Portrait Session

At the family celebration of Sophie and Patrick's birthdays we managed to get the portraits for Granny's Gallery.  Winner!
Sophie's Tenth

Patrick's Thirteenth

And a family portrait for good measure.

Cathy's Birthday

We had the family celebration of Cathy's birthday last night. Coincidentally, the State Government declared it a public holiday so she could fully appreciate the day.

Leitchville Area

When visiting Leitchville it is almost mandatory to also visit Kow Swamp which is a de facto beach for the district.  Unfortunately the idiots in the Water Commission have removed many of the old willow trees that grew around the edge and held the banks.  As a result, the banks are now badly eroded.

Suicide Rock still looks the same.

 On a stormy afternoon we watched local thunderstorms cross the district.

Family History Trail

While in Leitchville we visited the Heritage Garden acknowledging the district pioneers.  Claire's heritage is evident on both her father's and her mother's side.

 Patrick and Bessie Kervin arrived in area in 1909 as farmers and William and Ruby Nelson arrived in 1919.

William Nelson was a carpenter and he brought a wooden house up from Bendigo and built it in the town.  To our delight we found it had been recently renovated and we got to see inside.

The house had been well renovated although the internal layout had been modified but the original floorboards and much of the timber and the chimney were original.

William Nelson was called on as a carpenter to help build the Horfield Church which has just closed.

Visiting Leitchville

While in the area, we took the opportunity to visit the township of Leitchville that had been so much a part of Claire's younger days.  The town has been in decline for a while but we were pleased to see signs of life with new shops and a neat and tidy appearance to the place.

The new Bakery is becoming well known in the area for their excellent bread, cakes and coffee.  We had to sample.

The Butcher shop has been refurbished and is now operating.  The drapery, an odds and ends shop operated by Roma Dye, is still in business.

Claire had the chance to see the old Cheese Factory (now closed) where she worked in the office for a number of years before moving to Melbourne.

The town has installed a Heritage Garden with plaques naming the pioneers of the district.

Glenda's Birthday

Claire's cousin Glenda was having her 70th on Tuesday last so we took the van up to Cohuna to help her celebrate.  We took up a site on the Gunbower Creek.

Another of Claire's cousins, Valerie had come up from Yinnar in Gippsland to join the celebrations at the local restaurant on Tuesday evening.  We took the opportunity to tour the area and see the changes that had occurred over the years.

Netball - Ebony

Ebony had a good day with her team today. They were faster and more accurate and although one of the team was injured, their "fill in" was a member of the Victorian Team and was amazing.

Netball - Holly

It was a tough day at the Office for Holly and her team today. The opposition was a significantly taller group so our girls had to work hard.

Lachy's Lesson

Lachlan is really enjoying his swimming lessons.  The real problem arises getting him out of the pool after the lesson.

Sophie's Turning Ten

It is not her birthday yet but Sophie had her party early.  Sophie enjoys her sport so the party was never going to be one where the girls sat around.  They were all a little excited to have it in a Sports Centre with the attraction being Bubble Soccer.

After arrival there was some instruction on the rules of the games and then they were into a Netball-Basketball hybrid.

That was followed by Bubble Soccer

Once the girls were totally exhausted, the serious business of party food consumption followed.

Followed by the Cake to end a very successful afternoon.