behind the lens

This is the reason I never feature on the blog...

We are great tour guides to Granny and Grampa this long weekend and I spend most of my time behind the lens.  I want to capture the moment for them and get some good shots of the boys with their grandparents as a lasting memory of this special time.  We have a beautiful city to show off and the weather is playing its part.  It is still very much summer here.  Yesterday we swam in the warm ocean at Trigg beach, we are walking along the river at sunset and Rob and I have the treat of being able to go for a run together at sunrise. 

Today is an extra holiday for us as Australia remembers all those who have died in service to the country on 26 April each year.  The Anzac Day holiday was pushed out to today and commemorates the many soldiers who have risked their lives in war.  Russell took part in the dawn service and laid wreaths on the tombs along with his cub pack.  Fortunately, he slept over in the scout hall so we didn't have to be up at five to get him to the parade.  He was exhausted but felt very special for taking part.  He loves cubs and is steadily working out a plan to earn as many badges as possible.  The herb garden is part of his gardening badge, he is taking great care of Griet to earn a pet care badge and he has already earned his faith and sports badges.  During the summer holidays Russell took part in a national competition to grow the biggest sunflower from a single seed.  His flower was the 9th biggest in Western Australia and he proudly earned his landcare badge.

Anyway, now back to my camera for some more scenic memories...

the love of a grandparent

There is nothing quite like it.  A granny and grampa can give love like no other.  Hugo is relishing every opportunity to have a story read by Grampa or a back tickle from Granny.  Russell is eager to wake them up in the morning and just have them near.  Adam is telling Granny all kinds of stories and making endless crafts and cards for them.  It's wild here with a full house but also lovely to have extra hands to hold the book or hug the boy.  The time is passing quickly and while I have sneaked off to blog, the boys are outside with their grandparents making me a herb garden.  I am VERY pleased!

It is such a pleasure to be able to share a bit of our lives with Viv and John and it makes us quite sad that it won't last for long...

Storytime with John

Back tickles with Viv

We just have to enjoy every day.

happy easter

We have really had a wonderful celebration of Easter today.  It all started with a wild race around the garden in search of the many treats that the bunny had left for our three boys. 

Our Easter Church service was wonderful and uplifting - a true celebration of the risen King.  Our friends, Jacek and Jenny came over for a drink and we were joined by Liezl and Jaco and their girls.  It is always a treat to share a meal with the Breytenbachs and today was no exception.  Rob was chef extraordinaire as he braaied a beautiful leg of lamb in the Weber to perfection.

We all ate and drank our full and relaxed in each other's company for the afternoon.

Lots of wine, chocolate, comfort food and good friends.  What more could we want?

Happy Easter to everyone around the world!

touch down

Our very first visitors have arrived and the excitement has been unprecedented!  Granny Viv and Grampa John are here from Somerset West for a month's visit.  All three boys look very smart in new winter pajamas made lovingly by their granny even though it is still far too hot to wear them.



PJ Boys




Grampa John



Granny Viv

It is great seeing the folks again and quite surreal that they are here in Perth.  We have already enjoyed catching up on all the news and are planning to get them out to show off our beautiful city over the Easter weekend. 

The wooden floors have been laid in the living areas and Rob and I are in our new bedroom.  We have worked very hard to get to an acceptable level of living to accommodate guests and plan on enjoying some restful days now.

If all else fails, we can always put a paint brush in Grampa's hand and put him to work while Granny cooks dinner!

child labour

I know this is illegal, but I couldn't resist putting them to work.  They managed to share the paint equally between the doors and their bodies and had so much fun being part of the project. 

Yesterday was another full day of painting.  Today we are tired and sore but will have to just keep going.  Tomorrow is the big day when the floors and carpets get installed so we need to do as much as we can.  Our bedroom is almost complete and the next few days will be a big clean up of all the dusty furniture, windows and cupboards to make a comfortable place for Granny Viv and Grampa John's arrival.

Our friends have been so awesome to us.  Yesterday the boys were taken to a movie and then later out to play at Heathcote and on for dinner.  A meal was delivered and tonight we have been invited out for dinner.  There is constant traffic in the work zone as friends drop by with carrot cake, brownies or beer to cheer us on.  Some have even taken the paint brush and done their bit! 

Even though I have felt overwhelmed at times with how much we have bitten off, the time alone painting with Rob has been really good.  We have laughed and chatted and enjoyed being still in each other's company.  That has been the only therapeutic part of painting for me!

resurrection dance

Let this be your Easter.

Go to Up to Faith to see how the whole world will be dancing on Sunday 24 April to celebrate Eternal life!  Wow!

gingerbread man

Hugo has been learning all the old fairy tales at school this term and he has latched on to The Gingerbread Man with great fervor.  He loves the story and wants it read to him often.  I think the appeal is that he is such a great runner and spends most of his free time pretending that he is running a race.  He talks to his imaginary opponents and fires off the imaginary gun and takes great strides to the other side of wherever he happens to be at the time.  Great arguments break out between him and the losers as he affirms his winning position.  It is all very entertaining and done with beautiful grace and style.  I hold out great hope for an athlete in the future.

I feel a bit like that gingerbread man at the moment.  I am running from one job to the next in the final stages of phase one of our big renovation.  At least I put all my energy to good use on Sunday and joined 2000 other runners to compete in the Asics 10km Bridges Fun Run.  It was a beautiful route which hugged the Swan River and included two of the great bridges that take the traffic into the city.  It was, of course, quite flat but an icy wind blew us around for most of the course.  I was very pleased to finish in 54 minutes and felt really good afterwards.

The sun is rising later and the mornings are quite cool now which also means it is that much more difficult to get out for the early morning run.  I am setting my sights on a 14km race at the end of May and then perhaps a half marathon to give me some goals to get through the winter chill. 

For now it is just running between tradesmen, choosing light fittings and doors, stocking up on paint and measuring for carpets. 

Run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!

ensuite garage

Yes, we have one.  It's a new trend in Perth that we have started.  We have just broken through from the master bedroom to the garage and this is what it looks like...

master bedroom

Rob's parents arrive in less than two weeks and this is our bedroom!  The garage will eventually be our walk-in dressing room and study.  I keep thinking the mess can't possibly get worse.  We must have turned the corner by now, and then it does.  It just gets worse!  Yesterday I arrived home to a wet saw slicing through the only three walls left in our lounge to make way for the new doors/windows that have arrived.  Red mud was sliding down the walls as if they were bleeding from their wounds and dust filled the cavity where one day I may have a couch. 

If it wasn't for the overriding emotion of excitement for what I know will be an awesome end result, I would be weeping. 

Despite the never ending chaos of home, we forge on to the many rugby practises, karate training, kiddie sports, speech therapy, play dates, swimming lessons, cubs, grocery shopping and errands.  We gather around the oasis of our kitchen bench top and pull together meals amidst the rubble.  I compete for noise from the drills with my smoothie machine.  The boys are quite used to going to school and work with dust on their trousers and bags. 

We have been reminded of how important it is to have a sanctuary for down time; a place to put your feet up and relax; a place to unwind from your world.  It has not been easy living without the basic comfort of a couch or a clean space to push a toy car.  While Rob and I can fully appreciate why we have taken on a project of this size and hold out for the finish line, the children don't always get it.  And yet, they have really managed well.  There have been days of frustration at not being able to invite friends home, or not being able to find something, or not having my full attention while I am painting yet another door frame.  But on the whole they have coped really well.

On our way to one of his many activities, Russell and I past a beautiful house proudly displaying a SOLD sign and he looked longingly at the freshly painted walls and landscaped garden and innocently said:  "Remind me again why we don't just buy houses like this one."  At that moment of sheer exhaustion, I couldn't really muster up a good enough answer so I just blamed the inner builder in Rob and said I wasn't sure.

This too shall pass.

wave punching

What a way to start the weekend!  We were all down at the beach for sunrise on Saturday morning for Russell's annual beach karate class.  They trained in the soft sand and then fought a real battle with the waves.  I loved taking photos and watching the light change.  Rob and Adam swam and Hugo ran races along the beach.  It really was beautiful and put us all in good spirits for the hard working weekend that lay ahead.  We spent most of Saturday and Sunday painting ceilings and walls in the living areas.  The house is taking shape at last.