I was engrossed reading the school's newsletter and didn't know what happened. Meredith was in her room doing her work...so this time I am sure it wasn't Meredith.

I saw one of Reegan's socks at the corner of the room...so obviously he has pulled it off again...

But he has his shoes on!... without the sock! So......have you learned to put on your shoe by yourself????


Oh yes, I have given up putting on matching socks for him...

You know you have to treasure these....

when you get so frustrated and asked for a reason, and her reasoning reminds you that she is only 6...
when her taste for clothing clashes badly with yours but you have to know she lives in her own fairies and princesses and ballerinas' world...
when she loves you no matter how bad the day was...
when she tries to be a good helper but sometimes makes a mess...

You know you have to treasure these...

when 'mamu' means Milo
when 'ahhhh per' means apple
when 'mor mor' means no more and he rotates his wrist to indicate the same
when the cow 'mmmmmmm' instead of 'moooo'....
when you ask him to keep his bibs in the drawer and he knows exactly what to do
when you are so tired in the middle of the night and he wakes up and thumps himself on you
when the weather is cold and he still pulls off his socks and walks one foot bare
when you think you can get him to sleep but he insists you must read to him first


These I will treasure... and can't wait for more...

And when Sis was here earlier in June, we took every opportunity during the weekends to drive out... to the 12 Apostles and Yarra Valley. I never believed I would be able to drive up there...myself....but we did!

We stopped by on the way to Apollo Bay for Meredith to wee...and spotted Mr Koala up by the tree...we saw another later, by the roadside, when we had to stop for Meredith to poo...All thanks to Meredith, we could see them in the wild...

Made it all the way to the 12 Apostles. They have upgraded the facilities at the site...constructed an underground tunnel for people to walk across the newl car park. But the 12 Apostles is still the good old 12 Apostles.... just mesmerizing...!


The cabin we had at the Yarra Valley, at Ferguson's Winery specifically, was new and contemporary... just too bad there was nothing in the vineyard...

Reegan looked so funny in this photo...with his silly smile...

It was such precious time with Sis and the kids...we miss her already...

We made it to the snow just before school reopened for Meredith. It was a lovely trip!

Meredith had a go on the toboggan at the resort and decided she didn't like it. A lady was observing her when Daddy and her was sliding down the slope and told us she closed her eyes throughout....well, its not for the faint hearted...

We went off and found a good spot to play...

and build our snowman!

It was actually snowing beautifully... we were so lucky! Like rain, but its snow...everywhere!

We didn't have time to do much in Adelaide, only one and a half day... We went around the suburbs, the schools... but we love how the city has the hills as the backdrop.

Hahndorf was really nothing very impressive. It's supposed to be a German settlement but its gone simply too touristy...we could not see the culture and the people there didn't speak German. I'd say Solvang, a Danish town in L.A. is a place more worthwhile to visit .


We booked a hotel in the city so that we could see how 'sleepy' Adelaide is. Fact is...its actually NOT... not in the city... and we see the different people are very well blended.

The most interesting thing we saw in the city.... well, who say you can't take your piano out into the streets???


We had two nights in the hotel room, spending some wonderful time together...think I remember Meredith was throughout rather cooperative, cos that will make it or not...sigh...anyway, I love this picture I took of the kids, fresh out of bed, sitting nicely having their brekky... toasted croissant as requested by little Miss Meredith.

On our way back home, we stopped by at Keith for lunch. And how lucky for us this place has a little train which was so fun for all to get on!

One of the places we've always wanted to visit is Adelaide. On our way there this time, we spent a night in Robe, which is 3 hours away from Adelaide. It was such peaceful little coastal town, right there by the open water.

It was a long drive... and the kids had to be kept happy. Reegan was dead serious reading his tiny little book. He really enjoys these little books, looking at the pictures and mumbling and tapping his little index finger at them, as if relating them to his personal experience.



Meredith was very kind to lend him her Gameboy... looking like a pro here, he was merely staring at some static images... nonetheless having what seemed the best times though...


The motel we checked in was everything it promised... view, rainwater as drinking water, peaceful... We missed the sunset but caught sunrise the following morning...room by the lake...

Robe meant a little more to us because it was here, at the bay, the treacherous and unpredictable bay, where the early Chinese gold diggers, determined in every sense of the word, had landed and walked on land to the goldfields... that was a very very far distance!


The morning we went exploring Robe, it was cold and very windy... of course, its right there by the open water...

We visited the old goal (jail), which had only 3 cells... of course, for this tiny little town... Not sure of the population then, but now, there are only about 1000 people living in Robe.



This is what I meant by open treacherous water. Its rough. But beautiful in its own way... very beautiful... brrr...I can still remember the constant strong and cold wind...

Robe was actually more enjoyable than Adelaide. It's such a lovely little town...

I can't believe its been such a long time since my last post...

Meredith had her long anticipated birthday party... and all her friends turned up. It was a nice time together, given it was also the last day of Term 2.

Josie ordered a beautiful birthday cake. Tom and Meredith have had several discussions together to come up with the idea of a butterfly cake. It was good Tom loves butterflies. The cake was indeed a work of art!

The kids had lots to eat...


And they certainly went wild!... cept for a lost shoe...


And Meredith was definitely spoilt! She had a whole tableful of pressies!... beautiful, wonderful pressies!


At night, we had a little celebration of our own...and Reegan was happy he could be closer to the act...


It was so wonderful... everyone had fun!