Big day here ....

wow ... its been a big day! Emra went off to Grade 1 ... 2 down, 1 to go - LOL! She was so excited, and was totally happy to be there starting her new journey. I however, did shed a tear! I am an emotional mummy .... she's my little friend, i will be sad that she won't be around! Don't get me wrong, i am totally excited for her and know she is SO ready and will grow, learn so much! It will be a different year for me, just having Gianna at home .....

Have had a fun few days ... they seem to blur a bit sometimes! I have some photos to share. We had friends over for a bbq on sat night - i don't know if you all had one of these growing up ... but these were all the rage when i was a kid. My girls just love it, and I scored our one from mum ... so we are bring back the pineapple. Ours is a bit more colourful than when we were growing up ....

one of our friends bought his little puppy over yesterday. She is so cute, and just wanted to play with our dog - full on! Yani was so good with her, as she was seriously just jumping on yani to whole time ... was so cute! the girls loved her of course.

and of course, Emra the big school girl ... i am so proud.

For any of the Y2R girls checking in, i got my box of goodies today. Totally love the new book Heidi has put out called "Just for Looks" its really cool ... very inspirational.

Finally ... Card # 4 for emily's challenge - i have to be honest, i am in love with this .... its cute, its fun and its quick ... sometimes, time is of the essence - i know you'll know what I mean :-)

i am off to bed, i am off for a 10km run in the morning ... onwards to my goal!

playing ...

i have been playing on my tidy, super organised scrapbooking desk. I love emily's challenge for scrapbooking cards each week, and i have started it myself. so here are my first 3 weeks.

week 1 - what am i proud of?

week 2 - what is powerful to me

week 3 - i am ....

its a great challenge, as they are small so its a quick and easy to keep on top of it. I have put the front and back under each other (i'm sure you get the idea)

hot hot hot ....
its humid and hot here in brisvegas .... we have resorted to putting the air con on (usually we get great breezes in the afternoon as we are up high, but at the moment the breeze is hot)

the girls have been enjoying swimming in the pool and had friends over yesterday ... they were swimming all morning, it certainly makes everyone sleep well. Can't believe the holidays are almost over. I think going away for

2 weeks has made it go so much faster. I am getting all the books etc organised, and things for emra who is off to grade 1 ... oh my, i can't believe it!

as promised, now i have another camera cable ... i will show you some of the highlights from our trip.

us in melbourne ...

at the aquarium, gianna freaking out about the world's largest crab (as you do - freaky)

Blair and Gary playing wii

the aquarium was awesome!




one of our day trips in Melbourne - wikid scenery!

on the road trip ....

lunch at the Dish ... cool place! It is where they got the transmission of the first men walking on the moon - very interesting stuff!

the dish moved about while we were there ....

the Dubbo Zoo was truely the best part of the trip for me. It was so much fun riding around past the animals ... i just loved every part of it! How cute does Gianna look on this baby giraffe? And I was stoked with getting this shot of the lion yawning ... they are amazing animals!

this last shot was from our last nights accomodation, where they had deer on site for the kids to feed. It was such a great distraction, Ems especially was out there for hours looking after them all ... she's going to be a wildlife warrior she tells us!

so i am off to take these kids for a swim .... cleaned up my scrapbook desk, so glad to have that done, it was a nightmare. looking forward to scrapbooking later ... yay! enjoy your weekend!

its hours later, and have to report that I went for a run ... (have to go to mapmyrun to check the distance) but I felt a million times better than I have been - HORRAY! I think its because I've been running first thing in the morning, and i haven't had enough fuel, so the energy just hasn't been there. I was so stoked today .... there is light - YAY! have a great night :-)

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY!!!!! we have a holiday here today!

MY GOAL .....

just quickly as I'm so pushed for time ... had to share my LO for the big picture class with Heidi. this months art challenge was to scrapbook our goal, so here is my interpretation! i love it! I finished it last night, and couldn't upload it as i left my camera cable in Melbourne - hello! So did a deal with Gary this morning and he whipped down the road and got me a new one - thx babe!

I have to thank Kathy who took my photos for me ... thanks luv, you did a great job. Didn't realise the photoshoot would be so tiring - LOL!

went for a 10km run this morning too ... still very hard work, and hot hot hot - so glad i did it now tho! Kathy and I ran into each other, both hot and sweaty ... funny!

gotta go ...

monday night ....
its hot ... and humid! I am going to go jump in the pool and refresh! i love having a pool .... i mean really love it!
had a great day, started with a mini sleep in, then hotcakes for breaky .. yum!
picked up sis and headed to Ikea with the girls, that place is MASSIVE. i mean ... full on, HUGE! anyway, after 3 hours and being completely over it by the end ... we got some cool storage stuff, and other bits and pieces. I am on a bit of a mission at the moment, trying to organise the girls rooms, my scrapbook desk and other areas that keep catching my eye!
Then because i am blessed to have sisters that are hairdressers, i had a haircut - i went shorter. I love having my hair cut, feels like a new start ... so good. actually the whole family got hair cuts, poor Sheridan had her work cut out for her today!!! ! :-)
I got my new DT pack ... so excited about that, some super cool stuff in there. I am hating not being able to photograph it and show you (hoping my cable arrives in the mail tomorrow - fingers crossed)
ok ... am going to have that swim now!

gr0wing up fast ....

our littlest girl went into a big bed tonight ... how cute is she? She looks so little in the big bed .... and she was so excellent - she called out to me a couple of times, but did not get off and has gone off to sleep .... i am so proud of her. All of a sudden she is turning into a little girl ... amazing. When we were in Melbourne she ditched the night nappy too ... well by accident, Gary was supposed to put one on her and forgot (hello) and in the morning she was dry ... so there you go that was it. Its amazing how quickly your children grow up ...... you have to appreciate each day and make the most of it, and they change so much and grow up so fast. Oh, i am obvioulsy having a moment ... maybe its the realisation of Ems going to grade 1 too ... oh, i am so hopeless on the first day ... i'm the pathetic mother who can't stop crying .... have that to look forward to as well! LOL!

Had a full on busy day today ... changed the girls rooms around a bit, oh man ... what a full on - maj0r job that is. Put Em's bed into Gianna's room, changed clothes around ... cleaned out rubbish ...

Crammed a run into the picture .... still suffering a bit, and it was hot hot hot .... hard work, as your heartrate is much more elevated in the heat. I know next week will start getting better. I am going to get myself a book that has been recommended to me ... so am looking forward to that!

Am looking forward to this week ... have heaps to do to get ready for school going back, and getting Ems ready .... i know its going to be a busy one. enjoy it .....

home sweet home ....
we are back in brisvegas .... oh its nice to be home (and even nicer because i busted my butt before we left to get the house completely clean - oh i am loving that i did that!!!!!)
we had such a ball.
It was a fabulous holiday. I have heaps of cool pics, bummer is tho, i left the cable for my camera in melbourne - hello! so you will have to wait a bit for them .... be patient with me!
what an adventure our little family embarked on.
I loved it so much, i didn't want it to end. Gary booked all the accomodation, so it was interesting turning up to see what we were staying in. To be fair he did a great job ... good one babe! The first night I have to say was the best because the girls had their own room .... the following two nights we were in one big communal room - yes, just let your mind imagine the 5 of us in one room. It was funny .... the first night we are lying on our bed in the dark trying to let everyone get to sleep .... i ended up just going to sleep as the dark just got too much - LOL!
we went to the Dubbo Zoo ... you ride around on push bikes, i had Gianna and Emra in a trailer behind my one, and Gary had a Katya on a half wheeler behind him, it was probably the highlight of the trip for me .... so much fun - i can't wait to show you some pics.
We did alot of driving, and I really realise the state of the drought in our country. Out back Australia is so brown and the animals have so little to eat - it was totally devestating seeing it. I am praying to God even moreso for rain now ... it really hit home to me.
I learnt alot about myself on this trip too - i have come home with some new plans for myself ... i am excited. I will share a couple with you ... i get stressed out when i am out for dinner (or lunch) with my kids ... i think i feel as if they should behave perfectly and if anything goes on i just get uptight. i don't know why? but i am going to work on chilling out ... it was good cause obviously we ate out heaps and i was able to ease up and analyse why i feel this way. I guess we all have things to work on, and this is one for me. I mean our girls are really good girls too, so its not like i have ferral children running around the place ... anyway, i am making progress and this trip has helped heaps.
Also ... in case you didn't know, i love the internet. I just think its a wonderful thing being able to connect with people all over the world. However, i do tend to waste alot of time i have realised. So now I am saving my blogging and emailing to after the kids are in bed ... this will allow me to be alot more productive thru the day and not get so distracted (you can kill alot of time surfing the net - LOL!)
Another is that i really am not very fit at the moment. I went for a run this morning - Armidale where we were staying in right on top of a hill ... this didn't help. i ran downhill for like 10 mins, of course I had to run back up that horrible hill - like 2kms of hill i'm talking about ... not good! i am determined tho ... so that is lucky (best not think about the lack of fitness at this point :-) )
so that is just a few things ... there are others too ... i feel more connected with myself and my family which is invaluable!
so ..... had to blog and tell you all about it. and I am happy to report its 9pm and I started my goal off on the right foot ... yay for me!
can't wait to scrapbook again ... i am getting withdrawls - LOL! have a fab weekend!

on we go ....
shortly we are heading out of melbourne, on our adventure home. I am really looking forward to this road trip - going to new places, seeing new things .... gary has booked accomodation at the towns we will be staying in (fingers crossed they are styley - LOL!) it feels like we've been here for ages. I guess in my normal life i am always fitting as much into a day, so don't have extra time to just fill in .... i would be scrapbooking - hA! its great when one week feels like a month tho - lOL!
we will do our new years goals on the way home too. Every year in the first week or so, we sit down and map out what our individual, marriage, family and business goals are for the year - i love it as its so challenging - and makes you want to fire into the year. so i am looking forward to a few hearty chats.
Have to share that my 2nd run yesterday was VERY tough. I got bad stitch and my body was NOT happy - it was only 6.5kms .. i know i'll look back at that tho and laugh (hopefully - yikes) rest day today, let the body recover.
ok ... i have to go get sorted. have a great week ... i know i will be! :-)
p.s. i found my word for the year "ENJOY" in this cool shop - handwritten in timber letters - very cool will show you when i get back. i was elated!

~MARATHON~
OK .... have to share my new goal. I am going to run the Gold Coast Marathon in July this year .... i have only decided this today, and have butterflies typing this now ... but that is good, i want you to know so I have made this commitment firmly! It is also adding to my goal for Y2R class with Heidi, so i will be scrapbooking this goal when i get home .... i am already looking forward to doing that.
have just returned from my first run of the journey - and i will share that i do admit i have some work to do ... but that is cool, i am up for the challenge! so expect to hear about this journey as i take it - hope you are having a fabulous weekend - i am
over and out ....

bells beach ... surfing legend!

still rocking on here in melbourne. jumped in the car yesterday and went adventuring down the coast ... headed to bells beach, the famous surf beach .... its a very ruggered coast line and all the surfers out had long steamers on - the water obviously "freezing" (not my ideal surfing conditions i can confess - we used to windsurf in nz in the winter in those type of conditions and your hands and feet would go numb - hello, i just couldn't do it now that my blood has thinned to QLD way of life - ok call me a softie ... i admit i am)





so anyway, it was cool to be there and see the spot ... even tho the surf was small.





We went to the Surf Museum too, which was very interesting. gary and i loved checking it all out. the girls tried out the paddling and surf stance machines ...





last night we had a birthday cake for jessie's birthday before they went to nz today. seriously this is the best ice-cream cake i have ever seen ... of course it was from Trampoline and was amazing. I feel off my detox wagon and caved in for some last night ... it was incredible. just as well they don't have a shop in brisvegas .... yet! Good news tho, today we went for breaky at Malling Rd and I had the healthiest breaky there .... so never fear i am back on the detox track today. i am finding it easier as the weeks are going on. we are having a break at the mo while gianna is having her nap, then we are heading out again this afternoon - maybe to the aquarium!

funky city ....

hello from funky melbourne .... i love this city! it is awesome!

we are staying with our good friends who live here, and we always have so much fun together. Our girls love each other and play so well together .... its a tonne of fun! they also have wii - such a fun game ... my arm is actually sore after all the tennis matches - LOL! also they have sing star .... yes, its been tragic! man we are bad!

we have been into the city, went for ice-creams at this cool ice-cream shop called trampoline - wikid ice-cream. Went into the Crown Casino building hoping to see the christmas display, but they were just dismantling it ... it looked very cool.

yesterday we went on Puffing billy (a train ride an hour north) which was a hoot (sorry had to do that) the kids loved it. it was very hot yesterday, and again today .... we stopped at Lakeside and had lunch, went on the paddle bikes - oh my, what a leg work out they are! Obviously my fitness needs some work - LOL! cringing getting back on my bike after such a break!

We are chilling today, everyone is a bit tired .... good to vege out and enjoy the lack of routine. Have some more cool things planned ... holidays are the best!

getting organised ....

the past 48 hours have been FULL ON! for some reason I just couldn't move myself this week .... i felt like i wasted SO much time, and I did ... i guess you have to do that from time to time ... however, i paid the price FULLY on friday, when Gary's birthday was thrown in the mix too ... so ever since I've been going full tilt trying to get all my stuff done.

its all good tho, my house is spotless, most of my work is under control, the girls are feed and clean, church today was inspiring .......made me totally think hard about myself and I love that.

Went to a surprise party last night for a friend, don't you love surprise parties, her face was in total shock ... too funny!

i haven't had time to scrapbook, but i will share this little gift i made back in dec for a friend for her birthday .... (oh, i can't remember now if i have already posted these pics or not .....)

super hot female ...

this is my theme song for the Year to Remember class, I am taking with Heidi Swapp. I went a bought the CD today - Gwen Stefani (i don't know why I didn't get it sooner, it totally rocks ... she has a new one out so will be getting that too)

the class started officially yesterday, so much fun ... its gonna be great. This is my journal for the journey ahead ...

ALSO, my word for Ali's challenge is ..... E N J O Y! as its part of my mantra .... "enjoy the journey"
have so much to do today ... i have to run, its Gary's birthday ... we have friends coming for dinner to celebrate and I have to go cook ... chocolate brownie going in the oven now.... have to pack away christmas tree too ... ok i so don't have time to blog ... bye bye now!

how funny is this ....

i saw it on another blog ~ so of course because i'm on holiday and I have nothing better to do than check which celebrities I look like (hello) ... thought I would post the results.

ok ... am going to do something constructive now ... like reading a magazine - LOL!

Finished this LO last night too .....

rainy day ....

today i woke to really heavy rain, such a nice sound ... it doesn't happen very often ... we are on water restrictions here, so any rain is such a blessing. Made for a vege out kinda day tho ... i have been so slack with being on holidays ... its like, because I don't have to be anywhere, i am totally struggling to get myself moving ... completely unlike me, i am usually so "on the go". I don't feel very productive tho, as unless i have a list on the go, i seem to flounder!

Did get out late this afternoon, did the mail and ended up at the shops. Needed a new calender and opted for this cool family planner, where everyone has their own days. Its totally bad going to the shops with all the sales on tho, the girls all got new sunglasses - hello, its not even sunny today!!!!! will post a pic tomorrow, so damn cute tho!

Emra got a surprise gift of PINK rollerblades, a friend dropped by ... it was cute seeing them help each other along, she is going to need a bit of practise .... that will keep her busy, she is our energiser bunny, so needs a bit of wearing out! LOL!

Have to share, this is a christmas gift I got from one of my best friends. She put my mantra on the side of it ... so great! I love it! and to be even more spoilt it had all these cute little scrapbook things inside .... what a wonderful gift!!!!!

glasses, luggage and art ....

the girls were supposed to go see Happy Feet today with one of my good friends, however it sold out right as we were getting the tickets ... so maybe tomorrow. I had a few things to do at the shops anyhow, Gary's birthday is this week and it always stresses me out being right after christmas and new years .... so i have learnt to get organised so its all really good and I have great gifts. I guess I hit a wall after all the christmas shopping .... i am onto it this year tho! I had a few BIG finds on the way tho - LOL! I have this fav homewares store called Earthborn, so while passing by I spotted these cute glasses, so they were an instant purchase. While at the register I spotted the cool canvas (featured - its a large canvas, it doesn't look like it by the pic) I loved the bright pink - and frangapani's are such summer flowers ... we have a real "summer" house and it will look so cool downstairs .... then we go to Target to actually get one of the gifts, and they have all this cool kids luggage 30% off ...

we do travel alot, so I'm thinking the girls will really use them .... so they are all pulling their new bags around Target, can you imagine it was like a road train going around the place, luckily we didn't take anyone out in the process .... LOL! it was quiet a sight!

I have finally replaced the ink in my printer, and therefore could go scrapbook while Gi was having her sleep. thought I'd better start with christmas day .... ok, better get think about what we are going to have for dinner .... any ideas anyone??????? LOL!

Happy New Year 2007

Yahoo .... a whole new year, i love the start of a new year ... its so exciting - the promise of good times ahead - the chance to better myself as a person in every aspect of my life. Make new goals and plans for myself and my family ... i love that!

We had a wonderful night ... it was such good fun

. Great friends, awesome food (a 3 course dinner .... sensational) the kids had such a ball, they did bubbles, swam in the pool, lit sparklers, popped party poppers, played with rocket balloons ..... they were awesome. They had a countdown at 9pm (NZ countdown time of course)

then went off to bed, so the parents could play "SING STAR" .... oh i am in love with that game! It was seriously hilirious .... if you haven't played before, it rates how good or bad you sing, then tells you what type of singer you are, like an amatuer, a lead singer, tone deaf ....

we were belting them out .... i am NOT a good singer, but i was just going for it .... just lost in the moment. You actually feel like you are a rockstar. ... the photos tell a bit of the story! LOL! Needless to say we didn't get to bed till 3am .... we couldn't stop singing. So only about 3 hours sleep was banked before the kids woke ..... oh why do we do that to ourselves? You know what it was so worth it tho, i just had a the BEST time.
I am really looking forward to embracing 2007 and "ENJOYING THE JOURNEY"

(now i need to go get some sleep .... )