Going through some old photos I came across these of my great grand parents (on my mothers side).




I am pretty sure that the little girl on the left is my Mum (So the photos must have been taken around 1943-1944) and the other two girls are her sisters (My Aunties) Eli on the right and Yrsa in the middle.

I assume that the women in the back are their grand parents (my great grands) with the woman on the right being my grandmothers (mormor's) mum and the one on the right being grandad's (morfar'd) mum.


Here is a family photo of what I assume is my grandmothers (mormor's) family. I think it is my grandma in the middle right behind my great grandmother.


I assume this is my great grandparents, but I cannot be certain.




This must be a birthday for my grandmother.


This was taken outside the farm where my mum grew up. It is my grandad (morfar) in the middle on the right and it could be my grandmother (mormor) on the stairs with her mum. The farm is still there today owned by my uncle.






This must be some of the family on my grandads (morfar's) side, so possibly some of his siblings.

A friend asked if I would do a commissioned corporate portrait for professional usage.

I said I was happy to help and on a very rainy day we managed to get the the shoot done. This is the most corporatey of the lot.

I purchased a cheap ring flash and had a bit of a play with it one evening and took the following happy snap photo of Kim.




We are planning a holiday and I am thinking that I might bring it along.

In Kenya we would just camp somewhere in the bush whenever we went out on safari. In the evening we would sit around a camp fire and on more than one occasion were we visited by lions either wandering past or approaching the camp site at night.

One night my mum woke up with a lion starring into the tent and we had paw prints on the car next to the tent.

 






































Some of the sights were truly amazing such as the extinct volcanoes.



Or Lake paradise in Marsabit in the middle of the desert.




Or lake Nakuru with all the flamingoes (and as I discovered, ancle deep poo).



And the locals were always friendly.

When I was a kid we spent a lot of time in southern Europe.

In 1983 I went with my mum and dad through France and through Avignon.

We were camping on the opposite side of the river just where the half bridge would have met the other bank.



One night there was a firework and we got showered in debris from the exploded rockets.

Last weekend when we went to Eastgardens I spotted one of the shops were setting up new clothes on the mannequins. Two of the arms were placed on the floor perfectly for this tender embrace.

Sunday we went to the Easter show at the Fox studios.

This year we bought an unlimited rides pass for all of us. This mean that both Lucas and Aiden could do a lot of rides with bot Kim and I.

Aiden was feeling a little sick but he didn't let that stop him and Lucas was a bit more hesitant and spend the first couple of hours refusing to go on any rides but once he got started he wasn't to be stopped.







We went with a couple of friends and everyone had fun.
















Except he who had to take Aiden on all the rides that make me seasick.










The also had a 1:1 size Lightning McQueen car and Mack truck, but Aiden wasn't in a mood to say hello or have his photo taken.

On the weekend we went a trip to Symbio wildlife park. We have been there before, but we managed to purchase some cheap tickets and it is a great place for small kids as they can pad and feed the animals. Aiden especially loves animals and is getting good at feeding them himself.







Even Lucas who is normally terrified of animals eventually took courage to touch a Joey (baby kangaroo).







But he was too scared to approach the larger ones.




We also looked at some of the other animals there, such as the crocodiles.




The Dingo's.




The snakes.




The Emu




And the chameleons.




And the red panda.

This week Kim and I went with a couple of friends to Lyric Theater to see Le Noir.

It was a bit of a last minute decision day before as cheap tickets suddenly came up.



It was really good with death dying stunts and great performances and rancy sexiness to enjoy.

I February my dad came to visit for a couple of weeks with Connie, mainly to see the two boys.

Aiden was very excited to have him here and Lucas was initially a bit shy but eventually warmed up.



My Dad brought all my old lego from Denmark, much to the amusement of especially Lucas who enjoys building things.




Aiden eventually also wanted to join.




They also spent time in the garden playing ball.










One day we went to Darling harbour for the Chinese new year. We stopped for some coffee and chilled out.










Afterwards we went to see the chinese decorations.
















And we also did a carousel ride.







And we also stopped to get some photos of my dad with both the kids together...which is never easy.

Today the Rockstar (Andy) and the Prong went climbing at Berowra. The news media had gotten the hint of the occasion and the paparazzi were there in full force taking photos.



The bureau had told us that it was going to be a cool day, but it turned out to be rather hot for Berowra (29 degrees) and around lunch time the face was pretty much in the sun...so it was skin cancer territory.

We started out by me leading on an easy(iere) climb called "The Wall Thing 18" ...very pleasant climb with a fairly reachy finish. We then did (I led) the "Boundary Rider 19" which was equally pleasant with an extremely long reach to the anchor and the first time I went for it I missed the hold on top (I had no idea where to aim) and peeled off giving myself a rockstar manicure in the process (This is when you feel off all your skin on your hands to the point where it starts bleeding).

We then did "Mental Fatigue 18" and by this time the face was getting hit by the sun and warming up. The sun was in our eyes and it was hard to see where to go. Last time May did this climb she peeled off half way up. This time there was a significant amount of blood stains on one of the holds despite it being a fairly simple and straightforward climb with good protection.

We started getting hot now and the Paparazzi had left so we decided that we didn't have to show off any longer and decided to do a direct variant to "Mental Fatigue" (sopposedly grade 20) on Toprope...very pleasant but would not have been very good on lead as the first bolt was up very high.

The last climb of the day was "Palm Sunday 21" this was the highlight of the day even though we did it on top rope. Next time I go to Berowra and have a good day then I'll definitely come back to this one and try and lead it.


Editors note: It turns out that the paparazzi weren't taking photos of the Rockstar and Prong. The reason why they were there was because Paris Hilton was there showing off her latest outdoor collection...seriously...who gives a sh..!

Saturday morning we drove out to the Blue mountains to spend the day there climbing (Unfortunately Andy couldn't go on an overnight trip).

When we got up there it was cold, covered in clouds and drizzling. We decided to have a coffee and breakfast to check if it would clear up...and fortunately it did.

We were planning to go to Shipley, but after studying the guide we decided to go to Bardens Lookout instead.



It was completely dry and it turned out to be a day with a perfect temperature and we did some really nice and varied climbs (I would tell you the climbs but someone stole/took my guide book during the day). We started on a grade 16 (Karinya I think) for warmup, and then moved to a very pleasant grade 18 (Jolly Good Fellow). I then had a go at a grade 20 (Dr Do Little) with a very reachy and balancy move up the top which almost made me fall off (Andy had a hard time on this move).



We then did a grade 19 (Little Triggers) and by this time my strength was gone so I only just managed to lead it (almost came off clipping the top anchor as I was drained). The climbs are fairly long at Bardens Lookout and I don't have a lot of endurance because the climbs in the gyms are too short.

Phil had a go at a grade 21 (Hang on to Yourself) and was really struggling on it and came off 4-6 times one of which was captured on video and once he came off upside down. Eventually he got through it and I toptoped and cleaned it (With a lot of grunt and swearing).

Download video of Andy Climbing 1
Download video of Andy Climbing 2
Download video of Andy being Lowered
Download video of Phil Falling

As tradition dictates we played golf with Sasha on new years day. And he had booked a time at Brighton Golf Club (Moorebank) at a civilised hour (1.30pm).

Kim and I hadn't played for about 10 months as we had been too busy with all the other things in 2008 (see the rest of the blog postings).



I think we played a fairly decent game considering the time since we'd last played but both Kim and I were fairly tired after the 18 holes. It was a hot day with temperatures in the mid thirties and the course was fairly hot...so we drank lots of water as we went.