Daly Journal: December 2010

To all of us:
Movie tickets from Jacq, Sims and Rooster
Aussie Jingle Bells book from Nathan, Jaye, Hannah, Jasper

To Vincent:
Lego box from Jacob and Jessica
Playdough dinosaurs from Jacob and Jessica
Surfboard from Dad
Lego Jet Plane from Dad&Mum
Walkie Talkie set from Keegan
Ben10 Shorts and Lego from Grandma Laura
Watergun and REAL (!) tools from Nathan, Jaye, Hannah, Jasper
Rubix Cube Game from Grandpa Kevin

To Keegan:
Lego box from Jacob and Jessica
Playdough dinosaurs from Jacob and Jessica
Surfboard from Mum
Lego Fire Engine Helicopter from Dad&Mum
Big Green Truck from Vincent
Spiderman Shorts and Lego from Grandma Laura
Watergun and REAL (!) tools from Nathan, Jaye, Hannah, Jasper
Disney stories book from Grandpa Kevin

To Fergus:
T-shirts in a red bucket from Dad&Mum
Windup Submarine from Jacob and Jessica
Thomas and Whistle from Nathan, Jaye, Hannah, Jasper
Barn Animals from Grandma Laura
Penguin bag and towel from Nathan, Jaye, Hannah, Jasper
Jumpsuits from Grandma Laura
Pots and Pans from Grandpa Kevin

To be updated....

Brennan’s work erupted in excitement, and interrupted our camping holidays when his client at Lane Cove went bankrupt. Suddenly life at Lane Cove (which had been boring in 2009) became interesting with the tunnel up for sale and the prospect of a new client. Contract negotiations with the new client gave him a chance to learn some new skills, and at the same time, Transfield started to get him involved with other work. All up, in 2010, Brennan has made 21 flights around the country (plus a few to NZ) working on bidding new work, and attempting to make a loss making contract in Tasmania into a golden opportunity. Kind of like putting lipstick on a pig…

I’m still working in racing, with 3 main clients and doing interesting work. I did a lot of work at the start of the year on a massive court case that will be heard in Aug 2011. Apparently I have a high chance of being cross-examined as an expert witness, which should be an intriguing new experience.

Life at home with Vincent and Keegan is always full of adventure and in May we welcomed the arrival of Fergus Lorcan Daly to make it three Daly boys to run with. “Will he jump on the trampoline with us?” “Can we play cricket with him?” Well, not yet…

Operating under a lack of sleep for those first few months, we saved on organisational time and held a joint birthday party for Vincent and Keegan in July. Now 5 and 4, they are enjoying day care for 3 days a week, swimming lessons on Thursdays and playgroup on Fridays. Generally they are great pals who play well together, but with the usual sibling spats occasionally. Vincent learnt to ride his bike without training wheels and zooms around at great speed.

In September we bought a house and moved south-west by two blocks. Yes, still in the same suburb, and about the same distance walk to daycare and the shops. The house is really just an apartment, but we have a ground floor with kitchen and lounge and top floor with 3 beds and bathroom. It’s a 1970s development, so tastefully decorated with navy blue carpet and orange curtains. We’re in a block of 10 units with some common ground that the boys can run on. It’s next to a busy road, but we had to compromise in order to be able to afford something! The highlight for the boys was hiring a moving truck and getting to spend two days riding in the truck and going up and down on the lift at the back.

The other big event of the year was our trip to NZ for 10 days. The full story is at: (http://dalyfamilyjournal.blogspot.com/).

Renee: Hey boys what was the best part about the NZ trip?

Vincent: Campervan and farm

Keegan: Campervan and farm

Vincent: Why you like the same?

Keegan: What? Huh?

Also from other conversations, they liked the plane rides, riding on the quad bike, playing with their cousins, and going to the snow. It was great catching up with family, and we had loads of fun.

Now we are back in Sydney and back to the normal routine. The boys have joined the local cricket club and go to cricket lessons on Fridays. Vincent starts at Ashfield Public School in February. We spent a week at school in November doing ‘transition’ which consisted of a couple of hours each morning pretending to be a school kid and finding out what he will be doing. Mostly, I think he played in the playground and went on tours, or at least that’s what he told me!