(after delivering bowls of rice pudding covered in fresh raspberry sauce)
Dad: (whispering to RJ) I think it’s monkey brains.
RJ: (whispering) No. It’s not.
(a few minutes later)
RJ: (yelling) It’s Santa brains!!!
Dad: But doesn’t Santa need them?
LR: Naah. He’s done that trip so many times, he doesn’t need brains to know where to go.
RJ: He’s so good, he doesn’t need them, and we get to eat them up!
We took advantage of the long weekend to get our Christmas tree and ornaments taken down (trees dry out fast here, and end up looking like something out of Dr. Seuss). LR ran into a bit of trouble with the lights, but after some detangling we got her sorted out.
There's a small problem with the lights!
The picture we posted on Christmas was a gingerbread house that Mum and the kids made. On Christmas night, the kids get 5 minutes to eat as many lollies and bits of candy off it as they can, then the battered remains get put in the rubbish. Thanks to LR for the green laser effects on the xmas tree!
Merry Christmas Everyone!
Dad: RJ, can you come in your room and clean up the shells that are all over the floor?
RJ: I can’t! They have to be there!
Dad: Why?
RJ: Because I’m waiting for a mammoth to come and stomp them into the ground so they can become fossils.
Dad: But they’re going to hurt my feet if I walk in there!
RJ: Don’t do that! They aren’t for people! You have to be really big to push them into the floor.
In Australia some families (ours included) carry on the British tradition of the Christmas pudding. It’s a magical beast, vaguely like a fruitcake (in the same way a rhinoceros is vaguely like a lamb), but heavier, denser, drenched in brandy and delivered to the table covered in blue flames. Fantastic stuff.
One of the traditions when making the pudding takes place after the ingredients have been put together and mixed. Everyone in the house gets to stir the bowl and make a wish. This year, the kids (LR, RJ and their cousins from Melbourne) helped out.
Grammy: And after we mix everything together, we each get to stir the pudding and make a wish!
LR: Why do we get to make a wish?
Grammy: Because the pudding is magic.
LR: Why? When does the magic get in there?
Grammy: After you put everything in and mix it together.
LR: (inspecting the bowls of ingredients in front of her) But where does the magic come from? Is it in the ingredients?
Grammy: No. It just happens after it’s all mixed together.
LR: … but…
Grammy: It’s like birthdays when you cut the cake. You just get to make a wish, okay?
(Unsatisfied with the explanation, LR drops the issue and adds it to her long list of the nonsense that adults insist on believing.)
Sorcery! Witchcraft! Complete and utter rubbish!
LR had her gymnastics exhibition last week. All the grade levels had a chance to shine, but LR’s was by far the most fantastic (from my extremely biased opinion). Continue reading to get to the rest of the pictures.
Waiting for her chance to shine.
(in the car)
RJ: I’m putting a spell on you daddy. Now you’re small and I’ve put you in a tiny little cage like a bird.Dad: Whoah. Can I climb out?
RJ: No. The bars are too close together.
Dad: I try my block magic, so your spell doesn’t get to me.
RJ: I have magic that stops block magic from working. You’re still stuck in the cage.
Dad: I call my friend, the good witch, and she casts a spell to get me out of the cage.
RJ: That wont work.
Dad: Why not?
RJ: Because I’ve left some icecream on the floor and she eats it up instead of helping you.
Dad: Rats… I’ve got some tools in my pocket and I cut a hole in the bottom of the cage and get out! Now I’m little and running and hiding in the room.
RJ: Now you step in the icecream mess and it’s all slippery and you fall over.
Dad: But I wipe off my shoes and run away and hide again!
RJ: I call my friend, the bad witch with a big nose, and she sniffs and sniffs and finds you. Now you’re in the cage again.
Dad: I climb back out the hole that I made. Ha ha! I’m running around again!
RJ: I get some super strong tape and glue and fix up the hole and we catch you and put you back in!
Dad: Can I poke through the tape?
RJ: No. It’s too strong.
Dad: Okay… umm… I use my super strong powers to bend the bars on the cage open and climb out!
RJ: We catch you and put you back. Then we put your cage inside another one that is extra strong. You can’t get out now.
Dad: I start whistling a song to call my elephant friend and he comes and gets me out!
RJ: I put a magic spell on him too. Now he’s little and I’m putting him in a cage without a daddy in it.
Dad: I whistle for my bear friend!
RJ: More magic! He’s little and I’m putting him in a cage without a daddy in it.
Dad: I whistle for my dinosaur friend!
RJ: More magic! He’s little and I’m putting him in a cage without a daddy in it.
Dad: Is there any way out of this cage?
RJ: No. Try whistling for a lion.
Dad: Uhh, okay… I whistle for my lion friend!
RJ: Magic! He’s little too and in a new cage… Try a crocodile.
Dad: Okay… I whistle for my crocodile frie…
RJ: Magic! He’s little! Try a kangaroo.
Dad: Wont you just make him little too?
RJ: Yes!
Dad: Will he get me out of the cage?
RJ: No. But I need a kangaroo for my collection.
Dad: You’ve got quite a lot of animals now.
RJ: Yes. I’m starting a zoo.
At the end of the year, the kids have a seemingly endless run of concerts and exhibitions. RJ has been working on his song for a while and finally had his big concert. He did a fantastic job and got a massive round of applause.
RJ takes a bow.
Make sure to click “Continue Reading” to get to more pictures and the video!
LR’s school put on its huge biennial musical performance. All the kids at the school have a part, with each grade getting its own big musical piece to perform. The plays are written by the school principal and are an enless run of weak jokes and bad puns — fantastic stuff! LR’s scene revolved around King Halfur and the Knights of the Times Tables.
LR poses in costume before her big show.
The stage fills with the main cast and the entire first grade for the 'Knights of the Times Tables' scene.
LR and the maidens curtsey, and the knights thrust swords into the air as they sing their big musical number.
LR watches as King Halfer tries to solve some problems with his knights.
LR pairs off with A for the dance.
(getting ready to go to swimming class)
Dad: Hey RJ. I have an idea. How about you go to the bathroom before we go to swimming?
RJ: Bad idea.
Dad: Bad? Why’s that?
RJ: Because it’s your idea.
Dad: But why is my idea bad? Are they all bad?
RJ: Yes, they’re all bad… Bad because … Because they’re part of your plans… Your evil plans… Your evil, evil plans.
(Uh oh… Looks like he’s on to me!)
