Seaside Roadtrip

On Monday we decided to take advantage of the summer weather and drove down to Bournemouth for the day.  Although the weekend had been & gone the beach was still jam-packed.  We could have guessed this would be the case as we drove around and around to try and find somewhere to park (the one stress we don't normally have to deal with).The girls swam in the freezing English Channel but had a great time.  Tony & I watched from the warm beach not even game to stick a toe in. After the beach we stopped for the mandatory ice cream in the park - never far from a disaster we managed to lose one flake out of an ice cream cone before leaving the ice cream van!

We decided to take the country drive back towards the motorway driving through New Forest.  On the way we pulled over to take a wander to find wild ponies.  We watched some from a distance and saw a foal with it's heavily pregnant mother.  They seemed to be quite curious of us and came up close for further inspection.  The girls were in awe at being so close to nature and talked about it for the next 2 hours on the way home!

In between hearing how great the ponies were we stopped at a country pub for dinner, we all had a really nice meal which turned out to only be £1 more expensive than the Wimpy we had for lunch at the services on the way down!!

 

del.icio.us Tags: Bournemouth, English Channel, Beach, Ice-cream, Ponies

Summer Holidays Part 1

On Friday 3rd August our family holiday began.  Tony's parents were very generous and hired us a car for 10 days. After picking up the car - which incidentally I have fallen in love with and want to keep! - i decided to take Kayla to a park that i had seen on the internet. I was very organised and had printed off directions to get there and back and according to Google it would take about 20 minutes to get there.  So after 40 minutes of driving and running out of familiar towns on road signs it seemed that my lack of sense of direction remains intact!

Turning around and heading back towards Reading Kayla was in desperate need for a toilet break, we stumbled across a petrol station and went in to use the facilities.  we were then informed that they did not have any but we could try the California Country Park up the road - yes this was the park we had been driving for an hour at that stage to find!

We have so far been blessed with fantastic hot weather since Friday (considering there had been very few signs of summer up until this point someone must be smiling down on us for the week that we had booked off to be so nice!)

Today (Sunday) the four of us drove over to Alexandra Gardens in Windsor and played mini golf.  At some point I took over the score cards and managed to mess up a couple, but we think Tony managed to rectify the point tally.  The final scores were Georgie at 3rd place with 57, Tony & Kayla tied 2nd place with 50 and I won with a score of 41!

We have a jam packed week coming up so fingers crossed the sun stays shining and we have a fantastic time.

 

del.icio.us Tags: Summer, Park, Mini-golf, Car Hire

Night Out in London

After quite a long time of seeing each other, Susanne, Rach and I finally set a date to meet up to spend a day together. The idea was to have lunch – perhaps a few cheeky drinks – and go our separate ways in the evening. The easiest place to meet was the The Hog in the Pound at Bond Street which was close to where we thought we would have lunch. So sitting at a pub catching up meant one thing – why not have a couple of drinks first! The sun was finally shining and the coronas were going down very nicely. By 3pm we still hadn’t left the pub. Talking about ideas of what to do, Susanne innocently suggests “why not go to a karaoke bar” and not so innocently says “as it happens I have the details here” as she pulls out a business card for a karaoke bar in Soho. So a quick phone call was made and a room booked for 4pm. We legged it over to Soho and arrive just in time for our hour’s room booking. We then belted out some favourite sing alongs for an hour standing on the couches in the little room – thank god no-one else was there to see!

Our stomachs soon reminded us that we still hadn’t had any food , we passed a Chinese buffet in Chinatown and decided on that rather than spending more time looking around for something else. After piling my plate high with lots of food I worriedly kept glancing at the warning sign on our table that stated any food wastage would be charged – anyone that knows me might know that no matter how much food in on my plate be it a large or small portion I never ever finish it! This was then the time that I was to head home. Susanne was meeting up with a school friend who I had gone to primary school with so I thought I’d go along to the pub in Covent Garden and meet up for a little while THEN head home! After lots of chatting and a few bottles of wine it was soon apparent that I would not be able to go anywhere on my own. Susanne had to call my wonderful husband who agreed it was probably best I stayed at hers that night. After waking in the morning, feeling the effects of all the alcohol the night before – I managed to head back to Reading to spend the rest of the day in bed! It was a great night though!!

del.icio.us Tags: karaoke, Pubs, Friends, London

Easter

The Easter weekend began coming home from work and discovering our lounge room looked very similar to a computer warehouse. Darren & Megan had come over to spend Easter with us and Darren & Tony had gone out shopping for a new computer for Darren. It turned out it was going to be a better deal to buy all the components and tony build the machine from scratch. Darren has also brought with him his old computer to be turned into one for Megan and another old machine that Tony could use as a (third!!!) server. So the floor could barely be seen with all the machines & components everywhere.
On Good Friday we took Kayla & Megan to the local park although I think Darren & myself got more enjoyment from some of the playground structures! We decided to all go on a swing type thing with four “seats” that swings around in a big circle, the kids got a great laugh at seeing the ‘oldies’ trying to have a turn – check it out in the Easter Album on the photos page.
Later in the day/evening we were joined by Charlie & Debbie and spent a great night in with good company & plenty of drinks and lots of fun playing trivial pursuit family & music edition which I won!!! It turns out I know far too much information about boy bands!!
Georgie came over to ours on Saturday, so the kids had another great day all playing together and we got a day to veg out
Tony’s parents also popped over to see us – which was really good coz we scored a Cadbury’s crème egg Easter egg from them hehe!
That night, after more drinks and a bit of a smoke and quite a lot of laughs we have ended up with another website – not really a “family” one so to speak more like a place for silly ideas - www.stonedideas.co.uk will be up & running soon!
The Easter bunny paid us a visit, so Sunday morning nice & early all three girls had an Easter eggs hunt through the flat. Later in the day we took them to the park next door to burn some energy, again I think the adults had more fun at the park by playing Frisbee.
On Monday we went to Silchester which is an old Roman Town not far from where we live. Most of the roman wall is still standing which we spent a lot of time walking around, it was quite interesting and even the girls seemed to enjoy the “historic excursion” the day was finished off with a nice pub lunch and a nap when we got home – such the life!

del.icio.us Tags: Easter, Chocolate, Friends, Board Games

Addictions

Due to certain situations, mostly weather & finances, we have been spending an awful lot of time at home. This isn’t such a bad thing as we enjoy each others company a lot, it has however highlighted my bad habits – watching lots of TV, snacking and computer games!
Ok so the TV watching isn’t so bad, except Tony would disagree for the fact that I will sit and watch terrible English soaps (hollyoaks) and any “countdown show” that’s on, he also got a little concerned when I wanted to mark the calendar when the new season of house was returning…anyway this bad habit is most certainly the cause of the next one – snacking!! Now apart from the little bit of weight gain due to this I wasn’t overly concerned, or perhaps just lack of will power to cut down, UNTIL a visit to the dentist yesterday! Kayla & I have fallen under the curse of British teeth (no offence) and need a root canal treatment (me) and 2 (!!) extractions (Kayla) poor girl. The worst part for Kayla was after realizing what extractions meant was the thought of Easter a week away, and with tears streaming down her cheeks she asked is she still getting any Easter eggs
I have been introduced to a computer game, which was originally intended for the girls to play, called Zoo Tycoon where you have to build a zoo hire staff etc and make money. I was helping the girls with setting one up and became so engrossed I ended up spending 3 hours the other night setting up MY zoo! Since then I’ve started another zoo its very addictive so much so that I ended up burning the dinner last night coz I was playing the game.
So anyway, as I sit here with a can of softdrink and a chocolate bar wondering if I can fit in some time to build more exhibits in my zoo in between dinner and NCIS & CSI tonight, I will leave it to next week to cut back some of my addictions

del.icio.us Tags: TV, Computer Games, Dental

White Christmas - The Theatre

We had arranged with Tony’s parents to see a show at Southampton on the 6th Jan, as Tony’s mum’s godson Farrick (following?? Hehe) was part of the cast. So the four of us went along and met up with Tony’s sister, husband and their 2 children and some other friends of the family.
It turns out what we were there to see was a musical, White Christmas based on the movie and the lead was none other than Aussie Craig McLachlan - ie Henry in Neighbours 20 odd years ago!
The show was actually really good, and after a year of debating with tony about the quality of Craig’s singing voice I had to admit that he was very good on stage! (we have had a friendly argument in which tony has tried to convince me many times that Craig McLachlan is actually a really good singer and if you ignore the 80’s Mona song the rest are really good and, being me, without actually listening I have disagreed)
Kayla, Georgie and their 2 cousins Gemma & Sophie seemed to really enjoy it, and Every time Farrick appeared on stage Tony’s mum was very excitedly pointing him out – I think she was very proud and rightly so

After the show Tony’s mum had to meet Farrick at the stage door to exchange some Christmas presents and he asked the girls if they would like to meet Craig. Craig came out in the freezing cold half undressed and signed autographs and had pictures taken, he seemed really nice & down to earth and after chatting with everyone for a little while went back inside as I quote “he nipples were about to fall off” from the cold.
After the show we had a nice meal in church that has been converted into a restaurant – such a nice setting. Ricky (Farrick) had organised for everyone to meet up there and as we were shown to our tables he stated that he wasn’t going to eat coz it was too expensive hehe

del.icio.us Tags: Theatre, Craig McLachlan, Southampton

Christmas & New Year 2006/2007

Merry Christmas and happy New Year!!!
This year we had 2 Christmas days (alright for some huh?!?)
On 25th December we had a Christmas day with Kayla and Charlie also spent the day with us. Tony slaved away in the kitchen to provide us with a roast dinner and the rest of the day was spent playing with his new present “guitar hero – for PS2” – we are all getting quite good at that
On Boxing Day we had our second Christmas as Georgie arrived from her mum’s house, Tony’s parents also came over and Charlie was still staying with us.
There were lots of presents to open on that day and again Tony cooked a lovely traditional roast dinner.
The girls had a great time over the holiday and I’m sure played with every new thing that they got. We played quite a lot of games; monopoly a few times (in which one game Tony’s mum won for the first time ever), a few versions of trivial pursuit (which in one game I won for the first time ever – however it was the Disney DVD version! I must watch too many children’s movies!) and we treated ourselves to Buzz for PS2. The only version we could get was the Who wants to be a Millionaire which we now play with the sound turned down as Chris Tarrant’s (the host of UK who want to be...) drives us all up the wall!!!
We welcomed 2007 quietly & almost sober - a nice change – we had promised the girls at midnight we would go outside pop some bottles of bubbly and sing Auld Lang Syne. So from about 6pm they were asking every hour when it was going to be midnight until about 11pm when it was every 10 mins. They got dressed up in some new party dresses (oh the excitement!) shoes & jackets on and watched the clock until 11.59 we all (Tony, Charlie, Kayla, Georgie & myself) then ran outside and saw all the fireworks around, the adults popped a bottle of bubbly each (ok – I tried to and couldn’t so Tony opened mine for me!) and as Tony & Charlie were spraying each other with booze unfortunately in the dark Georgie fell over and hurt herself :( so after 6 hours of waiting and 5 mins of excitement we all trundled back inside where Kayla mentions that we didn’t sing the song they learned (Auld Lang Syne) Kids – gotta love ‘em!!

del.icio.us Tags: Christmas, New Year, PS2, Board Games

The Wedding - Reception

We had asked my mum’s cousin Scott to MC the reception and he did a fantastic job. Although there was one part at the beginning of the night that Tony would love to take credit for but unfortunately it was just a genuine mistake. Before the day when giving Scott the list of the bridal party names we had listed Kayla & Georgie first. Just prior to the reception the bridal party stayed in a holding room with drinks and nibbles and it was decided that the bestman & maid of honour would walk into the room first (as we wanted to do the entry to the room slightly different and the big girls and little girls were struggling with where they had to be…) so as the music starts, Tony’s excellent choice of “hey hey were the monkeys” Scott introduces the beautiful flowergirls and in walks Charlie & Erin. It was very funny but a shame as Scott was nervous as it was about the MC job!
After the great meal, we cut the cake to Rod Stewarts “Have I told you lately” and settled in, for what seemed most the night, to listen to /give speeches.
As with tradition, the father of the bride speech was first. Dad was really good & it was funny. A few things of my childhood were mentioned that everyone got a laugh out of.
Charlie’s speech was the best “bestman’s speech” I have heard, he was hilarious with comments such as “I have contacted the Canadian Embassy and they have advised I don’t have to apologise for Celine Dion and you don’t have to apologise for Rolf Harris” and toasting everyone and everyone and stating that it was a great drinking game
Tony hates watching his speech but he did very well and also used humour, only the men seemed to do the funny speeches, and got away with reminding the Australian’s that they came from convicts.
The floor was opened to anyone who wanted to say a few words, which is traditional in Australia but not heard of really in the UK, and quite a few people spoke. Everyone had something really nice to say and although it went for a long time it was enjoyable, the only downside was by the end there was no alcohol left in anyone’s glass and the room was still mostly sober!
Tony and I then had our first dance to “I’ll see it through – Texas”. The dance floor was pretty quiet for a while until Tony & Charlie broke the ice when Bohemian Rhapsody came on to which they performed their traditional head-bang to.
We managed to squeeze in some fun songs, the bridesmaids and I managed to make it through “The Nutbush” and quite a few guests joined in “Superman – Black Lace”!
Towards the end of the night came the bouquet toss together with the garter toss which is very common in Australia but not done in the UK, both were done to “one way or another – Blondie”.
Just prior to Tony & I leaving we had yet another Australian wedding tradition of the guests standing around in what’s called known as the farewell circle so we could go around and say goodbye to everyone. All the guests then turned into a human arch for us to run through to make our way outside.

LATER IN THE NIGHT

No – not what you are thinking!! We will keep the private stuff private haha
Tony and I stayed at the resort part of Twin Towns (the wedding ceremony and reception were held at the Twin Town’s sister RSL club). Most of the wedding guests were due to catch the courtesy bus from Club Banora to Twin Towns at midnight. After having a drink and relax in the room we decided that the night was still young and got ourselves over to the pub part of Twin Towns (still in wedding dress & suit!) to meet the guests who decided to stay out & drink for a while.
There was a live band playing and not long after we arrived one of the guests grabbed me and ran me across the dancefloor and lifted me on the stage as the bank were signing YMCA. The band then changed the tune midway through to “going to the chapel” and sung their own version of “she must be pregnant coz she just got married”
I then had to quickly get off stage as one of the bouncers was heading my way!
We had a few drinks there then made our way back to the hotel.
It was a fantastic day/night and everyone had a wonderful time – well worth the 10 months or so planning!

del.icio.us Tags: wedding, reception, drinking, dancing

The Wedding - Ceremony

I wasn’t a traditionally late bride, we were actually a little early so that gave us plenty of time to get into positions for when the walking the aisle music started “it is you I have loved – Dana Glover”.
As I walked towards where the ceremony was taking place my heart was pounding, then I saw Tony who looked fantastic and it felt magical. Lots of people who mean a lot to us managed to make it there to share the day with us and there were quite a few tears (happy ones I hope!) when we were declared husband & wife.

Ceremony Wording - Written by Nikki & Tony

The Marriage of Tony and Nikki
Club Banora, Banora Point
11 November 2006
Introduction
Welcome family and friends. We have come together today to reflect the joy and celebrate the marriage between Nikki and Tony. Just when neither of them was expecting it, and after several detours during their lives, a amazing event occurred – they met each other and fell in love. In their hearts, they are already committed to one another. This ceremony gives formal recognition to that commitment. As you have shared different parts of their lives at one time or another, now you can share in the one day that will always remain special.

Reading
And now I would like to ask Malcolm Hitchinson Father of the groom to do a Reading, This is a Song that means a great deal to both Tony and Nikki
Green Eyes By Coldplay

you are a rock
Upon which I stand
And I come here to talk
I hope you understand
Yeah the spotlight
Shines upon you
And how could
Anybody
Deny you
I came here with a load
And it feels so much lighter
Now I've met you
you should know
That I could never go on
Without you
Green eyes
you are the sea
Upon which I float
And I came here to talk
I think you should know
You're the one that I wanted to find
And anyone who tried to deny you,
Must be out of their minds
you are a rock
Upon which I stand.

Giving Away
As has been the custom for many years, we see the Nikki lovingly and tenderly escorted, and presented for marriage, by her father Kenny.
Nikki has chosen to respect this custom, but she wishes to show her gratitude to both of her parents who loved her as a small child. They watched over her, taught her and they have loved her.

Today, we see the result of their achievement as parents. We see that they have accomplished, with success, everything that is expected of loving parents. Their little girl has grown into a beautiful young woman, and this affectionate act of love for Nikki shows their approval for Nikki & Tony to be married today.
However, we still officially ask:
Who brings Nikki to be married to Tony?
Kenny & Beth: We do.

Celebrant Authority

My name is Tennille Jones and I am duly authorised to solemnise marriages according to law. Nikki Jane Campbell and Anthony Hitchinson, before you are joined in marriage in my presence and in the presence of these witnesses, I am to remind you of the solemn and binding nature of the relationship into which you are now about to enter. According to law in Australia, marriage is the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.
The Asking
Tony, you have taken Nikki as your friend and now you are inviting her to be your wife and life companion. Do you promise to openly share your life with Nikki – to love, laugh, live for and dream with? Do you promise to accept her as she is and delight in who she is becoming? Will you always be there to comfort her in her sorrows and take pleasure in her triumphs? Will you lovingly support her hopes and dreams and stand by her through whatever may come?
Tony: I will

Nikki, you have taken Tony as your friend and now you are inviting him to be your husband and life companion. Do you promise to openly share your life with Tony – to love, laugh, live for and dream with? Do you promise to accept her as him as he is and delight in who he is becoming? Will you always be there to comfort him in his sorrows and take pleasure in his triumphs? Will you lovingly support his hopes and dreams and stand by him through whatever may come?
Nikki: I will

The Vows
Tony, please repeat your chosen vows of commitment after me.
I ask our family and friends here present to witness that I, Anthony Hitchinson, take you, Nikki Campbell, to be my lawful wedded wife
I love and adore you, you mean the world to me. Today I ask that you share my life forever. I pledge that I will always be loving to you, and always be honest and faithful. There will be fun times, there may be sad times, but no matter what we may encounter, we have each other.
I vow here that this love will be my only love. I will make my home in your heart from this day forward.

Nikki, please repeat after me. I ask our family and friends here present
to witness that I, Nikki Campbell, take you, Anthony Hitchinson, to be my lawful wedded wife husband. I promise to love you, treasure you and respect you. I promise as your wife, to laugh with you, to cry with you, to encourage you and inspire you and to love you with all that I am and all that I shall become. This I promise from the depth of my heart and soul for all our life together.

Ring Exchange
Nikki and Tony, what symbol do you have as a pledge of these vows?
Nikki and Tony: These rings.
These Rings with their unending circles symbolise both of your ever lasting love for each other

Tony, please place Nikki’s ring over the tip of her finger and repeat after me.
Nikki with this ring
I wed you
and promise my love always.
Nikki, please repeat after me.
Tony, with this ring
I wed you
and promise my love always.

Rose Exchange
Not only are Nikki and Tony creating a marriage today, but they also are forming a family with Kayla and Georgina. Just as it is appropriate for Nikki and Tony to declare their love for each other, they also wish to show you (to the children) how much they love you with the gift of a rose.

Reading
Read by Sheila Campbell (bride’s stepmother)

You are the star of each night,
You are the brightness of every morning,
You are the story of each guest,
You are the report of every land.
No evil shall befall you, on hill nor bank,
In field or valley, on mountain or in glen.
Neither above nor below, neither in sea nor on shore,
In skies above nor in the depths.
You are the kernel of my heart,
You are the face of my sun,
You are the harp of my music,
You are the crown of my company.

Declaration of Marriage
Nikki and Tony, we have heard your vows and you have symbolised your union by pledging your lives to each other, exchanging rings and through the gift of a rose. May you retain the strength you need to keep the promises you have made. May life enrich you more than you have imagined and your united influence bring happiness to your family and friends. As you have consented together in lawful marriage in the presence of these witnesses, I now declare you husband and wife. You may Kiss the Bride.

Signing of Register
We will now formalise this marriage by signing the Register and Certificates.
Charles Watson & Erin Gray will you please join us.

Congratulations Mr & Mrs Hitchinson.

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The Wedding - Preparations & Dramas

Well after months of organising and going mad trying to get everything in order from the other side of the world the big day finally arrived.
Needless to say there were a few hiccups upon our arrival to Australia for the final preparations. My mum was given a couple of tasks to control while we were not in the country and as some of you reading this will know those things did not run too smoothly. First was the cake, as at 6 weeks to the big day we were on our 4th cake maker (who was actually the first…) the other 2 in the meantime that fell through was by no means anyone’s fault just time was ticking away. However it didn’t help the stress levels when mum informed me that at 3 weeks prior to the wedding she didn’t have the cake maker’s phone number!! On one of our many drives up to Brisbane from the gold coast we stopped by her house and had to leave a note in the her post box to call us. As you will see in our photos the cake was made in time and was absolutely beautiful! Phew!
The next drama, another one of mum’s jobs, was the ring. Mum had to collect Tony’s wedding band and keep it safe until we arrived.
A couple of days before Tony arrived I asked mum to see the ring so I could keep it with my one. This started a hunt through her entire unit as it seemed to have been misplaced!!! By the time Tony arrived at the Gold Coast the ring was still missing, so we had to head back up to Brisbane and order a replica to be made in 2 weeks. Tension was still rife as when we went back to Brisbane to collect the ring a few days before the 11th and it still wasn’t ready. We managed to convince my brother to pick it up and bring it to the rehearsal at the Gold coast.
During the couple of weeks before the wedding the weather at the Gold Coast was not as to be expected! In between high winds and overcast days there were many large thunderstorms! The biggest storm took place on the day that I had my final dress fitting and the boys had their suit fittings. Luckily when the lightning struck and caused the power to fail in the shopping centre, I had just seen the dress on and approved the last minute changes that were made. The boys however were not as lucky as due to the power failure the alterations on my brother’s suit could not be made and an electronic payment transaction could not be processed for my dads. They then had to travel back the day before the wedding to collect them.
The weather played up again for us, the wedding rehearsal took place 2 days before the wedding at the venue.
The rain had set in for the morning and was still pouring when we arrived at the venue – keeping in mind the ceremony is an outdoors venue we then were being told the arrangements that could be made if necessary for a dry place on the day. By some miracle the rain stopped long enough for the major part of the ceremony rehearsal but as we were standing on the man made beach towards the end a storm had been brewing and we witnessed a huge sheet of rain coming towards us – running for shelter we didn’t really go through properly what was to happen at the end of the ceremony. So we just had to wait and find out.

The morning of the 11th arrived and I actually woke up quite calm and waited for the bridesmaids to arrive. They were absolute stars helping getting Kayla & Georgie ready, and running around after me. Time started to run out as the limo was due to arrive, the flowers and photographer had turned up and I wasn’t finished getting dressed! I only managed to have half a glass of champagne before it was time to leave – but that was probably a good thing!
All the girls looked absolutely stunning and lots of pictures were taken before we headed into the white stretch limo to take us to Club Banora.

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