After spending the first 4 days of 2013 in survival mode – a virus has been making its way through most of the family – Kathryn and I are finally both feeling well enough to sit down together and do our review of 2012. We provided a pretty thorough summary of recent events in our 1-year in Australia post, so this post will be more pictures-based. Also, Kathryn has instructed me not to be too wordy, like I always am, in every post.
Since the day we left Lab City, it seems like life’s been full of twists and turns that we never could have seen coming. This has been fun in some ways, but it was nice to have one full calender year (2012) in which we’ve lived in just one house (not to mention city!), worked at just one job, and given birth to just one child. The year hasn’t been uneventful by any stretch, it’s just had that nice undercurrent of stability that’s been a bit lacking in previous years.
Stealing the concept from our friend Lindsay, we’re going to present the highlights of 2012 month-by-month in photos with captions. We’ll keep it mostly to one or two photos per month, many of which you will hopefully not have seen, or will have loved so much that you don’t mind seeing again. Let’s go!
January
Enjoying one of our first times together on the beach – not quite like the January all of you are now experiencing back home!
February
Meeting up for lunch outside the building where I work – Eden always loves playing in the fountain.
Hanging out on the swings with Auntie Heather, who came to help out during the weeks surrounding Kate’s birth
First visit to Caversham Wildlife Park – amazing place to encounter Australian wildlife up-close (photo by Heather Pye)
March
First look at little sis
First day home as a family of 4
We did a bit of travelling to show Auntie Heather the sights – at Wave Rock
April
April meant back to work for me, flying up north to the Pilbara for 8 days out of every 14. This lasted until early November, after which I’ve been based in Perth again, working a normal Monday to Friday schedule.
Examining the spoils of an Easter egg hunt
A cozy snuggle with Auntie Heather on a warm autumn day
May
Early in May we said farewell to Heather, after which Kathryn was on her own every swing away – she did really well, and I think overall the whole thing turned out better than we’d hoped for. Seems like the key is sticking to a schedule!
Our personal photographer left and we didn’t have a decent camera so the quality and quantity of our photos decreased drastically.
June
Our resident artist hard at work during the chilly 20 degree winter days.
July
We celebrated Canada Day with some home made shirts and a Canadian flag-themed cake. Both girls had Eden’s own “printhand” – as Eden called it – on their shirts.
Eden turned 2; since then we’ve noticeed a huge development in her vocabulary, and physically – it’s so cool to be a part of.
August
Eden continues to make great use of her play kitchen that she got for her birthday, and all the accessories friends and family have contributed
A small family vacation to the southwest (Pemberton) was just what we needed for a break from the FIFO grind. We stayed at a cottage on a farm and Eden loved the little lambs (we all did!).
September
September is in the middle of Spring here, which means wildflower season; this was taken at Araluen Botanic Gardens.
October
Celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving with some geos and their partners (and one mathematician, disguised as a geo)
Meeting for a picnic just across the river from where I work (in the “big buildings”, as Eden always calls them)
Every parents loves it when the kids occupy themselves quietly with a stack of books!
November
Ashlee from Tiny Feet Photography took some photos for us in November…and they were so good that we seem to have not taken any others!
December
Clive and Jane visited for a few days, providing us with a perfect excuse to do some more travelling around the region!
The water is just getting warm enough for me to try out my new snorkelling gear – a birthday present – without a wetsuit on. Yay!
And that brings us to the end of the year. We already posted our Christmas pics in the previous post (click here to view) if you didn’t catch those.
It’s been a great year overall, with no regrets about having made the move. Of course we miss family and certain aspects of life in Canada, but it’s easy to call this place home for now. We look forward to all that 2013 has to offer and we’ll do our best to continue capturing the highlights (and everyday joys and thoughts) and sharing them with you. Thanks for keeping up with the blog, especially those of you who comment faithfully – or even occasionally.
Happy New Year!
Yay! This is fabulous. I love all the pictures, especially the wildflower one, and the family one, and the one of Kate sleeping on Heather… and… all of them. I’m so glad 2012 was a memorable year for you guys. xoxo
Looks like you have had a wonderful year —-love to see all your adventures!
Never mind Kathryn Tim……..I like your ‘wordiness’……Love to all of you! Your wee ones are nothing short of adorable!!!!!!!
Awesome pictorial of your year! It will be even better to see all of this, and each of you, in person…and of course to be strolling the beaches instead of struggling through snowbanks
We miss being able to hug and cuddle our beautiful little granddaughters but we are able to be content knowing that that you are enjoying life so much in Australia!! Lots of love to all XOXOXOXO
Great photos! Thanks for taking the time to review the year. Sounds like you are getting along well and living life to the full. Bless you guys.