First week of the Holidays...

Oh what a wet and miserable week the first week of the hols was... It rained constantly all week and was freezing cold.. 

Monday I thought I would start sorting the boys rooms out... best laid plans and all that.. I had a lovely sleep in and woke up to Declan telling me someone had thrown up in the bathroom.. yup.. not in the toilet but all over the wall etc at the other end! and strangely none of the boys remembered doing it.. So after the fun job of cleaning up the mess I decided bugger it and went back to lie in bed and read a book... it was holidays after all..lol... 10 Minutes later the boys came in to ask it they could play electronics.... After I said no Brodie climbed into bed and fell asleep... I think I know who was sick.. and I honestly don't think he remembered..  Anyways.. I put the book down to give him a cuddle and fell asleep too... lol.. so we had a very quiet day ... 

After discussing it at school I had booked the boys in to workshops run by the Queensland Association for Gifted and Talented Children Inc. (QAGTC) On Tuesday Declan did a 'Build a Bug' Workshop and Connor did 'Survivor: Outplay, Out-Think, and Out-Strategise' and then on Wednesday Declan did 'Bucketloads of Brainteasers' and Connor did 'Mind Challenging Puzzles and Games'. They Loved it ... had lots of fun and their leaders said they did very well. 

Meanwhile on Tuesday Brodes and I went to a Parent Information Session until about 11.30.. He was really good playing with the old iphone.. and then he got to go to Lollypops Playland with Liam, His best mate and partner in crime from Prep..lol.. Was quite nice chatting to Liam's Mum, Louise, while the kids ran amok..

then on Wednesday we had another Parent Information Session but this time I was unorganised and so to keep Brodes occupied I gave him my phone to play with. He was again very well behaved but when I got my phone back I found a dozen photos and about 8 videos..lol. 

Rat bag! lol.. 

I left the Sessions feeling very confused, excited, guilty and relieved..lol.. Up till now I thought had very smart boys... but apparently there is a name.. 'gifted'.. and yup that is their technical term.. How gifted I am still unsure but after those sessions I think I need to find out. It was amazing that a lot of the comments I have had from teachers have been heard by many other parents too. I certainly have never been the type to push my kids.. I just want them to do the best they can and be happy at the same time... but I think to achieve that I need to do some more investigating and chat to the school so that we can help Connor in particular from underachieving. and make his life a bit better at the same time. Will see what happens when I have a chat to the school.. Hopefully it will all work out ... 

On Thursday I got stuck in and sorted out Brodie's room while the boys had a quiet day at home.. took me all day, got rid of about 3 bags of rubbish but gee it looks so much better... Now I just need to replace the flooring, window treatments, yellow glass, repaint and decorate... lmao .. but hey .. the first step is finally done! 

Anyway I am exhausted so that will do for today... Hope you are all surviving the holidays! 

School Holidays ~ Visit to Toowoomba

On the Monday 21st Sept we headed off to Toowoomba to catch up with some friends.. We got to have Morning Tea with Tom, Clare and Dhugal.. Our old neighbours.. gee we miss you guys! and then off we went to Chrissie's place.. The boys were sooo happy.. It has been so long since they have seen the boys.. and they had a pool..lol.. Some pics I got of the boys having fun...

Mitchell & Ruben.. love this action shot.. can you believe it didn't end in tears..lol..


Connor, Mitchell & Ruben... they all went nuts..!

But Declan decided it was too cold..lol.. been up in Rocky too long I think, and spent most of the time on the side of the pool..lol

As did Brodie.. he had great fun throwing the noodles in the pool and making the boys go get em for him..lol..

It was such a lovely afternoon.. I was really sad to go.. Got to see the boys Chrissie and Granny Carol.. and I miss you guys sooo much too..

After we left there we to Andrew's and Marisa's house for the night.. The boys thought it was great cause they got to play with Mark's games..lol.. and they love playing with Andrew and Marisa.. It was a shame though we didn't get to see Mark as he was away..

The boys pretending to be tigers and Attacking Andrew..lol..

It was a lovely night catching up.. It all made me soo homesick.. I miss everyone and the cool..lol..

School Holidays ~ Zoe's Christening

On Sunday Morning little Zoe was getting Christened.. Greg was very proud to stand up as his Godfather. And as usual I took far too many pics..lol..

Sienna.. so pretty..

Katie was very attached to Connor..lol.. and of course he insisted on wearing his new tie again!


The proud parents and Godparents.

She was just sooo beautiful!

I love this pic of Tanya and Katie.. as Warwick and Tanya were heading off on their honeymoon Katie just didn't want let Mummy Tanya go! Nearly brought tears to me eyes!

We had a lovely lunch afterwards and the boys were very impressed with the beautiful Mudcake..lol

It was a lovely morning.

Everyone else left Marnie and Pa's after lunch so it was just us left.. a bit more relaxing but we all miss seeing everyone.. we don't get to see them enough!.

And after a rest of course the boys wanted to ride the motorcycles.

Pa and Declan.. I'm not sure if you can see his expression properly but I think he was pretending he was Evil Knievel..lol.

And I am not sure Brodie could see at all..lol

With the Training wheels on Connor was off on his own.. I love the look of concentration on his face!

For those that haven't seen it..this is Brodie's fav position when he is getting tired. Thumb in mouth and a grip on the tag of his pants..lol. He loves tags. to the point that he will no longer wear certain shorts 'cause the Taggie don't work Mummy'! lol.. Funny thing he is.

Of course because Connor had a ride on his own the other two wanted a go..

Declan did really well.. until he nearly ran into a bush..lol.. so Pa decided it was safer to walk with him after that..lol..

And even Brodie did ok.. mind you Pa kept the hand on the throttle.. Both boys gave him a bit of exercise ..lol.. running to keep up with them..

Greg then decided to have a ride with the boys as well.. I know he used to ride this bike as a kid but looking at the back tyre I'm not so sure he still should be..lol

Connor then got Pa to take the training wheels off.. He did really well and took off round the property like he'd been riding all his life. Unfortunately at one point Pa stepped out to get him to stop.. and Connor pulled up without gearing down.. and the bike tipped over. Of course not having listened to his Mother he was not wearing jeans.. so ended up with his first exhaust burn..

He was really quite brave about it really. And after he got over the shock and pain quite impressed with the perfect bolt imprint in the middle..lol.. typical boy!

Here is poor little Brodie at the end of the day.. he was sooo tired.. and just needed a cuddle from Marnie..

All in all another hectic day and a lot of fun..

Weekend at Stanadge Bay

Hi everyone.. Yes I know it has been a while .. But I am trying to catch up now.. lol.. So again I am going to do it in stages.. but grab a coffee.. gonna be along one..lol..

We went camping with Friends to Stanadge Bay on the weekend of the 8th and 9th of Nov.. Well that was an interesting weekend!!! We left early on Sat morning and convoyed out.. That was until we got our rear window on the Pajero smashed by a rock on the dirt road in!!.. We had dust all through the car.. on the pillows.. everything.. What a mess! So of course we had to thank Jodie profusely for suggesting we go camping..lol...

After we got there and took 2 hrs to set up camp.. (the worst bit) the kids all went down for a walk on the beach.. well that was the plan anyway.. but of course.. despite the fact that none of them were in togs they all ended up in the water..

Ella enjoyed herself..

Brodie thought it was great fun to run around dripping!!

And Declan, of course, was sand from head to toe!!

So we then had to wash them all and get them changed before 5pm.. Have you ever tried to keep 8 kids 6 and under clean at a campsite.. Of course Declan just had to play in the dirt..grr..

Well we finally got them fed, gotta love a bbq when you are camping.., and in bed. Despite having bought a new 3 room tent to fit us all in.. Declan and Connor decided they were sleeping in Poppy's little one with him..lol.. Oh well.. We had just settled in to relax a bit.. and of course.. it started to rain.. and the boys hadn't put a tarp over the seating area like we girls had suggested.. of course.. so a quick clean up and we all were in bed fairly early.. I was worried the sound of the rain would freak out the boys but Brodie and Connor slept right through and Poppy said Declan woke once.. grabbed his hand.. and went back to sleep..lol..

The next day was fine luckily so the kids were keen to hit the beach again. But I did manage to catch this bunch of monkeys in the tree first..lol..

They had a ball at the beach.. All adults that were game to get into the water were fair game.. They were climbed on, splashed and tackled.. Oh the joy of boys..lol..

Mick and Jack!!

Jodie was having a ball with Connor, Lachlan and Jamie..

Even Ella had a paddle..

Brodie had a ball and showed no fear of the water or the waves..

Love the two whales in the background..lol.. Not sure who had more fun.. the kids or the adults!

After they had enough of the water .. the kids had a ball in the sand.. I think Jamie was trying to dig through to China..lol..

Kyle was having great fun playing footy on the Beach with Mick.. He's got a good kick on him too..lol.. Meanwhile Joe and Poppy vanished whenever they could to go fishing..lol.. Not that they caught anything.. but they had fun..

After a cleanup and lunch.. we had a few visitors..

I couldn't resist the pics.. they are just soo gorgeous..

After a rest Zoe decided that Brodie needed his hair up..lol.. Daddy was not amused.. I thought he looked cute..lol..

Greg dd a roast in the camp ovens.. for dinner that night which was just divine.. and of course toasted marshmallows for desert..!..

At least there was no rain on Sunday night so we got to relax a bit after the kids were in bed and have a few drinkies.. Mind you Poppy reckons next time he is camping on another beach as he reckons we were too noisy..lol..

Sunday we packed up and headed off home.. this time Mick and Jodie smashed their lights connection to the trailer on the road, Zoe and Joe got a flat tyre.. and Poppy got a rock through the windscreen on his way back to Mackay... So we made sure Jodie felt really guilty for taking us camping.. pmsl..

Overall we had a wonderful time.. and Stanadge bay is just so gorgeous... Unfortunately we didn't get to see any of the turtles coming in to lay their eggs but we saw plenty of mounds where they had been.. we will def go back but next time it will be for a week.. far too much work for one weekend!!!

Hope you enjoyed your coffee..lol.. told ya it was a big one.. but I did manage to cut down the 450 photos I took to the ones you see here..lol..