Big Night Out

Granny and Pa had a little bonding time while Mum and Dad had a little "me" time.  The photo is a reasonable summary of the evening.

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Kate's Birthday

Although it is a day or two late, we had the family celebration of Kate's Birthday last night.

The celebration gave us the opportunity to test the new dining arrangements which worked well but will be that much better when the new table arrives.

After the meal and the cake we moved outside to watch the official celebration of this momentous event.

Weekend Camp

The boys have just had a fun weekend camp in the bush.  We took the gear up to the Loch Valley and did an overnighter.   First on the agenda was the establishment of a fire.  Adam takes this all very seriously believes that huge is good when it comes to fires.

Justin, being the fishing master, gave the boys a lesson in the gentle art of hook baiting,

and it was not long before the lines were in the little stream that ran along side the campsite.

James followed instructions carefully and drifted his hook as Justin had suggested and in a few minutes there was a yell from the stream and James had bagged his first wild trout!

Pat tried a bit of damper roasting on a stick.  He was not particularly keen on the end result.

After a very short night, it was bacon and eggs on the open fire for breakfast.

 Pat decided to try his luck with the line too.  This time there was a surprise result as he pulled in a spectacular (and aggressive) yabbie.

We shared the location with a number of friends from the insect fraternity.  Pat's forehead demonstrates that they clearly enjoyed his company even if the feeling was not mutual.

Floors Done

We have finally seen the last of the carpet taken up and the floors polished.  Now comes the fun part of painting the skirting boards etc.  Oh joy!

Big Day Out

It was a good day yesterday (finally).  The decision was made to go to Frankston to see the sand sculptures.  Clay and Levi came along for the ride

While Jack was having the Spiderman paint applied, Cooper decided to go on the Carousel.

 Then on to the ferry across the bay on the ferry to Queenscliff.

Where time was spent on  the beach.

Then home via Maccas (of course).

Summer???

I checked my calendar - yes, it is Summer.  Yesterday was the coldest summer day for years and it is raining again this morning.  We had a call from tenants yesterday about a heating problem,  They had their heater on too!

Summer

The mornings can get a little noisy around this time of the year with all the Lorikeets in the trees (and they act like kids that have had too many red icy poles).

Developing Skills

Granny and Pa have been delighted to watch the developing skills of the younger members of the clan.  Sophie has a new bike that she brought over to show us.  It has all the special features that a girl needs like the right colours, baskets and a seat for the bubbas.

After their holiday, Jack and Cooper also brought their bikes.  Jack has lost his training wheels and now shoots along without assistance. Cooper is also much more confident.  Granny and Pa need to have their skates on to keep up.

Inchleys Visit

Graeme and Rhondda came to stay for a few days after the New Year celebrations.  We spent some time solving the world's problems (and some video production problems) over a G&T or three.

  

Rhondda spent a day in the garden with Claire and collected some samples for relocation to Cedar Brush Creek.

They left this morning and Claire finalised the weeding program she had started before Christmas.

New Year in Ballarat

This year, the advent of the New Year was celebrated in Ballarat.  We checked in to the magnificent Craig's Royal Hotel which was built during the Gold Rush and has been completely refurbished.

There were very pleasant little eateries in the Hotel to keep us sustained.

And we saw in the New year at Red Peppa Restaurant (excellent)

and on the balcony of the hotel.

New Year's Day we spent at Sovereign Hill Folk Museum -

and in the evening we had dinner at the Museum and watched the spectacular Sound and Light show.  Well worth a visit!