More pics...

My brother-in-law sent a disc of photos from the party, lots are the same as the ones we took but there are a few different ones...

While Harvery Norman had their 9c print sale I ordered 63 prints so will have lots of scrapbooking fodder for the weeks ahead (if I can just get organised)

Wild weather...

Australia is proving on this Australia Day holiday that it is a land of extremes.

We've had blazing temperatures on one side of the country, fires here in the south and flooding rains up north.

We had just sent one brother & wife back to the West and another pair up to the floods. Home only a few days and Duncan had gone from Toowoomba to Brisbane for a gig and now is stranded in Brisbane unable to get back home.

Our thoughts are with all those battling once again with floods and storm damage as we wait down here for a few drops of rain to water our parched gardens.

Check out the sea foam in this video

http://www.facebook.com/video/embed?video_id=4877236821508

Australia Day...

Happy Australia Day everyone. Lots of celebrations going on over the weekend, we'll get a public holiday on Monday to continue the celebration of this great country. Tonight we have many more new citizens and worthy Australians awarded and lauded.




I played in the Austalia Day tennis tournament and had a lovely day playing with the girls. I teamed up with a new partner and we played really well together. We had some laughs and some success with trying out moves we have recently learned from watching the Australian Open! We are glad to see that even the champions can serve up some double faults as well and luckily we dont have to put up with the squealy grunting that goes on.

I was really surprised to see my little sister's best friend playing in our tournament today. She had come down from Ballarat to play on the grass for the first time. Her husband and 15yo also teamed up to win their grade.

It has been a really nice day.

Nana's 80th...

The weekend has gone by in a blur. Many photos were taken. People came and went from the airport. We took over the Quest motel in Narre Warren. There were more Mitchells than you could poke a stick at. Brothers and sisters were reuniting and cousins were catching up that hadn't seen each other since they were babies. Elderly people were remarking about the grownupness of children. And blind genetisists could see the strong family resemblence.



Quite a crew but still missing a couple



Grandchildren and one great grandson, again not the whole bunch

I was very proud of our offspring




The family photo I didn't get at Christmas

The trick candle tricked Mena a few times. She got very emotional when her oldest son gave his speech.

Only blues for this family

Duncan was a one man karaoke machine

 

This joker came all the way from Manchester to be at the party

It is such a shame that they are spread around Australia and for them all to be together is such a rarity. Plans are always made not to let so much time pass before it can happen again but it isn't easy and its not for a lack of desire.

Hopefully it will happen again soon.

28 years...

Happy anniversary to my darling husband. 28 years ago we stood together and said 'I will'. And we have through thick and thin, good and bad, happy and sad.

Circumstances this year means we are spending the day apart as his familys' reunion begins. Tomorrow I will join in the celebration of his Mothers' 80th birthday with a lot of family members from around Australia and one cousin from England.

No doubt many many photos to come.

keep on running...

I thought I was going to dial back my running this year but things can change.

My best present this Christmas was a Garmin GPS watch that can time your splits and replay the courses you have run. After each run I eagerly download the activity to compare and relive the experience. I am loving the Garmin. It has helped keep us on track.
We have been training for the upcoming Run 4 kids and found a twilight run around the zoo to keep us motivated in training. The 8km run is 2 laps in and around Melbourne Zoo which should be novel & interesting and another to cross off the running bucket list.

I've also compiled a folder with all my bibs and time certificates. A bit nerdy. No a lot nerdy really, but I am proud of my progress and so will be adding to the folder this year when I wasn't anticipating to. Some runs I will repeat to help Running Buddy with her goals so it looks like a long run in to the MCG is on the agenda.

I will not be doing Tough Mudder. No. No way. Not ever.

Returning to normal...

A few days back at work and holidays seem far away already. With the hot weather continuing I would rather be here, by the water, playing in the waves.

 

And this girl wants to cut her hair before she goes back to school and has been enjoying a wide variety of nail polish and spending all day in her pyjamas.

 

2 more weeks before her normal resumes.

Then & now...

During our holiday in Port Fairy I was reminded of a scrapbook page I made for Erin. The photos were taken by Big Sister during a trip to Warrnambool. She had taken Erin on a family trip with them to keep her daughter company.

Tower Hill 2002

 The accompanying story from this day straight from Erin's recount was that while they were trying to have their lunch in the picnic ground the Emus were pestering them so much that "Uncle B had to wave his hat and shout Shoo Shoo" to frighten them off. The girls were just 4 at the time.

During this adventure this pic was snapped
























so this time we asked the girls to recreate this pose on the steps, we couldn't get an emu to co-operate though and they weren't much interested in holding hands.

The view from the top is spectacular, you can look down to the volcanic crater or out to the ocean.

just like the girls did in 2002                                                                   and 2012.

 

After this trip up Tower Hill we heard that a bush fire had gone through that area, it might look a little different after that event and it might be another 10 years before we trek up that track again. 

On the run again...

One more week of holidays, just at home, being relaxed, doing a puzzle, reading another book, a bit of cleaning & ironing and back to running again.

Running Buddy & I did a mean 6k this morning before it got too hot (& too hot it was by the afternoon). We are planning our training around participating in the Run 4 the kids in March. I hadn't planned to run in it again this year but will do it for support for her. It has given us a goal and at 15kms plus hills, bridges & tunnels to contend with we will have to mix it up a bit.

I've looked back at the running I did in 2012 and at this point don't plan to do as many fun runs as I did last year but it is a fantastic way to stay on track so to speak.

2012...the year of running

 Using my Garmin Forerunner that I received for Christmas has been a fun & informative way of keeping track of lap times. I also used it on holidays just to see how far we walked on our adventures, you might see more of these

Killarney beach by unbalancedlibran at Garmin Connect - Details

Back home...

There's nothing like unpacking and repacking a tent and a few loads of washing to signal that your holiday is over. I should have taken down the Christmas tree and decorations before we went to the beach as it seems like Christmas was an eternity ago and these reminders are just work waiting to be done. The house is really dusty and as I take down the tinsel I am finding loads of dust to clean up as well. Just makes the whole process longer.

Anyway, despite the drama and worry of Big Sister's husband falling ill with what turned out to be cellulitis and septicaemia we had a good week's break. Helped along when Little Sister turned up with her youngest son for a couple of days. We were able to swim in the ocean on the really hot days, and play with Wahu balls while dodging the waves. I would love to have photos of that time but will have to content myself with the memories of that fun time.

That fun makes us forget that at times we were sweltering, or were rugging up against the cold, that we fell over on the rocks (me), burned ourselves with kettles ( Big Sis) or tripped over tent ropes and grazed an elbow (Little Sis). We also got bitten by bugs.

But this trip was memorable also for long walks, steep walks, snake sightings, rock hoppping, beach combing, ice creams, swimming, fireworks, BBQs, reading, puzzles and lot of relaxing. I didn't do some of the things I thought I would, bike riding for one, and makes me question whether I will struggle with the bikes again. Erin wasn't keen to ride, Big Sister ruled out long rides and sickness stopped other plans and then when we had 2 more bodies than bikes it didn't work out. Maybe next time.