Boys

Boy #1 on the toilet reading.
Boy #2 learning what boys do at the same time as going to the toilet.
Really, wouldn't you rather read on a comfy couch than the toilet?!!

Passport photos

You gotta love a good passport photo!! This is what the immigration officials will be looking at for the next 5 years.

And a bit more current than this one which is in his passport now...

70 Years. 840 months, of course...

These are my grandparents, married for 70 years today. SEVENTY YEARS! That's a long time. Every morning on the 17th he says "happy [# of months] anniversary". Too cute. Happy anniversary Grandma and Grandpa, I so wish I could have been there to celebrate with everyone.

Friends

It's fun to have out of town friends visiting - they provide motivation to see/do things in the town we live! I'm sure they were cold here, compared with temps in Sydney, but for us it was fabulous weather for mid-May. Annie and Luke, we had such a fun weekend with you, and you were very patient traveling around in our people-mover!!! :)

Fun Run

I expected to walk the 2.7 km fun run/walk with Daniel this morning, pushing L and N in the pram, talking with a friend, and casually meeting Andrew at the end after he and our friends from Sydney finished their 11 km run... We'd talked about a 'no whinging' policy and I was trying to decide a reward if he finished the entire thing without complaining. Instead, though, Daniel decided to run most of the way, so I had to as well! I really should expect the best [of the kids] more often than I do... it was good fun and if he is ever a runner, I'm putting my money on endurance over sprinting.

Colour

I love all the colours of autumn, and this Japanese maple is beautiful. Reminds me of being a kid cause there was one in our yard growing up. It's still there actually. It's probably my favourite tree.

The other trees that I look at a lot are these two below - they are very similar to each other, except that one is weeks ahead of the other with its leaves changing. This is the view from the sunroom off our bedroom. It's probably my favourite room. :)

Win Win

I needed time in the house by myself - to get some long-awaited projects done. Leftover stuff from moving in, stuff I haven't gotten around to, and which was hanging over my head, making me feel guilty for relaxing. So Andrew was taking the kids to Bruny overnight. Turned into 2 nights, returning on Mother's Day afternoon. The result of which meant I would be getting my own Mother's Day breakfast. (ooh, tough break).

But separate to that (sort of), apparently Andrew had a bet going with his office manager, Annette (I knew nothing of it). They must have gotten to chatting about what the weekend held, and she wondered whether I would be a bit lonely, waking up on Mother's Day by myself. Maybe just a trace of sadness/emptiness/loneliness??? For her to win the bet, she would have to ask me how it was, and I would have to mention one of the above 3 words. So she lost, and Andrew is being taken out to lunch tomorrow.  ;)

Oh my kids, what would I do without them?? I would be lost. Don't be mistaken, I would sleep in, make meals when only I felt hungry, have a house that stayed tidy, and shower every day. But it would be empty without them and I would be lonely. Just not as quickly as 48 hours. :)

The kids didn't miss me. Why would they when they were busy doing this with Dad?!

They thought it was pretty funny to have mother's day breakfast without me anyway!

No, this won't be a Mother's Day tradition for me. But it was fabulous.

Wonder

It really is the little things in life that give cause for wonder. This morning's job of raking leaves came to a grinding halt when this little green guy was found among them. He now has a home with us. Thank you Google for your search results on 'feeding caterpillar'. May those results grant him at least a few days of life with us.

Filo Pastry

What in the world was I doing buying Filo Pastry? I have no idea how to use that!!! Must have been a creative outburst. Oh well, after looking at it in the fridge for nearly a week, I felt like making a dessert one night. Something different. Might have a look on the back of the box... VOILA!... we have Rum and Raisin pouches with Raspberry Sauce (they called it Raspberry 'Coulis', but whatEVER!). Can I just say YUMMM. Andrew gave a one-bite tick of approval. I thought of my sister and a friend who often take pictures of their delish creations, so I got out the camera, and here you have them. :)

You go girl!

Fishing

Results of a boy's day of ocean fishing - 3 big tuna in all!
(mom and dad, this is Peter who was at our wedding!)

Dad, he even cleaned it like you used to make us clean ours!