December means the Advent calendar gets brought out. We like to pretend the kids appreciate the tradition and fun puzzles and clues that we leave in there for them...

It's RJ's job to read the clues this year. LR was surprisingly patient.

Oh no! The end-of-year music "party" turns out to be an impromptu concert and no one will volunteer to go first. RJ steps up and breaks the ice with a few of his favorites.

Three songs later, RJ has the room in stitches, finishing his performance with a flourish in classic RJ style.

LR volunteers to play a few of her favorite songs too. Beethoven FTW!

LR won one of the three coveted prizes for the students who improved the most during the year. Well done, LR! You deserve it!

The last game of the year (but not the season). RJ's teeball skills (and patience with fielding) are improving with every game.

Everyone works together building the gingerbread house. For some reason, only about half the materials make it into the construction -- there must be some dodgy contractors on the worksite.

Nice work guys! The finished gingerbread house looks terrific!

Because we went away for Christmas, we had an early Christmas dinner at Grammy and Poppa's.

LR takes the time to read the cards before tearing into the presents.

Thanks Grammy!

Careful there Auntie Jess. It's not safe to get between RJ and his Hero Factory legos. Just carefully put it back on the table and you'll be okay.

Parental win: the kids actually remembered their manners without prompting this year! Now if only we could get them to stop picking their noses.

Christmas dinner. A time for family, a huge feast, and the opportunity to wear ridiculous things on your head...

RJ got first pick of the hats and picked out the crustacean for himself and a spicy little number for Grandma Dot.

LR picks out her favorite, complete with spring-loaded pom-pom action -- essential for tormenting younger brothers.

Everyone helps out during the final rush to the kitchen, delivering the food to the table.

Crumbly destruction and delicious, sugary mahem ensue as the gingerbread house is attacked!

An important lesson learned... Never, EVER let the kids pick the hat for you or you will end up looking silly.

RJ watches for dolphins on the fast ferry across to Rotto. LR was the first to spot them though!

As usual, the local quokkas were really happy to see us.

A lot of bike riding took place. This year we were on the busy street through the middle of Geordie Bay.

As always, Mom was looking great despite the rental bike helmet.

RJ's bike has suffered from a catastrophic mechanical failure, so we weren't able to get enough two-wheel practice in. We'll definitely have it sorted by next year.

The cool kids always sit at the back of the bus.

The ride back to the settlement from Geordie Bay is a very long one if you're in a bad mood.

Not content with simply riding around like a normal human being, this year LR started performing tricks -- no feet, no hands, and amazingly no crashes.

RJ took every opportunity to torment his poor teacher.

Living with a devious mastermind can be daunting, but we manage to keep him in line with massive amounts of tickling.

This year, the treasure hunt was for characters out of fairy tales. Some, like Jack here, were fun to find.

Others, like the disturbingly ugly step-sisters, were a little more daunting.

The witch was handing out lollies and candy, so she was much more approachable. Don't take things from strangers, kids!.... Yeah, right!

This year saw a surprising upset -- the kids beat the parents... again! RJ took off faster than anyone expected.

LR flies through the course with incredible speed and enthusiasm! Where on earth does she get such competitive spirit?

Oh yeah... I see now.

LR traded some 'magic beans' for Jack's hat and pet cow... Those 'magic beans' looked suspiciously like something that came from a quokka.

Just before we left, we did a tiny bit of fishing on some very feeble gear... and had great success! LR caught this pretty little wrasse.

LR and RJ sing the fishing song, "Heeere fishy fishy fish". We caught five different species of fish in about 30 minutes. Dad was kind of amazed.

RJ caught this feisty silver bream.

LR took this beautiful photo of the pelican that was eyeing our catch hungrily.

We caught a red-lipped morwong that swallowed the hook. We tried to be as careful as we could, but he was injured fairly badly. Rather than let him suffer... We fed him to the pelican! YAY! Nature wins again!

RJ and his mate C. go exploring the dunes while the grown-ups waste their time having boring grown-up conversations.

It was a dark and stormy... err... bright and spooky afternoon in the park that day. Jim decided to hang out at the slide; his diet had been a huge success!

The local cemetery has been full for some time, so the extra bodies get sent to our park. Building sandcastles is always extra surprising around here!

RJ, the knight, stops to sheath his sword, blood streaming from his wounded arm.

Dr. Seuss showed up and filled helium balloons for everyone.

A rastafarian showed up... to do Jamai-cup!

This pirate and witch teamed up to do terrible things to a pumpkin.

Some of the kids try out Jim's all-apple diet for themselves!

Poppa got an apple on the first try, but was it one of the prized apples marked with an 'X'?

E. wont be going hungry tonight!

Mister Mistoffelees let everyone stick their arm into the Bag of Worms to find a buggy prize.

RJ considers whether he should settle for the ant, or if he should plunge his arm in for another attempt.

Amanda and RJ work together on making the scariest popcorn monster hand ever.

LR the cat starts off her monster hand with some creepy lolly fingertips.

Frank has a secret plan to build herself an entire popcorn monster.

The bat... Two balloons, newspaper, flour, spraypaint, plastic wings and duct tape to hold the them on... Will it survive the assault of 30 children?

After everyone has had a go with blindfolds on, the bat is still in perfect shape! Mum helps RJ to get really stuck into it.

C. has several attempts and pounds it mightily.

One of our new neighbours shows no mercy! The bat laughs at his feeble attempt!

The crowd waits anxiously... Will the sweet, sweet rain of candy ever begin to fall? Will the bat continue to mock them?

HRRRRAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!

Fed up with its mocking laughter, Mum goes medieval on the bat. WHAM! WHAM! CRASH!

The first few pieces of candy have dropped. Time to just rip the thing open!

FEEDING FRENZY! Watch out for your feet, Mum!

A caveman proudly nurses his mortally wounded pet bat... Mr. Batty McWings, beneath your surprisingly tough shell, you were so sweet and full of joy. You will be remembered.

Time for the treasure hunt! RJ and his cohort start the search for the elusive marbles.

The older kids have a scavenger hunt with riddles, clues and challenges to solve.

One of the challenges... Find the caveman (currently hiding up in a tree behind a camera). We need to plant some taller trees.

Success! LR's team wins a reward!

Time for the ultimate battle: Caveman vs. Kids. Can his newly developed 'club' technology defeat the onslaught of hundreds of water balloons?

Caveman isn't doing well -- he's been severely handicapped by fogged goggles. He can't see a thing!

A brave young LR chases down the caveman and throws her grenade!

DIRECT HIT!

Another hit! It's not looking good for Ugg and his stone-age technology.

Ever smelled a wet caveman? It's not pleasant... even to a wet caveman.

Pirate Lilly gathers the troops to prepare for trick-or-treating!

Come on mateys! There be candy to plundarrrrrr!

RJ has grand schemes to fill his entire bucket... at the next house.

LR sets the direction for the unruly mob. How about that one over there guys?

Lilly brought her pet bobtail lizards around for a visit after things had quieted down. They're surprisingly friendly.

As with all things reptilian, they were a big hit with RJ.

LR enjoys some of the spoils of the evening... POP ROCKS!!!!

The gorilla rests his weary frame on the porch, waiting for trick-or-treaters. It's been a long, long day.

We visited the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. It houses several museums in the same building.

Dad and RJ finally figured out the difference between a Bison and a Buffalo!

RJ, C., LR and Mum check out some footprints.

LR compares the skulls of a brown bear and a grizzly bear. They have HUGE nasal cavities.

LR takes a closer look at some of the local wildlife in one of the excellent microscopes.

RJ and Mum step in for a closer look.

LR and Mum try on some buffalo horns. RJ doesn't need them.

The museum had a huge mosaic map across the floor. We had fun calling out places and having the kids rush around the floor trying to find them.

C. and RJ compare the different Indian headdresses and decide which ones would be for them. Warrior chiefs seem to be popular this year.

RJ checks out the face in the rock as the old Indian chief looks on.

LR and C. go for a spin on the swings. Is that wise after eating so much icecream just moments before?

RJ runs to catch up at the local library. The Cody, Wy library is fully equipped with a cafe and indoor and outdoor seating and most-importantly.... Free WIFI!

The kids make their way down the Cody, WY streets.

On the Fouth of July, we went into town and watched the parade. With over 150 different entries in the parade it took a couple of hours to get throught them all!

Of course, no parade is complete without marching bands, and there were plenty of those.

Mum proudly remembers the countless hours stomping around on hot summer days while wearing a woolen coat. She's happy that they're over.

LR found one caramel with the outline of Australia in it! -- A continual stream of people wandered past handing out candy and lollies to the crowd. It wasn't long before the kids had enough lollies and began handing them around themselves.

The rodeo clowns made a showing, driving madly in and out around the other paraders.

Most of the cultural references were totally missed on the kids from Down Under... but the pink lady with a pink poodle was a big hit.

There was no shortage of cowboys and horses in this parade.

The hamburger was not impressed by the amount of horse manure left around.

There was both a mule train AND a llama train. They were equivalently loaded, but the llamas seemed considerably more laid back.

They even had a skiing entry in the parade... with a small crane suspending the skiers up on the chairlift.

A real cowboy... We didn't mess with him.

Yay! Flags!

LR, as Supergirl, decided the world needed rescuing.

RJ and Mum put together a great snapping turtle costume.

Grammy came along too. We needed all the help we could get!

We recruited a couple of the dads to carve pumpkins and watermelons brought by the kids.

A couple of the kids were amazed by our American maibox. Australian letter boxes look nothing like this.

Mum helps one of the kids search for a prize in the "Yucky Dip".

RJ volunteers to be next in the apple bobbing competition.

An apple bobbing champion is born!

Everyone had fun making ghoulish popcorn hands with Am!

You have to fill them all the way to the top with popcorn!

Mum gives everyone instructions on the treasure hunt. This year they had to find marbles hidden around the front yard. It wasn't easy.

One of LR's class mates hunts for precious, precious marbles.

LR found two! Home field advantage, perhaps? She donated one to someone who wasn't as fortunate.

The younger kids had their search across the road. They had to find little plastic pumpkins and cauldrons.

RJ gets his broom tuned up for the Broom Race.

Kids rush to prepare for the Broom Race.

Two serious contenders for the prize... provided no one brings kryptonite along.

RUN RUN RUN RUN!

The piñata was especially popular.

T prepares to deal a mighty blow to poor old Jack.

Can I be next please?!!

SMASH! The lollies have been liberated!

30 kids. 200 water balloons. 1 victim... at least Dad had his goggles. Dad gets the kids riled up with some serious trash-talk.

Splash! Direct hit!

Totally soaked, except for the bits under the goggles, there were still more balloons to come, as well as a bucket of water.

Trick or Treat! LR checks out the new neighbours to see if they've got treats... and maybe if they'd like to come trick or treating with us.

This... is... the... BEST THING EVER!!! FREE CANDY AND LOLLIES!!!!

Let's head home and see what we've got.