Day 2 Cadbury Chocolate Factory

We were so trashed the night before that everyone was "lights out" by 9:15pm! An all time record for this family !

At 8:30am Harv decided it was time to rouse the troops into action! A quick breakfast and Harv and Poppy Fred went to pick up a rental "bomb". Luckily for me Harv saw fit that I had Fred's car and not the bomb-y rental....it was scary just following him from behind ! :O

Off to Claremont we went - with pocket money jingling in our pockets! Woo hoo! Sadly for us tho, we were told that they no longer allow visitors on to the floor where they produce the products. We got to go into a room where we viewed a DVD and had a tour guide explain the chocolate making process and then hand out "show bags" of treats. I think the highlight for the children was to go into their "seconds" store to sample and purchase cheap yummies ! ;)

Lots of photo opportunities but I forgot to pack the chord that connects it to my computer! DOH !?

On the way back to Poppy Fred's house we stopped to buy FRESH raspberries! WOW ! It tastes SO AMAZING ! Frozen raspberries are not going to "cut it" any more after this !

Further down the road was a place called Mona. Huge grounds of a vineyard. Apparently a fairly new-ish art museum there too....but they were going to charge us way too much to get in so we gave it a miss. The grounds were very beautiful though, and we enjoyed walking around and taking in the sights. Scenery was just gorgeous no matter which direction we looked in.

On the way back to the Poppy Fred's, Harvey decided to take us along a "zig-zag" road that twisted its way up the side of the mountain to home. WOW! Talk about beautiful ! As we climbed onward and upward, the views of the city just spectacular! Very expensive real estate I'm sure.

Back at the house we all "de-briefed" the grandparents and had a yummy dinner before watching "Kung Fu Panda 2" and then collapsing into bed early again. What a great first day !

Julian's 12th birthday...and the Adventure Begins (long blog)

With all the last minuet, frantic last few days of school finishing, it was hard to get too excited with our travel plans. I think I sighed with relief at FINALLY being able to sit on the plane on the 13th December....but lets go back a little....

Sunday was my "baby's" 12th birthday. Turning 12 is a significant event in our church because it is when the young man receives the priesthood. Julian had been hinting for months to the lead up about getting a suit and tie and shoes etc. SO we had him all "decked out" for the special day. He looked SO handsome! As a mother, I was allowed to shed a tear or two for my grown up boy who I was SO proud of ! Our friends Wanita and Lee joined us, along with the Oates from Warwick and it was a very, special day.

Harvey ordained Julian, along with my dad, Mitch Peate, Uncle Marcus and Lee McDade and Paul Mortley. Julian was promised some pretty awesome blessings along with the priesthood.

After church, my parents generously offered their home to us for a BBQ dinner an celebration. We had fun with family and friends to share in Julian's special day.

Monday Madness was coming home (late) to drop the doggie off to the groomers and then waxing for the girls and I ...gotta look good for the many photos I am no doubt going to be taking! Then back to the doggie groomers to my sweet smelling and very handsome pooch. On the way we got a frantic phone call from Harv asking where we were because we had VIP visitors ! Eek ! I forgot about that !

We race home to find our very awesome friends Lee and Wanita McDade with Christmas presents! WOW ! Very talented Weats made HAND KNITTED beanies and scares for everyone in their favourite colours!! Talk about AMAZING! She must have been "going hard at it" for weeks to accomplish that little feat ! (photos to follow when I get home)...Then our very awesome house sitters came past to collect keys and go through puppy/kitty cat and rabbit routines with us...then at some point in time, I remembered eating some heated left overs for dinner before falling into a heap in bed.

Tuesday was just as frantic as Monday. I helped to "pack down" the classroom as best as I could considering that the other gals had a few more days at work. Then it was on again with frantic last minuet packing - OOOOPS I FORGOT THE CHRISTMAS PRESENTS FOR THE IN-LAWS!! :( Then we forgot that we had to move our bed and mattress into the games room for the house sitters...:( OH bad ! SO that was a super human effort by the team! Luckily we have so many "helpers". The "elves" had been in and cleaned the house from top to toe....THANK YOU CHILDREN !

My very fantastic dad came to pick us up in his "taxi" so that my equally fantastic mother could feed us dinner before we got on the plane....yummy chicken rice. Dad dropped us early - thankfully because the lines were HUGE ! Bit of shuffling and removing of belts and handbags and metal detectors and we were finally through to the departure lounge....only to be told that the gate we were supposed to leave from was different to the one they announced! EEEEEKKKK! It was a HUGE relief to finally sit on the plane and sigh with relief that we MADE IT ! The children's faces were priceless...I'm so grateful that we have this opportunity to share a magical time together.

I was the unlucky person that scored a lady who had long legs and knees that poked me in the back for pretty much the whole journey. Sigh. Not a whole lot of sleep  happened for me. Melbourne transfer was kinda scary....the lines were HUGE there too. :( We traipsed from one end of the airport to the other..but the highlight was Krispy Kreams for breakfast! Woo hoo!

We arrived in Hobart, collected our bags and hey presto! Poppy Fred was pulling into the airport ! Excellent timing. We pretty much "laid low" for the day because were were all so "trashed" from the lack of sleep.

Frustrations!

Grr! Julian has been getting into trouble at school. While I have tried over and over again to get the teachers to listen , some of them DONT GET IT! Imagine you are underwater and someone is talking to you from above, then add the drone of airconditioners AND the other students talking too! :( EEEKKK!!

So after MANY emails back and forth, after a teacher/parent meeting we found some understanding from the deputy principal and class teacher. FINALLY! It has been decided that there will be written instructions as well as verbal instructions too. Hooray! I figure it will help other students in the class too.

Hearing tests have revealed that there is hearing loss - but not enough to get hearing aids...The other side of the coin is making Julian "different" from his peers by having to wear a hearing aid. So hard.

I'm just glad we waded through all the rubbish to get him the help he needed. He growing up to be an awesome young man and we are proud of his efforts.

Ribbon Day

As everyone knows...I work with Special Needs Children. Well...today we all took part in "Ribbon Day" which involved various sport agencies five schools some Police Cadets and lots of harassed teachers.

I am proud I didnt lose a single student. We all participated in basketball, cricket, altheltics - jumps, javelin and sprints, football aka soccer and softball. Everything was modified to suit the needs of the students and each group had 20mins to try their new game. There were some very lovely Police cadets around to help the students try out new things and encourage and support the teachers and assistants! The smiles, laughter and giggles were worth all the calories I burned running around...and new friendships were formed. It was a pretty awesome day.

I was impressed with the sportmanship and great behaviour. I got to catch up with workmates from Riverton ESC and that was pretty awesome too. I'm reminded of why I do what I do. :)

Count Down Begins!

SO, our family is going on "ADVENTURE" to erm...the far south...and across several boarders...and a bit of ocean...in a PLANE ! The excitement and anticipation has been building for months and months...since May of this year actually! Finally the calendar is saying only X number of sleeps to go! Woo hoo! House, puppy, kitty cat and rabbit sitter booked!

As part of our early morning chat, the girls decided to write "lists" of all the "stuff" we have to bring...erm...yeh! Since there is a weight limit...it will be hilarious when they get to see what they are actually allowed to take with them! ha ha ha ha ha! I'm all for being super organised tho...and those lists? Well I cant commend them enough for being so efficient! :) Girls after their own mother really!

Bags have been dragged out and negotiations are beginning on who gets to use what bags...hmmm...watch this space !

School holiday FUN !

I LOVE school holidays! (I think I might have mentioned that a time or two?!) I LOVE that I dont have to clock watch the whole day and to get people to places on time, meals ready on time, bed time etc...its just nice to just "chillax" as my teen's try to tell me.

So over this school holiday break we have been carefully watching our "pennies" because we are still saving like mad for our big holiday in Tasmania. With this goal in mind we thought we would be creative in finding things to do. As per norm, there was the scrapday(s) and play dates. We also baked, cooked, made cards, gardened, made forts out of bedsheets, cushions and whatever else was handy, played hide and seek, read books (I have read THREE - go me!) played on the computer, sorted photos and generally had a good time.

We also booked to stay with our friends the Van Dijks. Fiona and Evitt live in Harvey on a four acre block which runs down to a creek. It is approximately an hour and a half drive away. The McDade's and the Schokkers came down south with us too. It was great to visit and eat (lots) play on Lee's quad bike (no Michaeal you may NOT have one for Christmas) and just hanging about.

Michaela's daisy chain. So pretty !



The campsite in the Van Dijk's garden.



Harvey chillaxing.

My children being goofballs!

The Van Dijk's pet lamb - "Pork Chop"

We have A LOT of children between us !

WHO brings a laptop camping?! Seriously folks?! Belive it or not - they are watching a movie on
the laptop...under the towel.



A man cooking! WOOOAAAHHHH!!!




Yodie (the McDade's dog), Lee and Julian.



In door picinic/BBQ.

On the first night it rained. The second night we had a huge wind storm and expected rain which didnt eventuate. We decided that we were doing some "extreme" camping! ha ha ha ! The tent was cosy with our family and the McDades. The Schokkers slept in the Van Dijks house.

Due to the huge winds, our scheduled "bonfire" had to be cancelled. :( But we were really adaptable campers....and had an "indoor" S'more making session on the potbelly stove/heater inside ! Hee hee!

A great time was had by all.

Since I'm catching up on blogs....

On to other news...our garden has been going "gang busters" of late...thanks to Harvey's hard work !

Snowpeas, Scarlet Runner Beans, Pak choy, Cos Lettuce, Tomatoes, Carrots, Spinich, Silverbeet, Potatoes, Raddishes,
Chilli, Cucumbers and Zucchini !!

FINALLY we have mango flowers after THREE years!!

Our mulberry tree is now taller than Harv.

Thanks to a kind work-mate, Harv was able to "build" up a raised garden bed and fill it with horse poop, lawn clippings, paper and Perth's sandy soils. It has been a rewarding year! The Snowpeas have produced almost two full shopping bags of peas! Good thing we like to eat them !