Tapping Queen

Here is our little tap queen who did her exam last week. She loved it and was not nervous at all. Bring on the ballet exams in September.

Craig and I enjoyed a trip away to Cairns over the weekend thanks to his company. I travelled up with Craig's boss' wife on Friday. After a beautiful dinner on Friday night we  ventured out to the Innisfail race day on Saturday. Whilst we didn't come away winners, we had a good day. Another memorable dinner on Saturday night in Cairns and after a morning tea visit to Craig's sister we flew home. The children stayed with my SIL, Trudie and their cousins. They had a pretty busy weekend and Penny slept for 13hrs last night!

I haven't scrapbooked much in the last week, but here are 2 more recent LO's.

The children only have 3days of school this week due to the show holiday and a ministerial holiday (pupil free day). We plan to venture to the Ekka on one of the days.
Have a good week.
Rach xx

Things That Make My Heart Happy @ Present

First up are flowers. I am buying flowers for my kitchen every week. As a child, our house was always filled with roses for most of the year as Mum had over 100 rose bushes and when they were dormant we had daffodils. These roses are from the flower markets just down the road bought for me by my good friend, Joanne.

I also have 2 African Violets in my kitchen that sit by the sink in front of a window and they are flowering like they're on steroids. I think I have my mother's touch when it comes to these.

The music from the Dr Zhivago musical features highly.

My gorgeous 15yo cat, Holly is my little darling. She is such a sook and always so pleased to see us. Here she is enjoying ice cream on her birthday in June.

Next is my soccer player Nick. We returned to the soccer fields on Sunday for photos. It never ceases to amaze me how they make these little boys put their arms behind their backs so that in their ill-fitting tops they look like they're armless. I think the zoomed photo of Nick's face looks much better although I had a great laugh out of the other photo!

My Penny also makes my heart happy. She has a cold at the moment but is on the mend.

Lastly, of course my scrapbooking fills my heart. Here are a few LO's.

Oh of course I must mention my significant other if I could remember what he looked like as he's away so much at present. We have a weekend up in Cairns together planned in August which should be lovely and WARM!

What is making your heart smile this week? :)

Rach xx 

I went to see Dr Zhivago this afternoon with my friend, Penny who lives around the corner and I have to say it was superb. It was so sad and stunningly beautiful. Anthony Warlow was supreme as Yuri Zhivago as was the beautiful Lucy Maunder who played Lara (Yuri's mistress) and the pretty Taneel Van Zyl as Tonia (Yuri's wife). The special effects were brilliant incorporating a little cinematography. The sadness and pain of the war and poverty in Russia in the early 1900's was portrayed with such realism. The music is lovely and beautifully portrays the love story. I think this musical is probably one of my favourite of all time. If you haven't been to see it, you really must. It is only on in Brisbane for another couple of weeks.
Rach xx

The Baker Going Ons

School is back in and the holidays seem but a distant memory. On the last weekend of the holidays Pam came back to look after the children whilst Craig and I attended the horse races at Eagle Farm. It was a cold day and we didn't come home winners but a fun day out with friends. We then picked up Pam and the kids and went to watch the fantastic Rugby Union Reds game on our friends' Pay TV. I didn't think I could get excited over such a game but it was great. My workplace images the Red players when they're injured and they are BIG guys.
This weekend I attended a Think Pink high tea at one of the school mum's homes with 70 other ladies. It was a fun afternoon and I even managed to win a prize of a voucher from a new boutique furniture shop in Paddington. Can't wait to go and check out their wares.
Craig has taken to the cycling phase and has bought a bike and all the gear. He is struggling a little in the botty area at present but has verbally signed up to do a charity ride to Longreach next May (@ 200km/day) so he's really going to have to ramp it up as he's only at 1-2km/day at present!

In other exciting news, Penny has lost the trainer wheels on her bike. We took her down to the park today for her first session without t/wheels and she got it! She still struggles a little to do a standing start but will have it in no time. I think the ballet may have helped with her balance perhaps and possibly the lure of a new pink bike for her birthday.

Not much else to report. This coming week I am off to the dentist and hope to keep my clean filling-less record and also to the optometrist where I hope not to come out with 4 eyes although between you and me, a needle is becoming quite difficult to thread. I have been doing some more scrapbooking. Here are some more LO's.

Have a great week.

Rach xx

Bundaberg Friends

We have had a great holidays catching up with Bundaberg friends. On Thursday the children and I drove up to Petrina's parent's beautiful place near Mt Nebo for delicious afternoon tea and a play with Petrina's kids and their cousins. They had a great time digging worms out of the garden and feeding them to the chooks next door and playing in the mud. On Friday the Petersons came to stay with us for a night. We had a great catch up whilst the kids played. I cooked pumpkin soup, red curry slow cooked lamb shanks and a sticky date self saucing pudding which were all well received.
On Sunday Craig's mother arrived and the kids have had a lovely time with Grandma whilst I have worked this week. We are hoping to catch up with some school friends for the remaining days of the holidays and then it's back to school next week.
Happy Birthday to my brother Richard and my cat Holly who turned 15yo last Thursday. Richard was home on Sunday so it was great to catch up over a coffee and yummy cake.
Here are some more LO's that I haven't shown. I am really liking the templates (that I bought at the Scrapbooking Expo) that I have sprayed glimmermist over (flowers in 1st LO, houndstooth in the 2nd, butterflies in 3rd).

Have a great Thursday.

Rach xx







Winter Holidays

We began the winter school holidays with a bang. We took the children on a surprise visit to Seaworld at the Gold Coast. They had no idea until we drove into the car park and were so excited. It was the most beautiful sunny day and such a lovely day to spend outside. We attended 4 of the shows and the kids could not single out their favourite, they enjoyed them all! We went on rides and attended the shark and fish exhibit and got to touch stingrays. I think the new penguin exhibit was my favourite. They were just so pristine and so cute.

Nick and Penny have attended vacation care this week whilst I have worked which they tell me is OK. We have other plans to catch up with Bundaberg friends later in the week.

Here are a few LO's that I have finished recently.

I have finally finished scrapping a box of photos and am onto the next one - great feeling!

Have a good week.
Rach xx

Sunny Winter Days

Today was very cold to start with but with the sun shining brightly, we all soon warmed up. The weather has been quite dry too. We didn't receive the predicted rain last weekend for the Queens Birthday w/end thank goodness. Last weekend, my good friend Petrina from Bundaberg came down and we attended the Scrapbooking and Papercraft Expo which was being run concurrently with the Textile Expo at the Exhibition Centre. We had a great day on Sunday and shopped up a storm. I wanted to hone in on boy products which I was able to do. I have wanted to attend this Expo for years but Craig usually goes in a fishing competition on this long w/end. Not this year though. I have been scrapping up a storm with the stash that I bought and will share photos soon.

Craig and Nick attended the rugby league in his company's corporate box on Sunday and loved the experience. He is now taking a keen interest in following the players and the game but has no interest in playing, much to my relief. Meanwhile Penny had a play over at her cousins' house and then we all returned home for a slow cooked Morrocan lamb casserole dinner and a yummy red wine.

Nick also scored his first soccer goal of the season and his team won their first match of the season last w/end but unfortunately they couldn't back up again this w/end. We now have a few weeks break over the holidays so hopefully they'll come back with fire in their bellies.

This w/end we went for a ride on the City Cat (City Kitty as Nick and Penny have renamed it) which is the Brisbane ferry. It was very smooth and very quick. We got off at South Bank and had some lunch and then browsed through some markets and walked around the newly opened pool/beach after the floods. We then returned to Toowong via the ferry. As you can see by the photo, the windows don't get washed very often on the ferry!

Today we spent a restful day at home enjoying the sun on the deck, listening to my favourite Sunday music - John Denver.

Have a good week.

Rach xx