Local Show

Time for the Annual Local Show. It's on tomorrow - same day as AFL Grand Final. There is going to be a big screen set up in the marquee...It's going to be cold, wet and windy. Oh joy!

Have submitted 65 photos for the photographic competition...in about 20 different categories I think. Not in it to win it...just to participate and contribute to keeping the show going. Will go through my scrapping today to see if I have anything that will fit in the 4 categories they have!!Here are some of my entries...

Some Photos...

Some photos from the last 6 months...

Halle turned 2...

Tyla is learning to read...

Cousin Anabelle Paige was born...

Halle decided housework is fun...

Halle learnt to pose for the camera...

Tyla already knows how...

Halle decided her allegiance...

Tyla turned 5... Cousin Marley Kate was born...

Bad Hair Day!

Cooking is fun!

Depp the Dogg.

Today I...

Study day today...have had a very slack week, doing ME stuff for a little while, and playing with the girls. Peter's turn with the kids today, they are gardening...
Am worried Halle has asthma...she has a funny cough at night time, when she gets cold and when she does anything energetic, specially jumping on the trampoline. Doc says to give her Ventolin...anyone got any advice?
I have actually printed out a photograph ready to start some scrapbooking...OMFG! Just means gotta get ahead with some study first...Oh and Practicum is actually going into a school and working in a classroom. I am doing mine at Wudinna, with grades 4/5. Am looking forward to it.
Hope everyone has a good weekend, and thanks for anyone who has bothered to stick around and wait for me to work my way back to the real life... :D xxx

One and Only LO completed at the E2C Retreat in March...

Photo taken by Gabrielle's Photography in October 2008.

About Time...

Hey everyone out there in Blog land...Finally I have made the time for a quick update on our lives. This will be quick but will be back again soon with some pics and stuff...
For those who don't already know, I have started University online, studying Bachelor of Education (Primary) through Curtin University of Technology. I am 6 months into it, out of 4 years! So yay, 1/8 of the way... :$ I am doing really well, but also working really hard. I have completed 5 units with only 3 more to go for the first year. My first Practicum starts in 7 weeks...and am feeling VERY nervous about it. Which I guess is totally normal. I think I have found my feet now and hopefully life will get back to some type of normality now, so will have time for scrapping and blogging and other fun stuff...
Tyla has started school...she is near the end of her 2nd term, and really loving it. Halle turned 2 about 2 weeks ago. My babies aren't little any more. :(
OK, will be back soon...

Fireworks

Every year between Christmas and New Year, Cowell has a Pyrotechnics Display. Apparantly it's the biggest in the state (outside of Adelaide)................We go most years. Tyla loved it and Halle couldn't care less............LOL!! I decided this year (because I got a new tripod for Christmas - thanks Father Christmas xxx) I would try taking some pics of them. Spent a few nights trawling the internet for advice and tips - found some pretty good photography blogs too.........when I get organised I will link them!

Anyway, here are some of the pics - I took over 100!! The joy of digital.................But don't panic, not posting that many here...............close tho!! LOL! I am happy with the way these turned out - no major editing - cropping and some adjustments to contrast and colour. Will do better next year with my NEW CAMERA!!!

New Years Eve was a bit quiet - we went to the local pub - with about 50 others - it was rockin'! (insert rolling eyes here)! Anyway, by about 11 o'clock I'd had about 2 drinks and was ready to go home (yes......I know, must be getting old)and my brother decided to buy a bottle of Sambucca. I'm sure he did it just to get me, cos that was the end of my quiet night! Love the stuff! Ended up getting to bed about 4am. Woke up with a big headache (surprisingly! LOL) and had a busy day cos of the Sports Day every year at Arno Bay. Thank goodness I wasn't part of the committee this year, so only had to help out a little bit.

The Sports Day was great - lots of people this year (bad year on the farm = people holidaying locally) and it is always a fun day. Weather was good altho a bit windy - nothing new there. Tyla had lots of fun - if you live anywhere in that area, I would recommend the day - it's great. Here's a link to the local government so u can check out the area.........

The next day Friday 2nd was my mum's birthday - the big 6-0 this year! And she looks awesome for 60, I hope I am blesssed with her good genes! I went to Port Lincoln to pick up my Nan -she is nearly 93. While I was there I thought I would price a camera............mmmm............yep, I priced it! And bought it! LOL. I am now the very proud owner of a brand spanking new DSLR - Canon EOS 450D - got the twin lens kit. Have read the manual cover to cover and am now playing and experimenting - trying to use the manual settings. Already have a list of accessories that I want - least of all lens hoods and filters - a bit annoyed that lenshoods don't come standard. I also would like a Faster lens.............one day. So far I am very happy with it - love the DOF control. These aren't all taken with the newby. Can you guess which ones are?Got some more interesting and exciting news for you - but I'm going to leave that until another post! Haha, keep you all wondering! One way to get you to come back for a visit!

Thanks for dropping by - please leave me some love! xxx

3 Trees

Our Christmas Day. :-)

Woke up about 6:45 and sent Peter to Tyla's room to gently "wake her", but just enough so she would wake herself (and not think we woke her! IYKWIM! We had to do this cos we had to leave here at 10:30 and wouldn't have been ready to do that if we slept any later). Peter came running back to bed, and we heard Tyla get up and could hear her looking at the Christmas tree..............she came running to our room "Santa's been, Santa's been............................" SO CUTE! This is what she saw....................

All the noise and commotion woke Halle too - amazing, she is so young, but knew that something special was happening. The look on her face was so precious. She walked out to the toyroom and ran straight to where Father Christmas had left a lovely doll for her - she knew it was her's - no doubt of it! He left Tyla a Pink Scooter, which is just what she had asked him for (5 times)!!
Christmas Eve when we got FC's snack ready for him, Tyla wanted to leave him Juice and Rockmelon and carrots for the reindeer. She'd been noticing that Father Christmas was getting a bit skinny this year so we decided that he must have been on a diet and was exercising and looking after his health - so she wanted to leave him a healthy snack! Kids crack me up.............
Anyway...............took about 1 1/2 hours to do the presents and stuff - sort out which one's to pack and take with us etc. The girls were able to have a quick play with their new stuff, then breakfast and time to leave.

So by 10:30, the car and trailer were packed, kids and big dog in the car, piled ourselves in and we left - was so hard making the girls leave their new stuff behind - we just didn't have room to take too much, but also knew there was going to be heaps more.............

Drove for 1 1/2 hours to Pete's mum's house - had lunch there with his family, and did the present thing with them too............this is their tree.

They always have a live tree - it's lovely. The girls got new beach towels and lots of other cool goodies (can't remember who gave them what atm, will have to go back through it all)! We organised Peter's siblings to all put in together and gave his parents a Lay-Z-Spa like we have - they were stoked!

Left there about 6ish, drove another 30kms to where my parents were, and had the rest of Christmas day there. OMG, it was chaotic at my parents shack. People everywhere...............loud and busy and chaotic!! And Fun! Couldn't even get a decent photo of the Christmas tree cos there was so much going on...............had to keep the girls outside until Mum and Grahame were ready to give them their presents..................

Both girls got new bikes from my parents. Very spoilt.

Had lots of yummy food throughout the day - too much as usual! Everyone was very spoilt (including us)! Another fabulous Christmas Day.

BUT - too much packing and driving and being organised for us..........and too hard on the kids being all over the place - they were so burnt out by the end of the day..........So next year (or I should say this year) we are having Christmas Day here. Any family who wish to join us are more than welcome, but we are staying at our home with our kids.
I hope everyone else had as much fun for Christmas as we did...............it really is such a special and magical time.