You Capture - Outside

I just had to add these pictures of the sky at our place yeaterday afternoon. We noticed this incredible yellowy orange glow that seemed magical & a bit eerie! So I quickly grabbed the camera to see what I could capture. We are in the middle of the bush so it's pretty hard to get a shot of just the sky without any trees. I was so wishing I was standing on a mountain top yesterday arvo........!

These pics are unedited. This was exactly the colour. The middle one kind of reminds me of what the sky looked like the day of the fire storm, but there is definitely no chance of fires this season, it's still raining!.

You Capture - Outside

Summer & I managed a quick trip up to Brisvegas last weekend for Marni & Nitas Birthday. Marni didn't know I would be there so we managed to pull off a great surprise by me hiding in the back seat of the car while Nits picked her up from the airport. And I actually managed to surprise Nits as well (!) because she didn't know when I was going to reveal myself!. So when I finally stuck my head around from behind Marnis seat & said " G'day Marnz", she was just as shocked as Marnz was, and nearly side swiped another car in the process. Marni was very confused because she was trying to process what was going on and why Nita seemed to get a shock that I was there too!. It was pretty funny. And so ensued a night of ridiculous fun & laughter with Marni & her i phone. Yep, that thing had us rolling around the floor in hysterics. You see it has this little voice recorder that is a really cute little cat, and when you talk to it, it replays what you say in a really cute voice. So of course we laugh, and then it laughs back, and that's pretty funny, so we laugh harder, and then it laughs, and on & on it goes until, we are laughing through tears with sore stomachs & faces. And then she shows us the T-Rex dinosaur one that has a really low voice, and when we laughed at that one , well it was all over. I think it took us a good 10 minutes to recover from that one. Ah, easily entertained these days, I know!. Such silliness is good for the soul, and I came away from our little catch up feeling very happy & thankful for such great friends you can be really silly with. Everyone needs friends like this. Oh, and I am so fighting the urge to get an i phone !!!!. But even though the weather wasn't the best our little water babies were in the pool having the best fun with Juan chucking them high into the air. I tried hard to get some good shots, but I was perched on the edge of the pool with a big drop behind me, and I was trying desperately not to let the camera get wet!. But this is my You Capture - Outside. A bit different to the photos of snow & cold that I have seen on Beths Blog. Mind you when I see all that cosiness going on over there, it makes me dream of a white christmas!. Maybe one day......

You Capture.......Sweet

These are some little Christmas gifts I made for Nita's girls, Mia, Asha & Lola. I think they turned out pretty sweet & I can't wait to see them wearing them. They are now hanging on their christmas tree in cute little paper bags, just waiting to be opened on christmas day.

Check out some more sweetness on Beths Blog - http://www.ishouldbefoldinglaundry.com/

ABC's

" Wha dis mum, wha dis " (watch this mum, watch this)
" That's great drawing Finny, are they trees? "
" No Mum "
" Oh, what are you drawing? "
" ABC Mum "
" That's great Finn ! "
(Mum & Dad have a little chuckle)

Logans graduation.....

Yesterday was Logans year 6 Graduation lunch at the bowling club. He has had the best teacher in Miss O'Meara, she has been a great influence in his primary years. I remember quite often Logan coming home & saying, Miss O'Meara said this, and Miss O'Meara said that, and Miss O'Meara told us .........I thought jeez, this is one great teacher. And she is. She took the time to talk to Logan about things in a way that didn't make him feel like a silly little child, she gave him the confidence to have a voice, and he absorbed everthing she taught him. Isn't it great to know that when your child is away from you for so long at school, they are in the hands of someone who creates a relationship with them, that truly values them for the little individuals that they are. I don't know if it is a rare thing, if most times you get teachers who just teach, and not necessarily engage with a child, and maybe our school is lucky to have dedicated teachers all within a small community. But I think good teachers are the most important people in the world. They are a major part of the foundation for all of our future generations and they need to be applauded.........especially our Miss O'Meara!. Congratulations my gorgeous boy, I hope high school is just as rewarding for you. x
Oh, and there were 12 kids in Logans class and two of them will not be continuing on at Bonalbo, but he will be going into a grade 7 class of 23 or so kids!. That is a huge grade for our little school!.

Our girl.......

We had our girl home for the weekend. Have I ever told you how much I love her?. She is such a good kid, and I am so proud of how she is coping with the tumultuous time of teenagehood. I really admire her for her strength of character which radiates from her core in the worst of times. She will blossom into an incredible woman, of this I have no doubt. I just hope the trials of youth don't scar too deep, at a time when life should be so carefree. We had an emotional weekend due to her learning about the Child Soldiers of Africa in her Legal Studies class. The stories she had to read were absolutely horrific, and her heart ached for those children, and she felt a sense of helplessness and anger at the degradation of humanity. I started to feel really angry that the school had just dumped this into these kids laps and told them to deal with it. I mean how can a child rationalise this barbarianism in children. It was too confronting for this girl , who, has always had an innate sense of compassion for the 'underdog'. She had a feeling of frustration because her mind in all it's innocence just can't comprehend how this can happen. How a world can let this happen. It makes me weep because in my own adult mind with all it's supposed understanding of the world & how it works, I cannot explain it either. I have no answers for her. It is just the way it is. There is always one quote that comes to my mind when I think of Che'-

'Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter' - Martin Luther King

May we never become silent.
Learning about these children is the best thing you can do for them Che'. By knowing that their stories didn't go untold, that people listened, they heard, they felt. By doing that, because it is all you can do, you are honouring their lives, and maybe one day we will be able to make a difference. I am so sorry that the world is not a better place my darling. x

You Capture - kindred

It wasn't hard to find my subjects to represent 'kindred'. Cleo & Summer were born 8 days apart & they are the best of friends. They are kindred spirits because they share a great imagination, they both love to swim, and play treasure hunts, and they are both very artistic and love to read. My wish for them is that they will enjoy a friendship that will stand the test of time, the good with the bad, and remain like kin for life. Oh, and I've got to mention that they also both hate having their photo taken.......wouldn't have anything to do with a camera crazed mum though.................would it?.

Rainy days....

We have had so much rain it's quite hard to believe, and the property looks so green & lush it puts a little skip in my step when I walk outside & see the amazing growth that is taking place at the moment. With the rain though, also comes days off for Shane which is great for me & Finn having him home, but not so good for the bank balance!. It was great to see the two of them just hanging out playing cars the other day. This is what being a parent is all about, this was an hour of undivided attention, just Finn & Dad. This is all growing children need. This is priceless.

xmas craft....

Hard to believe it is nearly that time again...( I am sure I've heard myself say that before!) but yet here we are with only a month to go.....so I am trying to get into the spirit of it all.... Yep I actually find the whole xmas thing a bit daunting really. For starters when you have a broken family & married inlaws (!), things tend to get a bit difficult juggling who should be where & when & whether anyone actually wants to see each other anyway!. Pretty sad I know but hey, that's just how it rolls in this family......but we have come up with a solution & are having mum for xmas eve & Dad & Laine for xmas day & I think they seem happy with that arrangement & I know I feel alot better with it too. Less stress for me. The other is just simply the fact of all the long hours to be spent shopping & when your xmas shopping is an hour & three quarters away it becomes pretty tiring to say the least, especially by myself. I dream of being that really organised person who has it all sorted and has been picking up gifts during the year and stashing them away......but, alas, organised I am not!. I mean let's face it there is no avoiding it, even though I have had some serious thoughts of maybe taking the kids camping for xmas. You know just set up camp on a beach somewhere for a week or two & just let the whole silly season pass us by in a wonderful state of relaxation. Does anyone actually do that??. Of course I really enjoy the day & we always have alot of fun but it's just getting there that's a bit too much to bear sometimes. When I was a kid my mum was so jolly around this time of the year, I mean she basically lived for xmas. She would be beside herself with anticipation and would get us all out of bed at 4am to open presents, and her enthusiasm for the season was delightful. So I am making a real effort to be excited for my kids, and the best way to start is to make some chrissy things!. So the girls have been making these delightful baubles out of styrafoam balls, beads & pins. I thnk they look pretty great, and the kids now have a gift for their teachers which I know they will love. Summer has also made a start on her xmas cards too. I decided she had to make them this year & use up some of the xmas craft stash, instead of buying them. How are your xmas preparations going?.

baby bird.....

We arrived home the other day to find this darling little tawny frog mouth sitting on the kids slide. He was trying to pretend he wasn't there of course, but Jed took us straight to him. His mother & sibling were still in the nest above him and mum was keeping a watch over him. So Greeny got out the extension ladder & put him up in the tree as far as he could, and he spent all afternoon slowly clambering his way back up to his family. By the time Happy Hour was on we all got to watch him manouvre himself around his mum & sibling and finally take his place back in the nest!. That was Greenys good deed for the day & our entertainment!.

pantry makeover....

Hello everyone hope you all had a lovely weekend. Mine was busy doing a few little projects that I've had on my mind for a while......like turning our daggy old melamine pantry cupboard into a chalkboard. I love how it turned out, and all I had to do was prep the melamine with a product called ESP before painting it with chalk paint. Too easy, now that's my kind of reno!. Now I'm just thinking that I'm a bit over the orange walls.......I can feel Shane rolling his eyes at me already!. I have also been doing up some dining chairs we got from ebay to go with mums old Pine kitchen table that Greeny (our resident handyman) so very kindly sanded back and oiled up for me. I shall show pics of it as soon as it is finished. Have you been working on any projects?.

In my garden.......

Hello everyone, I hope you are all enjoying this beautiful weather. We have had alot of rain to get the gardens going and it is looking to be a beautiful mild summer season. I have already had to mow & brush cut three times, and am feeling overwhelmed by the work ahead already. I have asked Shane if we can make some sort of yard boundary that I can maintain without feeling so burdened by this expanse of land!. I'm sure that will help. However that is also another job to be added to the never ending list of 'things to be done'. The snakes and ticks are all out in full swing, I had a huge brown snake just outside the other day, and am so grateful to Jed for letting me know it was there. Dogs are invaluable out here for that reason alone!. Our little lamb Sage went down with a tick and we had to nurse her for a day & night, but she came good & went back to her mum & sister. We have been checking them every second day & are guaranteed to get at least one tick off them. I even had to get three off Marthas (the duck) eye yesterday!. We are all good, and keeping busy. Summer has started swimming club, she really enjoys the water and so does Finn so it is a good thing to do on a Thursday afternoon even to just keep Finn occupied, despite the hour drive to the pool!. Che has started Year 12 & seems to have gotten a second wind about the whole school thing. I think she can see the light at the end of the tunnel now, and is even reconsidering Uni.
Logan is so excited to be starting High School next year. His orientation days have already started so he is getting to meet some new kids who will be in year 7 with him, he is growing up way too fast, but still remains my sweet boy.
Happy gardening.............

You Capture Orange.....

The theme for this weeks you capture was Orange......This was all I could find to put in the orange category. I hope you all like the picture of Hetty our beautiful escape artist chook!. Still love her even though she is so infuriating!. And the beautiful orange calendulas....

Have a great day !

The twins........

Here are the twins.......our first lambs!. Summer was extremely pleased to find that they are both girls!. That means they get to stay, and the roast dinner gets put on hold!!. They are so very cute, and their names are Parsley & Sage.....


While one we turned around & here was Finny frantically chasing the other one, with squeals of delight when he caught her.

Woodstock......

Friday night was the Annual Fundraiser for the Ewingar Bushfire Brigade, and the theme for this years bash was Woodstock. It was a great night with everyone making a good effort to dress up, and the hall was decorated a treat........it was super colourful with flowers everywhere, I think we should even leave a few of the signs up. We even had the hippy combi as a backdrop!. It was a karaoke night and it was fantastic seeing lots of people get up and enjoy themselves, belting out some great tunes.......and no, I didn't hog the microphone too much!!, I just did a few ABBA numbers and a really hideous version of The Gambler by Kenny Rogers!. I've still got the tune in my head!. The bonus of the night was winning the raffle, a wheelbarrow loaded with lots of practical stuff for the farm, and some alcohol too of course!. The auctioning of the Burly bush Firemen went off, with a phone bidder winning a days labour for around $750 I think........anyway they raised a good amount of money and everyone had a great time.....................

And Finny would have kept going all night.......he was still having the best fun at 1.30 in the morning!

Beth & Tom's Wedding....

We had a lovely time at Beth & Toms wedding....  It was at their home with just close friends & family and set in their lovely garden with great rustic old sheds & stables which made a great backdrop.  I am sure they will have some amazing photographs to look back on over the years.  They were very lucky that the rain held off on a very cloudy day and it was great to catch up with the Ballard crew again.  So I made the most of my opportunity to get some shots of my cousins and their partners and their children while I could.......and I am so glad that I did.............

This is Riley, I think we have met each other three times and she is a pure gem, she had no problem lettting me take pictures of her.  I thought her outfit was gorgeous and I think she did too......

And this is her little cousin Archie who was not very happy on the day, but for some reason, in a split second, he ran to the log and did a funny little pose and had a little chuckle, and had us all snapping like crazy to capture his little moment and then it was gone..........

My brother Brett and his beautiful lady Maree......

Ben & Hagar......I hope you guys love this photo as much as I do.......

Bronny & Jim........always look forward to catching up with you..

My sister Koo and Mitch.......love the laughing shot!.....

Heidi & Chas......still madly in love......

Jamie, Asher, Summer, Zoe & Eve (Some more of our offspring!)

And the rest of them........

Our gorgeous girl Che'..............

Beautiful Zoe who is loving, sweet & helpful and has the most gorgeous little collection of sun kisses......

And her brother Jack.......mister personality!..

And finally a nice shot of Shane & I.  I am not too sure who took this but whoever did (Heidi..Che...?)

THANKYOU.....as I am always the one behind the camera I rarely get nice pics of the two of us together....and this one I love.......xx