Bunnings fun

A quick family trip to Bunnings to grab some things turned into an almost two hour outing thanks to the playground, the kids Christmas craft table and the face painters.  Don't let it be said we don't know how to show our kids a good time.

What's new pussycat?

Buster Bow Wow

Pumpkin head.

Banjo's Bushland Retreat

Although the soccer season wrapped up four months ago, my team still had scheduled our end-of-season trip.  Usually we rent a big house with a pool at a beachside setting but this year we went bush.  Welcome to Banjos Bushland Retreat.  We had the whole retreat to ourselves and it was the most relaxing time I've had in ages.  Nothing to do but unwind and enjoy the peaceful surroundings of nature.

The balcony of the main lodge was where we would eat, drink and chat.

The view from the balcony was beautiful.  Nothing but bush to see for miles and miles...

...and at night it was even more spectacular.

We had three lodges and a recreation room all set amongst gum trees.  It was secluded and very private.

There were bush trails to explore.

Wildlife literally at our front door.  This kangaroo and her joey were regular visitors.

When it got too hot we would retreat to the pool.

When little joey got to hot it would take a nap in the shade.

And when mother kangaroo wasn't around I managed to get close enough for a pat.

How do you like them apples?

Our family goes through four kilos of apples in one week or less.  Pink Lady apples are the favourite.  Henry is restricted to two apples a day otherwise we'd be buying six kilos of apples a week and that just seems ridiculous.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Another green thumb

Following his birthday and being the proud new owner of a set of his own gardening tools, our littlest man was very keen to get planting.  He woke up one morning and wanted to go to Bunnings and buy some plants.  He was keen to get his gardening on.  So of we went.

Buster loves Bunnings.  He loves the playground, the kid-sized trolleys, dancing around the nursery to the outdoor music, and getting a stamp on his hand when he leaves.  It's a complete outing for him.

He was very considered when making his selection.  He didn't want flowers or a bush.  He wanted to plant something he could eat and ended up choosing strawberry and cucumber plants.

Once home he headed straight out to the vege patch and picked the spots he wanted to plant them in.  He has watched me countless times plant things in our garden and I suppose I shouldn't be that surprised how observant he has been, as he remembered how to carefully remove the plants from their nursery pots and separate them while I dug some holes.

Now we water and wait for them to grow and produce.

Things Milly says #13

The school has recently been holding an election for next years school captains.  I overheard Henry and Milly talking about it on the drive home from school one day.  Henry was thinking about voting for the sister of one of his classmates, as well as the son of one of the school teachers.

There are posters in the canteen of all the candidates for boy and girl captains, each candidate must make a speech at the whole school assembly, as well as hang out with the junior school at lunchtime to meet and greet their electorate.

After the speeches were made at assembly Henry changed his vote for girl captain.  As Little Miss Opinionated is still in infants she was unable to vote but still had her own thoughts.  She disagreed with Henry's choice for girl captain and thought another girl's speech was much better.

Me:  Do either of you want to be school captain one day?

Henry:  Yes.

Milly:  Yes and I've already been practising my acceptance speech.

Things Milly says #12

Milly:  Mama, I don't think I want to get married.  Do you?

Me:  Not really.  Why don't you want to?

Milly:  (a long sigh) I just don't want to be asked a lot of questions I have to say yes to.

Fair enough.

The Boo turns five

It turns out when there is only one more sleep until your birthday a little man can't wait to snuggle down and drift off, knowing that when he wakes he'll be another year older.

Milly quickly stole this book and read it.  I don't think she's returned it yet.

Buster loves helping out in the garden.  He needed his own tools.

The boy loves his weapons.

Helping make the cake and enjoying the spoils.

I love this kid.  What kind of a cake do you want for your birthday Buster?  Just a chocolate cake with lots of lollies on top.  Sure can.

More presents when Nanoo came over.  His own umbrella was top of his wish list.

Arriving in the mail was this awesome bow and arrow set from Grandad Bryan and Nanna Trace.  Michael said if the world does descend into a Hunger Games style dystopia, Buster has a good chance of surviving.

He may now be five, but he is still small enough to fit in a shopping trolley.

Our quiet achiever

It's so nice to post about Little Mister.  Though I'm not sure how much longer I can call him that.  He's so tall and already past my shoulders.  I think he'll be taller than me before he finishes primary school.

Earlier this month he received his Ruby Award at the school assembly, celebrating him earning 300 merit cards.  Now he is in the junior school it has been harder to acquire the merit cards but he is well behaved, a good listener and contributor in the classroom, he quietly goes about his work and every now and then he gets recognised for it.

I've been keeping a secret

Yes, I've been keeping a little secret.  And NO, I'M NOT PREGNANT!  It's about my beloved vegetable garden.  You remember the one.  The garden I continually start and blog about, only to have it destroyed by predators or my lack of care.  Well check this out.  I erected a possum proof fence and put up some bird netting.  I mulch, I check for caterpillars, I fertilise with my own home made worm wee, and we are just now beginning to enjoy the spoils of the garden.  For some reason my beetroot is still not flourishing, but the kid's sunflowers and the rest are looking good.

Lettuce and beetroot.

Eggplant.

Capsicum.

Rhubarb.

Fencing and netting have saved the day.

Lettuce, beetroot and sunflowers.

So there you have it.  My beautiful garden is thriving again.  I must say a big thank you to my Aunt Kathy in the UK whose allotment inspired me to keep trying.  The gardenia below is for you.

The pansies

Yes, I know I'm getting slow with my blog updates but life is a bit busy at the moment.  Plus I'm dealing with new technology and it all just takes time... which is something I don't seem to have much of lately.  I've got lots of posts up my sleeve that need putting together and I'll get there. Sometime.  I'll get there.

Until then here is a short but sweet update on the little pansy pot and seeds Buster gave me for Mother's Day earlier this year.  Don't remember then click here to refresh yourself.

Together we carefully looked after them and they grew and grew until we needed to put them in a new pot.  Then we put them outside where they grew and grew some more until recently they flowered.  Hooray for Mother Nature!