koalas and penguins and pelicans, oh my!!

we had a special guests from canada for 10 days in september which lead to a VERY crazy period of time as her visit also coincided with school holidays!

amg, the kids, shannon, buddy and i headed down to philip island for a couple of days to see the sights!  there was obvious excitement from everyone, including buddy - he had no idea what was going on but was superbly excited to be away with the family for a couple of days!  we settled in our cabin in cowes which was a short walk to the beach and all the amenities :)  and then the visiting started...  we headed out on a coastal walk to see/explore some caves, went to the koala sanctuary, watched the penguins come in at dusk, saw the pelicans and other shorebirds, ate fish & chips and had a lovely time away together.  amg and i headed back to melbourne a bit earlier so that we were rested and able to head out to the great ocean road on friday where we had some delicious chocolate and cheese and then on saturday we headed off on a winery tour!  sunday involved a day of much needed rest and then it was back to work from shannon and i!  i needed another holiday after my holiday :)

in addition to our whirlwind of activity, we hosted christmas in july at our place two weeks after acquiring buddy!  the turkey was delicious and it was really nice to spend time with the family!  it's a tradition i quite enjoy :) we've had a number of parties including my longest friend in australia (and her twin sister) celebrating their 30th birthday, some citizenship parties, puppy school and other puppy fun, acting in a video for work and other delightful adventures! 

hugs to everyone who's reading!

s

p.s.  i must confess that i had no idea how time consuming training a puppy was going to be!  he's lovely and keeps us in giggles, generally :)  one of my favourite stories - he went out to have a pee one night except the neighbours were outside and being loud.  he got stage fright and decided to come in and do it on the carpet instead! 

to the snow and beyond....

we had the kids for the first week of school holidays (and the first week of july) and i had the delightful idea to head up to the snow!! :)  we borrowed a one bedroom hut from a friend from work and spent a couple of nights in mount beauty, just near falls creek.  we worked our way up to the exciting activities...  on monday, we visited a local hydro power station and played tennis.  the kids were enthralled... not!! on tuesday, we went salmon fishing and each of the kids caught a fish (isaac's was 1.5kgs while hannah's was 2.0kgs)!  they were both pretty excited about their catch and shannon and i had salmon steaks for dinner that night :)  on wednesday, we headed up the mountain to the snow.  whilst there was very little snow to be seen at the bottom, there was a bit more at the top of the mountain.  we spent the afternoon having snow fights, making a snowman and tobogganing on plastic bags down the hill...  we had quite a number of curious onlookers about our choice of toboggans!! :)

other than our week away, shannon and i did our first band photo shoot (for a friend and his band)...  it was a lot of fun and there were some pretty good photos from the afternoon!  we went up to hannah's ballet/dance recital and celebrated our birthdays with the kids whilst i auditioned for a french play!  unfortunately, i didn't get the part but it was still a great experience ;) otherwise, we've had a pretty low-key month with a couple of dinners and drinks with friends!

i hope everyone's enjoying their july!

hugs,
s

p.s.  i'm not sure how but over the school holidays, we also acquired a spoodle puppy who's name is buddy!!  we were just going to visit the pet store (which we do regularly) while shopping for christmas in july presents and somehow, we ended up coming home with an adorable bundle of trouble. hours of enjoyment ahead for shannon and i as we train him!! 

  

weekends were such a fabulous invention :)

shannon and i headed down to rosebud to stay with friends at a holiday house in early may.  we had a lovely time catching up with friends on saturday and sunday before starting our journey back to melbourne via both cheese and wine shops :)  we both love a particular blue cheese at red hill. (http://www.redhillcheese.com.au/main.html)  it's a gorgeous place to visit and eat cheese on an afternoon! 

closer to home, we spent a gorgeous, sunny day hiking at a nearby bird sanctuary, headed to kyabram to see shannon's mom and dad for mother's day, celebrated a few birthdays and housewarmings and i attended my first ever clothing swap!  i can home with a dress, a top AND a pair of pants!!  i've also hosted a couple of photography shoots and gone down to phillip island to plant 520 grasses to regenerate vegetation and built penguin boxes with colleagues from the office :)  it's been a well-rounded six weeks with a lot of fun and excitement!

next week shannon and i both celebrate our birthdays (as does his grandmother who turns 96!).  i'm not sure what we're doing to celebrate but it'll likely be pretty low-key this year...

hugs to everyone who's still reading!

s

brunch and other things....

i was lucky enough to get down to wilson's prom twice in the last 6 months though my recent holiday was much less physically strenuous than the last!!  shannon and i took the kids down for a couple of days over school holidays.  while the weather wasn't perfect, we still managed to have a great time!  from my perspective, highlights include hiking to squeaky beach and watching the kids 'accidentally' get soaked in the surf, arriving at the top of mt. oberon in the fog and mist only to have it pass and give us a glimpse of the bays before clouding over again and finally, being interrupted by a wombat whilst playing cards in the tent one evening!  i'm sure everyone else has their own special moments...  i'm confident that one of hannah's was getting to sleep in my cute little tent! 

we also celebrated our first year anniversary (twice)!  we had a very civilised brunch at the windsor hotel, just the two of us.  it was a really nice wedding present from shannon's aunt and uncle!  we also took the kids out for a nice pasta dinner to celebrate.  in case anyone's wondering, with our $10 present limit, i got shannon some fabulous presents!!  a ream of fsc certified, 100% post-consumer recycled office paper, a candy ring as he's lost his wedding ring and some violet crumble which is like crunchie for those unfamiliar ;)  

we've been busy with a variety of other family friendly things such as swimming at a local pool, bike riding and rock climbing.   while with the grown ups, we hosted a night at the comedy with 20 of our closest friends, we've had birthday and housewarming parties and other random nights out with friends. 

we've definitely changed seasons and i've started to notice the temperature in the mornings when i get on the bike is rarely over 10 degrees...  it'll soon be time for an extra layer and gloves!! 

i hope you're all enjoying your own personal seasonal changes!

hugs to all!
s

summer's officially over....

despite being here for nearly six years now, it still feels odd to have the seasons backwards!  that said, i'm not upset to see the back end of this summer as it's been an evil, scorching summer!

this past weekend, shannon and i headed out to noojee camping which is about 2 hours south east of melbourne for a three day city escape.  noojee is surrounded by a beautiful mountain ash forests and the smell, particularly on hot, dry days, is very unique.  over the three days, we saw all that the noojee area has to offer; an old trestle bridge dating back to the early 1900s, we hiked to see a couple of waterfalls, headed up to mt. baw baw which is a ski field in the winter and finally saw the ada tree, a giant mountain ash that's over 270 years old (http://www.visitmelbourne.com/Regions/Gippsland/Activities-and-attractions/Outdoor-activities/Walking-and-hiking/West-Gippsland/Ada-Tree.aspx).  the drive to see the ada tree was ironic as it was scarred with so many logging coupes that haven't been replanted so it was depressing and neglected looking.   

in melbourne, life's been pretty normal for the two of us!  we've had an australia day bbq, some birthday parties, random evenings out with friends and an evening at a local burlesque bar which was very titillating ;)  i've also been a bit more active with my photography group, including taking some pictures.  now i just need to find some time to post them on flickr ;) 

i also attended the sustainable living festival and participated in a plan melbourne 2050 event which allowed me to provide feedback on how to plan and develop one of my favourite cities! 

it's a been a pretty busy couple off weeks and i was surprised the other morning to find that the days are getting shorter again and we're officially heading into autumn.  i'm not sure how to slow down the hands of time as this summer feels like i blinked and it disappeared.

wishing everyone a happy spring in the northern hemisphere!

hugs,
s

summer holidays :)

between christmas and new year, shannon and i headed up to lake eildon (about 3 hours northeast of melbourne) for a couple of days to camp and relax and get back to nature.  the weather and location were perfect though it was a bit more crowded than i'd hoped!  the highlight was my first "joey" sighting or for those who don't know, i saw a baby kangaroo hop into (and out of its mom's pouch)!!  it was really amazing to watch and i must confess, i was surprised how big it was!  other fun activities included talking hubby into going for a dip in the rather cool but fresh water lake, having a nice picnic and stopping at a chocolate factory on the way back to buy yummy chocolate truffles!! 

i returned back to work for a few weeks and then we took the kids away on a surprise trip north to a camping resort near echuca
(http://www.wakiticreekresort.com.au/) where we stayed in a teepee (yes, similar to the natives in north america) for a couple of nights :)  the kids were a bit nervous about the concept of the teepee initially but they quickly warmed to the idea when they saw all the amenities and the other kids!  we spent our holidays touring around echuca, canoeing, swimming and eating heaps of marshmallows every night in front of a campfire :)  it was a lovely time away and the kids made some good friends...  our only encounter with wildlife was when we saw a redbellied black snake (http://australianmuseum.net.au/Uploads/Images/5953/Red-bellied-Black-Snake_big.jpg) in a trailer.  it had been seen sneaking into our teepee and the park owners came to remove him!!  let's just say i was happy not to find him in my sleeping bag ;)

other than fun holidays, we had a lovely christmas and a very uneventful new year's (we had the kids)!  i've been to my second wedding and attended my first funeral/memorial service in australia!  i've been busy with a number of birthday parties, a masquerade ball and generally amusing myself as best as possible! 

wishing everyone a wonderful 2013 and year of the snake!!

hugs,
s