Au Revoir dad :(

Yesterday we said goodbye to Dad at the airport. The same terminal that we'd waited excitedly at two weeks ago was now shadowed by a  big grey cloud as we waved goodbye for another 7 months. Fin was distraught which left most of us in tears, one of the first emotional goodbyes of many no doubt.

In our attempt to restore normality and inject some sunshine back into our day we headed to the city for the Japan Festival where the kids had their faces painted and tried their hand at origami. Then us girls made our way to the shops for a bit of retail therapy. The beauty of having such little choice in Perth is knowing the shops that you do like will have something that fits/looks good, meaning trips to the mall are quick, easy and bearable for shopaphobic husbands. A quick whip around to Sportsgirl, Portmans and Witchery and I'd bagged a pair of black skinnies, a bag, top and undies....all in 45 mins. A personal record...

Glad you arrived home safely dad. Thanks for a lovely couple of weeks. We love and miss you and are counting the days till Christmas!

xxxxxxxx

Goodbye dinner at Swan Brewery...yum

Rotto

Our second trip to Rotto was every bit as good as the first. The boat ride across was a little bouncy but didn't produce the kind of vomit-inducing feelings I experienced on the last trip home. Mum and dad had a great time and everyone had a bash at snorkelling, enjoyed a pie or two and a few beers by the water.

The only fiasco was the bike hire. Jumpy gears, weak pedals and a couple of heavy kids in a trailer do not bode well for good temperaments, especially in 30 degree heat, as we soon discovered when trying to reach Parker Point in the afternoon. In the end we decided to shun our ambitious plan and settled for a little swim in a glorious spot south of the island.

Next stop Margaret River.

Sunshine happy people

This morning was spent at Kings Park with Kees, Emma, Charlie Pancake and their lovely friends. Once we'd managed to barge our way onto the communal BBQ's, Dan cooked up a mid morning feast and we lazed around on the shady green eating and drinking...our favourite past-time of late :)

Entertainment came in the form of Kees being attacked by the kids and a nearby wedding ceremony which was sadly tainted by the roar of the local bus and the dodgy bridesmaids dresses (which could have only been selected whilst the bride was under the influence). The kids spent most of it running, shouting and having fun which was lovely to see. They are so free and easy here, a major plus point in the campaign to stay.

This arvo we headed to Bluewater in Applecross - one of the many millionaire's lairs in Perth and packed to the brim with huge mansions overlooking the water. Kiddie entertainment came in the form of a huge pirate ship transformed into a play area that provided the perfect base for games of tag, hide n seek and stuck in the mud. The kids were smitten. We all were. Another great find for the family Green to re-visit again methinks.

I have a very important decision to make this week but tomorrow we're off to Rottnest so I shall put all life-changing thoughts on hold until Monday. There's pies to be eaten and snorkelling to be had! Roll on Sunday...




Bay & Mimm hang out





Jumping on Kees...again





injury number 1.





making grass heads





Heath Ledger memorial





Head chef ;)



The arrival of Mr and Mrs T.

What a weekend...

The fun kicked off on Friday when Kees, Emma and Chris came over for a BBQ extravaganza. Dan knocked up a great spread and we sat in the garden till the early hours drinking bubbles and beer. It was so nice to see our dear friends, we've missed them greatly and are glad to have them back in our lives for the next month or so.

Saturday was spent cleaning, swimming and shopping (whilst nursing a rather inconvenient hangover which wasn't quite the plan, but inevitable really...) before mum and dad's early arvo arrival today. The 5'oclock hair of the dog with Lynda and John helped ease our pain, but an early night was still required to help banish those heavy heads.

I have to say it was a strange experience standing in front of the arrival doors at Perth International. We have always been the ones coming through those doors following a rather tiresome flight, so to be waiting there with baited breath for my darling parents to arrive was a poignant moment in this big life changing move. Needless to say the customs officials were hot on the job today and they were through just 20 minutes after landing. It was lovely to have a big hug and welcome them into our lives again. We dropped the cases off and headed to Cottesloe for a late arvo swim and some fish n chips at sunset. Rob (Dad's friend) was straight in the water with the snorkelling gear, Dan, mum, Fin and I tackled the waves (and attempted a surf - albeit unsuccessfully) whilst dad sat on the beach with Meggie Monster listening to her stories about nursery, Ollie's latest adventures and her new imaginary horse, Boobies...

So I sign off tonight with a happy heart. It's going to be a great couple of weeks :)

Cottesloe sunset

The arrival of nanny and grandad :)

Us with Charlie Pancake...hello Danny love!!!!!

It's been a while...

What a week! Blogging intentions have been sadly over-shadowed by lots of busy activities, along with the big house move which always takes longer than anticipated. Thankfully it went well and we are now the proud occupiers of 76 Forrest Street - a gorgeous little house near Hyde Park and North Perth that has an office and a little sun room that we've made into a snug for movies, Xbox sessions and chit chats over a coffee or vino. There's also aircon (sigh...), a lemon tree, olive tree and enough grapes to feed a small army.

We feel calmer here, the house has a nice atmosphere and makes a great base for getting to the city, beach or shops. There's even a little deli at the end of the road which does a mean brekkie - great for those mornings when weetabix and a green tea simply don't cut it. More to the point, we have lots of space for mum and dad's pending arrival this sunday so we can all live together in harmony without stepping on toes, witnessing midnight rushes to the loo and so on and so forth.

It's a happy place.



The snug - great for perfecting those MJ moves



Kids catwalk...



Life in boxes...



Ahhhhhhh.....a roll top



On the move

Well here we are again, packing up boxes and preparing for yet another move - this time to a house on Forrest Street near Hyde Park. We like the house, we like the area. The only downside is that it's another short lease (4 months) which means we'll be on our merry (or not so merry) way again come August. I simply got sick of looking/thinking/dreaming about houses so at least this will give us a bit of a break and equip us the space we need for the arrival of lovely parents in a week's time.

Alas, the little house is stuffed with boxes at the moment which we need to fill, remove and unpack within 24 hours. To add to this rather mammoth task, I also have two poorly kids on my hands who spent the majority of the night vomiting. Currently trying the dry toast and water theory in hope it will quickly restore good health so I can ship them off to Nana Meg's and get stuck in.

Wish me luck...

Progressive dinner

Saturday eve involved a trip to school for the annual (and much anticipated) progressive dinner. In a nutshell, you are put together with a group of 28 other parents and given a team colour, then you stroll, by torchlight around the streets to your designated house for starter, then onto another house for dinner and so on and so forth. Since our space is limited we decided not to host and donated a dish to the cause instead (borsch) which thankfully we didn't have to eat ourselves.

We got to know our blue team members over pea and bacon soup and a plethora of pretty yummy curries, pies and rice dishes, before heading over to Storthes street for desert extravaganza. We were quite possibly the only non-loaded couple at the event but that didn't stop us keeping up appearances. I personally think we did a grand job of blending in, though the conversation (mostly swimming pools, luxury holidays and all of the latest reno's) did become a tad tiresome towards the end. This selfie was taken in posh toilette at house number two and pretty much reflects my mood at that point in the eve. Rescue came in the form of a delicious sparkling NZ rose which went down a treat, providing just the right amount of intoxication for the rest of the eve. 

Sunday morn we were up at the crack of dawn for a charity breakfast at Swan Yacht Club in aid of the Yvonne Baker Foundation. The event involved a live and silent auction, raffle and a guest appearance by the local monk who told some interesting stories. D and I were delighted with our three raffle wins (round of golf, family rollerskating pass, free swimming) though the parking fine we received on exit kind of balanced it all out. Bloody parking inspectors....don't you just loathe them?

On the house front we will know today if the house we have applied for is ours. I was given the evil stare by a couple who left the agency as I came in but we have upped the game by offering a little extra in rent per month. Who will win is anyone's guess but I am secretly hoping the agent liked me (I gave her advice about her son - surely that counts for something?) and will hand the keys over this week, if only so I can stop thinking about damned houses for a while....

Fingers, toes and everything firmly crossed!

Sculptures by the sea

We spent one gorgeous afternoon at Cottesloe yesterday to explore a series of sculptures. There was a big red gollom-esque plastic man, sticks (like the game), floating balloons, dotty solar powered wind turbine and stacks of other amazing - if a little mind-boggling - creations.

The kids all had a swim, we sat in the warm sun and had an early fish and chips tea from the Cottesloe Kiosk (yummy food but more staff needed for speeeeeed). Fin also mastered the waves with his make-shift surfboard and was shooting from sea to shore with excitable vigour. Next step is to buy an actual surf board but with autumn looming I fear we may need to buy a set of wetsuits too. Feeling the cold is simply not done in this part of the world - even in winter!

Tea haven

I love tea, I love teapots, I love babushka dolls and colourful things...so imagine my delight when I stumbled upon a shop that had all four last Thursday. Said shop goes by the name of T2 and despite it's location (middle of soul-less shopping centre) it had a great atmosphere, was packed to the brim with like-minded tea lovers with the most amazing array of porcelain I've ever seen.

Much to my delight, I also got to sample several flavoursome teas from around the world (the rooibos and honeybush tisanes a definite fave) and get a few colourful snaps in the process. Am looking forward to a return visit soon but will make a note to leave kids with friends. Sky high stacked teapots and active children do not make a good mix....

Check out the full range online.

The monthly dinner...Green style

Last night was the fourth of our much-looked forward to monthly dinners and this time it was our turn to whizz up some culinary delights for our little group of friends. Dan , masterchef that he be took control of the kitchen and produced some scrumptious food - Borsch for starter (thank you Lena!), Beef stroganoff for main and a quick pavlova for desert.

The food went down a treat and a good time was had by all. The only person missing was De Burgh...but he's having a grand old time in Queensland, so that's ok...