Smelling the roses

A sneaky little outing was organised to surprise my sister for her birthday.
We headed up into the foothills and visited the Masonmill Gardens for afternoon tea.

It was a lovely girlie afternoon and especially beautiful to enjoy the surroundings
The roses were in plenty as were the everlasting flowers

We enjoyed rose infused lemonade and delicious sweet treats

Always lovely to hang with my girl and extra special---my beautiful sisters...

Gotta  love surprises.

Running

It is sports carnival time of the year......

We were requested to come and watch...(wouldn't miss it) 

As we positioned ourselves at the finish line for the great photo op, the thing I noticed was how much I enjoyed watching our boy run with his mates

It wasnt really that important which place he came  although it is important if you are 10 years old....I loved that in each of his races he ran alongside or between his best mates.....

Now it is a very long time since I participated in a running race at a carnival...but  I am still running a race....the race of life.....

Watching my boy and his mates made me think about this race I am running....what makes it more doable is that I am running along side and in between mates...friends....a life partner.

Together we will head towards the finish line....the people I surround myself with have the same end prize in mind...they look across and offer words of encouragement when the legs are tired.....or the straight stretch feels like it is going on forever.

My hope is that my kids have that experience too.....never to have to run a race alone but always surrounded by like minded people who will encourage them to keep going and finish well.

 
 

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Him: Sports carnival time....running with good buddies

Her: She is a determined and focused young lady with her sights set high.

My 52 weeks project

Remembering

Last week among all the chaos and busyness of renovating.....

We remembered......well, we always remember , every day, every moment of every day....

but for one day it is all a bit more real

Real that another year has passed

Another year without her

11 to be exact

It wasn't the quiet simple day that I like

but it doesn't stop us remembering

Others remembered too...that helps in a small way

A difficult space of time..........

 

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Him:  He is getting so tall and "lanky" my little guy. 

Her: Still on a high from a dance performance there was an impromptu late evening dance class on our freshly laid new floor. 

My 52 weeks project

Seeing the beauty

Sometimes you have to look a little deeper and closer to see the beauty.

Look past the mess and chaos

Block out the demolition and destruction 

In the midst of renovations it is hard to see the beauty that will be the end..... 

 Luckily my husband found some beauty going unnoticed in the garden outside all the chaos and brought it inside.....

 

I am so grateful for the opportunity to be in this mess....creating a space that we have waited a long time for......

But I do wish we were on the other side now!

Simple Play

The renovations at our place are well under way......

and I am not one to waste ....

So playgroup returned today and what fun they had with a little of our "rubbish" 

Telling Stories

The school holidays have come to an end...for the adults in the house it has been all about renovations.....for the dancer in the family it has been all about dancing and for the youngest member he was  lucky enough to go on an adventure....

Now I don't usually tell others stories here but on this occasion, I am.

My youngest sister, her five children and my dad all went on a journey...sadly for  all the other adults the timing didn't work out to go along...

Knowing that our house was under construction and that Fraser might like to hang with his cousins he was invited to go along...( my sister is such a saint!)

She was sure to send me pictures of snippets of the trip...

The purpose of the trip was to retrace my dad's time in a small town where he grew up 550 km north of where we all live now.

 So here is the trip......courtesy of my sisters text messages..

"Soooooooo 8.5 hours later we have arrived!!!!! Everyone travelled well.

Now to mobilise the team to set up the camper "

"The church where dad went to Sunday School"

 

"The morning at this picnic spot by the river!! Hot but we got to put our feet in !! Searching for Dad's Sunday School picnic spot.
 

"The afternoon seeking out wildflowers."
 

"Fantastic,hot , wonderful day.
 All going well.
Kids will sleep VERY well(so will grandpa!)
 

"Started the day finding the site that dad's house was on..."
 

"Then embarked on the walk to school..."
 

"walking to school..."
 

"Story time with Grandpa"
 

"Chilling out in the heat of the day"
 

"So we made it onto Kel's just after lunch and have been happily playing all afternoon! BBQ and bonfire night "

"We are on our way home.....

Grandpa at the top of the sand dune!!!!"
 

I am so grateful that Fraser got to join in on this 6 day  trip...he has many stories and a bigger understanding of his Grandpas life as a little guy around his age....also got to be part of a gang fro a few days bigger than hi normal day to day.
We will celebrate my dad's 75 th birthday mid next year and now some of his memories have been passed on to some of his grandchildren. 

Priceless!

Living in a demolition zone

We are still plugging away with our home renovations...we feel we are all in now and there is definitely no going back......

Today a little demolition job......a surplus decorative little wall was deemed not needed....

Hoping these little things will make all the difference to the overall picture... 

 

..........Oh my the dust

Another job ticked off the list....now we can finish painting the front half of the house.

 

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Him: Exploring the north of our state with his cousins.....red dirt fun and no technology in sight!

Her: A great end to her competition week...1st  placed with her Hip Hop Troupe...

My 52 weeks project