70

my mum is 70 next month.
i have been racking my brain for months to try and think of something special to give her. she has all the things she needs and i wanted it to be personal. i was stuck so i threw it out to the knitting girls and my ever talented creative friend came up the idea of a photo book. i had remembered reading about a blogger that did one for a family member and at about 11pm last night i found the post on it and then tracked down the company blurb that a friend from work used for her wedding book (her husband is a graphic designer and he was really happy with them). so thank you to Nic for starting me on this project i am looking forward to it , but of course in my true style i have left it to the last minute .... a photo book with photos from her life, and then comments, thoughts, memories from the special family and friends in her life.
if you have any thoughts, ideas, suggestions i would love to hear from you.

playing again

this time, outside in the garden.... hours and hours of fun and mess and mud and wet clothes and holes as big as wombat holes and spider hunts and mud and mud and laughter......

bringing the outside in

after spending a few days in the garden i am feeling inspired again by it and realised that i do have some lovely plants.
so I'm bringing the outside in and enjoying a little bit of spring at our table.

play

a different weekend than normal. our lodge was full at the snow on Friday night so we stayed in Bright. i love Bright, if i had to move to the country it would be here. we arrived mid afternoon and sat in the sun while the boys played in the park. we had a great weekend skiing, skiing both days. on Sunday afternoon one of Hugo's class mates was coming up for a few days so we caught up with them late Sunday afternoon and played in the snow !!! the boys had fun on the toboggans and enjoyed just playing in the snow. normally after skiing all day they are exhausted and will spend a little time at the front of the lodge throwing snowballs, building igloos but we haven't done the toboggan thing i actually hate them and think they are incredibly dangerous....) but the kids had fun, and it was good to see.

afternoon fun

ginger men, as they are called in our house... freshly baked and warm from the oven for afternoon tea.

finished

a quiet morning's painting, finished off this afternoon. now we just need to find a place to hang them.

day 3

day 3 of the holidays
a quiet morning painting.

2 new friends

for a long time Hugo has asked to go to Build a Bear. I'm not sure if someone at school had been, but last holidays when he walked past the shop he really wanted to go. i held off for as long as i could but when we were talking about the holidays on the weekend this was the only thing that he wanted to do... so off we went. i wont be rushing back as it was ultra expensive when you add the clothes on top of the bear itself but for a once off treat i guess it was OK. the line was huge and the wait was longer than the process itself but the conversations and role play and the cuddles the boys have given their new friends that has happened since we have been home has made it worthwhile.

our garden

after a couple of days of weeding, my garden is starting to look like a garden again, rather than an overgrown jungle.
the boys and i spent most of today outside weeding and playing. a quick trip to the nursery late this afternoon and i ended up with many more plants than i thought thanks to two very enthusiastic helpers.
when we got home, Hugo was very excited to start planting.... "you have to squeeze the pot, then tap it on the bot bot then you dig a hole and put the plant in and cover it up."

on-the-go art satchel

my boys use their on-the-go art satchels all the time. when we travel in the car to Mt Hotham and in the lodge they are really handy for drawings, notes and putting treasures. one of Hugo's friends and her family are coming away with us for the weekend so i thought she might need one as well.

spending time

a week of catching up, exercise, playing with Arch and Hugo, shopping and chilling out.
this morning Arch and i had a coffee together at Koko Black - yum !!

at home

i love being at home. today i went for a run while arch was at kinder. once home we spent the day cooking.... biscuits for afternoon tea, stewed Rhubarb for my breakfast, Thai green curry for the weekend and pumpkin soup for dinner.
this morning Hugo and i started playing a new card game from the makers of Uno called Skip-BO. he loved it and we played all afternoon as the temperature dropped, the rain fell and we lit the fire and sat and played till dinner time.

slowly

day 2 of my holidays and today was all about slowing down.
this morning the boys and i walked to school in the beautiful spring sunshine. we stopped to pick dandelions, we stopped to look at a native plant in a garden we passed that Hugo would like to add into our garden. we took the time to walk together and smile.
when we got to school Hugo was very excited to show us his plant that he planted last week with his buddy. (its a myrtle wattle and he is incredibly proud of his plant, checking it each day)
once dropping Hugo at school Arch and i wandered back home via the playground.
a great start to the day

sunday

another great weekend in the snow.... the best snow conditions i have skied on all season :: all runs open, perfect snow and lots of fast hard runs.
Sunday morning Hugo, John and I skied together... a few blue and black runs to warm up with on heavenly valley and then over to Mary's slide and Cole's bowl. these 2 runs are extreme.. double black diamonds and there was my 6 year old skiing them !!!! crazy but fun

what have we created

who knows what these two will end up doing in the world of snow but at the moment they are ripping it up and full of confidence