Progress

Eric enjoying a beer at his very own bar! Clever thing he is. Not much left to do now :)

Family Photos.

We are so happy with our first lot of family photos we have had done since Jonas was a newborn! Since he is about to turn 6, it was about time we updated the albums.
The Follans are amazing photographers and sweet, sweet friends.
So many favourites but here is a few of the top picks.

Excited!

I am so impressed with my clever husband. He has been trying to convince me for quite some time that he could build a deck so that Campbell can sit outside without having to get down stairs. It seemed like a very big job to me- and a bit tricky! He talked me through it and persuaded me that it was a cinch!
He was so, so right. I am so, so excited. It looks great already and there is still some work to be done. The day bed is in place ready for Campbell's relaxation.
The next step is to finish the railings and to add a bar around the railing edges. I can dream away and pretend it is summer with a drinks, good company, and the perfect view of the kids in the pool.
How fabulous!

While he has been hammering away I have been sewing! I have finally done something with the gorgeous fabric I got on Etsy and I love the results. Nothing fancy but I love it.

Lovely :)

What a great day! A morning visit with my Nanna & Poppy, which also meant a visit with my gorgeous Mum. Thank you for my precious pressie xx
I then dropped Drew & Joe at the Follans for a fabulous party day. While they partied I shopped & planned for Joe's upcoming party. I am not really just avoiding the work I should be doing to prepare for term 3!! Party planning is one of my most favorite things & terribly important when it is your first year at big school. Ohhhh I do love pinterest & the scary...oops I mean amazing things that people do. I am so lucky to have a beautiful friend who is a cake making genius!! Deb needs to get a blog happening because she is awesome.
We have a special sleep over tonight for Joe & Jett while the big boys have their party. They have been so cute. They have made some amazing play dough creations, played Lego, played Lego on Wii & created ice cream sundaes. They have been such good boys & it has been very quiet- Joe has been struggling to talk to Jett all night...he is almost there!!
A chat with another gorgeous Deb made my night complete! I really am surrounded by Deborah's/ Debra's who I adore!!
A great day :)

Joe lost a tooth last night. That pesky tooth fairy was running late and didn't arrive until late morning! She really needs to get on top of her job or she will miss out on precious customers!!! Jett is hiding on the top bunk :)

Home!

Ahhhh Sydney traffic- did you wait for us to drive into Sydney to appear? We now have a healthy list of places we would rather live...but will be ever be brave enough to do it? The family and friends thing is a big incentive to stay. As is having access to the services that Campbell needs. We do love coming home but always pine for the 'what if'....

Coming home from holidays is always so hard to do. Having time to rest and have fun with the people I like the best is a tonic. We had such a wonderful time together.

The back to work nightmares started last night. They always return at the end of every holiday and I am very cranky with my sub conscience to butt in 4 days before the end. I really do love what I do and I am excited about getting back to see my gorgeous class, but the nightmares are always about having to much to get done and never enough time. Or about the stuff I have forgotten to do because I was too busy doing other stuff. Yet again I have vowed to manage my time more efficiently. To be more present for my children, to be a caring and fun teacher, to be the wife my husband married. I have finally accepted that it is simply not possible to do it all and do it all perfectly. All I am aiming for now is to get through the necessities with time left to have fun. That's achievable!!

So while I ignore the work stuff I could be doing... Joe and I have started to plan a party!!! Getting my shy boy to invite people is always the tricky bit ;)
I have started to hang my plates- the project that has remained stagnant forever!
Eric has also started the deck extension project- thanks again to youtube (what would we do without it). With all of that to look forward to I hope my sub conscience will relax a bit and leave me in peace so I can enjoy my last few days with my boys.

Zoo and West End!

Joe had a challenge to address. He is on a mission to go to a zoo in every Australian State/ territory. So of course today we had to find a Queensland Zoo. Australia Zoo was too far to go and way too expensive, and Brisbane city doesn't have a zoo! We found Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary which was just fine according to Jonas. So his list so far consists of Taronga Zoo (NSW), Canberra Zoo (ACT), Perth Zoo (WA), Adelaide Zoo (SA) and now Queenslandd has made the list too (although I do think that Currimbin last year could have made the cut too). He is determined to find Zoos in Victoria, Tasmania and the Northern Territory in the near future so he can start finding all of the others around the world.... With the 'zoo' checked off the list we decided to explore a new precinct within the city. We saw an ad for a really good second hand bookshop in West End so headed in that direction. We ended up having the most delicious lunch in a Greek restaurant- the baby octopus was divine. The service was also excellent and our meal was quite affordable too! We all left smiling in search of some interesting shops in West End. Today was our last day to enjoy Brisbane. Tomorrow we will be heading south via Armidale and then home. Our holiday has passed too quickly!

Brisbane- the sunny city.

Glorious sunshine! It is so lovely on the balcony of the sun drenched apartment that it is hard to leave. Yesterday we enjoyed the morning sun before heading into the Valley to the beautiful 'Old Museum' for The Finders Keepers market. Oh what an abundance of pretty things!! I am not sure why I came away with so few goodies- I am already regretting a couple of little treasures I left behind. We also stopped in at Annerley to visit the second hand bookshop, comic book shop & the delightful handmade shop. Today the sun continued to shine on us while we went to Southbank markets and the Gallery of Modern Art. Our late lunch at the State Library completed our perfectly lovely morning. The boys were brave enough to try to pool this afternoon!! It is not THAT sunny as far as I am concerned. Today has been my favourite day in Brisbane. We are debating what we shall do tomorrow...hmmmm.

Joe found a tiny little Gecko on the balcony!

The Gallery of Modern Art.

Creating birds.                                                                                    Andrew's beautiful bird on display.

                                    

Crazy boys having a swim!!!!

The Old Museum- Finders Keepers Market :)

Southbank.

It was lovely to open the blinds this morning to soak up the sunshiny views of the river. My cup of tea was savoured with my book while we eased into our morning.We went to Southbank today to see the Museum, Art Gallery and all that Southbank has to offer. We crossed the river to wander through Queen St Mall where we had some lunch- a lovely pizza and salad while we watched the world go by.The boys found an Comic book shop in the mall and came away with treasures. I found some beautiful printed paper in the Art Gallery that I can picture framed and hanging above the lounge. Despite the fun of the city we were all pretty eager to come back to the apartment to rest and relax. The balcony gets the afternoon sun and it was the prefect spot to read. It was still warm enough for a BBQ dinner on the balcony tonight- not a likely option in Sydney in July. We are off to explore the Finders Keepers markets tomorrow!! Can't wait.