New hat!

Grandma L visited this weekend, and while she was here whipped up a little head confection for Ginger Rose :) . It's toasty warm, fluffy, and, I think, almost as cute as the wearer!

I can jump puddles!

Guess who loves playing in puddles?

Paint & Play is back!

Back to the first day of paint and play for term 3! Ginger Rose has been desperate to get back to paint a "dinosaur and a puppy" , and headed straight for the painting area when we arrived.

Unfortunately, they were out of smocks but waiting wasn't an option, so we were very very careful with our painting - hence no hands for the camera!

We enjoyed the obstacle course and there were plenty of sports activities set up. The adventurous kitten reappeared, and was happy to be petted and stroked, but was distracted when one of Ginger Rose's throws went over the fence! Who knew a cat would chase a ball?

It was also great to catch up with Ginger Rose's best friend, Bronte. We were both busy over the holidays and it was probably the longest time they've had between playdates so they were thrilled to see each other again :) .

Harry Potter day!

It's the end of an era! No more eagerly waiting for the next Harry Potter release date!

It was a chilly morning, and took me an extra 10 minutes to scrape the ice off the windscreen (I can't reach the middle over my enlarged stomach!) so we arrived a few minutes late for the official Harry Potter breakfast at the local mall.

It was pretty disorganised, and as the Ginger Ninja had a friend with him, his place at the breakfast was taken by Ginger Rose, who didn't really understand what was going on, but enjoyed having her face painted for the first time.

Possum didn't want to look like a "Harry Potter nerd", so asked for a Voldemort face which was very well done! We all helped the girls fill in the quiz.



Sadly, our second copy of the book was left behind, which meant that I was the only person to get to read it in our house today. I was very annoyed at the loss, but feel much better now I've finished the book :).

After the breakfast, Grandad took Briar Rose to see Bridge to Terabithia, before he headed home.

A walk to the library

I try to walk up to the shops at least once a week, and during the holidays the children walk with me.

This morning we left Grandad to head on his way to Sydney, where he's attending an exhibition including one of his photos.

I just love the view of the children scampering ahead of me - this is one of the first times we've allowed Ginger Rose to walk on her own. Usually, we can't trust her not to divert to the playground.

This is the route we take to school, and we're familiar with it. There is a very friendly cat, Lily, who often says hello and has a little smooch with the children. She's amazingly brave for a cat spending time on a bike path near a school!
We picked up sticks and a friend on the way, then arrived safely at the library after a quick run through the supermarket. The walk home was spiced up by the discovery of large sheets of ice in a creek. They broke like panes of glass, and were thrown, smashed over heads and generally enjoyed by all!

29 week bump

And here's the clearest shot I have of my 29 week bump! As ever, at this stage, I'm wondering how it can possibly grow for another 11 weeks! Talk about elephantine! But, judging by the energetic wriggles, we're both still doing well and have a reasonable amount of energy.

This is the first pregnancy I've tried prenatal yoga, and I'm loving it. I'm also trying to be more conscious of the amount of exercise I get, and walk up to the shops or library at least once a week.

A trip to Questacon

While Grandma was here we visited Questacon, our favourite place to hang out when it's cold outside! We spent a lot of time in Mini-Q with Jessie while the older children hung out together in the Top Secret Spy gallery.

I've also included a gratuitous 29 week pregnant belly shot - hidden by Michael's old jumper.

Holidays for all...

Did I mention that while the girls and I were up playing on a tropical island, the boys stayed with their Grandma? I don't know who had the more fun!

Actually, Grandma organised some great activities, but also put the boys to work. They tried catching fish for dinner but were unsuccessful. She fed them anyway. They had a terrific time mucking around with boats, and next visit will possibly be allowed to sleep on the raft unsupervised.

Refloating a big big boat

During recent storms, a large ship was washed up on a popular Newcastle beach. Grandma L, who offered the boys room and lodgings while we lived it up on Hamilton Island, took them to watch it being refloated.

They were able to get reasonably close, but I was horrified to hear that they made the national news with the Ginger Ninja pushing Possum down a steep hill. Apparently it was lots of fun and everybody was doing it...

Sunset n Hamlton Island

We made the traditional tourists' trek up to One Tree Hill to watch the sun set over the Whitsundays. It was beautiful, but a few more clouds probably would've improved the scene! There were plenty of people making a night out of sunset - there is a temporary bar that opens just for the sunset crowd, and the hotels pack picnic baskets on request.

The second photo shows our accommodation - we were staying in the short block of units on the far left and had wonderful views of Catseye beach.

The newest cousin!

While we were travelling we dropped in on my sister, who had her first baby ten weeks ago! Isn't he gorgeous?!

The girls and I spent some time visiting yesterday, so feel well acquainted with him, but today's flying visit was the boys' first chance to see their new cousin in the flesh.

Sunny daze...

And despite being miserable with her cold, Ginger Rose is still happy to play around in the gorgeous sunny weather with Briar Rose!

Briar Rose had her first sailing trip this morning when dh took her out in a catamaran. They were a very capable duo, being one of the only boats to make it back under their own steam with a stiff off shore breeze.

Art class

Briar Rose went to art class for a couple of mornings, and produced some quite creditable artwork (or am I just a biased mother?) for an 8yo with an artistically challenged mother. More importantly, she really enjoyed spending time with other children.

We had to cancel our bookings with Kids Club after Ginger Rose flunked her trial session by crying incessantly :( , but Dh and I still enjoyed a wonderful afternoon snorkelling on the reef thanks to the inhouse babysitting service!