Kiama & Christmas Morning!

It has been so nice having Stan home! He is so used to being super busy/ productive I have had the whole house de-cluttered and deep cleaned thanks to Stan. The first day he was home he re-modeled our whole patio (complete with flower pots, weather proofing our outdoor furniture, getting a bbq etc...) Then yesterday he cleaned out the garage. Because he has been home I have had some down time, which has been wonderful. I started by taking a three day trip to Kiama to visit some friends. Olivia's best friend from school moved down there and her mum was my best friend so we did a girls trip. They live right on the beach and we went swimming and did nature walks and got ice blocks and saw the lighthouses and blow holes--it was wonderful! Here are some pictures!

We got back Wednesday and had a few days to prepare for Christmas. Stan had done mostly everything--partly because I was pretty sure the kids were getting coal this year (except for Thomas) and Stan was pretty sure they were not getting coal. I Guess Santa showed me! I am pretty sure Santa finished up around 1:00am and then he ate cookies and drank hot chocolate on our balcony until 2:00am.

Decorating sugar cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve.

and Thomas eating some!

Opening our Christmas PJ's (short sleeved this year, as my mom decided she didn't want to do it for all the grandkids like she had planned...we were able to get something season appropriate in Oz!)

Reindeer twins

Christmas morning we woke up to waffles and the china!

Thomas has seen way too many girl movies when he saw the set up and said "O- a tea cup!"

Cheers

Opening a Christmas cracker and getting a hat, joke and toy!

This year Olivia got some roller skates (which she really wanted) and Mary got a littlest pet shop play house and Thomas got a spider man costume! Note: Thomas instantly put on the costume and then started to swing from the curtains. Stan got a Wii and I got a small chest to store any breakable things I have left that have not been broken YET. It was a great Christmas! We had so many gifts from family that Santa took a few back with him on mom's order since she was pretty sure the girls were getting coal--what a compromise :-)

Mary got a pet shop set up and a pet shop game for the wii

and spider man!

Olivia & Daddy Christmas morning! Thanks grandma for the underwear!

Santa got Stan a refurbished Wii

And as always the box is the best gift!

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year~!

Last day of school

This year the last day of school was December 15th! Olivia successfully completed year 1 (first grade) and Mary completed her last year of pre-school! I was dying when I got Olivia's report card. Who misses 46 days of school and 21 half days??? The best part is Olivia was in hospital for two weeks of her school holiday so she didn't get counted for missing those days (otherwise the tally would be 10 days higher). Aside from that she is doing great. She is the best reader in her class and I am so glad that all this happened early in school versus later when you have to know more than reading, colors, shapes, basic math and how to jump rope!

Olivia & some friends on the last day of school . The last day was a mufti day (non-uniform day at school) and everyone was supposed to wear red, green or white (Christmas theme). Olivia went as an elf.... in her tinker bell costume and we got a hat with a jingle bell to make it look slightly different! Nothing like getting my "efforts worth" after making that costume for book character parade day. Hope no one noticed!

Olivia & Miss Wong (her first year teaching and extra helpful while Olivia was so sick this year.)

Miss Wong giving the class hi-5's on their last day!

Mary's preschool teachers (Karen and Steven).

Mary & Ava (best of friends) and going to different schools next year!

and the slumber party we always throw at the end of each term! The school year starts the end of January and I can't wait for Olivia (year 2) & Mary (kindy) to go to the same school (less driving for me) and only Thomas at home!

Handel's Messiah

This Saturday, Stan and I went to our first concert at the Sydney Opera house. We saw Handel's Messiah (the unabridged version- 3 hours with 3 intermissions) and I loved it! I sang part 1 in high school so the following two hours were all new to me! I especially loved a couple songs in the last part. My favorite part about the concert was that there were 2 choirs. One that sang most of the time and then when they needed to go really loud the second choir would join in and it was so loud that you would get goose bumps. The 4 soloists were excellent (Stan particularly enjoyed the alto whose voice sounded like a cello and blended so well you thought she was an instrument)!

inside the concert hall (one of 6 in the opera house)

Now you know the inside of the opera house is purple!!

During intermission 1- out on the veranda on the outside of the concert hall overlooking the harbour.

I had been holding out to go to a concert in the Opera house until my twin sister could make it out to Oz, but after 2 1/2 years the right concert came up (and at the right price--thanks to my neighbor who was singing in the choir and her discount :-) and I decided to go! Next time laura, you and me...may it be as good as La Triviata in Bozeman!

Christmas Card 2010

For those of you not on our Christmas card list....or if your card gets lost in the mail below is the card in all it's glory! Merry Christmas!!--The Swinton Family

Dear Friends & Family,

This year we have been very blessed. We absolutely love living in Sydney, Australia and have enjoyed getting a few visitors this year and getting to visit many of you! Although busy, we are doing quite well. Here are a few of the highlights of the year:

In March, Olivia underwent a urethra re-implantation operation to prevent kidney damage caused by recurring urinary tract infections. Though her initial recovery was slow (she missed 10 weeks of school), her operation was a success and we have seen her health return. She has kept her chin up through it all and has made the most of the school year as a "year one" (first grader) - we are very proud of her.

Later in March, some of Alisha's family came to visit for spring break. It was enjoyable to eat out, shop and show them the exciting city life in Sydney. We hope they come again! In June, we traveled to the States for two weeks to attend Alisha's mum's wedding, her sister's graduation, see Stan's folks, and visit Disneyland!

We also welcomed Alisha's brother Ben to stay with us in Oz for two months (July & August) while he completed an internship at PwC. Alisha really loved having Ben around, especially since Stan was away in Melbourne for work during the weekdays for a couple of months.

Despite the travel, Stan continues to love consulting, and that is why in November, Stan accepted an offer to join the Sydney office of another consulting firm, Bain and Co. which will mean at least two more years of consulting for Stan and at least two more years of fun in Australia for the Swinton family!

We wish you all the very best this holiday season and the brightest happiest 2011.

Yours Sincerely, Stanford, Alisha, Olivia, Mary-Adelle & Thomas!

Thomas (2), Olivia (7), Mary-Adelle (5)

Decorating the Christmas tree & the PwC Christmas Party

So the day after Thanksgiving (which we celebrated on Sunday this year) we decorated the Christmas tree for family night. It took me a whole day to get all our decorations out and up but the house looks beautiful and we are all officially getting the Christmas spirit!

The following weekend was Stan's company Christmas party at Luna Park. In Sydney, Luna Park is a big amusement park located on the north side of the Harbour bridge. It is very picturesque with the opera house in the background while riding all the rides. We have never been before because each ride is~ $5.00/person so if you spend a day there with three kids it can get quite costly. PwC rented out the park and everyone got free rides and food vouchers. Santa Clause was also there so the kids were thrilled. Thank-you PwC and Merry Christmas!

There is a side door for kids who are too afraid to walk into the mouth to get into the park!

Scary hu!

The view behind us! See the Opera House and Harbour Bridge?

I love this picture, all three kids are big enough to go on the rides now!

I love the backdrop in this picture...Santa with some sail boats in Sydney

Olivia's face painting!

Movember shaved!

Thank you everyone who helped Stan fund raise for Movember! He fund raised $787.00 and his goal was $750.00--Don't ask me why he picked such a big number but pretty good for one month right? The stach is shaved and here are some shots of him the last day he had it. Note: He had trimmed it quite a bit, I had no idea he could grow so much facial hair and he promised me he would never do it again :-) He said next time, someone else can grow the stach and he will be their fundraiser.

Here is his web page. Thank you everyone! http://au.movember.com/mospace/746544/index/tp/2/dp/2

Stan's New Job, Disney Red Carpet & Thanksgiving!

So I don't even know where to start, we have been so lucky the last couple of weeks. To sum it all up, Stan has officially put in his resignation notice to PWC today and we will be making a lateral move to Bain after the holiday season. The opportunity came quite suddenly. The connection to the partner was made at an Oxford Alumni event here in Sydney and through a mutal friend from BYU who also currently works at Bain in the Dallas office (but was up doing a 6 month stint here in Sydney). After Stan's resume was put on this partner's desk he was interviewed over two weeks and was given an offer in the Bain Sydney office with a bottle of champagne. Stan accepted the offer, but leaving PwC has been bittersweet for several reasons. (1) Stan has been very successful at PwC, and has had very good exposure in the Firm (2) PwC was willing to match the offer from Bain financially and open up some additional opportunities for his career, and (3) Stan loves his team and his boss - Stan has the BEST Boss he hand picked Stan from Oxford and has had us over for dinner on a number of occasions. He is SO FUN and his team is made up of kind, intelligent, gorgeous people who are hilarious to hang out with - you just don't know if you can get that somewhere else...here's hoping!

Speaking of Stan's great boss - his brother is the CEO of Yahoo!7 and he had some tickets for the Australian premier of Tangled (Rapunzel) in 3D which he invited us to. There were no previews and a Disney executive came out with a microphone and talked to the audience and introduced the film. My kids were so excited to go! They of course dressed up and I of course didn't bring my camera and have no pictures! Thomas was restless and kept asking where the dragons were - otherwise, the movie was great!

Lastly, Thanksgiving! Much to my relief, a friend I had invited over for our 4th of July celebration hosted Thanksgiving. I brought the pies...Stan made them :-) and we ate and went home! I love it. I am now quite fond of doing Thanksgiving outside on the veranda since it is spring/ summer here and watching all the jacaranda petals fall and letting the kids run around. Since there is no holiday we postponed the event until the weekend. HAPPY THANKSGIVING! We have so much to be thankful for and we love living in Sydney!

Canada Bay

When we look at the history of Australia many of you think of the land of British convicts. It is true that Australia was a penal colony (much like Georgia in the US). The other day I was walking along the water by our apartment and I noticed a big stone with a plaque on it. It gave me a brief history of our little cove known as Canada Bay, which I had always wondered about, given the name.

Here is it, Canada Bay in all its glory!

Basically there was a group of French/ Canadians in Quebec that thought their beloved Canada should not be subject to the dictatorship of the Queen of England. They started to organize protests but their demonstrations were quickly put to rest as the Queen of England put them all on a boat to Australia. Lucky them--except for the fact that they were put in jail and then put to work for over a decade! We live in an apartment complex called Phillips Landing, which is named after the boat that brought these people over.

Personally, I think there was some preference given to the British convicts because they got the beach's and the guys from Quebec got the bay. Note: there is quite a stigma about people who live on "the north shore" (i.e. beaches) vs. the inner west (where we live). We are on the ghetto side of the harbor bridge but we couldn't afford a three bedroom apartment if we were on the other side! Either way we love our little cove, and here's to Canadians!!

Happy Birthday Stan!

Stan turned 30 this year! He had pretty mixed emotions about the whole thing but had a ball. The weekend before I flew down to Melbourne (where Stan has been working) to stay the weekend with him. We couldn't stay in the crown towers b/c Tiger Woods was there playing in a golf tournament and the place was booked out; so we had to stay across the street and at the Crown Promenade (a sister hotel, just not as posh!) It was so much fun. I had just finished my pneumonia meds and was still tired and getting away from my kids and sleeping in and getting waited on for meals etc... was amazing!

I got into Melbourne around 3:00 on Friday and met Stan after work. Dinner was treated by his boss and we went out to eat at Bistro Vue (French cuisine). This place was ranked as a one hat restaurant (there are only about 20 hatted restaurants in Melbourne). I am interested to see a 2 or 3 hat restaurant b/c I was really impressed with this place. We were walking through the cobblestone alleys of Melbourne up a hill and came to this cafe. We were led though this garden terrace and then into the restaurant where the architecture, furniture, dishes, smell and waiters were all 110% French. Stan and I had so much fun we looked at each other and said "lets move to France next!" The food was amazing and the bread was all fresh baked, the cheese platter was right behind me so we were engulfed with wonderful smells and charming accents! While waiting for our entrees, I gave Stan a book of memories from his closest friends and family members. He LOVED it and got a kick out of how many people contributed from high school, the mission, college, graduate school, church, etc.... I figured since most of his friends are in another country this was the best way to wrap up this section of his life. After dinner it started to drizzle so walked back down the cobblestone in the rain to our hotel and then slept in.

In the morning we got up and went for a run together (which we haven't been able to do since having kids) we ran along the Yarra river and watched all the rowers in training and then went into the royal botanical gardens. Once in here it started to rain a lot. we stopped in a gazebo and then it only got worse so we ran back. We had the breakfast buffet (which if you read my last post about the crown) is amazing! Our plane back was in the afternoon and we got to ride back business class, thanks to a free ticket I had and Stan being gold class with Quantas and getting upgraded.

The next weekend was Stan's actual birthday. I organized a surprise lunch with all his team members at work. He was quite surprised to see me sitting there with everyone and we got a ceramic plate that everyone could sign so he can remember his co-workers from PwC! Afterwards he played hookie and cashed in our gold class cinema tickets for Harry Potter which came out the day before. Gold class means you get to sit in these comfy couch chairs and have people wait on you and bring you food throughout the movie. Again, we got this perk from work and have been saving the tickets for a movie we actually wanted to see.

After the movie we came home and did cake and ice cream with the kids, opened gifts and went to bed! Happy birthday Stan--to the next 30 years

Pneumonia...

So the last 6 weeks I have had a terrible cough. It came on really suddenly and was so strong I would more or less loose my breath. In addition, my jaw is double jointed so when my coughing fit would get really bad my jaw would come out of joint--ouch! I was so tired I was taking naps throughout the day--which is rare.

I figured it would go away. So I pressed on taking a holiday in Melbourne for two weeks, pulling off a joint birthday party, Halloween, running the school uniform shop for school orientation for all the kindy parents (pretty much outfitting 40 new kids, ordering new uniforms and doing stock take etc...) dealing with a car accident (someone hit me) and I had to do all that insurance stuff and repairs and rental cars etc.. and of course playing tennis on Saturday mornings (my love)--even though we would have to frequently stop so I could cough etc... Then one day I hit a wall. I was flat on my back for three days. I couldn't breath and my neck had gone stiff/ numb. Soooooooo I finally went to the Doctor! He said I had pneumonia and that the infection was not only in both my lower lungs but also my upper lungs. It had gone on so long I had puss up one side of my neck which was pinching my nerves and also why I couldn't turn my head from side to side. (This was a problem while driving my rental car around post car accident).

The Dr. gave me some expensive but effective drugs and within 6 hours the puss had completely drained from my neck. Within two days I could breath again. Stan came back from Melbourne early that week (where he has been working for the last 6 months during the week--and home on the weekends). I felt bad because he had to pick up the house duties when he would come home from work. Basically I would be in bed by 6:00pm and he would get home at 8:00pm and the kids would be hungry and the house would be a mess. I was so tired I didn't take Olivia to school (there are no school buses out here so she just missed. ) I stayed in bed until Saturday. Then Sunday I got up. I am the Primary President and we have the primary program in two weeks :-) I ran primary for two hours and then came home and cried from exhaustion, slept and then cried again.

I have been better for a week now. I feel like I just got my feet underneath me and Stan's 30th birthday (first milestone) is in 5 days and the primary program is in 7 days and Thanksgiving is in 11 days. I am sad b/c the American society is not doing Thanksgiving this year and I wanted to just pay an entry fee and not have to do anything. I would dial 911 (or out here it is 000) for an emergency mom but my parents are divorced and both distant and my in-laws are serving a mission, so there is more or less no support from extended family even if I was living in the USA...which I am not :-)

Movember

November is Men's cancer awareness month (specifically prostate cancer). It is nick-named Movember. All over Sydney men grow mustaches to support the cause. Stan was nominated with 6 other guys from his team at work to grow a mustache for PWC. They are having a race to see who can win the most money. If you are interested in helping here is the web page: http://au.movember.com (you have to type in Stanford Swinton) and it will bring up his page and you can see his stach. In addition, PWC put together a game of the guys growing the staches. It is called the drag and drop MO game and has all the styles below but you can put them on Stan's face! I know, what fun, leave a comment and I can email you the game!

Thanks for you help!