Fabulous Extended Family Holidays! - by Natalie Anderson

It's the last week of the term here in New Zealand. I'm so looking forward to these holidays - we're sneaking on an extra week this time and using that one to steal across the ditch to Australia's Gold Coast. It's a big family holiday - hubby and me and our four kids, my sister her hubby and their three, and my mum. Twelve of us altogether. We're going to one of those family-friendly resorts and have a van for the lot of us to cruise round in. It's going to be fab.u.lous.

We're planning to go to a few attractions (the Scooby Doo ride at Movie World is pretty much at the top of the list) and the kids are desperate to see a crocodile and a koala. Less keen on snakes. Other than that we'll be playing by the pool (and hopefully sneaking in some reading).

But sight-seeing aside, the thing I'm looking forward to most is spending some time - an extended family all together, generating some awesome memories for ourselves and the kids. Already the little cousins are working out who's going to sit next to whom on the plane, they're emailing each other every day (we live in different towns) and talking about what mischief they're going to get up to on the holiday. I love watching the anticipation build - it's so much a part of the fun along with planning what to pack, what to do and when and how and all that. We're all 'counting down the sleeps' now and I'll be getting the scrapbooks for the kids so they can stick in all their ticket butts, draw pictures, write words and scribble and stuff.

Today is World Alzheimers Day - something that has touched our family. It makes me all the more determined to live in the moment, to treasure the time we have together - and make amazing memories that we hope to hold onto for as long as we can.

Of course, while away, in this gorgeous Australian beach resort, I might find a few moments to do what a romance writer loves most - spying on people - and come back with a ton of fresh, fabulous ideas.

Anyway, while I'm away in October there'll be a new release on the shelves in the US - Tis The Season includes my novella The Millionaire's Mistletoe Mistress - set in an Edinburgh department store. You can find out more about it at my website. I'm also on Facebook and Twitter. Happy holidays!