An exciting month of visitors

The first week of the school holidays arrived and with it came some very special visitors from Sydney, the O'Dowds.  Unfortunately Leigh got way-laid for a couple of days as she came up separately from the others, but she got here in the end! 

The boys were absolutely beside themselves with excitement that the girls and Uncle John were sleeping over, and were mesmerised by their gymnastics skills and high energy fun.  John even demonstrated a couple of somersaults on the trampoline (wish I got a picture of that!).  Katie even found time to give James a makeover (note the hairdo below) which made James feel quite special.  James is a tough nut to crack but Katie seemed to have the golden touch with him.

 Liam and Chloe having a smile-off.

 Dad kindly volunteered to cook a roast beef dinner with all the trimmings for the entire family.  It was a great night.  Here Kerrie models some fabulous shoes purchased on a shopping trip with Mum and Leigh ...

 ... while Leigh  rummages in her new handbag which matches Kerrie's shoes quite nicely!

 It's not often Zane and I have our picture taken together and this one is not all that good, but it's all we have so ...

 The Warren girls.

 All of us!  Ready for the papps.

 The kids having a bit of quiet time after a very busy afternoon.

In the last week before Mum and Dad went home we went up to the Sunshine Coast for the day.  We stopped off at Caloundra and had a paddle on the beach.  After all the rain in Brisbane it was lovely to get the sand between our toes and enjoy a bit of sunshine.

Dad and James demonstrating good beach safety - paddling between the flags.

 How's the serenity.

 A nice one of Mum and Dad.

 After Dad went home it was just Mum, me and the boys.  We had a great week together.  One day we went to the park and the boys enthusiastically demonstrated their climbing skills for Grandma...

 ... followed by an impromptu picnic.

 We are in full "preparation for baby" mode here and one of our strategies was to give the boys a baby each to look after.  Liam's baby is a girl called Darcey and James has a baby boy called Max.  They have been giving the babies lots of loving (some of it quite vigorous).  Liam decided to toilet train Darcey - isn't she clever.  He's given up on James who won't sit still for more than three seconds!

Grandma Ann stayed a few days before heading off to NZ for Brent and Penny's wedding and while she was here she helped Liam make a bed for baby Darcey.  Note the soldiers and dinosaurs standing sentry along the top of the bed to keep intruders away and the army-tanker style firing arm on the side.

More sillies

With two solid weeks of rain, rain, rain we had a lot of sillies that needed to be shaken out (anyone who watches Yo Gabba Gabba will know what I'm talking about). Many different methods were employed to exterminate the offending sillies ...


Superhero hat firmly in place...

 ... otherwise known as pyjama pants....

 Time to shake the sillies out!

 Anyone in need of a pirate or a sheriff?

Gardening project

We had a wonderful visit from Mum and Dad recently.  It was great to catch up with them and spend time pottering around the new house together.  One of our first projects was ripping out some of the hedges that seemed to be everywhere in the back yard, which left some lovely garden beds just ripe for planting a kitchen garden.  Grandad and Liam took charge of that project and (despite James's best efforts to sabotage their efforts) they did a fantastic job.  We now have sunflowers, bok choy, lettuce, spring onions, radishes, carrots, chilli plants, tomatoes and a herb corner - most grown from seeds! 

Dad and Liam planting the seeds and watering them in

 No garden is complete without a Buzz Lightyear gardening kit.

 Digging in the dirt ... it doesn't get much better than this.

 Here's one that James squashed earlier.

 All that work requires a spot of morning tea and a bit of silliness.

 Grandma was always on hand for tricky manouvres!



Exploring

There have been lots of new places to explore since moving into our new home.  The torches have been pulled out for thorough investigations of under-the-stairs cupboards, behind garden beds and all sorts of new nooks and crannies.  The house has been thoroughly checked and fumigated of monsters and ghosts so we can all sleep peacefully at night!

We have also been enjoying exploring the local neighbourhood.  Oh what bliss it is living on a flat, level street.  Whilst living at the top of a hill had its benefits, at least now I don't have to worry about the boys screaming down the hill on their bikes at 100km per hour to meet a grisly fate at the bottom of the hill!

Here we are preparing for another adventure in the streets of Wilston.