Christmas 2007 & New Year 2008

We spent some warm and sunny weeks in Australia for Christmas and New Year. After arriving in Perth we spent a few days with Mel's family before heading to Tasmania for Christmas.Our friends Stuart and Sheree Kent and their 2 girls were at Sheree's parent's place for Christmas and we were invited to join them.

Grace declined to join us in this photo.

We flew in on Christmas eve and spent a great few days hosted by Sheree's Mum and Dad. It was a really precious time since we have missed them hugely since leaving them in Cambodia last June. We arrived back in Western Australia as the new year turned and headed down to our olive farm with Mel's parents.

We spent our few "days on the land" doing a few odd jobs around the farm and generally enoying being there. Mel's brothers - Ashley (who just graduated from high school) and Kim with Melissa and their two kids also came down to the farm. We then spent the rest of the time in Perth, where Mum and Dad were housesitting, doing various fun things. One of the highlights was our Christmas gift from Kim and Melissa; a tour of the tunnels under Fremantle Prison. The prison was built by and for convicts imported by the settlers as free labor needed to get the failing Swan River settlement in WA up and running. The tour included climbing down lots of ladders, walking, and boating through the tunnels. We looked quite a sight in our gear. (Melissa didn't like the idea of that closed in space - or was it the outfits- so she did an above-ground tour while Kim took us under).

Another highlight was a day at the zoo with the neice and nephew, Madison and Nathan as the chief attraction. Marc returned to Cairo on Jan 9th to start work but Mel stayed on a week longer. She got to catch up with some friends, go to the farm again and generally enjoy more family time. This week included her birthday. A great birthday treat was a morning tea birthday cake supplied by Melissa's family while she was visiting them at their beach house. She also had a memorable birthday dinner of fish and chips on the ocean with Mum, Dad, Ashely and Nan.

Now we are back to life in a cold and occasionally wet Cairo. The winter is both colder and longer than anticipated. Melanie is enjoying wearing all those winter outfits that she hasn't seen for the 6 hot years of SE Asia. Marc is too actually but it gives him no joy - he just can't wait for it to get warm again!