Triple J and A

2009-08-27T20:00:00.004+10:00

Little J had a Children's Book Week Dress Up Day. He decided to go as Mr. Snow from the Mr. Men Series of books....he's looking a bit serious, but I think he had a fun day!!!!!

Farewell Nana..................

2009-08-09T15:12:00.008+10:00

Jean, Nana, Mum...........the final journey has begun...we will miss you...be at peace..know that you are held in the hearts of all your wonderful family. They will grow strong and brave and carry part of you with them throughout their lives. All our love.....xx

Little J turns 8....not so little these days!

2009-08-09T14:42:00.015+10:00

Jack enjoyed his 8th birthday with loads of fun and loads of LEGO! Great party, great friends plenty of fun and food. Another year.....my baby keeps growing up! Happy Birthday baby! xx

Mother's Day Weekend

2009-05-11T21:15:00.028+10:00

The weather was sunny but cold...nothing over 18 degrees. The wind was a bit blustery but that's ok for clifftop and beach walks. We spent the weekend in Queenscliff in a cosy cabin by the beach. Lovely dinner in one of the local pubs in front of a roaring open fire and loads of exploring.......trains, shops, lighthouses, mini golf, a fort, beaches and a Sunday morning market. We stopped in Geelong on the way home to have lunch on the waterfront and see what the Wool Museum had to offer....nothing better than special times with family............xx

Daylesford Delights

2009-04-26T13:23:00.011+10:00

The last day of the holidays...autumn..sun shining but wind cold..fresh chestnuts...a market at the railway station...fresh produce...cosy lunch at Cliffy's...retail therapy in beautiful shops...it's hard to beat a day in Daylesford. Longer next time I think!

Family Easter

2009-04-15T15:45:00.010+10:00

Ahhh..they joys of a holiday and a celebration. Good Friday at our house is always filled with family, food, conversation and laughter. We enjoy the closeness of family...which always seems to be extending!....and welcome new members into the clan. We decorate eggs and have a fiercely contested egg rolling competition every year. It seems a shame to only do it once a year!...oh well...only twelve months and we'll do it all again! Love to all xxxx

My baby is growing up!

2009-04-08T19:17:00.004+10:00

My beautiful boy is now 11 years old and in his last year at primary school...where does that time go???? A happy..if not tired (3 days at school camp)....boy, we celebrated another milestone.....happy birthday my gorgeous one!!!! xxxxx

Autumn Blooms in the front garden

2009-03-30T12:40:00.007+11:00

The garden is having a final fling and showing off all it's colours before winter starts to settle in...temperatures in the mid twenties and a rain at night means the garden is healthy and blooming!!!!

EARTH HOUR 2009

2009-03-30T12:26:00.006+11:00

Earth Hour is an important event each year which encourages the world to stop and think about our planet and how we should be looking after it. We turned out the lights for an hour to use less energy and think about ways we can nurture our home planet.....hope you find ways to look after the Earth too!

Our "new" House !

2009-03-07T13:47:00.009+11:00

Well...here it is...after years on waiting and saving...we finally got the whole place carpeted. What a difference it has made...cleaner, quieter, warmer, and much more aesthetically pleasing!!! It looks like a proper house now.....aaahhh...lovely!

Fire Sun

2009-02-20T17:05:00.004+11:00

The past couple of weeks in Victoria have been devastating as the worst bushfires in our state's history swept through some of our country towns. Here in Melbourne we experienced fallout in the form of smoke and ash filled skies for several days. The haze and heat of the sun was extraordinary. Black Saturday will live with us always................

At the Night Market

2009-01-09T10:18:00.010+11:00

A warm, sunny evening at the Queen Victoria market. The smells of wonderful foods, all sorts of stalls, music, bumping into friends and even ....going for a ride on a camel!!!! What more could you want from a summer's evening in Melbourne?!

Backyard Christmas

2008-12-27T16:57:00.009+11:00

Well, Christmas is a very busy time of the year with too much food, too much drink and generally too much of everything! BUT...it is lovely to catch up with family and have them enjoy the time with you. We set up the backyard and both families lazed away the afternoon...it is hard work but watching the smiles and laughs and the enjoyment of the kids it was very well worth it. Merry Christmas until next time................xxxx

Phillip Island Adventures

2008-09-27T15:54:00.034+10:00

Wow....a week away at Phillip Island, and it went SO fast!!! We had a wonderful time, the boys discovering and me, rediscovering the beauty of this small island. Only 26kms by 9 kms, it is packed with incredible scenery, all manner of wildlife, rugged beaches and a heap of stuff for the kids to do. We saw the Penguin Parade, The Nobbies, Koala Centre, Pelicans at San Remo, and went to Rhyll for fishing. We learnt about chicory kilns explored many beaches and walked around Churchill Island. Holidays....especially beach ones for me......are restorative and good for the soul....enjoy just a snapshot of a lovely week away.

Happy Father's Day

2008-09-07T11:43:00.003+10:00

Hey Dad...Happy Father's Day for this year. We hope you have a fun day and can't wait until you're home...we have cool pressies for you from the Father's Day Stall at school. Big hugs and smooches....
lots of love....Big J and Little J xxxx oooo

Little J turns 7 !!

2008-08-14T12:02:00.018+10:00

August 1st was a day of celebration...Little J turned 7 ! There was presents, excitement, dinner out, cards and phone calls. On the following weekend there was all the fun of the party. We had a Wild Action Party, with an impressive array of wild creatures taking over the front room. Everyone had fun touching and holding the animals, followed by cake eating and alot of running around! A great day for all of us.....Happy Birthday Little J !!! xxxx

Pa turns 80 !!

2008-08-02T16:27:00.009+10:00

Well.....80 years young!! Not a bad effort at all. July 21st 2008 saw big J and little J's Pa turn 80 years of age. A fine celebration was held with family, friends, food, drinks and ....of course....music. Once Pa had a guitar in his hands, a microphone and a bunch of muso mates around him, there was no stopping him! Thank you to all who came to celebrate this milestone....we'll see you at the next one! Happy Birthday....Dad, Pa, JJ, The Gembrook Gentleman, and....... the biggest J of them all! xxxx

Gyuto Monks

2008-08-02T15:38:00.004+10:00

One Saturday morning we headed down to The Incinerator Theatre to witness the most incredible mandala making by Tibetan Monks. They spent a week creating the design from coloured sands, and the skill and patience required was mind boggling!!! Big J and little J really enjoyed it....bringing home some souveniers and even doing a class with one of the monks to create their own mandala design on a prayer flag. What an inspiring saturday morning!!!!

School Holiday Photo Shoot

2008-07-10T13:29:00.029+10:00

We LOVE school holidays!!! So much time to sleep in, go slow and enjoy each other's compnay. We have been to movies, out for lunches, had fun with friends, been to the circus, had a shopping spree and generally had a lovely time being together. One day we caught the tram into the city and, armed with a camera each, we set off to take photos of Melbourne. These are the results...we hope you enjoy sharing our efforts! First of all, Big J lined up his lens................

............Little J had his first go at digital photography........................

............and mum took a few shots as well.....................

.....

Quick catch up

2008-06-01T21:30:00.002+10:00

Well, first day of winter and what a beautiful day it was....cold, foggy morning followed by beautiful sunshine and back to cold and foggy at night. Beautiful evening in an eerie sort of way. Spent hours in the garden and realised that I had missed working out there over the past few weeks...great sense of satisfaction standing at the back door and surveying a day's work in the garden....cold air but feeling warm from the work....fresh air...dusk settling in....time to light a fire, cook something warm and enjoy a glass of wine. I think I shall look forward to the pleasures of winter.......................

Beechworth Weekend

2008-03-23T13:41:00.011+11:00

Three hours drive on a hot long weekend in March....catching up with friends, lunch in "Yak"....and some exploring of the Kelly Gang's exploits. Relaxing and fun!

Holiday Fun in Sydney!

2008-01-06T21:32:00.000+11:00

Well what a lovely time we had....a week in Sydney with free accomodation, beautiful sunny weather and nothing to do but relax and enjoy it all. What did we do you ask??? Lots of tourist type things...Taronga Park Zoo, Ferry trips on the Harbour, Balmoral Beach, Manly Beach, Dinner at Doyles on Watson's bay and a trip up the Centrepoint Tower to name a few. Here are a few photos that may capture the mood of a lovely holiday...thanx N,M J and G for your generosity. xx

A day at Sovereign Hill, Ballarat

2007-12-02T20:06:00.000+11:00

On Sunday the 2nd December, our family plus E, went for a day trip to Sovereign Hill. What a fun day we had!!!! We went on a horse and coach ride, panned for gold, explored a gold mine, made our own candles, played an old fashioned game of bowls, explored the town, watched humbug lollies being made and watched $90,000 worth of gold being poured!!! It was a big, tiring day......but what a great time we had!!!....Enjoy the pics........

ART SHOW CREATIONS

2007-11-20T21:54:00.000+11:00

Big J and Little J were recently involved in their school's art show. They both had several pieces on display and were proud to show off their efforts. The hall was transformed for the event with every child in the school contributing wonderful artistic creations to the event. The school and local community all support the art show and enjoy the creative talents of the children. Here are some examples of what Big J and Little J created......hope you enjoy them!!!!

Rosebud Adventures

2007-10-06T10:29:00.000+10:00

The school holidays are nearly over....they always seem to go so fast!! Last week we went to Rosebud.....thanx Aunty J......and had a really cool time. There was shell collecting, shopping, beach fun, mazes, mini golf and a rather adventurous ferry trip across to Queenscliff for the day. The Marine Discovery Centre was fun. We got to touch and feed some of the fish and other sea creatures. Here are some photos...hope you enjoy them!!

Tulip Festival

2007-09-30T12:49:00.001+10:00

Here we are again with another one of our holiday outings. We went for a very long drive to the Dandenongs to visit Tesselaars Tulip Festival. It was fun...we had to find gnomes hidden in the gardens, we had lunch and ran for miles through all the rows of tulips. Mum bought some flowers and big J and little J got a couple of souvenirs.

A new member of the Family

2007-09-28T10:54:00.000+10:00

On September 24th a new member of our family came into the world....a new niece for A and a new cousin for big J and little J....welcome gorgeous!!

Royal Melbourne Show

2007-09-25T16:55:00.000+10:00

Hey! Wow! It's the holidays!! As much as we all love school, it does get tiring so we are enjoying taking it easy and being on holidays. The weather is gorgeous so we are getting out and about...stay tuned for a few holiday additions to the blog over the next couple of weeks. Our first addition is after visiting the Royal Melbourne Show....very COOOOL!! We went on rides, bought showbags, saw heaps of different farm animals and pets, checked out some amazing cakes and did a whole load of really cool stuff!!! We were happy but weary at the end of the day....have to go next year and experience the fireworks!!!! Happy holidays to everyone!

Spring has Sprung!

2007-09-08T11:11:00.000+10:00

There's not much rain around just now, but the garden is coping quite well. Flowers are starting to bloom and there's a bit of action in the vegie patch. We'll be recycling water for a while to come, but it's worth it!

Buddy Buttons Bear

2007-09-06T13:08:00.000+10:00

Buddy Buttons Bear came home to spend the night with Little J. He hung out around the house and did all sorts of things.....he helped to collect the eggs,( and nearly got pecked by a chook!), he helped in the garden even checked out the bath and then was so tired he crashed out for a sleep with Little J....zzzzzzzzzzz. We had to sew a button on him so he would remember his time at our house....what fun!!!

A new member for the Crotchet Club!

2007-09-06T13:01:00.001+10:00

There is a new craze at school....crotchet club!!! It's kind of tricky to get started but it is fun to learn. There is a group of boys and girls who go to the club for an hour every week...hope I can make something cool!!!!

Father's Day

2007-09-06T12:56:00.001+10:00

Hey Dad!! Just to let you know that we are thinking of you on Father's Day...hope you are having fun wherever you are. We have pressies for you when you get home! Love from Big J and Little J
xxxxxx

We meet Sally Rippin

2007-08-21T18:47:00.000+10:00

Today me and Little J went to mum's school and we met Sally Rippin, a fabulous author and illustrator. She taught us how to draw some of her characters. Millie from "Millie" and two monkeys from "Too many monkeys!" We got to buy a couple more of her books to add to our collection. It was COOOOOL!

A visit from Queensland

2007-08-18T14:51:00.000+10:00

Uncle Greg and Nina came down from Queensland to check out the footy...while they were here we had time to catch up. Family get togethers are fun!

2007-08-18T14:49:00.000+10:00

At home

2007-08-09T16:18:00.001+10:00

Thought you'd like to see how the backyard is going.....there's been some rain so everything is nice and green. The weeping apricot tree has been magnificent this year, covered in glorious pink blossoms. As you can see, the chooks are really enjoying a bit of free ranging out there too.

2007-08-09T16:11:00.000+10:00

2007-08-09T07:23:00.000+10:00

Dad, are you out there????

2007-08-08T19:58:00.000+10:00

We are using this to tell you what we are up to.

Ellen is helping us make this "Blog".

Swimming is almost over. We have been doing swimming every day for 2 weeks! It's fun. Today some kids had to jump in the pool with clothes on! It must have been hard to do 2 laps of freestyle in the deep end. From Big J...

As you know, it was my birthday last week. On Sunday, we went to build a bear workshop. Six friends came plus Big J and me. We made our own bear with a sound. My sound is the happy birthday song. Big J's bear's sound is giggling (just like he giggles). My bear is called 'Duffy' and Big J's is 'Jessidy'. The bears are dressed. When we got home, we played chess and ate party food for lunch. My cake had a cat on it. From Little J...