19/52

Him: First soccer match for the season

Her: Loving her new coat and the first reason to wear it. 

My 52 weeks Project

Joining in with Jodi's Project

Thursday Thankful List

* The best news for a friend waiting on results .

* Family getaways

*A $60 winter coat....scanning at $17 at the checkout

* Moody clouds that don't spoil the weekend

* A cup of tea shared with a friend

* A hot chocolate with my sister and daughter in a funky little cafe

 

* Bike riding independent little guys

* Safe places to go exploring

* Chunky minestrone soup for lunch and dinner

* Rain , rain and more rain

* Advocates that want the very best for your child

* Four Kookaburras dining on steak

* Rock climbing and exploring

* A finished read - Undaunted by Christine Caine

* My sister helping with the rigors of running children around 

* The discovery of ABC IView to watch a new season of Call The Midwife

* The routines of a school day morning

* The counting of new babies at playgroup

#523 My children discovering the goodness of fresh slices of lemon in their drink bottles

  My other lists are here...making my way to 1000

Some things I learnt this weekend.....

 1. Even though hopes were dashed heading into the  weekend......it wasn't a total bad day...

 
2. Cow bells in the hands of kids can get pretty darn thin in  a very short time.....

 3. With each year that passes interest and knowledge of the art increases...

 4. Even though it was the perfect condition for racing it also turned out to be the perfect conditions for spectating too...

 5. Not having a competing husband this weekend meant we could afford the luxury of some time to walk and sit and chat....

 6. You don't have to travel very far or for very long to grab a breath of fresh air for the busyness of the days that we walk..

  

7.I love having my camera on hand to be able to record the beauty around us

8.Life is triple the fun with cousins around...especially if you are a little guy...

 9. There is always something totally mesmerizing about the ocean...

 10. Time goes slower when you take away all the demands of everyday..

 11. How strong the genes are that tie you together as family.....

12. That four people can create more washing from a few days away than a whole week at home....

We head away this weekend every year...normally our star athlete competes but not this year....but who is going to say no to a few days away  just hanging with the family...oh and a few extra family members thrown in for good measure......

Joining in with Em at The Beetle Shack

18/52

Him: Nothing beats a weekend away with cousins...oh and throw in water too.

Her: Totally in the zone.

My 52 weeks Project

Joining in with Jodi's project

Thursday Thankful List

* Friends to hang out with 

* Movies that are both kid and adult friendly

* Handy Dandy husbands who are good at fixing things

* The rain- steady and wet on the roof and the garden

* Sore bones and hands from a morning of gardening

* Ice creams from the ice cream van

* First car for a new driver

* Visitors who are excited to collect the eggs

* Lazy Lazy sleep ins

* A surprise phone call from a friend miles away

* The magic of "face time" to the other side of the world to meet a new friend

* Frank, honest and heartfelt conversations with teens

* Flowers picked and gifted from a 3 year old

* Rain free first soccer training session

* Plans thought about for the future

#504 Teachers that are encouraging 

Around here....

I feel like I have lost my way this last week...missed some of my regular blogging....trying to keep up with the days flying past.....

The school holidays finished...week one of term is nearly done......there have already been conversations about the end of the year and what it may bring.....
and tonight, news of sudden sadness that brings you right back to the moment.......

So days I feel like we are just holding on for the ride.....barely stopping to savour the moment....

If not for the snapping of the ordinary in our days i would struggle to remember what the days held....

So here's to the ordinary captured for the purpose of making the blur seem clearer.

17/52

Him: A country town skate park with no one else around....lucky he put his board in!

Her: Screen printing her own shirts has kept her busy over the school holidays.

My 52 weeks Project 

Joining in with Jodi's project

Things I am Loving

Wow what a funny week...school holidays, Easter holidays and then another long weekend for Anzac Day...hard to keep up with what day of the week it is.....

So here is my loves for the week ....

Road tripping with these guys.....off exploring uncharted ground...{well to us anyways}

Baking Anzac biscuits for the road trip and well because that's what you do in the days leading up to Anzac Day!

Then gifted some for a friend to go with the dinner I cooked for them....I used this cute printable on the packaging....

Go and check out this very heart touching story that Jo shares of a real Anzac. 

I took Fraser to see the Lego Movie......I was a little concerned at the start that I had just paid for a 100 minute product placement add....but it really was a great movie and the messages were good ones...love the twist at the end.

Loving that it inspired some Lego creating when we got home.....

and we could all do with a little reminder from Kid President.....




joining in with Meghan

Thursday Thankful List

* Home grown produce

* A fun kids church Easter carnival

* The tradition of family Easter egg hunts

* Looking on at the partnership between little kids and big kids

* Spontaneous road trips

* Curried egg sandwiches and thermos tea

* Anzac biscuits baked for friends

* Watching my children be creative

* Extra days off altogether

* Play dates with cousins

* Sisters willing to hold the play dates

* Inspirational blogging friends

* Having the courage to tell a friend that I will pray for her

* De-cluttering moves that fill bins and clear spaces

* Passing off unwanted goods successfully on Gumtree

#488 Long sleep ins

My other lists are here

Kid Crafting in the holidays...

 My kids have been a little more crafty than myself these holidays......

I encouraged my boy to jump on the rainbow loom bandwagon...a little late and not very high tech.....but it has really captured his imagination and certainly taken him away from the screens ....worth while in my books for that alone......

My girl has busied herself with some more screen printing.....creating some one off shirts for herself and another couple for friend's birthday presents....  

My creativity has been concentrated on some serious de-cluttering of our house and more seriously my craft room.....the bins are full, the op shops have gained a whole lot of new stock, I even had some luck on Gumtree and I am starting to feel better about the space......

Joining in with Show and Tell

Road Tripping....

Some extra time off together....the promise of a beautiful day.....we decided to take a road trip.....

So with the curried egg sandwiches, Anzac biscuits and the thermos packed off we went.... 

We headed North East from home......traveled on roads that bought back memories of being kids....roads we very rarely if ever have ventured on.... 

 

It was spontaneous...and we headed off with great expectations of an adventure....

Took in the sights of country towns unfamiliar to us....

Even played a game of "what if" when we saw this cute place for sale....ever thought of escaping the busyness of the city??

It wasn't hard to spot the local characters around the towns.....

 

We needed this  to get out and breathe in the fresh air....widen our horizons....

 

have a little laugh or two... lose the internet connection for a while....

The country always holds some mystic for us city folk.....

This time of the year all is dry....the main river running is as dry as a bone.....something we don't often think too much about in suburbia...

The controlled burns around the country side had us fascinated...obviously marking the end and change of seasons in this part of the country....this wheat growing part.....

so far removed from the preparation we are doing in our little garden for the winter coming....

All the while we were driving hearing the harmony that is not always there ....sharing colours as they weave and created in the backseat....

We introduced our kids to the truck-stop lunch with the thermos for a cuppa.....the quiet of stopping where there is no-one else in sight......

All the while us sharing our own stories with the kids and each other of the adventures and memories of doing this with our parents......thermos and sandwiches included ....

We wandered the streets of a town owned and operated by the Benedictine Monks....

wondering if a few days in their quiet space may help with the busyness and crowding of our heads...

There was even a tea stop at a country skate park for some fresh air and leg stretching....especially for the guy who so optimistically put the skateboard in....

.

It was a long day but so worthwhile doing......exploring places that are not far but provide us with new sights.....conversation......memories.

Do you take road trips....do you pack sandwiches and a thermos?