44 sleeps

So soon

So keen

Bucket list item

image source

construction cake smash - the clean up

So what is the best way to clean up chocolate cake off a wooden floor after a 1 year old cake smash??
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you
bring
in
the
dog.
:D

(posted with parental permission)

wheat lumper statue

www.facebook.com/TiffFirthPhotography
Working in collaboration with Cummins & District Enterprise Committee to produce promotional material for Cummins and surrounds. 
The Wheat Lumper Statue featured in this image was community-funded and commissioned to recognize grain handling methods important in the agricultural history of the Cummins District.
15.5.2015

construction cake smash

Turning 1 is just too much fun with a cake smash.

SAPSASA Athletics

Annie was in LEP SAPSASA Athletics for Shot Put, 100m sprint and the 4x100 relay back in March. So for Shot Put training at home we used Boccie balls which aren't the required 3kg weight but we used them more for learning the push technique. 

This was around the time Beck Beattie was staying with me prior to the E2C retreat and as luck would have it, she was able to train Annie as bit as Beck had competed at the Little Athletics State Championships when she was younger. Beck had far more of an idea than I did and Annie was more than happy to learn from Beck

 (image used with permission - thanks Beck)

So of course Sean had to get in on the action :)

The LEP SAPSASA Athletics was held at Ravendale. Annie's 100m sprint.

Annie was the first leg of the 4x100m relay

Overall it was a fun day and a bit of an eyeopener as we haven't been involved with SAPSASA before. I haven't included any pics of her Shot Put as it has other children in them. She did well and pushed a PB for herself, but was a bit short of the first few place getters.  She came home feeling good and that she had done her best. I can't ask for more than that.

walking with dinosaurs - arena spectacular

A few weekends ago we took the kids to Adelaide to experience Walking with the Dinosaurs. And it was simply spectacular. The scale of the dinosaurs was 1:1. In other words, true to size. So thinking of how tall and long the Brachiosauruses were, and there were two of them, and the size of the arena, the scale of everything was huge. I did wonder how to they move everything from city to city for other shows. It's a little mind boggling actually.

Adelaide Entertainment Centre

Waiting for the show.  Its funny how you run into people and it doesn't matter where you are, there is someone you know.  I was yakking away with the fam when this lady popped herself in the seat in front of me and started chatting. Blow me down if it wasn't Cass, a cousin I haven't seen irl for years and years. She spotted me (and the camera) from a couple of blocks of seating away and made a bee line for us.  So brilliant to snatch a 5 minute chat just before the show started.

THE TRIASSIC PERIOD.

The Paleontologist  (Lucas Worth) who narrated the show.  The Liliensternus pinched a newly hatched Plateosaurus. The Liliensternus was a 5 metre carnivore hunter.  The Plateosaurus  was 8-9 metres tall and was thought to roam in herds.

THE JURASSIC PERIOD.
The Stegosaurus with its distinctive double row of plates on its back and spikes on its tail. 9 metres tall. Its mouth was a horned beak.

The Allosaurus sneaking up on the Stegosaurus. It stood 12 metres high. Its had over 70 teeth that were 3 inches long.

The young male and Mother Brachiosaurus's. See the guy that I've circled on the right. He gives a sense of scale of just how big they were. When the Mum had her neck up right up high she wasn't that far from touching the lighting rigs. Some of the stats that I could find say they stood over 22 metres tall and they weighed around 80 tons. Its a vegetarian, grazing on tree tops by stripping branches with its peg like teeth.

CRETACEOUS PERIOD
The Ornithocheirus with a wing span of up to 12 metres. It could fly for days at a time and its remains have been found on different continents.

Two male Torosauruses fighting for male supremacy. The one on the left had a horn broken during the fight and gave way to the victor.  The roaring was impressive

The victorious Torosaurus. I could feel the bass of his victory roar run through my chest. It was 6-9 metres tall. Its like a dinosaur version of the rhinoceros and it featured an enormous neck frill on the largest skull of any terrestrial animal.

The mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex moving in to save her baby (out of shot) from the Ankylosaurus. The Ankylosaurus has a club tail for its weapon and it was about 11 metres tall. It was a tank of a dinosaur.

Mother Tyrannosaurus Rex reunited with her baby. She stood 12 metres tall and would have weighed in around 6 tons. Her teeth were 15 cms long and serrated and she had a bone crushing bite strength.

I've lots of other pics but I feel that these ones are enough to tell the story of how amazing this was. The kids were just gob smacked by it all and it really lit up their curiosity with dinosaurs.

happy mothers day

image credit: Katie Pertiet-Designer Digitals

the old phone box

I need some help to get the bones of the history with this phone box situated at the old footy gate at Karkoo Oval. I believe it used to be the phone box in Yeelanna until it was brought up to Karkoo. I don't have a date of when or by who. Every Saturday, this phone box was manned by a volunteer who'd collect the gate monies as families came to the Koo for their footy and netball games. This gate is no longer accessed on Saturdays after the flash new gates were opened at the United Yeelanna's 50th Birthday celebration in 2014.

I've asked a few men at the Footy today, and no one seems to be quite sure. Can anyone help me?

working girl

And just like that she's grown up. She's entered the workforce and learning the responsibilities and expectations of what being employed is all about.  And she's LOVING it.

Thank you Five Loaves Bakery. She's so happy to be part of the team.

thank you

Thank you so very much for all the messages, emails, txts, phone calls and visits over the last few days. Your love, words and support means the world to me. I've been a little overwhelmed by how many of you there were, and from all walks of life. I thank you. I don't need that kind of negativity in my life and I've moved onwards and upwards. The view from the high road looks sweet. Smiling all the way.
Have a great weekend.

the kids one-little-word-2015

The kids have joined me this year on the One-Little-Word project.

Annie has chosen to LIVE. Live the Moment, Live life to the full, Live it up. Live life, not just survive it.

Sean chose SEAN. It's his year of the Sean. #yearofthesean. Gotta love his humor.

love you

I've been inspired by Kim Price to dabble in watercolours on chipboard. I must admit I haven't used chipboard for such a long time, but this was fun.  

a tiger doesn't lose sleep over the opinion of sheep

Again, I chose the high road by not publicly defending myself on Facebook, which would only add fuel the fire.

I chose grace and silence there, and here on my blog I will say only this:

Two or three little sheep that are bleating a lot of acid

couch potatoes

I'm just a marshmallow when it comes to Wilna Furtensberg's print cut files. So yummy.  I started off with a Kraft+ challenge but then left it behind as this LO went off on a different track.

seek - my one little word

Seek has been the perfect 'one-little-word' for me this year. I've seeked (correct English would be sought) a lot of advice this year. 

 I'm carrying a lot of long term injuries from years of working with horses. I've needed advice and help with my on-going shoulder/elbow injuries which means surgery in August, in my journey as a sports trainer, on my golfing game, how to modify what I do at gym (fitness) so I can still get something out of it despite my feet, both knees, both shoulders and right elbow problems.

I've had to dig deep and seek the strength to put the camera down for the last few months due to my shoulder and elbow. That's been so hard. And to seek the confidence to say no without guilt to the families wanting to book their photography sessions. Especially from August onward when I normally am so flat out while the countryside looks its absolute best. The only exception is I will honor the gift vouchers for this year.

I've sought grace will under fire. I offered spontaneous generosity of my heart at an event which two people found offensive. I'm quite sure my breathing offends them. So rather than bite back in the same tone that they used, (in an acid email, not face to face which would have be more polite), I chose the high road and used grace and tact. I felt like I rose above their cattiness and controlling issues by not biting back. I have never, ever, not once, EVER criticised escape2create and its concepts. For those who believe that I have, you have your facts wrong. You hearing jaundice dialogue second and third hand. 

I've had to seek the courage to let the maternal apron strings slip a little. Annie has a job, and maybe with a little luck, might be traveling with an short OS exchange program. More on that latter if its likely to happen.

When Shabby Chic Shack let me know I could order the Heidi Swapp marque letters, SEEK was my obvious choice. It is so relevant to me right now. I suspect that this little word is so part of my ethos that its now an ingrained part of me.

golf - it was a good day last week

A new stick and slowing down the swing has made a HUGE difference in my game. No doubt, this week will be a humbling game to make up for the cracker last week, but I sure have enjoyed the ride so far.