“Life is made up of small pleasures. Happiness is made up of those tiny successes. The big ones come too infrequently. And if you don’t collect all these tiny successes, the big ones don’t really mean anything”. ~ Norman Lear
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We finally made it and the big day arrived. Time to celebrate Fred’s eightieth birthday. For the first time, in many cases, I would be meeting most of the family. The cousins, the long time family friends, the aunts, some rarely seen,the uncle, names and faces which would become a blur. It was exciting and daunting at the same time.
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We left early, mainly because we wanted to stop along the way and take photos – what else? So, along the Batemans Bay Road we went and stopped at various places where we could see the ocean. Broulee Island and Malua Bay looked beautiful.
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Malua Bay
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Broulee Island, Batemans Bay
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We stopped at the Riverbreeze Caravan Park and collected Greg, making sure he was dressed for the occasion! Then round to Mum and Dad’s at Moruya. I was right, all the family, aunts, uncle, cousins and family friends, Fred and Helen’s friends, I simply smiled and now I have the photos, most of the people have names, I’m happy, very happy. It was a fabulous day, lots of memories shared and new ones made. The cake was fabulous. Helen baked it and it was hidden at Barb’s whilst she decorated it for Helen, and tried to hide it from Fred – successfully. Doesn’t it look great?!
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Dad’s birthday cake, 80 years young!
Family speeches of course!
Ray giving a recap of Dad’s lifetime achievements, what he taught his children and how to fight fires!
The birthday boy himself.
The birthday boy gets to cut the cake after his speech. Beautiful double sponge with butter cream in the middle and frosting on top, Yum!
Part of the company. Chris has a turn telling her stories.
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It was a wonderful day. We started a lunchtime, and even the showers didn’t dampen the lively atmosphere. I made some new friends, Barb is a fantastic knitter and bird watcher so we swapped stories and she found the name of a couple of unidentified birds from our back garden.
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I met all the cousins who could make it, the aunts, uncle and friends, it was a day to remember and when we left at 10pm it felt as though we had only just arrived.
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Dad, Fred Jamieson, a wonderful example of a pioneering Australian farmer,rural fire fighter, husband and father and all round good bloke.I am so proud to be his daughter in law.
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Thank heavens for the new camera and I can practice on still shots. Happy Birthday Dad.
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A Father’s Love
A father is respected because
he gives his children leadership…
appreciated because
he gives his children care…
valued because
he gives his children time…
loved because
he gives his children the one thing
they treasure most – himself.
Courtesy of : Thoughts about God Christian web site
Owls and Orchids 
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