Monday 23rd April

Today we got up early packed up and hit the road heading for Amsterdam. The cool satnav took us on little country roads through France.
Our first stop was at Dunkerque beach where we watched the sunrise. As you can tell we had a very early morning.

From here we headed to Brugge, in Belgium (our 2nd country for the day). This town was really cute, the town square had amazing architecture and a great bakery... where we had breakfast.

From here we headed to Amsterdam (3rd Country) which is where we're writing from. We have spent the afternoon checking out the city and seen the canals, the Anne Frank Museum.. Not... been past the weed cafes.. and the Hard Rock Cafe.. Then we headed off to a really nice camp site, a free wild camping site (a local park we found that was uninhabited) in a little town called Lille in the Netherlands about an hour from the German Border...

Ahh sleep... we will speak to you again tomorrow.

Sunday 22 April

We stayed last night at Martyn and Karens- poor Morgy who has to give up her room every time we come to stay… she’s so devoted and cute!!!!!!!! We had a huge breakfast of pancakes, cereals and pastries yummmmmy. We sadly bid an early farewell- sniff!!!! We are going to miss you guys soooooooooooooo much. We have loved every second of our time together and it is so great that even though we don’t see each other much it is like we have been together our whole lives.

We then set off in our 'monster mobile' to catch our ferry from Dover to Calais. On the way though we made a quick stop in at Cambridge- did an exploration of the sites (mainly the university, Kings College and the gardens (which weirdly remind us of Adelaide Parks)).

We arrived in Dover with heaps of time to chill and relax and take in the white cliffs which over hung us as we were waiting in line for our ferry. The sun was beating down and for once we were stripping off instead of searching for more. Blue skies, warmth, short sleeves, thongs- what a way to start our trip to the continent and to celebrate NO MORE WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pete and I are jinxed with ferry trips. Every time we want it to be rocky and rough it is calm seas… and today was no exception.

Well we have arrived now in Calais and have set up the tent outside a little village called Guines. It is cool- great facilities- 3 swimming pools a water slide, restaurant/bar/little shop and without loads of people!!!!!

The birds are singing what more can you want… the Europeans obviously know how to camp hopefully it will get even better.

Pete and I again join up as adventure buddies and are so excited about our camping expedition for this week. Stay tuned for our overseas adventure- cross country hopping.

Saturday 21 April

Pete and I said goodbye to Uncle Paul, Aunty Chris, Sylvia and Joe this morning and set off for our week long European adventure.

Today we headed for Peterborough where we had lunch with Uncle Graham and Aunty Jean and then spent the afternoon with Dave, Linda, Marty and Karen and their kidlets We then had a combined birthday/farewell dinner with the extended family (see hot photos of our good looking family at http://peterhobbssalvorock.spaces.live.com) We had a ball and ate until we were stuffed!!!!!!!!!!!! As you can see Uncle Graham was on hand to provide family entertainment. Di and Linda.. two little angels.... and of course Peter and Martin... two little devils.

To all the Hobbs family present at that event please email me your favourite pictures so I can add them to the blog!! Look forward to hearing from you soon.

Friday 20 April

Today was great for us as it was our last days at work here in the UK!

Di came home early Friday morning from Macclesfied Hospital with the biggest smile and sigh of relief.. no more work for Di this Year!! YAY!! She's so excited about being a mum and looking forward to spending as much time with the new arrival as she can! So today she slept and got ready for her big adventure tomorrow, while I headed off to my last day at work.

Today was great I tied up all the loose ends this morning then we all went out to the Blue Bell for Lunch. It's a really great country pub in Smallwood and we all had a drink and then a feast.. I was so surprised to receive gifts, as this was the last thing I expected.

They bought me a jacket and bum bag for Europe, some money to spend and a great card which everyone signed, and of course a great Steak and Ale Pie and glasses of coke!. It was a great present!! Thanks to everyone at Newcorp, I will miss you all!!

Keep in touch and make sure you keep looking at the blog for updates on Di and the baby...

For all the photos of the last day at newcorp visit http://peterhobbssalvorock.spaces.live.com

Wednesday 18 April

The weather in England has been nothing but amazing, warm sunny days and nice light evenings. It's not really getting dark now until about 8:45pm. So most nights we have been for a walk either around our country lane walk or along the canal.

Today we went for a walk along the canal and fed the new baby ducklings... we have seen the full circle of seasons, as when we arrived we saw duckings, now we're seeing their little kiddies.

Not long now till our Hobbs family farewell get together on Saturday. Both Di and I can't wait for it!! Then on Sunday we're off to Europe. We're driving down to Dover, then across the channel to Calais.

Driving then up to Amsterdam, then down through Germany to Bavaria, then across to Austria,back through Switzerland, then back through Paris. We're looking forward to it so much.

Then we're back in Middlewich for a few days, then down on the train to London to see Alison Cowling, Les Miserable, the chief and the General... then through Heathrow to NY!!!

Stay tuned.

Sunday 15 April - Special Pregnancy Sequel

Well we are just up to Di's 24th week of pregnancy and we thought it was about time we made another video, sohere is our Pregnancy Video Sequel, which is really an update on the pregnancy so far, specifically on the 20 week scan. Hope you enjoy it.

Saturday 14 April

Today there was a heat wave in the UK... 22 degrees in April is unheard of, but it was really nice weather, blue skies and warm.. at last... glorious.

Today Uncle Paul and Aunty Chris took us to the Concorde Museum at Manchester Airport. It was really great and well worth going to see. It started with a short video history of the Concorde and then preceeded on board the concorde itself where we could sit on the £40,000 each chair, I sat in 4 A which was Ex-US president Bill Clinton's favourite seat.

all the photos of the Concorde visit can be seen at http://www.peterhobbssalvorock.spaces.live.com

We got to sit in the cockpit, Di and I got to sit in the pilots seat... it was amazing how tiny the cockpit was. This particular Concorde is the only one in the world on display where you can sit in the cockpit... and we did it!! Whoo hoo!!

view all the photos at: http://www.peterhobbssalvorock.spaces.live.com


From inside the plane the tour continues on the tar mac here we got all the technical talk about the mechanics etc...



Once the tour was over we went to the Trafford Centre for Thai food and a bit of retail therapy for Di and Aunty Chris. What a great day!

Tuesday 10 April

This morning we got up early from Skegness and said our goodbyes to the family then by 7am we were on the road heading towards the Lake District where we went to visit Martyn and Karen and the girls Morgan and Tash. 4 Hours later we arrived at Center Parcs, and after a quick coffee we got to work on the waterslides... We spent nearly 4 hours riding the slides... Once again another great family occasion... Di spent the afternoon resting with Karen and their friends.


view all the photos at: http://www.peterhobbssalvorock.spaces.live.com










The location for this resort was right in the heart of a forest.. really nice... check it out http://www.centerparcs.co.uk/villages/whinfell/index.jsp

We had a really great afternoon then went to the sports lounge for dinner, it was really pleasant and we watched the first half of the Man U and Roma game... awesome football..

Then after a great meal we went back to their apartment for a great chat, then we had a really strong coffee and hit the road at about 10pm.. getting home at midnight... then crashing into bed...

Monday 9 April

Today was awesome.. loads of family fun. We went to our morning sessions then met again for coffee.. then as a family we went 10 pin bowling!! Then to Quasar... which is like Laser Force, then we went on the water slides...

It's so tough being 28 year old children... we can't wait to play with our own child and our neice... not that we need any excuses to be child like... but it helps to have little kids around so we don't look so crazy to all the grown ups LOL!! Here's the group photo at Bowling!! Now I don't know who won... was it Peter?? hmmm... YES!!! it was!!

Check out this clip of 10 Pin Bowling!



This weekend was truly awesome and our time with Sharon Lindsay and the boys was really great. It's nice to have such great family scattered around the world.

Sunday 8 April

Today on Resurrection Sunday Di and I enjoyed the Christian sessions, along with the family but also enjoyed the coffee and chat/study time together with our family in Costa Coffee... These times of chatting were truly the greatest moments of the weekend. The best part about this is it captured the essence of Christianity... building loving caring relationships... So it was the perfect way to spend Easter Sunday.

Friday 6 April

This weekend Di and I headed across to the East coast of England to the Butlins holiday camp at Skegness. We were going to spend the weekend with my cousin Sharon, her husband Lindsay

and their two boys Gregory and Joshua.


Being Easter there was a Christian convention on called Spring Harvest. So it was really nice to catch up with family and also celebrate Easter with fellow Christians, and we met in a Big Top... cool.

We had a really great time in sessions, and spending time together. It was really great, and we felt like we got to know these guys really well.

more photos of the weekend are at:

http://www.peterhobbssalvorock.spaces.lives.com

Wednesday 4 April

Today was a normal day, but in the evening Di and I headed off to Brighton Le Sands, just near Liverpool to visit a cute retired Scottish Salvation Army officer. But not just any officer, it was the officer who swore me (Peter) as a Junior Soldier (junior member of the Salvation Army) when I was 6 or 7 at the Milton Keynes Corps.

Recently we heard that she had been unwell so Di and I decided to go and visit her. She hadn't changed at all and it was lovely to spend an hour with her and catch up.

Here's a greeting for the rest of the Hobbs family back in Australia.

Monday 2 April

Now the nights are getting lighter we're able to go for walks in the evenings, and we have been walking around the country side of Middlewich most nights trying to get fit. Look how amazing our little walk is..

All pictures are at http://www.peterhobbssalvorock.spaces.live.com

Sunday 1 April

This morning Di and I got up and it was such a lovely day that we went for a drive through the country lanes in and around the Middlewich area. We headed across to historic Knutsford and through Goostrey, and eventually made our way back to Middlewich before we hopped into the car with Uncle Paul and Aunty Chris and headed down to Birmingham for an exciting day of family gatherings.

Our first stop was at Aunty Margarets and Uncle Gordon's in Halesowen. Here we met up with their kids (my cousins) Laurraine and her brother Alan. Laurraine had her four kids there plus their partners, Hannah (partner Dave), David (partner Sarah), James, and Emma. Here's a family photo in the back yard. We had a really nice afternoon of catch up and laughter before the four of us needed to head over to Aunty Junes for Gathering number two.

For all the photos of this afternoon visit http://www.peterhobbssalvorock.spaces.live.com

At Aunty Junes and Uncle Tony's you can imagine being a Harris get together it was a lot of fun. We had June & Tony, Wendy & Phil and Jade, Ben & Amy, Joy & Derek and Jenny, Margaret and Gordon even came over plus Joe and Sylvia and Paul and Chris and Di and I... a house full or what... Here's Di with Aunty Margaret and Jenny, and here's me with my Aunty Joy!

But as per usual there were lots of laughs check out this clip... Aunty Margaret, June and Uncle Derek got the giggles... was so funny... Mum I know you'll be sad watching this clip they needed you there. We had a really nice time but they missed their little sister...

We had a really great time and went home wishing we could get together a lot more. It was great to see Ben and Jenny and Aunty Joy as we hadn't seen them for ages.

For all the photos of this afternoon visit http://www.peterhobbssalvorock.spaces.live.com/