December means the Advent calendar gets brought out. We like to pretend the kids appreciate the tradition and fun puzzles and clues that we leave in there for them...

It's RJ's job to read the clues this year. LR was surprisingly patient.

Oh no! The end-of-year music "party" turns out to be an impromptu concert and no one will volunteer to go first. RJ steps up and breaks the ice with a few of his favorites.

Three songs later, RJ has the room in stitches, finishing his performance with a flourish in classic RJ style.

LR volunteers to play a few of her favorite songs too. Beethoven FTW!

LR won one of the three coveted prizes for the students who improved the most during the year. Well done, LR! You deserve it!

The last game of the year (but not the season). RJ's teeball skills (and patience with fielding) are improving with every game.

Everyone works together building the gingerbread house. For some reason, only about half the materials make it into the construction -- there must be some dodgy contractors on the worksite.

Nice work guys! The finished gingerbread house looks terrific!

Because we went away for Christmas, we had an early Christmas dinner at Grammy and Poppa's.

LR takes the time to read the cards before tearing into the presents.

Thanks Grammy!

Careful there Auntie Jess. It's not safe to get between RJ and his Hero Factory legos. Just carefully put it back on the table and you'll be okay.

Parental win: the kids actually remembered their manners without prompting this year! Now if only we could get them to stop picking their noses.

Christmas dinner. A time for family, a huge feast, and the opportunity to wear ridiculous things on your head...

RJ got first pick of the hats and picked out the crustacean for himself and a spicy little number for Grandma Dot.

LR picks out her favorite, complete with spring-loaded pom-pom action -- essential for tormenting younger brothers.

Everyone helps out during the final rush to the kitchen, delivering the food to the table.

Crumbly destruction and delicious, sugary mahem ensue as the gingerbread house is attacked!

An important lesson learned... Never, EVER let the kids pick the hat for you or you will end up looking silly.

RJ suffered from a horrible bout of chicken pox for a day, but awoke the next morning completely spot free with no symptoms! Vaccine FTW!

Dad tied up a tennis ball to use for teeball practice. RJ pointed out that it's so much easier to whack a ball using a tennis racket.

LR loves to laugh. Dad loves to take photos. Sometimes they happen at the same time.

At the Naturescape area, LR carefully constructed a channel around someone else's dam, and drained the upper pond.

RJ: Zero days without injury!

At the train station, RJ enjoys a delicious spearmint milk.

Mum wonders why the most annoying people on the train always sit right next to her.

RJ discovers a small vase at the achaeological dig site.

LR carefully sorts the fragments, ultimately piecing together a cup and saucer!

Mom helps RJ assemble the pieces without skewering his hand on ceramic shards.

LR tries her hand at some stone carving. It's harder than it looks but gets easier once you get into a groove.

Dad explains some of the finer points of carving to RJ, who knows it all already.

LR also used a loom to weave a section of belt, or strap, or something... Probably a bookmark. When in doubt, you can always use something as a bookmark.

RJ poses next to the massive lego creation.

Mom took everyone out to breakfast on Dad's birthday! Grammy and Poppa showed up too!

RJ helped roll out the pizza crusts for Dad's birthday dinner.

... but Mom had to help on some of them.

LR puts the finishing touches on Dad's birthday cake.

Happy Birthday to you!!!!

We took a quick trip to Dwellingup before the worst heat of the summer arrived. By begging for edamame soy beans, Scarlet established once and for all that she is not a real dog.

RJ hunts carefully for tadpoles in the stream. He ended up catching four or five in about ten minutes.

Scarlet found herself a nice comfy spot to lay down in.

RJ and LR take shelter underneath the 'tent' that dad helped them build. Sorry Dad, only room for two in here!

Oh nevermind, we can move over for you.

A few days later, it was time for Thanksgiving dinner! Aunty Jess shows us just how much fun making corn bread can really be.

Grammy and Jess working together.

Even Uncle Troy and Aunty Bron from Melbourne were there! Hey guys!

Poppa did a great job carving the turkey.

Mom teaches LR the finer points of stealing the most delicious bits from the turkey before it's even served.

Here boy! Jump! Up! Up! Good RJ! ... (and you wonder why the boy has issues)

After a huge turkey feast and too much pie, Poppa and RJ go over the hand-traced turkeys that he made in class that day.

We took a trip down to Eagle Bay and had a great time in the water. It's a lot easier to do now that the weather's warming up!

We climbed to the top of Sugarloaf Rock where we stopped and watched the ocean attempt to smash it down. The waves were HUGE.

While the other two girls were at horse riding, we set off on a hike around the bay.

Eventually we could see the ominous "Dragon Mouth Cave". Perhaps we'll go inside next time.

While the other two enjoyed breakfast and reading in bed, he just sat there, staring.

Grammy helped RJ and LR make their own dolls. RJ made Bear Grylls, complete with snake and sports watch, while LR made Cleopatra, complete with snake but no watch.

RJ had his first T-Ball game. WHAM! A great hit RJ! Drop the bat first and run! No, not over there! To first base!

... and he leaps into first base. He's safe!

We spotted this elegantly dressed lady on her way to work.

Off to Scitech, where LR is trapped in an underwater bubble.

RJ constructs his own fog tornado... His next version will be bigger, much bigger... MWAAAHAAHAAA.

Off to Gingin for the weekend! Mom and Scarlet enjoy the sunshine, but not the flies.

Poppa shows off his new phone cover... Angry birds! The kids loved it!

You da man, RJ! No! You da man, Dad!

There are certain dangers you must be aware of when letting Dad operate the fork lift.

This year we netted some of the fruit trees, in an attempt to stop the parrots from eating our delicious peaches. There were, however, some complications.

The latest version of the flying fox got even longer and faster, especially when RJ started pulling.

Time for sleep! Goodnight!

Well, we're here guys. What should we do first?

Mom and LR meet the world's friendliest goat.

RJ and LR spend some quiet time with some recently hatched chicks.

RJ really liked the chicks. Someone needs to genetically engineer chickens that never grow up.

LR found Poppa's favorite pig, just laying around in a stall. No performing medical research on this one, Poppa!

The first ride? Teacups, of course! This ride operator made sure the kids were spun EXTRA fast.

The kids rode on the bouncing kangaroos. The ride operator refused to speed it up any further, despite RJ's many protests that they weren't bouncing high or fast enough.

While the kids waited in line, Mom wandered off to get some donuts. The shouty man insisted they were American donuts, but we honestly couldn't tell the difference. They looked pretty tasty.

But to really enjoy them, you first must make sure the kids are locked away behind bars.

RJ gets his donut!

LR gets her donut!

Time for a quick break to watch the show jumping. Mom teaches us all the inside tricks that we didn't know about.

LR and RJ carefully make their way into the boy scouts encampment.

RJ and LR explored the different mazes in the boy scouts area. Apparently, Bear Grylls was EVERYWHERE.

We stopped by the best exhibit of the show, the photography competition, where LR had two entries accepted into the show!

At the end of the day, RJ got his precious, precious glow bag, complete with 200 ways to light up the night.

Everyone enjoyed a super "healthy" dinner of showgrounds burgers, chips and pizza.

We had to arrive a bit early to get good seats, which meant there was time for some angry birds to fight some pigs.

MS huddles in with Grammy to try to keep warm.

Poppa decides the LED augmented green shutter shades are necessary to really enjoy the fireworks.

RJ starts assembling some of the essentials from the Glow Bag.

The ferris wheel is huge, but luckily the line is not too long.

PA, LR and MS cheer as the ferris wheel starts up!

MS and PA huddle together in the ferris wheel as the fireworks burst in the sky above them.

LR, PA and MS ran out of the ferris wheel to watch the last half of the show outside.

Eventually everything started going off at the same time!

The cousins had a great time... and they left a trail of mayhem and destruction behind them...

RJ's friend C visited for a sleepover. The next morning, the two of them insisted on pancakes, the internationally recognised breakfast of bloodthirsty pirates and fierce centurions.

At Grammy's birthday party, RJ taught Great Grandpa Maury everything you need to know about Bakugans.

RJ and Great Grandma Dot have a detailed discussion about garden snails.

LR contributes to the huge painting by adding the symbols for river, sun and lots and lots of fire.

There were also people dressed up as wildflowers. Zamia, the poisonous warrior wildflower was our favorite.

A picture... of us... sitting in wildflowers... again?

One of our close friends had a baby and she brought him over for a visit!

Mom went into school for another big science afternoon with RJ's class.

Mom pops some dry ice bubbles, releasing little clouds of mist.

The kids had to line up at each of the stations to get the parts for the next stage.

Now that Winter's over and the weather has cleared up, we can head down to Cottesloe for fish and chips at the beach.

The best thing about fish and chips at the beach is running around and playing on the edge of the wall.

LR and RJ sprint around the corner, then throw themselves off the edge.

Jump, LR! JUMP!

RJ and Mom enjoy a quiet moment while LR does a few more crazy jumps.

Mom and LR wave a final goodbye before getting in the car. Say HI to everyone for us!

RJ and Dad spent a bunch of time running around the different local parks.

You can run...

...but you can't hide, RJ!

RJ reads through the secret messages in the geocache.

Dad and RJ went on a photo excursion out at an orchard. There were flowers everywhere!

Just about to head home, but it looks like there's still time for ice cream after all!

Grammy and Poppa's house is still under construction.

... but that just makes it more fun to climb through and explore.

PB, and MS follow RJ across the park to the secret hidden location.

RJ shows PB and MS the geocache and helps them get the logbook out.

MS takes a moment to sign the geocaching logbook.

Poppa and Grammy hanging out at their new park.

Come on, Poppa! We're dying to get some food!

PB shows RJ the best tricks to reach the top of the mountain while waiting for dinner to arrive.

RJ does his own special dance during his school concert.

Introducing Cuddle Cat, as his secret identity... Cuddle Cat.

Grammy gets some sparklers lit while RJ... Hang on a minute! HEY RJ! STOP TRYING TO SET THE LAWN ON FIRE!

LR attempts to write her first and last names at the same time.

Even Poppa gets into the action.

Auntie Jess and Uncle Nick are back from London! Yaaay!

Grammy came over, bringing along her face paints and a book of great designs to try. LR and I. chose the cat faces.

LR carefully adds some details in the mirror.

Our friend J. helped RJ paint his face as a monster and laid the paint on VERY thick. He looked great, but there'd be consequences later!

LR with her facepaint complete. She is most definitely a practical, jellicle cat.

The two kitties stopped to clean their paws.

The two cats climbed the pillars in our front yard and started miaowing incessently.

After two hours of suffering, RJ was so tormented by the itching, peeling face paint that he could barely move. A quick trip to the bathroom to wash up and the monster problem was solved!

The cats were tearing it up on the dance floor.

We checked out the tour bus, but none of the band members were back in black. RJ thought it rocked anyway.

RJ takes a seat at the virtual AC-DC concert and shook them all night long.

We finished up by heading into the city for some bubble tea and TNT icecream (dynamite!) Thanks Dad!

We visited Grammy for dinner and she bought us some great books! Thanks Grammy!

RJ cowardly? No way! He was as fierce as they get.

LR loved her role as Dorothy, and her little dog too.

LR, Mom and RJ before their big adventure along the Yellow Brick Road.

Even Dad dressed up, scampering about as a flying monkey.

They had mysterious glowing sugar potions... apparently perfect for Cowardly Lions.

We arrived really early, so we spent a little time waiting for the show... Our witch was suprisingly courteous and took her hat off for the full house.

As the final curtain dropped, we were rushed backstage after the show to meet the cast and crew. Glinda was nice enough to pick up RJ for the picture.

A photographer from the newspaper was also there to capture the event!

An enormous chocolate mud cake was prepared to help celebrate the 3 year anniversary of the show in Australia.

One of the cast members has a chat with the kids about the show. They were all really friendly and lots of fun.

Mom wasn't sure where she parked the broom, so the Cowardly Lion, witch and Dorothy had to drive home instead.

LR watches as Mom reads the Mother's Day card that she made.

RJ works on one of his amazing inventions. I think this one was the bacteria to destroy the world.

We stopped by the location formerly known as the "Knock it down house", now renamed the "Build it up house". The kids weren't thrilled... at first.

But after they discovered how good it was for hide and seek from Dad, they had a terrific time.

RJ worked on his different looks. This one required a toothpick before it was complete.

RJ was chillin' in the giant freezer full o' meat shop. They provide the coats; RJ provides the style.

Joey Soccer started up again, and this year, RJ's on the team.

RJ's pretty quick on the field, and plays well, provided he doesn't get distracted by anything shiny.

Go for it, RJ!

At Gingin, Mom watches as LR and Poppa bring the tractor around. It's project building time!

Dig, dig, dig! This is where we'll need the post.

RJ gets ready to ride...

Zoooooooooooom!

LR rides! Go, go, go!!!