Cairns Crew Christmas 2017
Merry Christmas to you all,
It’s been another very busy year for us all but it’s good to be finally relaxing. We started the year with a very enjoyable 2 week holiday to Melbourne and managed to see the local sights and attractions and we spent quality time with Kevin, Teresa, Ella and Amelia.
Connor has just returned safe and sound from his 3 week trip to Nepal with a World Challenge group which he thoroughly enjoyed and was a very worthwhile experience. His highlights were spending three days spent working on a school project in Kathmandu (they donated computers to the school and painted rooms and murals) and hiking the famous Annapurna trail.
He took up basketball this year with a passion and played for a local team who made it all the way to the final. He has gained more work experience and has been able to save money at his part time job at KFC. He successfully finished grade 11 and will be in his final year of high school next year.
Aidan had another year that has been largely dominated by running/surf life saving. He continued his success on the track with wins locally in the 1500m and the 800m. He then went onto place 3rd in the 800m and 3rd in the 1500m at the QLD State Championships. He also achieved well at the North Aussies winning gold in 1km run, beach sprints and silver in the flags and managed to be offered a place in the QLD Country SLS Team.
He was named Senior Sportsman again at RSC for 2017. Like Connor he really enjoys playing social basketball and is fanatical about the NBA (favourite team Toronto Raptors!). Next he wants to start playing basketball for a local team.
Bryce had an enjoyable year at School under Mister Dearn, successfully completing grade six and will start high school next year. Sporting wise he competed at the Peninsula Cross Country Trials and he enjoyed competing athletics, swimming, surf life saving and cricket. He achieved very well at the local Surf Life saving carnivals and took overall age champion for the U12 boys in FNQ. In February, he travelled with John and the North QLD Branch Surf Lifesaving Team to Hervey Bay for his first Junior State Championships. He had some great results and achieved 19th in the Surf Swim race.
He managed to have another buckle fracture late in the year again but has put that behind him and has been training hard with the North QLD Branch Surf Lifesaving Team again. John and Bryce are looking forward to attending the QLD Junior SLS State Championships again in early March 2018 at Alexander Headlands
Great South Road Jan 2017
Dinner with Melbourne cousins
Teresa and Maz Jan 2017
Kevin and John Jan 2017
Scary
Marilyn has spent a lot of time parenting teenage boys. Connor and Aidan are now actually officially taller than Mum and Dad! She had another busy but enjoyable year working as the administrator for the Cairns Surf Club, in between ferrying the children to various training & work locations. She also managed to see one of her musical idols Bruce Springsteen in concert in Brisbane and thoroughly enjoyed his charisma and rocking tunes!
John enjoyed his age manager role for Bryce’s U12 age group at Cairns SLS Club again. He participated in a three day charity bike ride (Cardiac Challenge) from Cairns to Cooktown and was the fittest he has been in many years after nine weeks of hard training. Workwise he has just finished project managing a major refurbishment of a 5 storey carpark building in the Cairns CBD which has been one of his most challenging projects delivered yet.
The building has a very detailed rainforest themed façade which will be iconic for Cairns now and into the future. He is looking forward to some R&R over the Christmas and New Year’s break with Maz and the boys.
We are all looking forward to a road trip to the NSW east coast in mid-January and spending time on the beautiful beaches/boys learning to surf and spending time with good friends Ian and Kate and their daughter Sage in Forster and Maz’s brothers and family in Sydney.
We hope you all have a safe and happy year in 2018.
Lots of Love
John, Maz, Connor, Aidan & Bryce