other April highlights...a month in pictures

April always starts off with Ruby's birthday. It's one of my favourite months. Not just because of the birthday celebrations, but because it's Easter, school holidays and the weather here on the Coast is usually always close on perfect. This year was no exception.

It came and went in a flash. No time for blogging, really. So I'm just diarising it in pictures; highlighting some of my favourite parts.

Easter: 

I like to chuck in a little something handmade. This year I just went with a very simple bunny template, old fabric and some ribbon. Perched on the end of a kid's bed on Easter morning with some chocolate eggs; perfection.

Still on the Easter theme: the egg hunt. Obviously best carried out in undies and an oversized jumper...

The booty. I keep this part of it pretty small as we tend to get swamped in chocolate once the extended family has arrived.

Goodness, we had some lovely weather this April. My Dad has been getting into his sailing since my parents relocated to the Coast. At Lake Cootharaba over the break we took a picnic and had some fun times with the family.

We seriously spent a lot of time on the beach. You know, we have so many people around over Christmas, but right now, they seem to just drop off. I never get it. The beaches are sublime, you can be down here for longer without frying and it's so much easier to get a park. At Christmas, you won't find me down here on this busy beach, no indeed. But right now? Everyday.

This game of finska was a Christmas present and great fun on the beach.

We took the surfboards, surf mats and PK's handcrafted surfie: something for everyone.

We were down on the beach in the morning and back again in the afternoons for some awesome surfing sessions...

Back home we made use of left over party bubbles.

There was some silliness at the local park.

We had two lots of foster kittens through April. So, so very cute! They're never popular with our cat though; she moves outside while they stay with us.

Who can resist a pile of fluffy purr-iness? Not me, that's for sure. Not the girls, either. And not even PK, although he may pretend otherwise.

Cat whiskers...just delicious.

More beach. We just couldn't get enough.

My niece came to stay and tuned out to be a super-surfer.

Long shadows and glorious sunsets. Bliss.

Hope April was good around your parts of the world, wherever that may be.

nine

Gosh.

In April my baby turned nine (I'm still catching up)

There was a chocolate fudge cake for school...

and a small party celebration at home with her two best buds.

A poodle cake for home...

Goodness. Nine. Wow.

She seems so grown up this year. Grade 4 and just blossoming all the time.

(She's so independent, this daughter of ours.)

I walk her to school but I'm not really allowed up to the classroom. That's her zone.

At home she engages herself endlessly in creative and constructive activities. 

Or I'll find her, bent into the armchair in the lounge, nose in a book.

She might be cartwheeling in the garden, or practising new tricks on the trampoline.

She'll be hanging with Smokey, on the back steps, snack in hand.

There might be a home-made activity book for me to complete.

Maybe she's collected the ripe tomatoes from the garden and put them on the bench for me

She may even have washed up, set the table and made a salad for dinner.

Every day is awesome with this little person in our lives. The laughter, the silliness, the crazy endless chatter, the hugs and love-words, the smiles and the dancing... all of it is a journey in love and life.

Happy birthday Ruby. 

You're a very special person who sees the joy in everything. May you always encourage me to do the same. xxxx

RIP Coco

Last week we lost our dear little guinea pig, Coco. I went out one morning to find her lying on one side, in the heat of the day. When I picked her up it was immediately apparent she was in a sorry way.

She felt lighter, like she'd lost a whole lot of weight. Considering we always used to call her the chubba, that was very significant. I did my vet thing and got her going with some critical care nursing. Injectable fluids, antibiotics and vitamins were all administered; to no avail. Sadly, Coco hung on for one more day, then quietly passed away while I watched on helplessly. 

I guess that's the thing with guinea pigs. They're pretty delicate little critters, and once in a state of decline, it's very hard to pull them back.

Coco was always our most placid pig. Lacking the speed and wiliness of her sister Ivy, she could always be enticed by a tidbit. She was always the pig we would give the little kids to hold as she would sit there patiently on their laps, happily munching on a piece of capsicum.

She came to us pregnant, unknown by us at the time, eventually giving birth to two very large and dead babies. I had to help her pass the second one; if I hadn't found her with the baby stuck in her birth passage early that morning, I think she would have died back then. 

We have buried her under the Tree of Love, home to our old cat Poose, who passed away about four years back. She was laid to rest last Saturday morning, with a beautiful letter in an origami boat, made with love by Ruby. We collected fresh flowers to lay on her grave.

So with two very sad little girls, we must continue on and make sure her sister Ivy is happy and well. there have been lots of cuddles and extra treats for this bereft little piggy. 

Who, I must say, seems OK on her own.

RIP Coco, much loved family pet.

and that was February.

It's the last day of February and we're one-sixth of the way through this year. Summer is at an end and as this day fades quietly away, I am reflecting on the month that was.

It's a month that's meant back to school. It's a month that has seen us parting with quite a lot of money. New uniforms. Lots of bills. Wedding outfits (not ours, our niece). New shoes, new dresses, new blazers. School camps, swimming lessons, violin lessons, tennis lessons, netball, touch football and more. Not to mention a hefty speeding fine. And just two nights ago we forked out on a snake catcher to come and remove and 2.5 metre python from the rafters of our deck.

It's been a month of busyness. School runs and helping out in classes. Work, extra-curricular stuff, a new Swiss student and the afore-mentioned wedding. Endless nit treatments and school lunch boxes. It's a month where I can't really find any lovely photos to share. Too busy getting through the day and planning for the next to stop and take a breath and appreciate what's around me. Too busy for my morning walks, a bike ride or a lap session in the local pool.

As of tomorrow, I shall aim to change all that. I plan to slow down, look around and take it easier.

Wish me luck!

I'm leaving you with a photo of PK and I from the wedding.

the long summer holidays

This has been the best type of holiday. Constant streams of family and friends passing through to share days on the beach and at home with us. The weeks post-Christmas have disappeared in a blur of brown bodies, laughter, good food, good wine and good company.

There have been late nights and lazy sleep ins with the constant whir of fans to try to counteract the oppressive mugginess of our subtropical summer.

We don't have air-con in our little beach house; just old fashioned windows to open wide.  Our trampoline and hose have been getting a good work out on these hottest of days.

With the girls heading back to school tomorrow, I've put a few happy snaps together; just for me to look back on. To make me smile and remember all the fun stuff.

Late, late afternoon post tennis dip in the river with my Mum, sister and kids. There's nothing quite like a wallow after some strenuous sweaty activity!

Beautiful paper bags decorated by two crafty and gorgeous little girls.

A pop-up craft stall in our driveway on a Saturday morning. Featuring these beautiful thumbprint art cards.

Three best buddies...friends for ever.

The hit of the summer has been these retro style surf mats which have been in use almost every day, often twice a day. Gosh, we've all had a blast on these!

This place underwent a makeover, so the girls and I did a country detour on or way to Brisbane for an organic juice and delicious chocolately brownie. Well, that's what they had. Coffee for me...

First ever Pop-Up Adoption by the RSPCA was a resounding success. It was great to see some of our long term Noosa residents find their forever homes. Check out Facebook here for some feel-good stories.

I always love to hang at GOMA with the girls in the holidays. So much to see and do. Actually most of our time is spent eating; in between sticker-ing.

Sometimes I gotta catch the art while the kids have some escalator fun! Not many escalators in our little pocket of the world.

Enoggera Reservoir just opened up for swimming. This is just over the back fence from my sister's place and seriously one of the highlights of our Brisbane trip.

o

Oh, and this little kid just melts my heart. Jack is growing up!

Ruby's giving me a manicure.

Those freckles...xxx

Hope your holidays were all that you needed.

What have you been up to?

Woodgate

Before Christmas and right after school finished, we snuck away for a week of complete and utter rest. Now you might think it strange that when one lives at the beach, such as we do, that we would choose another beach to holiday at. 

It's not really that odd. We live in a beautiful part of the world, definitely. it's just that a lot of other people think it's lovely too, so this time of year we are inundated with visitors to our town. 

We used to escape to a little place near here called Burrum Heads. We would rent a fifties style old wooden house right on the water  with a huge backyard and it would be absolute bliss. When I was dreaming about revisiting that place I discovered the house we loved so much had been sold and was no longer available to rent.

So looking just a little further afield we found ourselves at Woodgate.

It's sleepy. Re-e-e-al sleepy. There's a store, a bowls club, a caravan park, a pretty dodgy pub and ten kilometres of flat bike paths along the most beautiful bay beach... just perfect for kids and adults alike to explore.

There's a river mouth and tidal flats and kangaroos all over the front lawns of  resident's houses.

There's endless beach shacks to drool over (posted previously on instagram, check them out here).

There's driftwood and shells to collect and fashion into mobiles and necklaces; there's trees to climb and long empty beaches to hula-hoop on.

There were no markets, cancelled due to the dumping of rain just prior to our arrival, which flooded out the show-grounds. But there was the most amazing garage sale offering loads of vintage and retro wares. I restrained myself and came away with just one little purchase...

There was a book fair. It surpassed all expectations and I picked up thirteen books for eleven dollars.

There was rain, and then there was sun. We read books, napped, ate, played games and swam in the pool and ocean. There was no wi-fi and we didn't miss it much at all.

There was peace and quiet and some much needed family time.

Oh, and there were some spectacular Christmas lights too.

We'll be back.

Where do you like to holiday? 

Somewhere like home or somewhere completely different?

(I'm almost caught up now!)