Ballet

For Laura, the day has finally come. All else pales in comparison...

Complete with real ballet shoes (even though she noticed that "they don't have the ribbon mum")

 Is she really only 4??!!

Overheard just now...

D: Boys laugh a lot. And girls talk a lot.
Friend: No, girls dance a lot. And twirl.
D: Yeah.

So it begs the question - if Daniel understands that now, does that potentially make his future with females more successful or more dangerous???!!!!

All the days of the world

You know your attempts at concealing motherhood exhaustion have failed when your daughter says to you at breakfast:
"Mum, are you tired of doing all the jobs for kids all the days of the world?"
Can't get anything past them. Especially her.

"Good Morning Angels" ... "Good Morning Charlie!"

Charlie.

Angels.

Before and after. 

Thanks Dad. What fun. 

You were very patient to put up with our photo shoot. 

Do you think...

... when you're 91 you'll have a pillow fight with your great-grandson?
She started it. Really, she did...

... Laura would like a little sister?

... 5 pounds/2.27 kilos of cheese is overdoing it? :)

This is how we do airports

Move over, comin thru!!!

Secret boys' business

Clearly some serious stuff to talk about at the bottom of the slide.

Wow, I never thought about it like that...

I've always wondered when and how the kids will ask questions about the whole US/Aust thing. It's kinda normal, right? You want to see your cousins (so far they're only on one side of the family for our kids...), you get on a plane for double digit hours and then another plane, you drag suitcases through airports, you rent cars and try to fit those suitcases in, drive an hour or more, and there you find... cousins!!!

Daniel: Oh mum, do some people have cousins in the same country???
Mum: [not sure whether to laugh or cry] Yeah, lots of people do. You know how E & C are your cousins? Well they're also cousins with each other and they live in the same country.
Daniel: Wow......... I never thought about it like that!

I thought he was going to be upset that he was missing out... but no. He must think America is a place I visited for awhile when I was little, found a family, then moved back to Australia... :)

So thankful for all the times we've been here so that the kids can know their cousins...

And their grandparents too, of course!

SandWaterFire-Repeat

That is pretty much camping defined - 

Sand.

Water.

Fire.

Look at all those cups!

And sometimes everyone is moving so fast it's all a bit blurry... ;)

There, that's better. One day they'll just all look at the camera and it'll be easy...

Aunty Jenn's hair salon does heart braids!!

Many hours everyday spent on a bike or scooter...

Water play...

Escaping for a moment in the hot tub

Air museum trip - Uncle Luke you would have loved it!!

And even some peaceful moments in the midst of it all!

40th Anniversary

This is my mom...

...and this is my dad...

...and today they've been married for 40 years.

They still take different ways home when they are in separate cars - just to race!!

 I'd say that's pretty good. 

Thanks Mom and Dad for being a great example of friendship in marriage. 

I'm so glad I could be here to celebrate it with you both.