Christmas Holidays - week 2 - Kings Beach

Peter arrived in Australia at the beginning of our second week there, which was spent in apartments at Kings Beach for the Waldeck Family Christmas holiday. This included Peter's parents; the Colyers (Bill, Linda, Steven and Matthew); the Sutherlands (Di, Gerald, Amy, Tim and Jonathon); and us.
Each family had their own unit, but it was organized that each family was responsible for cooking for everybody for one night during the week. These family dinners worked really well, although seven kids and 8 adults squeezed into a little unit isn't a recipe for a quiet dinner!
Granny and Grandpa also offered to have each set of grandkids for a sleep-over for 1 night each, so that us parents could each have a 'date night'. So, most days passed something like the following: going to the beach in the morning, kids playing together back at the units, lunch, rest time, all meet-up at the pool (at the unit complex) for an afternoon swim, dinner, bath/put kids to bed, adults get together to chat/play boardgames.
On the Wednesday we all went to Australia Zoo for the day, which was really hot, but enjoyable. Ben and Matthew were a little disappointed that the tiger didn't roar - he wanted a different tiger that would roar for him.
It was really good being able to spend a week together without the distractions/responsibilities of everyday life (for those who live in Brisbane) - the cousins got along well, all playing together and the adults got to talk lots. After doing it twice now (last year when my sister and husband were out from Denmark and now this year with Peter's family), Peter and I think that a family holiday where you all stay at the one place is the best way to actually spend a decent amount of relaxing time with family who are visiting from overseas (which now includes ourselves). If we'd stayed in Brisbane, we certainly wouldn't have had dinner together with all of us there four times for example. So, a good week. :)