Jacob

Zack

I don't get enough pictures of the older boys. Which is a shame because I think they are good looking boys.. of course I could be slightly biased being their mother and all...

A post about nothing in particular

A week and a weekend at home. We were suppose to go away this weekend but my car has a crack underneath it somewhere that needs repairing and its the only car we have that seats us all so we are grounded! You don't realise how much you rely on your car untils its not there.

Our exciting news of the week is that Miss Emma is toilet trained.. everyone cheer! She is very proud of herself and her "big girl pants" and I am very proud of her for accomplishing this so well and in just a week (with the help of a lollipop or two as a rewards ;) )

So here are a few happy snaps from our weekend, with my new lens that arrived last week in time for the trip away that didnt happen..lol
Someone showing off...


I know.... Gross...lol


The face you get when taking pictures during a thunder storm..

First day

at the "big school" for Ethan today. 3 mornings a week for 3 hrs. He was so excited last night he had trouble going to sleep and was up bright and early all dressed and ready to go.. 2hrs before we actually needed to be there..LOL

Yet another day at the beach

We are trying to squeeze as much out of this summer as we can and loving every minute of it. Every beach we find seems to be nicer than the next one. We had to trek along a path down that hill in the first pic and over some rocks to get to this beautiful spot, but, it was worth it. The water was beautiful. Just enough wave for the bigger boys to surf on, not to deep and calm enough in other parts for Emma and I to float around on the surf mats (no picture of that one, I have a phobia about water and my camera meeting each other ;) )







Some bods on the beach... lol





and these were taken by Dh from his fishing trip with some of the guys he works with. This beach is our next camping trip location in a few weeks, weather pending.







I think he has been paying attention to me. He was quite pleased with his shots saying to me "I remembered you saying its better to not stick everything in the centre" hahahahaha (photos by Brendon, processing and straight horizons by me ;) )

A Boy

Gingerbread and milkshakes

Dh and I and the two littlest ones went shopping this morning. We needed an extra air conditioner to cool the upstairs bedrooms and a bigger esky to accommodate all our food when we go camping and mummy got a new lens for her camera (well its not here yet, but its coming!).

We stopped for coffee and some delish cheesecake (chocolate cheesecake with Baileys or something along those lines!) Emma and Ethan shared a chocolate milkshake and had a gingerbread man each. Ethan ate all his but Emma was more interested in the smartie eyes.




and the first week of school is done.. all two days of it... and everyone is happy. Zack seems to have settled nicely into highschool. Jamie is excited about the subjects he has picked and Jacob is full of beans over everything as usual.

Its all good!

Mum, there's a giant bikini in your garden...

and so there was!!


The warm weather coupled with some recent rain has sent my zucchini's into a growing frenzy producing far more than we can eat and left to their own devices (or in other words..I cant be bothered going out and picking them..) they grow and grow and GROW!

And in other news.. My little guy starts kindy next week. He'll be going 3 mornings a week and is very excited! We got immunisations done yesterday and he was so very brave but decided later in the day that he doesn't really want to have anymore needles "cos they make my arms hurt".

It just feels like yesterday when we were bringing a tiny little bundle of blue home from the hospital, the time has sure gone fast.

Happy Valentines

My littlest valentine

and the only one willing to let me take a picture (for once!)

Rainy days and finger painting

We have had some much needed rain in the last two days. Thankfully it hasn't been too cold and the kids flitted in and out during the day between showers, hence the dirty feet.



and the finger painting...? Well lets just say that tommorrow I am off to get some bribes and see if we can't get this little girl of ours toilet trained. (uh huh... ughh)

Family time

This summer we have found ourselves getting out together as a family a lot more. As the little ones get older, doing this sort of thing is getting much easier and more enjoyable and is much better for all than being cooped up at home. Yesterday we headed out to a prospective new fishing spot (I love fishing!). Great spot that we will definately be back too.

Little pit stop on the way home (lol).

Got home and got the kids bathed, fed and little ones settled to bed and Dh and I headed off to a food and wine festival. Great food, nice wine (that I drank WAY too much of) and a great Fleetwood Mac cover band. A nice end to a nice day.

8 Days

Its that time of year again. 8 days till school goes back and this morning we paid fees and collected piles of books. This year I will have 2 in highschool (how did that happen???!!!) and 2 at primary school, Ethan will be starting kindy 3 mornings a week which he is really looking forward too and very ready for!

I'd love to say I am one of those mums that takes a box of Kleenex with her and sobs uncontrollably on the way home after leaving them for the first day of school.. but I am not one of those mums. I admit I did shed a small tear or 2 when no.3 son started kinder, afterall, at that stage he was my baby, my last child. Since then I have extended the brood by 2 more (how did that happen??!!) and who knows, when the littlest one sets off for her first day of school I may need that box of Kleenex but right now I'm looking forward to a little bit of quiet, some mother/daughter outings, a house that stays tidy, albeit for a few hours in stead of a few minutes, and an end to the never ending MUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM!!!! that echoes around the house all day.

8 days.. but whose counting.

Making changes...

Time for a different look.
Let me know if you notice any problems.

We're home

Back from our 5 days at the beach. We had such a great time we didn't want to come home. The boys had a lot of fun riding their bikes around the camp. Emma loved collecting shells and playing with them. We all had fun swimming and fishing (even if they weren't really biting). Our time there was so busy I took hardly any pictures (shock, horror!)

Here are a few..


The fish weren't biting


Our nightly visitors

for the international visitors... this is a possum.

A late night visit to the beach


Whats a beach without a sunset



More later