christmas in brisbane

we enjoyed a lovely christmas day in brisbane with the inal family and anneanne. although it was difficult for me to be away from my family this year, everybody made me feel right at home with their kindness and generosity. the morning began with some excitement, as the boys and aydan prepared a special surprise for anneanne and i:

anneanne, waiting not-so-patiently for the surprise

ta-da! the christmas elves make their entrance
aydan with her helpers
she was really into it! the dancing went on for a while...
she was very excited to give out the gifts. noy was... slightly embarrassed.
in the background we listened to 'carols by candlelight...' not quite what i expected. those aussies are some interesting folks!
thoughtful gifts were passed around, and i really felt like part of the family.

aydan distributed all of the gifts, with lots of cheer!

later on we all got dressed for the annual family photo.

the traditional turkish christmas breakfast on the porch. the weather was so hot, as soon as breakfast was over we all went inside and turned on the air-con and never went out again.
as soon as the gifts were opened the boys got down to the important business of enjoying them, via the wii
in the afternoon we enjoyed an incredible aussie christmas feast of tiger prawns and lobster mornay, prepared by aydan.

noy & renan were thrilled.

lobster mornay!
after dinner we got into a heated game of cranium. here are ben and noy, after a win, in their 'dooj dooj' pose. don't ask.
renan did his best to keep ben from cheating, without much success.
that night the family sat down for a game of '51,' their favorite card game. no laughing here, as anneanne was especially competitive in this one!

so there it was- my first australian christmas! hope yours was as lovely as (and, hopefully a bit cooler than) ours.

christmas eve in brisbane

we returned to brisbane with anneanne on christmas eve, just in time to celebrate the holiday with the whole family. as soon as we arrived aunt aydan had a decadent 'welcome' cake for us

ben, happy to be back

the afternoon was spent on the porch hanging out, sipping jungle juice, and smoking cubans.

aunt aydan's christmas decorations put us all in a festive mood

later on the grilling commenced-- as the aussie's say, 'heaps' of veggies and meat
dj noy, leaving for work
anneanne cooking, as always!
cousins
the weather was beautiful
the dinner, delicious
aunt aydan doesn't stay still for long... she loves to dance! and she did throughout the night, randomly, and mostly without any background music. we love it!
anneanne & renan didn't know what to make of all the madness
a lovely christmas eve!

sydney

this week we spent 4 days in sydney, seeing the sites, ben's old stomping grounds, and visiting grandma (anneanne). we were still slightly exhausted from the travel, but managed to pack in a lot before returning to brisbane on christmas eve:

city from above- you can see the opera house if you look closely

anneanne's house!
in true anneanne fashion, food was cooking when we arrived. traditional turkish pureed eggplant, served with lamb and pumpkin soup. and stuffed grapeleaves. and salad. she fed us well!
and of course, eating was the first matter of business when we arrived.

neighbors iva and sam immigrated to australia from macedonia. they watched ben grow up, and still live next door to anneanne!

strolling in the mall with anneanne
dinner out at the rocks
opera house at night

cruising down the parramatta river, heading into sydney for a day of sightseeing. we spotted a lot of electric eels poking their heads out of the water, but unfortunately they were too quick for me to capture with the camera.

approaching the harbour
city skyline
luna park
city skyline with the opera house, enroute to the taronga park zoo

kookaburra sits in the old gum tree...
hanging with patrick, the prettiest and friendliest bird ever
chilling with our koala bear friend and her joey
little joey!

baby spider... this one will get a whooole lot bigger by the end of summer. think baseball mit. yikes!
this little friend loved getting a good scratch and kept coming back for more
ever wondered what you would feed an emu... if you needed to?
harbour bridge
didgeridoo
lunch with an amazing view
traditional fish & chips
chinese gardens, in the midst of downtown sydney, provide a beautiful oasis
darling harbour christmas tree- please note the kangaroos