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Art time!

Luke — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 03:07:18 +0000

Here are some random drawings and pictures that have shown up lately.

Mouse Avenger #12, by RJ

Mouse Avenger is an original series that RJ has been creating. Each has a detailed, full-colour front cover with a series of black and white drawings inside. Most episodes involve battling some kind of dragons and/or scorpions. Mouse Avenger is pretty ruthless with his sword and shield.

The inside of Dad’s birthday card, from LR:

Why yes... Yes it does...

Dad and the kids were doing some drawings on the weekend and they were particularly proud of what they came up with…

Horse and Tree, by LR

Haunted Mansion, by RJ

Haunted Mansion (colour), by RJ and Daddy

Haunted Mansion is a book in the school library that RJ hasn’t read, but seems to know an awful lot about. Those are ghosts chasing the people and I do believe those are severed heads hanging off the legs of the evil crab monster.

October 2011, Photo Wrap-Up

Luke — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 03:07:50 +0000

In October, we drove south to Eagle Bay with some friends for a few days, and north to Gingin for a weekend with Grammy and Poppa. RJ had his first t-ball game and… his team won! In the middle of all of this (and the Royal Show AND Halloween) we somehow found the time to visit Scitech with some friends to see some of their new exhibits. Wow! We need a break!

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!

Amazing discovery

Luke — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 03:07:32 +0000

Recently discovered in RJ’s class… a new planet with a composition unlike any discovered before….

The recently discovered Planet Cheese.

“It’s a planet made of cheese. Cheese grass, cheese trees and cheese houses! It’s a warm planet, but isn’t too close to the sun because otherwise it would melt!”

Apparently, it all started with a ballon, and required a whole lot of “paper massage” before it was finished.

Winter Solstice, 2011

Luke — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 03:07:52 +0000

Each year, we invite a few friends up to the farm at Gingin to celebrate the winter solstice. After spending the day pruning the fruit trees and tending to the orchard, we fire up the pizza oven and serve a nearly endless stream of delicious homemade pizzas. We follow up by lighting a huge bonfire to brighten things up through the long night. It’s heaps of fun (despite things often going awry because of rainy weather).

Citrus is in season at the moment, and the trees are totally loaded with fruit. LR gets to work picking some mandarins. Delicious!

Some were too high to reach -- good thing Kerry was around to help out!

RJ gets involved in a game of giant pinball.

LR and B. played a few holes of golf. We're pretty sure B. has played before -- he was scarily good.

M. and RJ watch on as B. fixes something for them.

Mom had everyone working hard in the orchard. The fruit trees have been pruned and there's a whole new garden bed planted now.

Whoa, that’s so intense! Whoa! Man! Wow! It's full on. What does this mean?

LR's friend L. from school came up to join in the fun. LR was thrilled to have her around, we were happy to have someone else help with the trees.

B., L., and LR try on the wreaths made for the evening's festivities.

LR balances on the wet cable, wearing wet, sandy shoes. What can we say? The kids really wanted a challenge.

RJ leaps off the cable, just in time!

Mom and Molly went for a spin around the fields in the buggy. She must be responsible for the torn-up tracks all through the front paddock.

RJ... Wearing a hat... No surprises here.

Pizza making time! Kerry helps M. find the best tool for the job.

Mom tries to take all the credit for the fresh pizza dough, but we know that she had everyone helping.

G. and B. compare their circuit designs and try to get their glowies working reliably. Glowies are little flashing lights that you launch through the air from rubber bands. We discovered them in Bali and Dad helped everyone build them.

Despite the intermittent rain, the bonfire burned all through the night.

Mom holds the torch for LR so she can read to the group. Each year at the solstice we pause and think about things to be thankful for and things we'd like to go better in the coming year.

G. brought along his didgeridoo and played for us in front of the fire.

The kids decided roasting marshmallows would be more enjoyable inside, out of the rain.

With all the inside spots taken, RJ found his own uncrowded location at the pizza oven.

The following morning, despite the night of drenching rain, the kids managed to get the ashes lit and a fire burning again. Note to self, purchase additional fire extinguishers for the house.

Dad wearing a hat... Somehow, RJ just manages to pull it off better.

Not the first disappointment… not the last…

Luke — Tue, 24 May 2011 03:07:04 +0000

RJ: (frustrated) You just have to climb a tree, Dad! That’s all you have to do. Ugghghhhhh… (throws up his hands)

Don’t you know that zombies can’t jump? Don’t you know that zombies can’t climb? They don’t have brains — they can’t figure it out!

You’re just going to have your brains eaten and die.

Is that what you want??

Really??

(shakes head in disgust)

Thanksgiving 2010

Luke — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 03:07:18 +0000

This year we flew to Melbourne to spend Thanksgiving with a different set of friends and family. Because a lot of Australians don’t know what pilgrims are, except perhaps characters in John Wayne cowboy movies, we don’t get the day off to cook over here.

Instead, our friends invited a group of us (including three stranded Americans) over on the following Saturday and got the ovens fired up.

Before things got started, Dad took the kids to a nearby park to try and get some energy out. The dinner itself was fantastic — everyone loved it and all the necessary Thanksgiving staples were on the table. Afterwards, the dads took the kids down to the nearby school playground for a run around and a play before the rain started up again.

Massive thanks to our friends for inviting us over and sharing Thanksgiving with us! We had a GREAT time!

Ahhh, Thanksgiving. Delicious as usual!

RJ needs to test the mud at the bottom of the pond manually... despite being told not to... despite the odd stinky smell... despite the availability of sticks for poking the mud... *sigh*

You hear the frogs? Yeah... I hear the frogs... You see the frogs? Nah... I don't see them... Wait a minute! Nope... Still don't see them.

RJ decided to go tree climbing afterward... up a fairly tall tree... on branches extended over large rocks... over a huge slope that dropped away under the tree...

Rach and Mum show off their mad cooking skillz! Turkey and cherry pie? Awwww yeaaaaaaahhhhh....

Anthony prepares for total turkey devastation. Meet... the... Carvinator!

Turkey? Gone... Four different types of pie? Gone... RJ (the bottomless pit) still has room for cherries, though!

LR teaches the east-coast kids the west-coast hopscotch rules... They're WAY harder than normal rules.

LR gets silly for the camera. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Our USA Adventure 2010, Part 7: Central Virginia and Lots of Ice Cream

Luke — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 03:07:43 +0000

After our first few days in Shepherdstown, we took a quick road-trip down to Charlottesville and Nelson County, Virginia to catch up with some old friends. We only had a few days, so we didn’t get to catch up with everyone that we wanted to, and it’s something we unfortunately have to get used to (until we become ridiculously wealthy and can extend our vacations to months at a time). After getting back, we had some more fun with Grandpa Jeff and had some more cuddles with Baby V.

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).

Goodnight House

Luke — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 03:07:54 +0000

On Sunday, we took our last trip to the old house (before ownership transferred to the new owners on Monday). We wandered around, admired the veggie patch (now overflowing with food ready to eat), and gave the kids’ trees a farewell climb. We were all sad to go.

In 2005, when they resurfaced the street and redid the curbs, we took the chance to leave our mark!

RJ says goodbye to his tree.

LR and RJ have one last climb as they say goodbye to LR's tree.

Mum reaches to switch off the lights for the last time. Goodbye house!

Near the kids play room,
There was a frog pond,
And a swingset too,
And a piano,
That had never, ever been tuned.

And there were three gum trees,
For climbing and feeding bees,

And two veggie patches,
And a pool that splashes,

And rooms full of light,
And no palms in sight,

And a study with a desk, always covered in mess,
And a street full of neighbours who were the absolute best.

Goodnight house.

News Update: Trees planted, environment restored!

Luke — Thu, 27 May 2010 03:07:15 +0000

On Tuesday, Mum and LR went on an excursion with the Year 2 class to plant and restore a local area.

We planted spinifex, knotted club rush, coastal daisy, fan flower, snake vine, and cotton heads. All these plants would once have grown on the site before rabbits and people destroyed the local vegetation.

Find out the whole story and see more pictures at Cottesloe Coastcare!

A Trip to Gingin

Luke — Fri, 21 May 2010 03:07:55 +0000

We took a quick trip up to Gingin over the weekend and discovered that some of the trees had fruit on them. We also drove around the farm, stopping at the big pit for an explore. On the way back, we scouted for bones in the fields and discovered a complete fox skeleton, with teeth and everything else intact!

Foxxy made the rounds at the kids’ schools for show-and-tell, and was a big hit!

LR is fully loaded up with mandarines from the citrus trees.

We had a big surprise waiting for us. The citrus trees were all loaded with ripe fruit!

RJ carries back a big load of citrus.

LR and I. work hard squeezing the juice from the mandarines.

RJ enjoys the juicy reward from all the hard work picking.

RJ, I., LR and J. explore the giant sandy pit as Scarlet watches over them.

LR demonstrates her fearlessness by leaping off the embankment.

LR loves to fly!

I. makes a run for the ute. Don't get left behind!

J. holds a conversation with Foxxy. Apparently he's on a very strict diet.