Here They Are

The layouts I promised to post. Some from the retreat and some after.

The holidays are flying by. The kids have had good play dates at friend's houses whilst I worked, Grandma came down for a long weekend and we had some little friends over today. Very busy but fun. Nick is well again.

Have a lovely Easter holiday and I hope the Easter bunny remembers you.
Rach xx

I Almost Forgot

to let you all know that I am famous again! Finally, after 11mths my LO was published 3 times in Scrapbook Creations #86. It was supposed to be in the mag last year and I felt some disappointment when it wasn't in the appointed issue. With our move I was worried that I might not receive my layout back so on contacting the editor she told me it was in the current issue. Whoops! It's quite obvious that I don't subscribe to this mag anymore. The same layout was on the contents page, face page for the gallery and then in the gallery. I always feel a bit chuffed and the kids love to see themselves in the mag.
We have been ever so busy creating Easter gifts for friends and teachers. Penny forgot to hand hers out so we handed them to the children left at school and then the rest went to the girls at ballet.

School is over for term 1 and the holidays have begun albeit very quietly for us as poor Nick has full blown tonsillitis. He has been fighting 40degree temps and a viciously sore throat since last night. He is so flat and quiet and not himself at all. Hopefully he'll be fighting fit for Easter.
Thank you to Helen and Shandell who sent me the versatile blogger award. I am hopeless at getting these done but will endeavour to do so soon.
Happy Friday to you all.

Rach xx

And A Month Has Passed

Wow! I have sat down to write a blog post so many times over the last month only to find something else needs to be done. We have had a busy month which included me turning another year older celebrated with some great friends from Bundaberg who came to stay and also with my SIL and niece and nephew at a delicious lunch in St Lucia.
We also returned to Bundaberg for a long weekend to visit family and friends and most importantly for me to attend my annual scrapbook retreat which was great as usual. The food was superb again. I didn't create many LO's but had a lovely time catching up with old friends. I will post some photos of my LO's soon.

Last Friday my Mum turned 70. She didn't want any fuss but of course we couldn't let it pass by. So I flew to Adelaide on Friday to attend a small surprise lunch for Mum at a restaurant in Adelaide. My brother flew in from Sydney and my sister was also down from the mine she works at in SA. We enjoyed a lovely long lunch full of laughter. Mum really did get a big surprise as you can see from her face! I flew back on Sunday and felt very tired after a busy few weeks but nothing like a long sleep in your own bed to recharge the batteries.

Nick and Penny are looking forward to the end of term this Thursday. They will have a few play dates whilst I work next week and we will reciprocate by having friends over on my non working days. Nick has started playing soccer and played goalie last weekend for part of the match which he did quite well at according to Craig.

Have a lovely week.

Rach xxx

Wicked

-what a wonderful stage show. We were taken to a beautiful Italian restaurant and then onto Wicked by one of Craig's suppliers last night. The story was very clever and complex. The lighting and costumes were amazing. The actors and their voices were superb. The show really is worth seeing if you have the chance.

We have just been busy with routine life. I have made a quick 9 cards loosely copied from a magazine article in a card magazine - here are 8 of them.

My friend Penny and I spent a Friday morning enjoying morning tea and making cards. Whilst I only achieved 2 at her place, I went on and created the other 7 over the weekend. I also found two LO's that I haven't displayed yet.

I find Thomas LO's hard to do but very important to document as Thomas was a huge part of Nick's young life. I really love how the Christmas one turned out.

I am busy preparing some LO's for my scrapping retreat in Bundaberg soon - can't wait to see all my friends again.

Have a happy week.

Rach xx

Work At Last

I have just begun my third week of work. I work 3 days a week (5hrs per day) and am really enjoying the challenge of working in a new place. The people whom I work with are great and very helpful. Life is getting back to normal and routine has returned which makes us all feel more settled.

Nick received an award at parade in his second week of school for settling in well and working hard which he was thrilled with as we are proud. He has also begun tennis coaching before school on a Wednesday which he is enjoying.

Penny is loving her ballet. She is enjoying school although very tired by the end of the week.

We finished our Valentine's Day project with a few more bits and pieces added at the front door and a heart garland inside which the children glued together.

On the weekends we have enjoyed exploring our new city. We visited Mt Cootha which has beautiful gardens and a great look out over the city. There were many little brass statues throughout the gardens - here a frog and Miss Penny.

I love this photo and the background lights I achieved. It inspires me to get back into my photography again.

On Saturday we had a day out at the races whilst the children had a sleep over at their cousins - thank you Auntie Trudie, Alex and Lachie. We had a great day with great company and came home winners. I have included a photo of my outfit - thank you Mum and Dad for my gorgeous cream and black shoes (an early birthday present).

On Sunday we visited Manly which is on the coast. We found some markets and the kids had a good bike ride along the waters edge.

Have a good week.

Rach :)

Melting

This week has been incredibly hot and humid but we shouldn't complain as our north Qld folk have fared much worse with Cyclone Yasi hitting the coast. Yesterday Craig pulled out the kid's water slide which we thought would work a little better in our new yard as we have a slope but as all our outside taps are run off water tanks, the pressure was very poor. Craig stood with the hose directly on the slide and sprayed the kids as they went down. They had a lovely time. Today we visited the local pool which was very busy but very refreshing. It is a really big complex and caters to all ages of children well with 3 water slides and many pools. We've had heavy showers of rain early this afternoon but the sunshine is returning and I fear a return of the hot humid weather.

I am beginning work this week after 8wks holidays. I am really looking forward to getting gel on my hands again and working through a list of patients to gain a feeling of achievement and usefulness and also helping people.

Nick and Penny are managing their new school well although Penny doesn't really enjoy the walk home at the end of the day. She started ballet this week and really enjoyed it. About 8 girls from Sherwood Prep were in her class which was good for familiar faces. We had an impromptu BBQ with some friends we made on  the first day at school. They live around the corner from us, have 2 little girls (5yo, 2yo), have just moved to the area and are renting the other house we looked at. We all have a lot in common and look forward to many more meals together. Penny(mother), Charlotte (2yo) and I have enjoyed a couple of morning teas this week after we've dropped the kids to school.

I have done a bit more scrapping this week (LO's above) and we've have decided to start on a Valentine's Day project at home evidenced by the heart on our door.

Have a happy week.

Rach xx

First Day

Today was the first day at a new school for Nick (Yr3) and the first day ever for Penny. Don't they look cute? All went well.
Nick settled in and had a little boy take him under his wing. He has a lovely teacher whom he raved about when he came home

Penny did not have any tears although came close.  She was not going to let me go for anything when I suggested it might time for me to go but when her teacher invited her to sit up the front she went and I quickly exited! She had a great day and best of all was able to do some painting.

They didn't need much coaxing to go to bed tonight as the weather is also very warm this week contributing to their weariness. I won't be far behind them!
Have a good week.
Rach xx