Shayna's Gymnastics

Here are some photos from Shayna's Gymnastics Competition in October.

She looooves gymnastics!

Fun in Freo...

Fun in Freo...



Last friday we went shopping at the Freo Markets and had a delish dinner at Mad Monk's! Ah, two things I love doing...shopping and eating out - and to top it off I got to play with my new 50mm/1.8 lens. So far, i love it! Just have to keep practicing because it takes a bit to get used to the fixed lens and the focus. Click, click...

October??

Already??!! Where does the time go. I have thought on many an occasion that I should "update" or "post" SoMeThInG...anything, well, here I am and it's October.

So, what to say about October.

Well, it usually brings about thoughts of leaves and colors and cool air but I live in W.A. now, not WA so it seems odd to be "in" October and start thinking about summer. Cool afternoon sea breezes to cool the warm air, beach towels drying on the chairs, chubby little bare feet plodding (hmm, running) over the tile floor. Even though it seems like we've moved from a country of four seasons to a country of two seasons, there is still a noticeable change between all four seasons. It is spring now and in spring the kids will swim, but not always. Some days it is still too cold, most days really in my opinion, but not in my kids' opinions :) The weather is LOVELY...outside...but inside I still find it too cool. I am anticipating the warm air in the house but then alas, when those days arrive my dear hubby will come home and turn on the AC! I dislike having to be inside being chilly and doing my work when it is so lovely and warm outside. However, because it is spring, the doors are open and the breeze is blowing and it's peaceful. (oh, and the baby happens to be sleeping) :)

Life is busy, as per usual. I wouldn't want it any other way. Except of course when I have a good book to read - hmmm.

Brad is enjoying work and finding good "Life Balance" - something we've been working on together ;) We continue to feel the blessings of a job Brad enjoys and a good, stable economy to work in.

I - well, I have so many things I am doing and have so many things I would love to do and I am finding (or trying to find) the balance between them. Having a family is busy and most often rewarding. Though I am sure all mothers would agree, a lot of the time it is just busy! That's it. Busy! But I am loving it, even with the very social pre-teen, the lovely and very bouncy S.K. and her jumping, cartwheeling, handstanding friends, the boy who was scared of, but now loves, cricket AND the baby (I AM allowed to still call him that - for a LONG time yet) ;)

Now, without further ado, the house is still quiet, I haven't used up ALL my time...and so, I will add a photo or two and then I will, I must...move on to the next "task".

Holidays in Busselton - heading home again after a week at the beach during school holidays!

Shayna petting a cute little Koala at the Soccer Carnival.

Well, this one is a bit older but so cute...

Lauren V. and Justin "boogie boarding" on the dunes in Dongara.

and...some more fun in Dongara on the beach!

Ah, 2 of my sweethearts!

xx K.

Shayna...

Here's our "Little Red" - 9 years old and still as wonderful as ever :)

Braden...

Braden Levi - Five Years Old



Braden is pretty photogenic and is an easy one to take photos of because he loves to pose for me...well, for five or ten minutes and then his patience is up. He'd rather go to the park and play soccer or footy :) which we did after for half an hour. I plan to take pictures of the girls as well (soon) so stay tuned for that :)

Justin - Almost One!

Had a bit of fun outside yesterday afternoon with Justin!



Autum has arrived...the colours are beautiful, the air is crisp and cool (in the morning anyway), the ground is green once again and the breeze stirs the high golden leaves from the tree to the ground. I love this time of year! The ground crunches as we walk along our way.

(click on the picture to enlarge) :)

More April

Okay...it's not always just about Justin :)

Here's a little of what the "rest of us" have been up to:

Gotta love Mr.Whippy :)

We were just finishing unpacking from our camping weekend in Dongara and so we thought maybe we deserved an icecream when we heard the music playing down our street. Yum!

I'll try to post some pictures of our camping trip (forgot to take my camera so I'm waiting on friends). Dongara is about 4 hrs North of Perth...great place to be for beaches, surfing, boogie boarding (in the waves or down the dunes) and relaxing. We had a fantastic time!

Braden celebrated his 5th Birthday on April 20

Hooray for a strong & healthy, happy & loving 5 year old boy!

We are blessed!

A lovely family dinner out in Freo. Can't believe there was one nice one of the two of us...Elyssa just looooooves having her photo taken :}

April

Hmmm...what's been keeping me busy this month...

And so...as a result:

Oh boy...do we LOVE him!! :)

March

So, our company has left and life is back to "routine". For so much of life, routine is good...but to have a break once in a while is even better! We loved having our house full and being busy sightseeing and holidaying. We managed to squeeze a whole lot of activity into three weeks and here are some of the highlights:

Boating on the Mandurah Canals with Graham & Marion:

Lunch and some wine tasting in Swan Valley:

The Tree-Top Walk near Albany:

Biking in Busselton:

Picnicing at King's Park in Perth:

We spent a week going down south to Bussleton and then on the Albany with mom and dad and Heidi doing some wine tasting, shopping, visiting (with John & Darlene and Helen & Wilfred) in Albany and sightseeing along the way. We loved Canal Rocks, Yallingup Beach, Table Rock and of course enjoying the beach. :)

Elyssa & Heidi near Canal Rocks and Yallingup:

At John & Darlenes :)

Lunch at Laurence Winery:

Yallingup:

So many great memories! Here's to great summer weather and family and friends to share it with! Cheers!!

2010...

Oops...I suppose it would have been better to say Happy New Year a while ago :} Sorry to those who do check out this blog once in a while...it is my intention to update much more regularly but...life is busy (...and I think I've used that line before). This is a good thing I suppose and means we're settling well here in Oz and have lots of things keeping us occupied!

Oh, how we miss you "Woods Coffee" :(

As for an update...

We are all doing well! God is good! He has blessed us with so much in the last while. We have wonderful friends, a great church life and good christian school for the kids. After our six week summer break over Christmas and New Years, the kids are back at school again. It's always sad to have holidays come to an end but I can't say I mind the peace and quiet once in a while at home during the day.

Elyssa has started at middle school which means she is up and out the house earlier than the other two. She leaves for the bus stop at about 7:30am and returns about 4pm. She seems to love the new adventure of middle school and is quite happy with having a class of about 55 kids. They've divided it into two homerooms (which I know isn't the Aussie term...but can't think of it now) :) and she is with some of her good friends so...happiness!

Shayna and Braden are back at the primary school with Braden starting 3 days a week at Pre-Primary (which is Kindergarten in N.America) and Shayna is starting year 4. They both love to go...for the learning (maybe) and for the social life :) Shayna just celebrated her 9th birthday yesterday and had lots of fun. Tomorrow she is having a combined party with a good friend of hers that has a b'day 4 days before her. They decided on a Hawaiian Monkey Party theme...for you that know Shayna...I am sure you're very surprised! Hahahaha!

Little Justin is up to no good...just kidding. He's doing great but on his way to no good as he's just starting to crawl :) It's so fun to see him growing and learning...he just loves to discover things right now. He'll touch anything that feels different or interesting and it's so fun to watch him "thinking" about things! He is growing so fast...no real surprise, he's about 21 lbs which is ??kilos and he LOVES to feed himself. Ahhhh...poor me! :)

Brad and I are doing very well...He is loving his work, which continues to be busy and "full on"! I am enjoying the great climate here and spending lots of time outdoors. We've met some great friends and are of course busy with all the things that kids bring into our lives!

We are all SUPER EXCITED about the fact that my parents and Elyssa's "bestie" Heidi are coming out to visit for 3 weeks. They'll be here next wednesday! We have lots of fun planned for them while they're here.

So...until later (which hopefully isn't toooooo long) :)

The beautiful "frangapani" from our backyard tree