An Aussie Christmas

Christmas weekend was fantastic. Friday we kicked off the weekend with Mark’s birthday, an afternoon at the beach and good ole KFC for dinner! On your birthday in Mark’s family you get to choose what you want for dinner, Mark craving the US cooking opted for Fried Chicken from KFC! Although Mark did get some flack for being so old we had a great celebration with his family.

Saturday was a scorcher, it was over 100 degrees, no breeze and I was sweating just standing still. Mark and I went to Christmas Eve mass at the Catholic church a few blocks away from our new house. In a first for me, the mass was outdoors, we sat in the grass on our picnic blanket. Although much of the service seemed similar to Christmas Eve mass in Seattle, the entire service from start to finish (with about 400 people getting communion) lasted only 45 min. This was the church service of my childhood dreams! The beachy feel of our Northern Beaches community was apparent in the casual atmosphere of the church service and the flip flops and board shorts most people wore to church.

Sunday we exchanged gifts with each other and Marks family and headed up to the central coast to my future brother in-law (Clay) parent’s house. We were treated to a wonderful Christmas lunch, chatted and enjoyed the warm weather. Above is a picture of Mark’s mom and I at Tuggerah lakes on the central coast near Clay’s parents home.


Monday morning we were up early to call the US and wish everyone a Happy Chrissy (Aussie for Merry Christmas). We then took a hike to Barenjoey Lighthouse near Palm Beach. This is a picture of Mark and I at the top of the hike with the Pacific Ocean on the left and Pittwater Inlet on the right. The weather was great and we headed straight to the beach after our hike. Mark taught me some body bashing (Aussie for body surfing) techniques, I was officially the dorkiest girl on the beach in my bikini and swim goggles but I was also having the best time!

Tuesday we walked across the Harbor Bridge and took in all the beautiful sights of Sydney Harbor. We ate lunch at the historic Australian Hotel (Mark’s Great Uncle used to own the Hotel) where we had saltwater crocodile pizza (it wasn’t very good, the meat was super chewy but now I can say I’ve tried it) Here is a picture of Mark outside the Australian Hotel.

We had a wonderful Chrissy weekend filled with good food, family and friends. We miss everyone and wish you all Happy Holidays and all the best in the New Year. -kel