). It will be servicing the bush schools in the Katherine area so there will be a fair bit of travel. I'm looking forward to it but Claire is worried about how much I will be away. I keep saying think about the TA which is tax free.
We head off to Alice on Saturday to catch up with the boys for christmas. Claire then flies to Adelaide for a wedding and I will slowly head back up here. I'm looking forward to catching up with the boys but I worry about being away if a cyclone hits. We have to make sure everything is put away or tied down.
The shipping container is here and in the front yard. We have decided not to empty it because it's safer to have things inside in case a cyclone does hit.
Hope everyone has the best Christmas ever and all your hopes and dreams come true. Tom I guess HSC results are out soon. hope you get what you need.

Cheers
Marty and Claire

The Big Dinner Dance

Well, our beautiful big girl has finished year 10 with a shiny Yr 10 Certificate, covered with lots of A's for most of the subjects for the last 2 years and heavy with lots of merit certificates BUT the big thing was of course the dinner dance which everyone but Steve calls a formal.

So, it all finally happened on Monday night, after a day of preparations with the girl friends. Transport was provided by Chick "Summernats" Henry in his convertible ( doing wonders for the hairdo's ) to "The Lakeside". We're reliably informed that it was a great night - but parents wouldn't understand, would they ?





So the girls are Heidi, beautiful Lucy and Lauren, best friends and "thick as thieves"

Greetings to all. Welcome to the Isaksens at Glenbrook. Great to see an entry from the mountains finally. The kitchen is looking fabulous! Hope you recover soon Jack. We hope Kev is better soon as well. Sorry to hear about the job Marty, but we are all confident it will not be long until you have another.
Jules and I have another housesit to fill in between Austimer and Woonona. Michael and Birgitte are taking the family away for a week at perfect timing to fill our homelessness. So we are in Cronulla for a week from Sunday. Everyone welcome yo visit.
Jules has finally got his home brew bottled and we are enjoying some real ale finally. It is a much lesser volume than we hoped due to some equipment failure and leakage, but it has been worth the wait. The ginger beer stash is slowly going down - and it goes down very nicely!
Kate, Annie and I had a great weekend in Melbourne recently. Thanks girls.
Jules has performed twice with the choir now and has one more concert before the summer break. He has enjoyed performing and his voice can be heard with the "rum pa pa pums" of the Little Drummer Boy".
No work still for me but I'm having a great holiday!
As I will probably not post again until after Christmas, hope everyone has a Fabulous Festive Season. Bon voyage and safe travels to Kate & Hasi. Everyone else stay safe as well. See you soon.
Love and hugs, Moo (& Jules) xxxxxx