Quiet Days

Not much to report here at the moment and I'm cherishing it. Penny was a little social butterfly on the weekend with 2 birthday parties to attend. Both parties were at the bowling and leisure centre and the kids enjoyed the big slide and jumping castle. Penny asked me why we weren't going again on Monday! Nick managed a play at both parties and Craig and he had a ride on the dodgem cars on Sunday which he loved.
I've had a lovely week and feel quite pampered with having my nails done, going to a Body Shop party where we had a hand bath, exfoliation and massage and then off to have my hair done.
Only this week and next until school holidays which we are looking forward to. Before then we have a dancing concert, sportsday and extra working days so we can't wait for the rest.

The Last One...

This weekend was the last long weekend in Queensland for the year (until Christmas) and I feel like we wasted it as we didn't do much or go anywhere. This is partly due to me still trying to catch up on things after being away, and also it is Craig's annual weekend away to a fishing competition. As you can see they did quite well. Unfortunately this coral trout missed out on taking out the prize for the heaviest coral trout by 5oograms!

I managed to get an educational newsletter done for work which I am relieved about as I haven't done one since February. Nothing like a conference to find some inspiration to impart some knowledge. Nick scored a goal at soccer on Saturday and Penny sang "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" into the microphone at dancing - very cute. We had some friends over for afternoon tea on Sunday and the six children all had a great play. I also managed to finish off this LO that I started a couple of months ago.

Old and new...

LO's and a card to show today.

The first LO I completed in February but left at the shop for challenge display and finally picked it up just prior to our departure to Adelaide. It is one of my favourite LOs. The other LO I started a month ago and finally completed today and I made the card last night. The flower centres are microbeads which I have had in my stash for about 4 years and never used. Whilst they're very messy, I think they're quite pretty.

In other news, we went to dancing on Saturday after a 3 week absence and an in-house concert was announced to be held at a function centre in a few weeks so Penny has lots of practice to do. She's very excited. Nick won his soccer and shot a goal. On Saturday afternoon we attended the next door neighbour's first birthday which the kids enjoyed as I did too getting to know the parents.

This morning we had some old friends, Tim and Trina and their children, Jorja and Will over for morning tea. We were very decadent with freshly home cooked scones and pikelets with jam and cream so this afternoon I made sure I worked out at the gym! The weekend topped off with a visit from Grandma (Craig's Mum). Now off to catch up on the ironing for the week! Have a good week. Rach xxx

Show Day

Today we had a holiday for the local show. I haven't been for about 12yrs and the children have never been so we decided to venture over. We enjoyed looking through the pavilions at people's handicrafts and cooking as well as a few animals. The children were in awe of the rides, especially the ones which tip you upside down in every direction. It was amazing how many games and rides were there, new ones and old ones that were around when I was a child. Penny enjoyed putting the balls in the clown's mouth while Nick enjoyed running through an undersea adventure house. They both had a go in some little bumper boats on water and the show wouldn't be the show without a ride on the merry go round which we could all partake in (Craig and I assisting the children). We contemplated the ferris wheel but the price for the 4 of us ($22) frightened us off. With a freddo frog show bag and some fairy floss we had 2 very happy children. It was great to see such beautiful weather for the show this year as last year there was very poor attendance due to torrential rain.
Well I'm back to work after almost 4 weeks off. It has been a lovely break but I'm looking forward to going back.

We're Home ...

from Adelaide. Penny and I arrived back on Monday night feeling quite travel weary but having had a good rest. The weather was very kind and not too cold. We enjoyed catching up with family and friends. I enjoyed the conference and found it very inspiring and the luxury at the Hyett for a couple of nights was long overdue. Mum and Dad loved looking after their little granddaughter for a couple of days as they don't get to do this very often seeing as all of their grandchildren live in Queensland. Penny also loved playing fun games with Auntie Robbie (my sister) who also had some time off. Below are some photos of our trip:

Penny bravely patting a sheep at he Adelaide Zoo.

Coffee with my Uni friend Sonia at her beautifully renovated house and meeting baby Lucia.

Collecting walnuts with Gramps turned into a great game where Gramps would shake the tree and Penny would run off screaming and laughing for fear of being hit in the head.

A walnut without it's husk.

Driving the ride-on lawn mower with Gramps.Cuddling with Auntie Robbie.
The West Girls - 3 generations.

Busy times

Wow I thought life was busy when the children were babies but clearly not so. Amongst all of this craziness we had a quick trip to Brisbane where the children could catch up with their cousins, Alex and Lachlan and we could catch up with my brother and sister-in-law. It was a lovely couple of hours catching up over afternoon tea and the children had a great time.

I haven't done much scrapping lately but have made a few cards.

Penny and I are off to the cold south next week. We are visiting my parents in Adelaide and I am attending a conference later in the week. I'm sure we won't know what has hit us particularly as the max temp today was 16degrees! We're packing beanies and big coats. The boys are staying home to fend for themselves although I don't think they'll suffer too much as I filled the freezer with home made dinners today - pea and ham soup, lasagne and chicken curry.

Again it will be a long time between posts but I'll get back into it when I return. Hopefully my scrapping mojo will have returned.

A Big Day!

This morning was a busy one with term 2 of dancing beginning again for Penny and Nick having the usual soccer game in which he managed to score a goal. Then home quickly to decorate the cake and then we ventured over to Krazy Maze for Nicholas' birthday party. He had 7 friends attend and they had a fantastic time and I'm sure they'll all be in bed early tonight. He received some lovely presents, Ben 10 being the predominant theme. The cake went down very well too with many having second helpings so that I had very little to bring home. I didn't make an overly big cake as in past years as I normally end up throwing so much out. While I always thought I wouldn't have a party for the children at a commercial place, I can really understand why people do. It is so easy - no cooking (except cake), no cleaning, no games to organise and best of all the kids just love it. It certainly was money well spent to see the children having such a great time together for a couple of hours.