31st May, 2008

Ethan had an exciting day today. He got to go to his first AFL game AND he got to go onto the ground at half time and play a little game with the other Auskick kids. Wish I could have got some better pics but there was a huge crowed and it was hard to get a good vantage point.




This group were so funny. They were likeHawthorn's own personal cheer squad. One of the guys had bongos and they had this cool little chant thing going. All very enthusiastic.. well they were at the start.. it sort of died out towards the end as it became evident Hawthorn weren't going to win..lol

Had a lovely weekend at our friends house (hey Kimmy *wave* thanks for a great weekend!). The kids were occupied, the food was great, the weatehr stayed nice for us and the scenery was just beautiful.. autumn colours in every direction.. a photographers dream and yet I only took a handful the photos the whole time!

Science fun

On Sunday we took four of the kids to the museums new science exhibition "Phenomena Factory". There were lots of fun hands on exhibits and we all had quite a bit of fun.. except for the tunnel that made you feel like you were on a swinging bridge.. that just made me feel sick..lol

Those are thongs in her hands and you banged them on the pvc pipes. They made surprisingly good sound.

Learning what makes whirpools..


Posing... she's going through another "don't take my picture faze.." sighhh.





These whisper dishes were great. There was one at each end of a large courtyard and you could talk into be one and be clearly heard in the other.


and I have to include this one because I just love the age he is at. All day on Sunday he constantly remined the other kids that is was "mums day" and we have to be good for her and not let her do any work".... awwwww

Anzac Day

This is a scan of a picture Ethan drew about Anzac Day



He was fascinated by Anzac Day this year. His teacher had obviously done a wonderful job of explaining to them what Anzac was all about. He was asking lots of questions about the soliders and where they died and did everyone die etc so we took him along to the Anzac Day Parade so he could get a better understanding of what it was all about.

Just a few pics from a trip to the beach the other weekend. Had a lovely bbq with friends while the kids splashed in the rock pools and swam. Making the most of the last bit of summer!

Unfortunate sign placement....

I got a laugh out of this.

Tomahawk

It rained the morning we packed up which delayed us about an hour and had us hoping it wasn't going to set in for the weekend.
Highlights of the trip:
~Being able to just sit back and relax and READ! I finished a book I have been trying to get read for some time and regretted not bringing another.
~Jamie and Zack enjoyed snorkeling around the reefs at low tide. Although Jamie did have a little scare when he thought he spotted a stingray and thoughts of Steve Irwins demise flashed through his head..lol (its wasn't a stingray, and Jamie is still with us in one peice)
~Ethan loved being able to ride his bike around with the big boys, and I enjoyed being able to let him without having to worry about traffic.
~fishing of the rocks and getting totally soaked by the waves crashing on them.. no really.. it was fun!
~Finally actually catching fish.. yay
~Early morning walks on the beach
~playing cards at night with the boys.. we don't do that enough at home, amazing what you do together when there is no box for everyone to sit in front of.
~Picking blackberries

This is why we got detoured on our last camping trip.. both sides of the road were just blackened.. fierce fire!


Ethan's preferred mode of transport..


Emma's preferred mode of transport :p


Our little patch of beach

Blackberries that were growing by the road, juciy!

From one of my morning walks




The not so highlights -
~B forgetting the tent pegs and making the hour trip to town to buy new ones.
~Jacob getting strep throat, requiring another hour long trip into town to see the doctor.
~Emma crying with reflux numerous times.. we still don't know what caused it.
~Packing up camp in THUDERSTORM and pouring rain and everything get soaked and muddy!
Storm at sea that quickly moved in on us the morning we left

Packing up in the rain.. ugh

Happy Australia Day!

(Mean't to post this last night so pretend the date on the blog says 26 January 2008.)

Home again

Last Thursday we headed off on a 4 day camping trip to the beautiful Musselroe bay area.
Day 1
All packed up and off we go...


First sign of a problem...


Bad fires mean't that we had to detour back and take a different route..


We eventually arrived and hour or so later than planned and got our camp set up. We take two tents.. the second is behind out main tent and is where the three older boys sleep. This was our first time camping at an unpowered, no water site. It wasn't as hard as I thought.. although the "long drop" took some getting use to..lol
We also learn't that you have to lock everything up to keep the possums out. We had one in our car eating some food the kids had left in there during the day and that night I heard the zip on the tent and discovered a possum trying to get in, cheeky things!


The older boys built a fire on the beach (as boys do)





and Brendon tried his luck with some night fishing.. (as boys do ;) he caught nothing..lol


Day 2
We had beautiful sunny weather and headed to the beach.








Day 3
It rained. It rained ALL DAY. We packed the kids into the car and headed off for a drive to a little nearby town for a few supplies and when we got back we found the boys tent wasn't quite as waterproof as it should be! We had to ditch their tent and move them all into our tent.. very cosy.. 7 people in a two room tent..lol As well as drying out some bedding by the fire. It was an interesting day to say the least..lol



Day 4
We woke to a dry although dreary misty day and decided along with our other camp mates to pack up and head home. Of course 30mins into the trip home the sun shone brightly.. ah well.. we still had a great time although it has taken me two full days to get everything washed, dried and thoroughly aired out ready for our next trip in 10 days (complete with a new and more waterproof tent for the boys..lol)!

The possums weren't the only friendly pest.. I mean wildlife at the site. The wallabies were very friendly and approachable. they would sit right beside you while you ate just hoping you would feed them.. something we quickly learn't to discourage the kids from doing!


Something we s[potted on the way home.

Stopping for an icecream on the way home.