Painting our new fence

Last Saturday we set out to finish the new fence by painting it, and Ellen was very keen to give us a hand (Olivia was keen too - of course!). Greg spent the morning building the side fence, digging post holes etc. while the girls and I kept ourselves entertained (and more importantly out of the way!) except for when I was needed to hold something or measure something. After the afternoon sleep Ellen hadn't forgotten the offer to paint and diligently spent the next hour or two next to her Daddy painting the fence - she did a great job, although was keen to paint the same square inch as Greg at the same time, so there were some crowding issues occasionally. The colour isn't quite what we expected (the swatch looked a tad different - or maybe that was our eyes), so we're still getting used to it before deciding if the second coat will be a different colour...not really all that keen on purple (or should I say 'designer plum'!).

Splash

I forgot to write last week to let you know that Ellen has just started swimming lessons at our local pool (getting too cold at home), and she's doing really well. I forgot to take the camera for a photo, but she's having a great time, able to propel herself around pretty well and is trying to take breaths. The instructor has been very surprised at her progress, so that's good - it's so important to be able to swim given our climate and lifestyle meaning that we're in or near the water often. Hopefully she'll make a lot of progress over winter and be ready for next summer and our extended times in the pool. Olivia is champing at the bit to get in the water too, but the lessons aren't cheap, so she's not able to go for now - but she'd be in there if she could, she's a water baby - always has been. Maybe next year for her...

Birthday cake - second try

OK - here, finally is the photo of the birthday cake. It's a lion in case you can't tell! No real reason apart from the fact that it looked good in the book and not too hard, and we'd already made a butterfly the previous week with more lollies than I thought possible to use on one cake. I confess that I made this one while the girls were asleep, so that there weren't as many 'helping hands'. Creative I'm not, but it was fun...and vaguely recognisable at the end too.

Fenced in

Here's a photo of our new front fence being built - David came up last Saturday to give Greg a hand, and they did a great job. It's not completely finished - still the top rail, sanding rough edges and painting to go, then the gates to be built, but it's exciting to see progress being made!
We planned to fill and fence the front yard not long after we moved in in Nov 05, but finances and time played a big role in slowing things down. Still, it's great to have the area fenced for the girls to play - they were getting quite game at jumping/crawling off the retaining wall...

Apologies...

it's been a while I know. Things are hectic (as usual) and I'm finding less time to update things. Work is getting a tad busy for my liking - numerous trips to Canberra, which are involving 4.30am starts to catch the 6am flight down, full day and flying back in around 8.30pm - by which time I am not looking forward to a drive back home to the Sunshine Coast for an hour and a bit. So I've been staying at Tricia and Jason's place to cut out some of the commute on the one day - this is likely to continue for another month or two, but hopefully will slow down after that to every couple of months or so. (That's the carrot that they're dangling anyway...) I miss seeing the girls though, and while I'm kept more than busy during the day, I'm more than ready to get home to spend time with them again.

Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy my job and the challenges that it brings, and the opportunity to do something that uses my skills (not to mention that doesn't involve singing playschool songs or doing ring around the rosie for the 5th time in a row!), I guess I'm just reflecting on the need to find the right balance in our lives. Doing some reading and praying on this point, and we're considering lots of options at the moment to see where to next - so watch this space I guess...

One year old

Olivia had her 1st birthday last weekend, and due to it being on Easter Saturday we decided to keep the celebrations low key and just have the family who were available, up to celebrate. She had a great day, enjoyed eating cake (something not really familiar to her) and lapped up the attention. Olivia takes life at full-throttle, so her birthday was no different, having not that long ago experienced Christmas, she was experienced at gift opening and paper crinkling - although Ellen was a keen onlooker willing to lend assistance if able.
Hard to believe that she's one already - we've had a great first year together, and the older the two girls get, the better they play with one another - they are hysterical to watch at times! Sometimes it's rather dangerous for onlookers as they chase each other around the house, yard or wherever else they may be...and Olivia's still not quite walking yet, so the pace will pick up I'm sure.

The second photo was taken at the local park - Olivia is a daredevil on all the equipment, which keeps me on my toes. She's more than happy to head up or down slides with little care to personal safety - catching a few onlookers who don't know her off-guard. Still, that's one of the things most endearing about Olivia, so we're keen to see her apply that same passion to other important areas of her life as she grows....of course I may be completely grey by then, but I guess that's a small price to pay!!