The Cubby House

This year for Xmas we decided (after much hmm-ing and hah-ing) to build the boys a custom-built-Mommy-and-Daddy-designed Cubby House. In retrospect, I think we should have started much earlier in the year.

Frankly, neither Paul nor I realised how much work we'd be in for. And as much as the boys now love their new fun house, I know that they were getting really fed up the week before Xmas when Paul and I were spending all of our non-sleeping hours painting and sawing and drilling and chiseling and pretty much ignoring the two boys that we were working so hard to please with our handiwork.

Karma had a great big belly laugh when the scorching temperatures on Xmas and the days that followed made it hazardous for the boys to play on it.

But now, weeks later, when we're finally nearly entirely finished with all the last little details of our project, I'd be lying if I said that we weren't so proud and delighted with the way the Cubby House has turned out and how much the boys love it. (They even eat in it!) Have a look:

Christmas at our house

Paul and I thought that we were awfully clever to volunteer to host Xmas at our house this year. Sure, our offer was at least partly altruistic. Yvonne and Keith have had a lot on their plates since getting back from their holiday in the States, and besides, they deserved a year off from being the lovely xmas hosts. But I've got to admit that a small portion of our benevolence stemmed from the fact that we thought that this year's guest list was going to be quite a bit shorter than the usual contingent.

And then EVERYONE decided that they could come only at different times and we ended up hosting our usual Xmas Eve gathering as well as TWO meals on Xmas day. And you know what? It was really a whole lot of FUN.

Paul's new addiction: The Millennium Trilogy

Ollie jumped on his rocking horse from Gran and Grandad
 and immediately started chanting "Giddyup, giddyup, go go go!"
like he's spent his life in the saddle.

David, Yvonne and Keith being festive!

Ollie insisted on the shades to open his presents.

My little sous chef!

Elliot loved helping unwrap presents especially Daddy's big camping kitchen.

Still with the sunglasses!

Elliot when unwrapping his Toy Story Game: "I love it, I love it!! It's my very favourite!"
Nacho running around with his new squawking bear toy: "I love it, I love it!!! Wag. Wag. Pant. Slurp.

El was a super Santa's Little Helper this year, handing out the presents,
assisting with unwrapping, and showing the utmost enthusiasm for everyone's gifts.

El hamming it up with the gorgeous froggy slap watch
that Rebeka and Rhiannon bought for him in Thailand.

This is the face of a really happy wife when her awesome husband
surprises her with a brand new laptop. The days of waiting 15 minutes
for my computer to start up and connect to the internet  are OVER!!!!
"I love it. I love it. It's my favourite!!!!!"

Daycare Xmas Pageant

Holy cow! I was counting down the days and busting at the seams to watch my boys perform in their first Xmas Pageant at daycare.

And all the more so, when I caught Elliot practising his dance moves one day: crossing his arms in front of him, putting them on his hips, doing a wee pelvic thrust and all. So I say to him sort of jokingly, "Elliot, are you doing the time warp?" And then he surprises me and says, "YES!" And I say, "No, really." and quickly thumb through my CDs to find the song. I hit play and pretty soon the whole family (ok, not really Ollie, but the rest of us) were Time Warping around the family room. I was in ecstasy!!

Elliot did a great job. Only we couldn't really see him  . . . 

. . . hiding in the back row behind his best friend Hugo.

And dear Ollie suffered a bit of stage fright. He wouldn't step a foot on stage
without Daddy and then stared deer-in-the -headlights-like out at the audience
until the very end when we gave him and his baby buddies an enthusiastic round of applause!

The boys were even timid in front of S. C. Ollie wouldn't go near him without me . . .

. . . and Elliot insisted that I tell the big guy what he wanted for Xmas: a little bit scary movie.

Cookies with the kids

How great it was to have all the kids over to make Xmas cookies and exchange Xmas pressies!

  

Another Awesome Albany Weekend

There is something about Albany that just makes me happy. And that's why I keep buying these Scoopons for a weekend escape to our favourite little two bedroom apartment right next door to the jumping pillow at the Emu Beach Holiday Park. It's such an easy laid-back little escape for such a bargain of a price that I just can't help myself.

The boys were champs the whole 4.5 hour drive down as they watched back-to-back DVDs and then ran around the maze and playground like hooligans at our awesome half-way stopping spot. And as soon as we pulled into the holiday park, the boys couldn't get out of the car fast enough to begin bouncing on the jumping pillow and digging in the sand that surrounded it. This is where they would spend every spare moment of the weekend.

And when we could pull them away from the pillow and playground, we took rides along the beach to the Squid Shack for the best squid rings ever, dug castles in the sand and explored a sand bar and all the thousands of miniature little crabs and other wildlife that we discovered there.

Paul and I took advantage of the free botttle of wine and DVD rentals (and the boys crashing out early from jumping pillow induced exhaustion) for a couple of cuddly movie nights.

In fact, if it weren't for the boys waking up at 5.30 each morning and Ollie deciding he absolutely could not sit in his carseat for one minute more and screaming his head off for the final twenty minutes of the drive home, it would have been an altogether perfect little family getaway.

Motor Skills Achievements

Our little monkeys both learned major new things this weekend, and we couldn't be more excited.

Elliot has mastered the two-handed catch, and Oliver has worked out how to do a two-footed jump. And we had so much fun watching them show off their new skills in the front yard today.

Elliot and I played catch with the footie, and Ollie was making big jumps off of our front porch. The fact that both of them were naked from the waist down made it that much cuter.

Rebeka and Rhiannon Graduate!!!

How lucky I was to get to stand in for Yvonne and Keith and attend Rebeka and Rhiannon's graduation. We're just so proud of those two young ladies. Not only have they graduated with flying colours, but then they decided to volunteer in Thailand with a group of friends as their graduation trip. What cool nieces we have, and we can't wait to see what they'll end up doing over the next ten years or so. Big CONGRATS to you R & R!!! We love you heaps!!!

Happy Snaps

AQWA

The weather has been wild and wet this spring and early summer which means we've had to spend more time inside than any of us would like. Last week when a storm forced us to change our plans for a day at the zoo, we decided to venture to the far north of the city and visit AQWA, Perth's aquarium, for the very first time. What a very good decision that turned out to be!

The boys got to watch an octopus change colour, wonder at a massive tank full of ethereal jelly fish, touch and poke starfish and sea cucumbers, and get to know sea snakes, lion fish, rock fish, blue-ringed octopus and the other deadly creatures that reside in Western Australia's ocean.

But the best thing of all about AQWA is a massive tank full of sharks, sea turtles, and eagle rays (nearly two meters across!!!). But this isn't any run-of-the-mill fish tank. This one actually has a moving walkway that goes through it so that there are friendly and mostly not-so-friendly sea creatures in every direction you look. The boys loved it!!! (but it wasn't so easy to photograph so you'll have to take my word)