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

Winter Is Here

Our nights have started to get quite cold now and this is usually what drives me to bed at night. The days are still quite pleasant though.

I recently scrapped this LO of Penny's Christening and was pleased to get so many photos on the page. Many of the photos are less than perfect but tell the story of a special family day. I even made the flower on the right hand page! I was also thinking how pretty cousin Alex looked in her blue dress when Trudie brought over a garbage bag of girls and a garbage bag of boys clothes. In the girls bag was the blue dress which Penny was very excited about although she'll need to wait a little time to fit into it. Nick fits into all of Lachlan's last years clothes which is very handy. Thanks Trudie.

I attended my national ultrasound conference in Brisbane last weekend which was very good as always. It was great to catch up with old friends and make some new friends along the way too.

Nick has been busy with school talks. A fortnight ago he did a talk on our family and tomorrow he will speak about Pluto. He painted a poster of Pluto and its 3 moons and he spent time typing the talk out on the computer. He is still to have a win at soccer but his team have scored more goals each week. He has decided to have a rest from swimming after 7.5yrs and I can't really blame him.

Penny is enjoying her dancing and is going to do her first tap exam in August which she is excited about and not a bit nervous.

Craig is still very itinerant. He wasn't home for many nights in May due to work and a fishing trip and not much is changing in June. We all have our happy little routine though.

I can hardly wait until the Queen's Birthday weekend when the Scrapbooking and Papercraft Show is on at the Brisbane Exhibition and Convention Centre. My good friend, Petrina is coming down to stay so that we can attend together. I'm looking forward to seeing more of my scrapbooking friends from Bundaberg there too.
Have a great week.
Rach xxx

New Header

Do you like my new blog header? I created it all by myself! I find digital scrapping quite difficult and have no plans of switching over! After a tutorial by Petrina at the retreat, I decided I should put what I learned into practice. Unfortunately my brain had become a little cloudy since the tutorial but I got there in the end after 3 hours.
We are all recovering from a head cold but everyone seems to be on the mend. Nick had his first ever sleep over at a friend's house on Saturday night. He and many other boys camped out in the backyard and ate toasted marshmallows. They had a fantastic time although not much sleep was had and so Nick has slept Sunday afternoon away instead. The house was very quiet last night with just Miss Penny ruling the roost!
Have a happy week.
Rach xxx

Celebrations

We have had celebrations for the last two weekends. On Saturday 30th April Nicholas turned 8. He was so excited to receive a Nintendo DS and is loving learning to play the games. Some of the games are a little complicated so we have had to sit down together and go through the handbook. I'm an expert on Pokemon now! Nicholas had a few school friends over and his cousins, Alex and Lachlan for a pizza, cake and a play and then onto a night movie. They had a great time. The cake was a chocolate number eight cake with chocolate frosting and crumbled cherry ripe.

The weekend just gone I was spoilt with Mother's Day. The kids gave me a Wii Fit board which Nick is very good at and Penny picked out some pretty green necklaces for me. I also received some lovely homemade art and jewellery from school. We celebrated with morning tea at an amazing cupcake shop in West End.

A double celebration was had on Saturday with Nick's soccer team scoring their first goal of the season. After a slow start and a team in which some of the boys have never played soccer before they are all starting to click and playing well together. Another lovely surprise was my brother, Richard returning to Brisbane for a surprise visit for the weekend. It was great to catch up.

On the scrapbooking front, I have had another LO accepted for photographing for a magazine. I didn't even get around to putting it on my blog. It is a lovely one of baby Penny. I did this LO of cute little Nick with the whiting at Pt Bundaberg, on the weekend.

In other news, Nick started choir this morning and loved it. The weather has turned very chilly for Queensland and unfortunately Craig and I have got head colds to go with the cold weather. Craig's away this week so we are suffering separately.

Have a happy week.

Rach xx