Bossy

The question is, who is it...?

Proud parent moment

Seems to me that 10 is a turning point age. It's not adolescence, nothing specific happens (not with boys anyway)... except the desperate desire to listen and understand EVERYTHING that the adults talk about. Which can be tricky.

But... at the moment, this 10 year old Daniel is in India with Andrew - visiting some non-profit work and experiencing the developing world for the first time.

And this tricky age is turning out to be not so tricky on the trip, because Daniel is thrilled to be with grownups, listening to much of the adult conversation.

I just spoke to Andrew, and Daniel received some really wonderful compliments from some of their hosts about his ability to engage with adults, hang out with other kids playing cricket for hours, and "not be on the iPad all day". Woo hooooo! Now this is the stuff that makes it all worth it. Little things are big things. Great kid. I think he'll come back taller,  his heart increased in compassion, and his bond with his dad stronger. And to think I wasn't sure he was ready.

For this I am thankful

Twas a long week last week. Puppy fell down a couple steps and 

broke his elbow. A 3-month old puppy-turned-5th-child. 

Sheesh. I nearly lost my mind. Which is embarrassing really, 

but it is what it is. I couldn't believe I was sending him off for 

surgery and now I have to take care of an invalid puppy. 

But really, it was small on the scale of tragedy, I know, I just got 

a bit overwhelmed by it all, the kids were so upset 

by it too, and I was short-tempered and snippy. 

Enough said.

And it's Monday now, which means I have to do it all again.

Hopefully with a "much improved" on this week's report card...

So it seemed the right time for a thankfulness post.

If you're really switched on, you'll see it doubles as a catching-up post. ;)

Thankful for my parents having been here for one whole month. 

Wow, what fun we had. It went faster than I wanted it to, 

and we were busier than we had realised we would be, 

but the time was precious and I'm lucky lucky to have had it with them.

This kid...apparently no one told him you're supposed to photobomb from behind.

Thankful for this sweet pretty little girl who loves stuffed animals as if they were real. 

Thanks for doing the pretzel trial with me Mom!

...For every single airport goodbye shot that we get to take, 

because that means we got to be with them.

This gorgeous, feisty, thoughtful 8-year-old-going-on-18. 

She's going to be one fun teenager, I just know it!!!

(caught unaware!)

Every new word out of her mouth is wonderful, 

even if it is usually spoken in all CAPS (I believe you know what that is Jenn!!). 

To see her mind learning and growing is priceless. 

Her latest word is helicopter, which is even better than watching kids learn to say spaghetti!

Who wants a big brother to go down the slip-n-slide when mum doesn't want to!

Warm sunny days, watching little cuddles lying in the grass, 

and thankful for another big brother that feels very deeply for his little sister.

Amazing air shows in the middle of the city during a wooden boat festival. 

Incredible!

This crew that is [only some of] my family.

For every single day I get, I am truly grateful.

Oh, and I am thankful for guitar lessons. For finally deciding I would do it for myself, and feeling like every minute spent learning to play is worth it!!

Here's to living another week, much improved or not, just keeping on trying!

Small things

Everything in life boils down to small things. Right?! Please say yes, because this past week has been one small thing after another. Wee, poo... all small things from a small little PUPPY!

We got the kids a puppy for Christmas. They jumped out of their skin, totally unbelieving that we would actually be doing it. So we've chosen this little King Charles Spaniel. We all named him Hunter. The kids are in love. And he is lovely. The wee on the floor is not so lovely, but I think he is learning and the abundance of hardwood floor is coming in very very handy.

This was Hunter when we visited him at 7 weeks old.

And when we brought him home at 9 weeks old.

You could just eat him!

And 2 girls, each with a puppy. Too cute!!

Creation

We didn't get out on the water much this Christmas. 

The weather was fine, but somehow we just got busy with kids (really?!!!)

 and playing games and relaxing on the beach with new kayaks. 

Which was so fun.

But on our last full day at Bruny we went out on the boat, ski biscuiting... 

and check out what we spotted. 

It just started with, "ooh look, there's some dolphins over there"

Can you see this one under the water?

Then they got closer (that's me on the ski biscuit)

Good pics are hard to get of fast jumping dolphins...

Here comes 2 straight towards us

If you look closely, there's one just behind and to the left of me in the picture

And here's a few also very close!

What you can't see is all the ones underneath me. 

I could see nearly a dozen at a time.

Pretty much jumping out of my skin with excitement. 

They were so playful. Such showoffs.

A really beautiful experience.

I still think it's strange and wonderful to have Christmas on the beach

Merry Christmas at the end of ours in the Southern Hemisphere, 

to the start of yours if you're in the North. :) 

10 Days... (part 2)

Wow, it's been so long since I wrote the first bit,
and never got back to finishing the rest. 

So here's the rest:

Day 2: River cruise in Strahan - so windy! 

Meeting the captain was pretty cool

(Day 3 lots of driving)

Day 4: Rainy day at Cradle Mtn meant indoor games 

and all day in jammies,

...long snuggly sleeps,

...lots and lots of reading,

...and then watching the snow fall in the morning when we woke!

Day 5: A walk around Dove Lake was not doable for these troops and that weather, but we did walk around a little bit, and even if we couldn't see the mountain, it was beautiful!

Day 6: Next stop Stanley. Highlight for Laura was this gorgeous cat who hung around our campervan waiting for cuddles, even ready right outside the door when we woke in the morning!

Beautiful views from on top of the Nut

Girl posing, boys wrestling.

Look we're in Penguin, and there's the penguin!

Not all fun and games on the road...

Day 7: Chocolate factory, amazing toy and collectibles shop, and super good fun at an amusing hedge maze named Tasmazia and the Village of Lower Crackpot. Hours of fun!

We stopped at cool places, saw lots of stuff. But what's really cool is to make your own game of falling out of your chair when we stop on the side of the road to have a picnic.

Day 8: Caves!

This was a huge highlight for the kids. They were beautiful caves. 

All the photos would mean little when you haven't seen it, I'll just choose two. 

It was so fun to see the kids so completely interested the whole time.

Day 9: Platypus, Echidnas, Seahorses, and mining for gold! Hands down the best was the echidnas walking all around us like little people with attitude. Interestingly, they're relatives of the platypus and not the porcupine or hedgehog as commonly assumed.

Stones into the water. Simple pleasures.

Rock and stick constructions. Simple, yet elaborately constructed in their minds, 

with purpose for every space. Hours of focused fun.

Day 10: Final day started with the chairlift in Launceston, the highlight being
the littlest being instantly keen to feed the peacocks, with the others
following her lead. She has no fear of animals, this one.
We ended with a 3 hours drive home and a whole heap of time
unloading the motorhome into our van, and then the van into the house.
Not for the faint of heart.
Collapsing into bed happy for our trip around the state, and glad to be home.

 Goodbye home on wheels! We have grown a little bit attached, but we must say goodbye.
See you again.
Maybe. :)