Phew, all peace and quiet restored.

Hi, some random pics of our last few days, whilst cleaning up a heap of compost on Thursday Tim found heaps of frogs and the kiddos were happy to model a few of them, eeewwww. My garden is still producing some lovely roses which I love.

These are the kiddos in the bubble at the park we went to on Friday arvo, they had so much fun we basically came home fed and showered them and put them to bed, all houses should be built with a park. LOL. Zay was just completely zonked, we battled to get tea into him. It shows how much we need parks, the cars in Donnybrook were from far and wide, word has spread about this mega playground and apart from big lack of Toilets they have a great park that is such an enjoyable free thing to take the kiddos to. So the story goes a Gentlemen that passed away donated his money to build this park, what a huge act of kindness to give to the children of your community. It is apparently always busy so lucky it is mega size. We saw Uncle Dick marching in the Anzac Parade on TV, he was proudly marching in Perth parade which he has done for many years, this year he caught the train into Perth which was great for him, so great to see Perth have such great crowds at the ANZAC services. Keelan had a great time talking to Uncle Dick and admiring his medals while we were in Perth, if we lived closer we would have been in the crowd for him as he is thinking this may be his last march at 82 years old. Pretty commendable effort.

This is what happens when you tell Dad your tooth is wobbly and nearly out although the need for tissues may indicate otherwise. Trin has lost her first top tooth and Rainee her second bottom tooth. They look funny without them and the fairy had to do a double pickup that night. LOL.

This is a closer look at Trin's frog who is now set free out in the garden somewhere.
It is nice to have some quiet restored to the house and now I have to loose the few kilos I found over the holidays so getting stuck into more house cleaning etc will be my priority this week, although I did the basics last week I still have plenty I left so I had time for other things. Yesterday was pure hell at times here with the rain and bored kiddos, it seems they will take a little time to adjust to winter weather this year as they so love being outside.
The girls and I cooked Banana cake, muffins, coconut delight and golden syrup pudding yesterday afternoon so they have some goodies for lunches and after school, they are getting to be great help with the baking side of cooking now which is great.

I am really looking forward to going to Camp this weekend, Tim is off Friday and Saturday to have the kiddos and I have a feeling the wheels on the car are going to be speeding out this drive not a minute after my departure time. I am soooooo looking forward to ME time phew it has been a while I think November last year was the last time I went and got inspired and created non stop. I have been working on a Mother's Day gift for my MIL and that is a process that is still ongoing as I am painting and crackling etc. I have gone from liking it to hating it to liking it again so the finished product will be interesting. Tim is great to use for my critic as he picks the exact same faults up with things as his Mum so I can pretty much fix what he finds fault in. Then I have to start on Mum's this week to give to her on the weekend. She is spending Mother's Day at the V8 Supercars so we are going to MIL's for lunch. WTG Mum look after Craig Lowndes for me. Heheheheehe.
Take care and have a great week. Trace.

The beauty of Autumn.

Hi
These were taken on Tuesday, the amazing sky was so beautiful with it's heavy rain clouds brewing and yet the sun still trying to come out and shine. The boys just had to get on their wet weather gear and get out in the rain and puddles, Zay was like a Weetbix kid, jumping and yelling in the puddles, how much fun does he make getting down and dirty look. LOL.

One of the joys of childhood.

God's beauty shining down on us, how can you just not take the time to enjoy our beautiful land and world.

Tim is on holidays with us and although we seem to be busy in different parts of the house and shed it is still nice to have company for lunch and tea breaks. The kiddos are like his second skin so I have had many hours to think and procrastinate, as that is all my scrapping amounts to ATM, I am need my MOJO home right now and that inspiration I once had to return. SIGH.

Keelan is having a sleep over tonight at a mates and I had arvo tea with a friend this afternoon, she made yummy scones and we had the works with them, such a great way to spend the arvo. Keelan and I shopped this morning and then I came home and made Pea and Ham soup so the smell has teased everyones noses all day, it was yummo tonight with Ham and Cheese Fococcia rolls to accompany it. My kind of Wonderful that's for sure.
These holidays are flying by which is not good but I have lots in the next few weeks to look forward to.
Tomorrow is still hanging in the air, Tim has offered me a day to myself or go with him and kiddos to a great new big playground in the South West and onto his Folks for arvo tea, the jury is still out on that one. LOL. Yesterday we all had flu shots, Zay had fever and aches last night from 12am to 2am so I spent time up with him getting his fever down and getting him settled again, ready for bed now and its only 8.30pm, must be cuppa time!!
Take care, Trace.

Home, happy, healthy, revived.

Hi
We are home from a great week in Perth, well apart from a few things that tried to spoil our week we still had a great time, it was so nice to spend time with Mum and Dad and catch up with Family. Monday we had a great trip there, the kiddos were so well behaved so it made the trip a dream. When we arrived Mum had a house full of kids already, my younger Brother's 3 kids and my other Brothers eldest so the kids got to see their cousin's straight off plus one of Mum's friends called in. We had a BBQ tea that night and my Brother, (Brad) and his family came over and they left Mikayla for a few days so we had 5 kiddos in a 3 by 1, beds and bodies everywhere. LOL. We went out for the day Tuesday with the kiddos, Dad had the day off so we went to the Beach first then walked from one end to the other of the park while they played on everything, we had fish and chips for lunch and stayed there most of the day, it was hazy from smoke but pleasant all the same. We took them home completely worn out as they walked and played the whole day.

Here is Rainee, Trin and Dad checking out the tug boats bringing in a tanker.
Wednesday the boys went with Dad to the workshop and Mum and I took the girls to pick up parts for Dad and to visit a certain scrapbook shop that I have been busting to get to for a long time but in the end we did a scrapbook shop crawl, we went to 3 shops and each was so different and unique. That was great but the girls nearly made me broke in the first shop, they each had $10 to spend and got their own basket and off they went, I also had my own basket and forgot to check out theirs before I put it on the counter and they did way more damage then $10 but they were so in love with their choices, so they got spoilt. I was amazed at how particular Trin's choice of stuff was, she put heaps of thought into what she wanted to do with everything she bought. Rainee did too although she will tend to waste a bit more than necessary. It was a top Girly day and so good to have that time with Mum.

Thursday we went to my SIL, Kim's and had a mega feast and I helped Kim create a card and layout and showed her how to use some of her fiskars stuff, the kiddos got to play and create also.

Friday was pretty quiet, I had to catch up on washing and Mum and Dad had to go out for a luncheon so the kiddos and I hung home for the day.

Saturday we got ready and went shopping for the morning and that was awesome, what a great shopping complex they have in Success(hope it is spelt that way) then we went to the 2pm circus session, it was fantastic, the kids sat mesmerized the whole time especially Zay. It was freezing that day and we didn't have great big thick jackets like we needed but we headed to Freo after and checked out the boat show and the luxury boats, wow they were amazing. Had tea at Cicerello's and stopped and listened to the drags on the way home, the size of the kiddos eyes was priceless, we would have frozen ourselves stiff had we of gone. Once home the kiddos were showered and they were off to bed exhausted.

Sunday was wind down day really, catching up on washing and Brad, Kim and kids called in to say goodbye, Keelan went to the movies with his Dad in the morning and then they took Uncle Dick and went by train to the footy. Even though Keelan is a Docker supporter they still wanted to catch a game of footy and Uncle Dick is a mega West Coast supporter. Then home late yesterday and unpacked and shopped.

This is the weather today, I have taken a heap more shots but will share tomorrow as this is already mega.

Tim is having a few days off from tomorrow so we have lots planned for the rest of the week. It was such a good break being away, we certainly all needed it and the kiddos were so happy to see Dad last night, we had all missed him not being with us.
Take care, Trace.

Boys!!

Hi
Here is a layout I did of Keelan a while ago now but it took me forever just to add the finishing touches, finally it is done. It was great to revive the square punch and give it some use, have some more ideas for it also, just need to time to get it created.

Here is my handsome red belt before training the other night, he was reluctant to have pics taken as he didn't want to be late so the faces aren't the best he was pulling, these being the better of them all plus it was just going dark.

This little guy wants to fill Dad's shirts out really fast, he wants to drive a big Bulldozer like Daddy. What a classic, he nearly disappeared when he put it on. LOL.

So the holidays have started for us as of yesterday and the kiddos are doing the usual get up early when there is no school grrrrrrrrr. Keelan went to the movies with some mates yesterday and that was a dilemma and a half just to get that sorted out between 4 pre teens trying to organise the movies, the phone was ringing constantly with them toing and froing between each other about details, then Keelan had a call from another mate asking him to go to his place for a play and then when he told me I suggested he ring and invite this boy to go also so that meant more phone calls and then we get another call to say one of the boys doesn't really like the boy Keelan asked to go and that he was going to call that Boy and tell him it was postponed to another time so he didn't turn up while they were there, this made Keelan get angry so I told him to ring his mate and tell him if the other kid called to ignore him and come at the right time and Keelan would sit with him elsewhere. So in the end they all went and Keelan said they all had a great time and the boy he invited had them all in fits of laughter as he has the funniest of laughs. These boys will be in the same soccer team so they really have to get over this kind of angst. Keelan and his other 2 mates were cool with this boy coming, it was just 1 who was being cruel about it and he did ring this kid but he didn't have the guts in the end to tell him otherwise when it came to the crunch so the laugh ended up being on him, I was just proud of Keelan and the other boys for putting their mates feelings first and not just swaying with this other kids opinion. Anyway they had a blast and it was all good, oh boy I really didn't think boys would go through this stuff and it is all just beginning, wish I was 10 years younger in all this, I will still be sorting out teenagers when I am an old lady. LOL. Hope you kept up with all that but it truly was that chaotic and in the midst of the phone and problems I was flat out washing and cleaning, it was doing my head in. LOL

Trying desperately to get rid of this cold as Perth family have told me to stay away if I am still sick but Trin is starting to get it now. We have been shopping this morning while Trin was at dancing getting Tim all sorted with food for the week. The weather by day has been absolutely glorious, I so heart Autumn, it is definitely my season and sleeping at night with a doona as it is cooler is just bliss, just hate getting up in the mornings, I don't know why it has become so hard to get out of bed. LOL.
Well have a great weekend and if I dont get back before I go away next week have a great first week of holidays.
Take care
Trace.

Heidi grace rocks.

Hi
I have been working on these layouts on Tuesday mornings at Craft group, I have been the last 2 weeks and it is amazing what I have been getting done, these pics are from Easter 2 years ago, can't believe the size of the kiddos then, boy they grow like mushrooms, I took heaps of photos for that easter egg hunt and I dont want to just scrap the best so I have basically scrapped them all, for me the pics show the kiddos how much they have grown and how much fun they had, they really do tell the story themselves, I am using Heidi Grace Urban acres range for it, as it is fun and whimsy like Easter time is to Kiddos. I did my Demo in Feb at Spotlight and basically spent all my pay back on buying the range that was there. Have you tried Heidi Grace rub ons?? They are fantastic and I was amazed that they rub onto layers like above with no trouble at all, I am hooked.

click on pics to enlarge them.

I still have several more pages to complete this story so will be doing some more over the next few days to get completed, the beauty about buying a story and having double sided paper is that I have plenty of choice for the pages. Excuse the really poor photo quality of the layouts, I wanted natural light to show the true colours but as usual its a dull old day everytime I take pics of layouts, might have to go back to my old way of photographing them.

Best news is my kiddos finish school today, YAHOO, sleep in tomorrow and with the start of a cold lingering, you know the one with the old dry scratchy throat type, yucko, I have been to the chemist and I am armed with Echinacea etc to kill it quick. Tomorrow I may have more layouts to share so stay tuned. LOL.
Take care, Trace.

Now a Red Belt.

Picture quality poor due to no lighting at Rec centre.

Hi
This was some of the pics from Keelan's grading yesterday, he is now a red belt, gets presented with it tonight during class, this is a big stage now, he will grade 3 more times in red belt for a black stripe and then it's black belt. His technique is such a pleasure to watch, this would have to be Keelan's sport, he is still a little timid with sparing and he had to spar (fight) against the boy in the red belt next to him who is so tall and pretty fierce when he fights although he was not so agressive with Keelan yesterday, (Keelan really doesnt like sparing with him). Keelan did end in tears towards the end as he got kicked in the shin on an injury he received at school 4 weeks ago and it is still healing, he came home with a massive bruise and lump on his shin and it is taking a long time to heal. Even with shin pads on yesterday it dropped him when he got kicked there. Other than that he did really well and had a great time. Tim got his petrol remote buggy going for him when we got home and they had fun racing it up and down the street. Keelan said its the best weekend he has had with his Dad (biological Dad) for about 3 years so that is great for him, he has really been needing this one on one time with him.

I seem to have worked all weekend around here, getting in the garden again late yesterday, I do look forward to next week getting a break away. I am going to scrap this arvo if I can get Zay occupied with something to do, we both feel pretty exhausted after the weekend so it will be nice to sit for a change. LOL.
4 more early get ups. YAY. LOL. I don't like school holidays much do I.
Take care, Trace.

2 posts today!!

Hi,
We have had our usual busy Saturday but it was nice to have Tim around for the day instead of him being at work, this afternoon I got out the garden with Rainee cutting off dead rose buds and having a little tidy up, I love Autumn so much, the air feels great and refreshing and I just yearn to be outside playing in the garden, planting and cutting back just feels right now. Zay came and helped later on with his little tools, shovel, rake and little barrow, he is just so funny, this child makes my heart sing and sing and sing, he just yearns to learn and be involved, loves chatter and feeling important, he dug and raked and pulled weeds out for me, even had the teen look when he bent over with his undies showing, classic. LOL.

Here he is after he bit the dirt, silly Mum was instructing him on how to pose a certain shot and he just plain did a face dive head first into the dirt, I just cracked up you know the real good old belly laugh, it was so funny the look on his face and the disgust he felt over me roaring with laughter at his misfortune, Oh Zay you are the light in my darkest day you little ray of sunshine. We did clean him up after I could contain myself and he went on gardening with Tim and I. Thanks Baby for making my day.

We have some amazing plants to choose from these days, the sun was on this new plant we put in last week and showed the great colours it throws, wish I had the macro lens on though.

I also want to wish Keelan the very best for his Grading tomorrow, his red belt is what he is going for and his Dad is staying the weekend with him to be there tomorrow, they are tucked up out the caravan tonight watching a DVD and they have been off and about today together plus Dockers won so they are pretty happy campers tonight, sorry Brad about the eagles. I have downloaded free colour in pages for the girls tomorrow while grading is on and we have to be there by 9am so no sleep in tomorrow. What a wonderful sound it has been having the rain, just love how it refreshes everything and seeing as we have had no summer rains this year everything certainly needs to have that green tinge come back.

So looking forward to school holidays coming up, got lots planned for a change, especially time with my Mum and Dad and the kiddos, can't wait for that and catching up with My Brother, Kim and Family and hopefully a few friends I have not seen for ages. Trin has had a bad week at school so we now have to get this worked out once and for all, I may have to move her to another school if we don't get a solution in place for her.
Take care, Trace. xxx

Happy Christening Day tomorrow.

Hi
This is just a special wish for Marcus Michael to have the most wonderful Christening Day and celebration tomorrow, so sorry we can't be there for you Angel but we so look forward to cuddles and catch ups in a weeks time.

May God bless you and may Angels watch over you.

All our love mwah.

Trace. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Garden is getting there.

Hi
Our weekend was pretty busy as usual, the kiddos and I watched Trin dance on Saturday, she is coming along nicely since she has only been going a few weeks, she tries so hard to remember her steps and I am proud of her for her efforts.

Saturday when Tim came home we got out and started pulling out more plants from the front garden bed to make way for new and changes, it ended up being about 4 hours out the front garden cleaning up lots.

Sunday was the wind up for Surf club, the kids had a great time again then we came home and got kiddos showered then went to Bunnings to get new plants, Tim picked these pots up for me Saturday arvo that I had been and picked out. We came home armed with new plants, shovels, pruners etc, and Tim got planting, I helped as best I could but my back went out on me at Surf club so I was not too good by then. Anyway we got it done and you always feel so great after gardening I reckon. Keelan helped a lot with it also and then he went with a friend to the pool for a few hours later in the arvo and the kiddos had fun riding the bike out on the street with a couple of girls from down the road, they loved it, reminded me of when I was a little girl of course we could ride around a lot more then as people seemed more responsible in there cars and there wasn't so many.

This is a new pot I got for the front door and replanted my fern into it so it should spread and take off now, the pot doesnt look it here but it is huge so the birds nest can fill out now.

This is my other new pot which is also huge and is the middle feature for the front garden, it now needs new bricks around the outside so hopefully on the weekend we can get them and put a limestone border around it and get rid of the bits n pieces rock border currently there, once that is done we will mulch it and it should I hope look a thousand times better than before and now. All the new Azaleas are planted, along with some of the older ones I left there and we got 5 verigated flax plants for around the pot which in the sun look really effective and pretty. Then at the back of the garden along the walkway to the front door we left a fern and that long stemed plant and put 3 more ferns with them. The peppy trees are loosing leaves by the bucket load ATM so that tends to make the garden look messy but once it is complete I will take some better pics in the sun to show the end result.

We have had so much fun changing this garden around and it has changed the front of the house so much, I even put my little garden seat out by the front door, it is a nice place to sit and watch the kiddos on their bikes or read a book if I get that pleasure. It should be a pretty garden in winter when the Azaleas all flower too.

Today Zay and I went to a craft group, he went to the creche and I scrapped for 2 hours it was wonderful although I got a cup of water spilt on my layout and not mine I might add so it has water damage and I have to fix up a couple of minor things on it but it will be ongoing as it is the easter hunt from a couple of years ago and I have heaps of not so great photos but I want to scrap them all the same.
Well better be off and busy with more catch up. Take care
Trace.