Time at home

 

After a day out yesterday, Adam is at work and the children are happy to have some time playing at home. Sophie is very proud of the herb garden she and I planted together before Christmas and often reminds me to water it. Sophie has also been part of the 'soldier' game in the backyard today where they use the pile of crushed rock as their 'base'. Sophie has just 'invited' me to a 'party' in James' room where I have been asked to provide the lollies.

A day at the beach...

Today we visited the Tootgarook beach and enjoyed the sunshine. Sophie found her boogie board this morning and spent some time "surfing". She will sleep well tonight.

Baby William

Baby William and the family visited last night to catch up and help us make some space in our two fridges which were full of Christmas leftovers and lots of beer. The men were happy to help out and drank some beer.

Adam's new hobby

Adam has been cycling regularly for the past six months and now looks like a pro complete with lycra and clip on cycling shoes. He has a regular ride most Sunday mornings with a few friends where they complete a 50km ride from Donvale to Sassafras. Adam's cardiovascular fitness has improved and he averages a 1200 calorie burn per ride! Today's ride was a post Christmas one to pay for all the over indulgence on Christmas day. He should be very proud of his achievements.

Boxing Day

After a long awaited sleep in, we cleaned up from Christmas day, visited Granny and Pa, then the children spent some quiet time playing with their new presents (while I updated the blog).

Patrick has maintained an interest in building lego and

is alson happy to have an ipod.

James is so pleased to finally have an ipod and lots of other games and books to keep him entertained over

the holidays.

Sophie's number one gift was her ipod followed by the animal bead bracelets from Granny and Pa and a princess folding chair from Helen and Jim.

Christmas Day

We had our first Christmas at home this year. The day started with three very excited children in our bedroom at 6.30am, desperate to begin opening Santa's presents. They all received the much anticipated ipod touch and several other gifts. I then began roasting the stuffed turkey and hoping that it would be a success (my first time cooking a whole turkey). Later on, we sat down to our roast turkey, glazed ham and vegetables which was enjoyed by all.

We had a short break in the afternoon before the next celebration where my extended family came for a casual dinner of cold meat, salads and various desserts. We all enjoyed a great night inside due to the stormy weather outside where hail stones the size of golf balls fell in some parts of Melbourne.

Sophie enjoyed cuddling 'baby William' at his first Christmas.

Our pre-Christmas celebration

We spent the 23rd December with Trav, Elina and their children. It was our turn to host dinner this year and I cooked a roast turkey roll with a bacon and sage stuffing followed by pavlova and fruit. The weather had been about 36 degrees that day and felt even hotter in the kitchen after preparing the roast! The children weren't bothered by the hot weather. The boys had a water fight and then continued to run around outside until 10pm (adult males included!) until rounded up by their respective mothers and wives.

Christmas is coming!

There is a lot of excitement in our house this week about the long awaited, much anticipated Christmas day. James, Patrick and Sophie placed their Santa requests weeks ago. Surprisingly, they have all requested the same gift this year - an ipod touch. Each day in December has started with a chocolate from their Christmas calendar and frequent discussion about how many days there are until Christmas. We decorated the tree in the first week of December and the children have all been busy writing Christmas cards to their friends. Sophie has her kinder Christmas party and final 3 year old sesssion today and the boys finish school on the 22nd. We are all looking forward to a relaxing six week break spent at home without the need to 'rush'.

This year, we are spending Christmas eve and Christmas day at home. Travis and family are visiting for a Christmas Eve dinner and we will have Ian, Claire, Jean, Lisa, Justin and kids for Christmas lunch. After lunch, the adults will have some fun with the $20 gift exchange game. We are looking forward to a relaxed lunch and lots of excitement from the six children!

We are also hosting Christmas night with my extended family this year. We will have several visitors including,  my parents, brothers, sister in law, nana, great aunt, uncle, aunt, second cousins and of course 'baby William' (as referred to by Sophie) for his first Christmas. It will be great to catch up with everyone and enjoy our first Christmas at home.

Swimming lessons

Sophie has been attending swimming lessons for one year now and has made amazing progress. In term one,  I was in the pool with her in the beginners class. Since then, she has moved up two levels and can swim independently for a few metres and jumps into the deep end of the pool with confidence. One month ago, she resisted juming into the pool without assistance. Sophie really enjoys swimming and will be continuing the lessons next year.Sophie and the boys are also enrolled into a one week intensive swimming program for a week in January (even though the boys are reluctant when it come to swimming lessons, I'm sure they will have some fun in the water during the heat of January).

Sunday night

Last night, we had a family dinner at our place and enjoyed a spicy fish curry prepared by dad. The curry's aroma filled the house on his arrival and we all braced ourselves for the chilli hit. The curry was very tasty, full of flavour and enjoyed by all.

Party time

Last Saturday, the long awaited day arrived where Sophie attended a kinder friend's dress up party. Sophie decided to dress as a "fairy princess" complete with a mask she created on her own. However, in the car on our way to the party, she decided to discard the mask because she thought it "made her nose look small". I assured her that it looked great, but she was not convinced. Sophie had a great day and her favourite game was "flying paper aeroplanes and playing the feather game".

Kinder Christmas Party

Last weekend, we attended Sophie's kinder Christmas party. Sophie enjoyed having her face painted and then joined in with the dancing with her friend Scarlett. Sophie finishes 3 yo kinder next week and is looking forward to increased hours in the 4 yo group next year.

Meanwhile, the boys enjoyed playing with their sword balloons before we all met again for a lamb roast at granny and pa's.

The chickens have moved in...

Last weekend, Adam spent some time completing the improvements on the chicken coop. He has ensured that it is fox proof (we hope) and it has been painted to match other woodwork around the house. Adam reports that the chickens are now roosting in their nesting box, after a few initial nights where he had to place them in by hand. We have read that it will be about 4-5 months until we have our first egg.

Another hard day at the office...

As the chickens continue to grow quickly, work is underway on their coop. Adam spent some time today renovating the former budgie aviary for the our six chicken (yes, we still have the orginal six!). Soon, we will have plenty of eggs to share around. Hopefully, the coop will be ready over the weekend for the chickens to make the big transition as they have now outgrown their box.

Homer meets Wedding Girl

Patrick and Sophie spent some time after school with the animals enjoying the sunshine. Here you can see Patrick with Homer and Sophie with 'Wedding Girl'. The chickens are growing quickly and renovations are underway for their new and larger accommodation.  As for the guinea pigs, their 'mountain' needs some more time to establish its vegetation.

The summer crop

Adam has been busy tending to his little farm over the weekend. After a visit from our neigbours bearing homegrown raspberries and lettuce, Adam was inspired again to plant a vegetable garden. He invited the neigbours for Sunday lunch and found time before their arrival to plant some seedlings (lettuce, two types of tomatoes, chillies and strawberries). We look forward to the fresh produce this summer.

Homework award

Prior to James' recent camp, he completed a presentation about the Red Kangaroo. His teacher awarded him a certificate for his interesting and creative work. Well done James!

James also returned from camp last week. He had a great time with his friends in the cabin and then camping for one night. Highlights were the giant 21 metre swing, the flying fox and the football games with teachers and students. By the second night, James was exhausted and  fell asleep during the movie 'Tangled' (not one of his favourites). He is a very deep sleeper!

Grace Note Concert

Patrick recently received a certificate for his performance at the school Grace Note Concert. On the night, Pat performed a guitar duet with Fletcher. They confidently played 'Paint it Black' and 'Wild Thing'. A fantastic effort for two boys who began guitar lessons at the beginning of the year.

Sophie ready for ballet again

 At the start of this year, Sophie began ballet with Adara at the National Theatre in St Kilda. However, she decided it wasn't for her, not to mention the long drive to St Kilda! Last week, Sophie did a trial ballet class closer to home and loved it. Today is her second class and she couldn't wait to get dressed in her "ballet outfit" this morning. She explained to Adam that she is wearing ballet "leggings" (tights) so it is not her "real skin". So cute!! I look forward to the end as the parents are permitted inside the dance studio for the final 5 minutes to watch a performance by the miniature ballerinas. It is adorable.

On the farm meets Reid family in Brighton! (by Adam)

Well here is my first blog entry. With a family full of bloggers I am more than a little intimidated, truth be told, Kate will be chief editor for this article, and all future submissions.

Here is Kate organising the trip, far too much attention to detail required for this task than is possessed by a mere male.

Flights are now booked and paid for to Hong Kong then off to London. Can't wait!!!

First school camp

Today, we were all woken up very early by a very excited James ready for his first school camp. We have spent the last week getting all the required items and meticulously labelling each item for the three day camp at Wandin. James was so excited last night that he had difficulty getting to sleep. It was great to see James display such enthusiasm and confidence about this new experience. He will spend three days and two nights at Wandin. One night will be spent in a cabin and the other in a tent. Although, James said he would prefer to spend both nights in a tent! He certainly doesn't take after me. James has always loved being outdoors.We look forward to hearing about our big boy's adventures on Friday night.

Aussie of the Week

Today at school assembly, Patrick received an 'Aussie of the Week' award from his teacher. The award was for "being a supportive friend and displaying empathy to others". We are very proud of Patrick as he is a very caring person with genuine empathy for others, which he is obviously demostrating at school with his peers. Well done Pat!

More time with the chicks

The chicks are proving to be the most popular pets at present...

Our Saturday night...

Last night we visited the Reddy family for dinner and a swim. We were also joined by Adam's friend. Lawrence (LP) and his partner Paola. Travis cooked a lovely BBQ dinner and Elina made a Russian salad. After dinner, the kids enjoyed some time in the indoor pool. Arriving home close to midnight, we have some tired people today. On top of that, Adam left home at 7.30am this morning to join friends for a 50km bike ride to Kallista! I wish I had that much energy on a Sunday morning. Now, we are preparing for dinner guests tonight. Adam will surely enjoy his roast lamb dinner tonight.

Sophie in the kitchen

Sophie received a chef's hat and apron for her 4th birthday and was keen to put it to use. She decided to bake smartie cookies for afternoon tea. Her favourite part was "putting the smarties on". They were great and disappeared from the container very quickly!

New members to our farm family...

Well, we have decided to join the Reid family of bloggers. Am hoping this will encourage us to take more photos and also keep in touch with the Reids in Brighton.

As you may have heard, our family has expanded recently. We are now the proud owners of two guinea pigs (Homer and Marg). However, it was recently discovered by a friend that Marg is not the female guinea pig that we thought we had purchased. Marg is very likely a male. Patrick accepted this news well and is happy to keep the two males. No baby guinea pigs after all, which may be blessing as we really have our hands full at the moment.

Last weekend, Adam and the kids visited Chesterfield farm. I returned home from lunch to find six (!) baby chicks in an old chest in our gargage. Adam bought six on the basis that it is unlikely that they will all survive. We still have six chicks at present! So that takes us to a total of 10 pets now, including Rosie and Snapper (the goldfish). I can assure you that our family will not be expanding again for a while.

After school today, we decided to let our six new baby chicks (Spot Beak, White Wings, Sped, Bess, Sally and Wedding Girl) explore the outside world within the confines of a wire enclosure originally set up for the guinea pigs (Homer and Marg). The chicks loved the freedom and the kids really enjoyed interacting with the new pets. The kids can't wait to do this again today after school.