Little Miss Hair

Most school holidays Milly wants her hair dyed for a bit of fun.  Usually it's just a couple of streaks of colour that wash out over time and before school starts again.  This time she wanted two colours, pink and purple, and she wanted them for the beginning of school.  

The school doesn't have a policy about dyed hair, so it shouldn't be a problem.  Plus the dye isn't permanent, it will wash out over the next few weeks.  

I think it turned out pretty good, and most importantly, Milly loves it. 

Buster our little Hot Shot

In Australia, January is a month of tennis as the stars of the tennis world descend on our beautiful country for the Australian Open grand slam event.  There are a few tournaments held that lead up to the Open.  One of these tournaments is the Sydney International.  Buster was lucky enough to be one of eight kids selected from his tennis club to attend the event on a kid's day full of activities.

The highlight of the day was attending a coaching session on centre court prior to the commencement of the days match play.  This kid loves to hit a ball.

He then got a tour of the tunnels under the stadium and got to form a guard of honour for two players (Sloane Stephens and Camila Giorgi) as they entered the court.  The kids held out their hands for a "high five" from the players.  Buster tells me Camila Giorgi didn't high five the kids and had a "poopy" look on her face.  Sloane Stephens, on the other hand, had a smile for everyone and Buster got a high five.  She went on to win the match.

Nanoo did the trip to Sydney with Buster.  I was at home eagerly watching the TV for a glimpse of him on centre court.  Alas, they didn't show the match and chose to televise a match on another court.

The rest of his day was spent on the practise courts they had set up for the kids.  He joined any game that was going just to have more time with the ball.  He and Nanoo also watched some matches as well.

It was a big day out for the little man and he was exhausted at the end, but it was a day he'll remember and a day he felt very special indeed.

Christmas with Nanoo

We had a second Christmas at my mum's house just before New Year.  My brother and family came up to join us.  It was a hot day of cricket, lunch, and more cricket.

2017 Boxing Day Huckers Tournament

The famous Boxing Day Huckers Tournament was played again this past Christmas.  With my brother not with us to play, it was time for the next generation to step up and be inducted.  Henry was that player.

Traditionally, we all pick on my brother to prevent him from winning.  This time that honour fell to my Dad.  I was reigning champ from 2015, so was expecting to be ganged up on as well.

The first game was won by Michael in a game that made Hucker's history.  Poor Henry, in his first game had the severest case of bad luck when rolling the dice.  He didn't roll a six (the number needed to exit your house and enter the board of play) the entire game.  Welcome to Huckers Henry.

The second game was a much closer affair.  As you can see from the picture below.  Three players (myself, Dad and Henry) only needed to roll ones to claim victory.  Luck was on my side and I took the win of game two.

Game three proved to be the final game and I convincingly walked away with the win.  Unbeaten.  Champion still.

I like to think Grandad and Nan were watching over me play.  I had visited their memorial that morning to pay my respects and remember them.  Thanks Nan and Grandad.

The dog beach

Poor Minnie wasn't able to befriend my Dad's two dogs.  Numerous attempts were made but they didn't want her anywhere near them.  Fortunately, Coffs Harbour has a great beach for dogs and she was able to run wild, sniff, chase and be chased, and frolic in the waves.   Proving even dogs can have a great Christmas holiday with the family.

Michael managed to cut himself on some rocks.  Shark bait.

Christmas in Coffs

Christmas was spent in Coffs Harbour.  We had a great road trip up and it was Minnie's first long car journey.  Henry did a great job of keeping Minnie calm on the trip.  He only needed to do that for the first 30 minutes, after that she was lying on the car floor either relaxed or sleeping.  The kids also did well.  There have been lots of road improvements with dual carriageways and bypasses that made the trip quicker than previous years.  Four hours isn't so bad and pretty much the limit the kids could take.

My Dad's next door neighbours have two sons (ages 12 and 10) who are cricket crazy.  Our kids loved playing street cricket with them and seemed to have formed great friendships with the boys.  Milly and Buster in particular loved playing cricket with them everyday.

Christmas Day was a warm one.  Santa was there to hand out the presents.  This year the role of Santa was played by James, my stepsister's partner.  Minnie was also hoping for a present but wasn't very good at sitting on her bum and waiting her turn.

We managed a few trips to the beach, the obligatory ice-cream treat at the Big Banana and plenty more cricket with the neighbours.  We also had plenty of cuddles and plays with Ivy, my stepsister Nikki's baby.  Milly also got the chance to make some cake decorations with Nanna Trace.  Before we knew it our time was up and we were back in the car heading home.  

Farewell primary school

I can't believe it's 2018 already.  It already promises to be a big year for our little family.  It will certainly be a big year for Mister.  He has completed primary school and this year embarks on high school.

His farewell from Year 6 saw the end of last year go by in a blur (hence not much blog posting from me).  There were final high school inductions for students and parents, final Year 6 parties, fetes, performances and presentations.  When the school year finally came to a close Mister was exhausted.

His big send off was the Year 6 farewell dinner and disco.  A night that belonged to him and his friends.  Teachers were present and parents were allowed to take part for the first 30 minutes before we were all shown the door and only allowed back for the final 15 minutes of the night.  It really was a celebration for the kids where they could let their hair down.  

The last school day of the year saw the "clap out" of Year 6.  A tunnel of arms for the kids to pass through and be acknowledged by the school community.  Plus the official Year 6 shirt that needed signing by classmates.

And so, high school starts in a few weeks.  My hopes for Mister are he transitions well, makes new friends, and finds subjects that wet his educational appetite.  It might be too much to ask that he stay focused and improves on his organisational skills.  At the very least I hope he comes home from school and is excited to show or tell me something he learned that day.

The photos below express just that.  I took these photos months ago after a high school transition day.  Mister was keen to cook for me and show me what he learned during the home economics class he did.  For a kid who won't even butter his own bread, I was surprised when he picked up a knife and used a chopping board, then prepared these pizza scrolls.   He was so proud of himself and so was I.