RJ's favorite present was this jaw from a 10ft lemon shark.

His other big present was a set of Lego PowerMiners, mostly because it comes with the largest rock monster available.

After school, it was time for RJ's "Not a party" Party in the park. Half the kids joined our train that snaked through the school toward our house.

A big part of your birthday is the birthday hat... RJ decided it was good enough to wear all day long.

LR is happy to hang out with some of RJ's friends... for a little while.

Kid pile-up at the swing!

RJ blows out the candles... Only one girlfriend this year!

Mum hands out the delicious cupcakes that Grammy made.

C and RJ peek over the edge of the slide before disappearing.

Apparently, a slide is the most fun if it has seven people on it.

Later that night, after dinner, we had another cake for RJ.

The next day, RJ invited two of his friends to go to the movies with us.

We always wave to the train drivers as they arrive at the station.

The three guys watch the world cruise by out of the window of the train.

We had fun spinning a huge stone sphere balanced on a fountain. We got it moving really fast!

One the way to the theatre, we stopped to watch a street performer do some amazing juggling tricks.

The kids enjoy the traditional 'Choc Bombs' -- chocolate covered ice cream cones. We used to get them at the movies as kids too!

Nothing like starting a birthday with a whirlwind of shrieking children wearing underpants outside their clothes and on their heads.

Mum and the kids whipped up a delicious german chocolate cake.

To minimise our greenhouse gas contribution (and avoid the nuisance of having a cake totally covered in candle wax) we do the number of years in binary.

It also makes it a lot easier to blow out the candles!

Time for TOTAL CAKE DESTRUCTION!!! RAAAAAARRGH!

The kids made LOTS of presents: cards, bracelets, necklaces, and even a container for putting stuff in. It was great!

Off to the park across the street for a play. Mum said that dad and the kids needed to get some energy out.

The kids stopped briefly for icy-poles. Dad agreed not to chase them until they were done, but changed his mind half-way through. The best thing about 'Rules Chasey' is that when you're IT, you get to make a new rule or change an old one.

Foolish Dad should have made a 'No climbing out of my reach' rule. He's going to stuck being IT for a while.

Aha! Dad can reach you here! You're in trouble now LR!!!

It was a dark and stormy... err... bright and spooky afternoon in the park that day. Jim decided to hang out at the slide; his diet had been a huge success!

The local cemetery has been full for some time, so the extra bodies get sent to our park. Building sandcastles is always extra surprising around here!

RJ, the knight, stops to sheath his sword, blood streaming from his wounded arm.

Dr. Seuss showed up and filled helium balloons for everyone.

A rastafarian showed up... to do Jamai-cup!

This pirate and witch teamed up to do terrible things to a pumpkin.

Some of the kids try out Jim's all-apple diet for themselves!

Poppa got an apple on the first try, but was it one of the prized apples marked with an 'X'?

E. wont be going hungry tonight!

Mister Mistoffelees let everyone stick their arm into the Bag of Worms to find a buggy prize.

RJ considers whether he should settle for the ant, or if he should plunge his arm in for another attempt.

Amanda and RJ work together on making the scariest popcorn monster hand ever.

LR the cat starts off her monster hand with some creepy lolly fingertips.

Frank has a secret plan to build herself an entire popcorn monster.

The bat... Two balloons, newspaper, flour, spraypaint, plastic wings and duct tape to hold the them on... Will it survive the assault of 30 children?

After everyone has had a go with blindfolds on, the bat is still in perfect shape! Mum helps RJ to get really stuck into it.

C. has several attempts and pounds it mightily.

One of our new neighbours shows no mercy! The bat laughs at his feeble attempt!

The crowd waits anxiously... Will the sweet, sweet rain of candy ever begin to fall? Will the bat continue to mock them?

HRRRRAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!

Fed up with its mocking laughter, Mum goes medieval on the bat. WHAM! WHAM! CRASH!

The first few pieces of candy have dropped. Time to just rip the thing open!

FEEDING FRENZY! Watch out for your feet, Mum!

A caveman proudly nurses his mortally wounded pet bat... Mr. Batty McWings, beneath your surprisingly tough shell, you were so sweet and full of joy. You will be remembered.

Time for the treasure hunt! RJ and his cohort start the search for the elusive marbles.

The older kids have a scavenger hunt with riddles, clues and challenges to solve.

One of the challenges... Find the caveman (currently hiding up in a tree behind a camera). We need to plant some taller trees.

Success! LR's team wins a reward!

Time for the ultimate battle: Caveman vs. Kids. Can his newly developed 'club' technology defeat the onslaught of hundreds of water balloons?

Caveman isn't doing well -- he's been severely handicapped by fogged goggles. He can't see a thing!

A brave young LR chases down the caveman and throws her grenade!

DIRECT HIT!

Another hit! It's not looking good for Ugg and his stone-age technology.

Ever smelled a wet caveman? It's not pleasant... even to a wet caveman.

Pirate Lilly gathers the troops to prepare for trick-or-treating!

Come on mateys! There be candy to plundarrrrrr!

RJ has grand schemes to fill his entire bucket... at the next house.

LR sets the direction for the unruly mob. How about that one over there guys?

Lilly brought her pet bobtail lizards around for a visit after things had quieted down. They're surprisingly friendly.

As with all things reptilian, they were a big hit with RJ.

LR enjoys some of the spoils of the evening... POP ROCKS!!!!

The gorilla rests his weary frame on the porch, waiting for trick-or-treaters. It's been a long, long day.

We drove down to Nelson County, Virginia to visit Jimmy & Jane, great friends of ours. The customary cookies and hamburgers were very popular.

The house was under attack from space pirates! Luckily the kids discovered a great stash of lego and built space boats to defend the place.

It started raining while we were there, which we hadn't seen in a long time. The kids wanted to see if the rainwater tasted the same as the rainwater back home.

RJ found a faster way by collecting run-off from the roof... We weren't as interested in taste-testing his water.

We visited the neighbours house to meet their goats.

The kids got to see their first hay-loft. This one was pretty fancy. It would have made a pretty decent spare bedroom if it weren't for the hay everywhere, the smell of goats and the large number of spiders around the place.

The goats were very gentle. RJ, who is generally more cautious about animals than LR, had no problem giving them a good scratch on the head.

LR gets her first whiff of black birch (root beer). It's a very unfamiliar smell for Australians.

Off to Saunder's General Store to pick up some fresh tomatoes... We tried their delicious peaches and melons and were entertained by the band playing bluegrass and folk music in the corner.

Mr. Saunders spotted the kids and gave them each an ice cream, guaranteeing that they wouldn't be interested in lunch.

We went for a whirlwind tour of Charlottesville and visited a whole lot of other friends. Dad was so busy talking and chasing kids that he didn't get many pictures. Mum spent her time looking very chic and surprisingly relaxed on the downtown mall.

We stopped and had a sleep-over at our friends place. T. showed LR some of his awesome cat tricks.

RJ got to sleep in T's room. It was awesome. He had stuff everywhere and even his own suit of armour that he had made himself!

The weather was great so we went down to the water park for a play.

Time for a game of 'Indian and the Snow Leopard join the Tree Horse and Friendly Tiger for Dinner'.

Arrgh! An infestation of monkeys! We had to fumigate the tree after they started throwing things at us.

Back to Shepherdstown for a run around the playground with Grandpa Jeff!

RJ and Br. divide the almonds and pistachios up equally between them... leaving none for anyone else!

LR tries to impress Grandpa Jeff with her gymnastic ability... He claims he's seen it all, so she tries even harder!

Great idea Grandpa Jeff, let's get ice cream! There's one problem... The shop's not open yet. We'll just have to wait it out.

LR sat on this old civil war fence and ended up laying an egg!

RJ checks out this crazy egg that Br. laid... Hang on, it's a canonball!

Let's go guys! The ice cream shop MUST be open by now!

It's OPEN! Time for ICE CREAM!!!

Once back in Shepherdstown, we just couldn't keep ourselves away from baby V.

LR just loved having the chance to hold her.

V is so cute that even Mum got a bit clucky (for about five seconds).

We finally arrived in Shepherdstown to warm weather, cousins, and a swimming pool!

And water canons! The kids had a great time chasing each other down!

Run RJ! Bl. wants REVENGE!!!

Like the final scenes from a western... Everyone is gunned down and there will be no (dry) survivors.

RJ turns to the grown-ups and starts making threats... Mum is not as amused as he is.

B. takes RJ around to the frog pond and starts teaching some of his frog catching techniques.

The four cousins, Br., LR, Bl. and RJ, sit quietly by the pond, waiting for the frogs to return.

LR and Br head off to the veggie patch to find something for dinner.

The garden is amazing -- full of fresh veggies! The girls help Grandma Wendy find and pick the best corn for the night's feed.

The girls work together to bring back the giant bucket of veggies.

Auntie Robin and Uncle Jason made it to dinner too... Two days later, she wasn't this big anymore!

RJ emerges from the lake amazed at being surrounded by so much fresh water.

Bl. does his best fish-face for the camera.

Look out Mum! RJ brought the water gun along with him!

Auntie Grace and Grandma Wendy serenly bob their heads above the water.

Time for a boat ride! Immediately afterward, they recruited Dad to drive and forced him to go from one end of the lake to the other... and back again!

The sand isn't the same as back home, but it's still good enough to build sandcastles.

LR and Br. head down the slide together at the local park.

Bl. is wearing a hat.

LR forgot her hat!

Br. has her hat.

And RJ is willing to fling his hat away!

LR goes for a wild ride on the roundabout!

Hold on tight, RJ!

We stopped by the hospital to meet the new baby. Mum makes sure to get her cuddles.

She sure is a sweet little thing.

Even Dad got a chance to hold her.

Toothpaste?! Bah! Real pirates use rum!

Beware the pirate queen!

"Piracy is the new black."

Pirate Poppa helped get things ready. He just happened to have a helium tank sitting around the garage.

Pirate Grammy does her first animal balloon. Well done!

Mr Chuckles waits patiently for the birthday cake. Raawaaark!

RJ and G search the area for the rest of their pirate crew.

C and X work on their very dangerous looking swords.

RJ and E carefully add precious gemstones to the hilts of their blades.

The search for the pieces of the map to the pirate tresure is on!

C carefully puts the last piece of the puzzle map into place.

"There be plunder here, mateys!" After a lot of searching, RJ discovers the pirate treasure!

The cake was an ingenious way to smuggle the map to the hidden treasure.

RJ blows out the candles, moments before an assist from his pirate crew.

Heather made a fantastic pirate wench... I mean, bench... I mean, "Sorry Heather!"

RJ prepares to fire the starbord guns! Arrrgh!

In true pirate fashion, G returns to the table to plunder some of the remaining booty from the cake.

E does a mighty stomp, launching the rocket high over their heads.

The fearsome band of pirates get together for a last hurrah.

A total of 5 very small fish caught over two nights -- the kids rated it a massive success!

We caught some very small fish and let them go again.

RJ spent some quality time with one of his favorite pals, the anthropomorphitronic T. Rex.

RJ and X go head-to-head for some competitive downhill sliding.

RJ and LR sculpting some clay creations during one of their school holiday activities.

We were visited by an evil scientist... The black lab coats always give them away.

It's a race and RJ got a huge head start. I don't think Poppa will catch them this time.

Mighty knights RJ and C engaged in a fierce battle to decide who would let the dinosaurs on the trampoline.

Local property moguls, LR and J, worked on their plans for buying up the city.

LR and RJ caught a frog in our pool. We haven't had rain here in over two months and he was looking pretty thirsty. We took him down to the nearby swamp where he can hopefully find a few friends.

Time for a quick icecream break on a hot summer day.

RJ and Dad checked out a "Fly-In / Fly-Out" vintage aircraft show in the city.

We got a great spot at the end of the runway and had 30 classic aircraft take off right over our heads!

The Four Musketeers (G,E,A and RJ) chilling out at G's birthday party.

RJ and A discuss the finer points of cupcake decoration.

Three of the 'four musketeers' heading for trouble. RJ is the ideas man.

Team G conquering the playground.

LR working on her Camp t-shirt.

"It doesn't matter how the paint is put on, as long as something is said." - J. Pollock

The results of an afternoon's artistic exploration.

RJ and Dad went to the beach while Mum and LR were at camp.

At least it's not raining.

Someone had another birthday.

RJ gets used as a prop at a wildlife demonstration for the Year Ones.

LR gets her chance to pet the long necked turtle as RJ and other kids from her class look on.

RJ shows off his latest invention, the "Saturn Flying Bouncer".