Sunday Catchup

It was decided that we would catch up with Pete and Jill on Sunday before Graeme and Rhondda had to fly home.  It was all working well until Pete realised he had to be in Geelong for a function at that time.  We decided to proceed without him.

 Kelly and Ian brought Matthew along to be introduced and we also caught up with Craig and Michelle and the boys.

Terry Inducted Into His 70s

Terry had his formal 70th birthday celebration today.  Julie and Peter hosted the party and the family arrived from all over Australia.  Brenton was MC

We all lined up for a pic with the old boy - then we realised we were all old boys!

Covers Are Off

We saw the new pool with the covers off today.  No wonder the tilers took so long to finish the job.  It is a bit larger than your average bathroom

Rhondda and Terry's Birthdays

We had a great night at Bucatini's Restaurant to celebrate a double birthday with Terry reaching a venerable 70.

As there were only 4 candles on the cake they managed sufficient draft between them to extinguish the flames.

Cranbourne Botanic Gardens

Graeme and Rhondda are down for a few days for Rhondda's birthday.  Today we visited the Botanic Gardens at Cranbourne with some of their Melbourne relatives.  The place is fantastic.  Amazing landscapes and structures have been established and there is interest at every turn.

We liked the structures that were set in the landscape to represent a variety of arid environments in Australia.

There were river beds, salt pans, heathland and rocky landscapes, all within easy walking distance.  Well worth the visit and the lunch was not bad either!

Jets Back on the Runway

The Jets met Blackburn yesterday.  They are a very strong club with three teams in the competition and the Jets met the "A" team.  They proved a bit too strong for our boys. James worked hard as a forward getting up close and personal with the opposition.

Adam is trying his hand in a variety of roles.  This week he did not step back fast enough and became the runner for the match.

And Granny kept a close eye on the play.

New Basketball Season Starts

Yesterday we saw Patrick in action with his new Basketball team for the new season.  The team is highly ranked but there are a number of new players.  Grading occurs over the next few weeks so we did not know what to expect.  It turned out there was no need to worry!

The boys did well all over the court and came home winners 25 to 2.  A bonus for Pat is that his best mate Fletch is also in the team.

The Yard Evolves

After a lot of messing about the pad for the new van is now in place and the garden surrounding it has been planted out by the Senior Resident Horticulturist.

Who would have thought that preparation of a flat surface would require so much time and effort!
Another little garden eyesore has also been camoflaged.  We have covered a drain beside the drive so it can act as a pot plant stand.  A big improvement from our perspective.

Big Win for the Jets

James had his first official match against Vermont with his new football team, the Heathmont Jets today.  And a very satisfactory day it was.  James has proved himself a handy player in the forward pocket and he played there all match.

They had played, and beaten, Vermont in a practice match last week and this week they went on to prove it was no fluke beating Vermont 12 goals 5 (77) to 5goals 3 (33).  James made a real nuisance of himself to Vermont, grabbing the ball tackling and feeding other players.  He also goaled himself.

James is not afraid to throw himself into the action!.

Adam also made his debut today as an official Boundary Umpire.  He looked the part -

and performed with distinction.  He was ready for a lie down at the end of the match!

James' Birthday - RampIt

James decided to invite his friends to a scooter/skateboard barn for his birthday.

The format seemed to work well.  The boys spent 80% of the time socialising and chatting, another 10% of the time eating and a little time on their scooters.

James came away with quite a haul of presents.  He probably will not need to buy any Footy Cards for the rest of the year.

Construction Continues

We are starting to see the shape of things to come as pool construction continues.  The rendering and tiling is now underway with much of the actual pool completed and the tiles are looking spectacular.  Work is continuing on the "spillway".  The cover protects the work from excessive heat and rain.  We are currently getting both!

Lachlan's Family Party

Lachlan had a big day.  He had some of his playgroup friends for a party during the day and the family party in the evening. Proceedings kicked off with a grand present opening in front of an appreciative audience.

And once you get these things, you have to work out how to handle them.

We had a great meal prepared, in part, by the Barbeque Wizard himself.

Then Lachlan had another opportunity to blow out his birthday candles.  He had thoroughly enjoyed the day.

Lachlan's Birthday

Lachlan had his friends come over today to celebrate his birthday.  He has no trouble opening presents these days.

Current favourite is the Spiderman outfit.

Lisa is really getting into it.  This time it was a Lego cake!

Welcome Matthew

Last Saturday Kellie gave birth to Matthew Ian who gave his mother much less trouble than his brother Ben.  He was 50 cm and 3.8 kg.  We visited them last night but Matthew was not very interested.

Congratulations to Kellie and Ian but Peter seems to be taking a lot of the credit.

Cooper Shops for Presents

Yesterday was Birthday Shopping Day for Cooper.  He had a couple of things in mind and quickly got into the swing of spending money.  It only took about 20 minutes to gather the required items and then head for home to show them off.

 Lachlan was very interested in some of the items.  It will not be long before he will take up the shopping challenge

James' Second Practice Match

The Jets had their second practice match on Sunday.  They met Vermont who have the reputation of being the best in the league and who the Jets play in the first round next week.
The boys started slowly but momentum built as the coach experimented with positions on the field.

James started on the wing against one of the best of the Vermont team and he managed to get a point early. Later in the game he was moved forward and he scored a goal and another point helping his team come home winners 9 goals 8 (62) to Vermont 6 goals 5 (41).  The team has started to work together and this was a real morale booster for the start of the season.

The fans were happy!

 James played a great game

Cooper Hosts a Party

Cooper had his friends over on Saturday to celebrate his birthday.  The party had a dinosaur theme and many presents reflected the theme

Lisa had gone wild on the cake and constructed a scene from Jurassic Park! So Cooper had a good day.