Penney Family

Our BIG Christmas Letter

2011-12-14T10:50:00.029+10:00

I haven’t dropped off the planet since my last post in 2010. My blog just went by the wayside along with some other things whilst I was constantly juggling daily responsibilities.

I am back, even if only temporarily to share with you our 2011 Christmas letter (blog).

2011 began for our family at a New Year’s Eve Party at Mark & Chantelle Tangs. They had the entire Tang family with them for the Christmas season so it was great catching up briefly with Scott & Rachel who I hadn’t seen for years & also seeing Meg & Bill who visit from time to time.

In January we enjoyed a short family getaway on Stradbroke Island which was very relaxing & days were spent in the pool and enjoying the surroundings.

Penney Family Stradbroke Island

The school year commenced late January with Nikayla in grade1, Alyssa in grade 3 & Josh in grade 5. We feel so blessed to have the school a short 5 minute walk from home & it has grown from strength to strength since opening 3 years ago. Our kids all have a love for learning and enjoy attending school.

Josh was selected for the Gifted & Talented Program allowing him access to a wider range of resources to challenge him & opportunities to enhance his learning through additional programs within & external to the school.
Colin & I refer to Josh as our nutty professor as despite his very serious & mature outward demeanour he is a comedian at home, often quirky and has a natural sense of humour and he loves to know about everything & how everything works and is constantly asking lots of questions.

During second Semester Josh was able to represent the school in the Tournament of the Minds held on the Gold Coast. Josh is a fantastic big brother and very protective of his two younger sisters.

Josh on the Noosa River - April

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Alyssa is our fun loving social butterfly. We nickname her “Miss Smiley” as she never fails to wake up with a smile on her face & she generally has a very happy nature. She is very easy going and gets along with just about everyone (except her big brother who she tends to clash with often, but they can be the best of friends too some days).

Alyssa started violin lessons at school this year and also joined the school choir and lunch time dance classes l and is developing a real love for music & dance. After a few basic lessons from me she is also teaching herself to play the piano. Alyssa loves school and learning and at the end of year school assembly held last week Alyssa received the academic excellence award for her class.

In April Alyssa celebrated her 8^th Birthday & Baptism. She was so excited to be baptised, especially by Colin as she is a bit of a “Daddy’s girl”.

For her birthday party she requested a High Tea Party which I had fun organising all the girls loved it. Alyssa scored it a 10/10.

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Nikayla (Nikki) was born with music in her soul. She has a sweet little nature most of the time & sings everyday both songs she knows and she also makes up her own so perhaps we have a singer / song writer in the family but I guess time will tell.

Nikayla is our play date queen and has had more play dates this year than the other two put together. Although I am happy for her to have time with her friends I have found it becoming a bit exhausting at times so have had set some limits. When Nikki is not with friends she and Alyssa play extremely well together & they often remind me of myself & Carissa growing up. Nikayla has both Auntie Carissa & Grandpa Triffitt wrapped around her little finger.
Nikayla too has had a great year of school and also received the academic award for her class at the end of year school assembly.

Nikayla dressed as the Very Hungry Caterpillar in this years School Book Character Parade

Alyssa & Nikayla

In February Colin & I celebrated 12 years of marriage & went for our annual anniversary weekend getaway to Kingscliff in Northern NSW which has become one of our favourite places to visit.

Konnie & Colin enjoying a Jeboat ride on the Gold Coast broadwater for Colin's Birthday

In April the school held the Cross Country & we discovered we have 2 long distance runners in the family with both Alyssa & Nikayla coming 1^st place. The Cross Country was shortly followed by the athletics carnival where Josh shined in the sprint races and the girls also did well.

Josh, Alyssa & Nikayla

Our family spent Easter in Noosa with Mum & Dad & Carissa. It was a memorable holiday but for many of the wrong reasons. Only a couple of days into our stay Colin was spending time with Josh and they were taking turns riding Josh’s rip stick (2 wheel skateboard) when Colin lost balance and went down hard. He had fractured the radial head of his elbow and was facing the possibility of surgery. After much deliberation between surgeons they decided to not do the surgery as there was a high possibility he would be left with even less mobility or other complications & hoped that physio would help get most of the mobility back. Eight months later he is still having issues with it & although his mobility has improved it is nowhere near where they had hoped so he continues to have physio. Two days after Colin’s injury I had a fall down the stairs in our holiday apartment & fractured my tailbone & sprained my wrist. The two of us with our injuries were a real pair.

The bruise following Colin's injury

In Plaster while surgeons decide what to do

Family Boat Ride on the Noosa River

Poor Nikki dissapeared into her life jacket which was way to big for her.

On our return from Noosa Alyssa went into hospital to have a mole surgically removed from her scalp. I found it prior & it didn’t look at all friendly so when I took her to get it checked out the doctor was concerned & sent us to a skin specialist who confirmed it needed to come off.
The wait to find out the results was nerve racking but all turned out ok. We are glad it is gone though as they said it had the potential to become bad news. As you can imagine we were glad when April was over.

By May the kids were back full swing into basketball & Josh even started umpire training resulting in his first paid job umpiring junior basketball games & earning himself $4 per game. He would umpire 2- 3 games each Saturday morning & is a good little money manager so has a nice little savings plan going for himself.

Josh's Basket ball team u/14's including his cousin Lindsay at back right

Alyssa's Basketball Team U/12's

Nikayla

May turned into another month of hospital appointments with fracture clinic appointments and physio for Colin & follow up for Alyssa. I also took Josh for a simple eye test as he has been getting migraine headaches for some years now & he had several close together & also very bloodshot eyes. The next thing I knew the optometrist was instructing me to take Josh immediately to Emergency as she said he had a raised optical nerve and combined with headaches could mean pressure or bleed in the brain. He got the all clear after running tests that is was a false alarm & the bloodshot eyes were due to allergies but we will still required to attend several follow up appointments with the eye specialist and paediatrician over the following weeks.

In May/June we were very blessed when Colin’s employer offered to fully fund his return to university to undertake what will be his second degree, this time in engineering which will go hand in hand with his current field of work. Colin has desired to return to school and further his studies for a while but the timing has not been right & we could never find courses to fit in with his work schedule. His employer has allowed him several hours away from work each week to attend uni lectures and tutorials on the agreement that he starts work an hour earlier each day.
It has certainly been an adjustment to have Colin working full time and back at uni but he loves it and has been very committed & motivated. He did well during his first semester and is now enrolled for next year. I am really glad that he has been able to do this as he has been a support for me the past few years as I have been building our business, served as Stake YW’s President, been through 2 heart operations and served as ward Relief Society President.

Colin continues working for Stoddarts, who he has now been with for 9 years out of our 10 years living in Queensland. He continues to work as a detailer/draftsman & also estimator within the company and also does private drafting work from home. He works 5 minutes from home so we get to enjoy lots of lunch dates together.
At church he has served in the Young Men’s program for the past year and has in the last few weeks gone into the Sunday School Presidency.

In September I was released as the Relief Society President of our ward after serving for just short of 2 years. What can I say other than what a huge learning and growing experience it has been. I was able to serve with the most amazing women who were such a huge support in helping serve & care for the sisters in our ward of whom there were many, with 100-150 sisters in our Relief Society at any given time. I have seen so many wonderful women doing good for others not because they have to or have been assigned to but because that is just who they are and what they do each and every day.
My eyes were open to things I have never had to see or deal with before and often it was challenging but it made me appreciate even more the gospel teachings, my family and my upbringing and that I have always had love in my home and surroundings & have never had to go without the necessities of life. It made me grateful that I have not had to experience many of the challenges of the world that others do on a daily basis. I enjoyed working with our Bishop an extremely kind and humble man who was struggling with his own enormous challenge, the return of a brain tumour requiring surgery & intensive treatment, but still he served faithfully until his release.

Some of the awesome women on our Relief Society Board that I had the
opportunity to work with

Due to the huge growth in our area, several weeks after my release our ward (congregation) was split. Previously two wards had met in our chapel and from these two wards they created a third ward that would be required to meet at another chapel as our church meetinghouse is at full capacity. Despite the split our ward is still of considerable size and continues to grow.

I am now be serving in the nursery with the 18 month-3 year olds and love it. Since the split we now have 11 nursery children with 6 moving up to primary next year and we gain some new children next year when they turn 18 months. I come away each week feeling so loved by all these little people who want to sit on me knee and give me lots of hugs & say the cutest things. Some weeks can be a real workout keeping up with them, but they are lots of fun and such a delight with each of their different personalities. We have two little identical twin girls in nursery that I struggle to tell apart so am doing my best to learn who is who so I don’t confuse them with one another. I work in nursery with our Bishops wife who was the Relief Society President prior to me so we tell everyone it is our reward for being such good RS presidents.

This photo was taken last Sunday during our Nursery Graduation

Later this year we sold our Job Jogga’s business which I have worked from home for the past 6 years. I was ready for a change & with Colin returning to school I knew I would need to take on more responsibility at home to allow him time to study & to do that required some changes. A Sunshine Coast lady who runs an indoor play centre & Cafe & also has an online wholesale business supplying children’s products approached us to buy the business before we had even had a chance to advertise it for sale so all worked out well.

I am loving having a little more time for myself & completed my first craft project in years just last week (those of you who know what my schedule has been like the past few years will know what a HUGE achievement that is for me). I can’t wait to give it to a very special little someone for Christmas.

I have just commenced casual work for Dad doing admin for his business cyclopsqld.com.au
It is perfect for me right now allowing me the flexibility of working from home but without the extra work & pressure that comes from your own business

It has been nice to catch up with extended family during the year. My cousin Christian has surprised a few times popping in to visit while up from Sydney. We have also seem Uncle Kim & Auntie Deidre, Uncle Tom & Auntie Ann, Uncle Wally & Auntie Wanda, June King who we all consider is family and also Colin’s Dad & Auntie Lexie, Auntie Edna, Uncle Claude & my mum’s cousin Christine & her husband Tony all visiting QLD from interstate. Our kids just love all these extended family members that keep turning up & we keep telling them they are more so they are excited to meet some of them when we go to Tassie after Christmas for a holiday to show the kids where we grew up & to celebrate Colin's dads 70^th Birthday.

In July I had the opportunity to attend the Time Out for Women event in Sydney. I travelled down with Mum, Carissa & Cassie for the weekend and we all really enjoyed it & I came home feeling uplifted and motivated. It was also wonderful to see so many familiar faces and to catch up with many wonderful women that I haven’t seen for some time.

It was great catching up with Lisa

In September Nikayla had her tonsils, adenoids out & grommets put in out after experiencing significant hearing loss for some time from fluid build up in her ears from head colds & ear infections. She came home from hospital complaining everything was too loud & now a couple of months on she still blocks her ears from time to time with some loud noises as she has just not been used to the volume of noise she can now hear. Her last hearing test came back as normal so we are all excited about that as the months leading up to her op we had to repeat EVERYTHING to her.

Also in September Colin & I attended our Stake Ball. It is always a great event that we look forward to with a sit down dinner & live band.

The Christmas Season is upon us again and thus far we have enjoyed attending events that come with this special time of year. “A Bethlehem Experience” was held in Gold Coast Stake last weekend. It was a fantastic night and as we walked the streets of Bethlehem to find the baby Jesus it reminded me of a similar thing our ward put on at Christmas time growing up for members & the community.

Last night for family night we attended the Movie World White Christmas with the Spark family & had lots of fun on the rides, enjoying the fake snow, seeing the Polar Express in 4D, watching the Christmas parade and soaking up the lights & music & atmosphere that surrounded us.

This coming week we are looking forward to many more opportunities to gather with family and friends as we celebrate the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ.

We wish each of you and your families a Merry Christmas and the peace of His love at Christmas and always.

Love The Penney’s

Here are a few more pictures from this year:

Colin's Chcoclate Raspberry Bowls hemade for our wards annual Elders Quorum Dessert Competition - He got 1st for presentation (no help was allowed from the wives).

Nikayla dressed as a Genie for the school Halloween Disco

The kids heading out for date night with Auntie Carissa to see Alladin at the theatre

Alyssa & Nikki ready for their Wacky themed disco

Alyssa ready for School Halloween Disco

Alyssa & Josh at Movie World

Me with my girls who are growing up way to fast

Nikayla with Auntie Carissa who came up from Melbourne for Nikki's 7th Birthday last month.

Family, Friends & Moving

2010-09-21T11:22:00.005+10:00

It's that's time of the year again when Uncle Wally & Auntie Wanda are up here in QLD. It has been great catching up with them again. They stayed a few days with Mum & Dad and we all went to Riverfire together which was fun. (Fortunately Uncle Wally didn't suggest the kids to sit on top of the portaloo's this year to watch the fireworks because I think they would have).

We also got to catch up with Tara who was visiting QLD with a friend. I haven't seen Tara in years so it was great to see her again. She hasn't changed a bit. Tara & Laura stayed with Carissa for a few days and every time we saw them they were rushing here or there so managed to fit lots into their stay.

Pics of us all as we waited patiently for the fireworks to begin.

The rest of the month has been a bit of a blur. The house Mum & Dad have been living in went on the market. They were frustrated as they had been told when they moved in late last year that the owners would not sell the house so they thought they would be able to stay put a long time.
They managed to find another house early in the month which meant MOVING HOUSE. We all decided rather than drag it out it would be better to just get it over and done with. We packed and moved them within a week. They are now settling into their new home which they are very happy with but I think the past couple of weeks has been a blur for all of us & we are still recovering. Hopefully there will be no more moves for a very long time. I will have to add some pics of them in their new home as soon as I take some.

Free Product Giveaway - Toilet Training

2010-08-12T10:30:00.006+10:00

To celebrate the launch of our new look website and expanding product range I will be offering a few product giveaways over the coming weeks.

Our first product give away is to assist with toilet training & Includes a Wee Target & Job Jogga's Positive Affirmations pack.

Wee Targets are designed for little boys (but can be used for little girls). The Wee Target is a black spot that is suctioned to the back of the toilet bowl (or front for girls). When the child aims at the back spot it disappears and a picture appears. When the toilet is flushed the black spot reappears ready for next time. Wee Targets provide a fun way for young children to learn how to aim correctly and to encourage toilet training. They can be re-used for 4-6 weeks.

The Wee Target in this giveaway has a picture of a train underneath the black spot

To praise your child for using the toilet and other good behavior I will also include a Job Jogga's Positive Affirmations Pack with the following magnets included.

To be in the running to receive this product giveaway simply visit our website by clicking on the logo below, view our Keep Them Healthy Category and tell me what 3 colours our Fridge-to-go medium lunch boxes come in. You can email your answer via the contact page on the website or to info@parentstoolbox.com.au

The winner will be selected on Friday 26th August.

Congratulations to Toni Coward who was the winner of our giveaway. I will be listing another giveaway very soon.

Adjusting to Change

2010-08-06T18:33:00.000+10:00

Thought it was time I stopped to do a quick blog post as we are now past the halfway mark of the year and I have only managed a couple of posts to date. This year has been a different year for me as it is the first year I have had no kids at home during the day in 9 1/2 years.
I had ideas about how I thought this year might be but of course it has turned out totally different to what I had anticipated. I thought I would have lots more "me time", more frequent lunches out with friends, more opportunities to do parent help at the school and the rest of my time while the kids were at school I would put into our business working here at home. I have since realised that although the kids are becoming more independent and at school it doesn't at all mean I am doing less, infact I feels like I am doing more. I feel at times like I am running a cross between a halfway house and taxi service. Between after school and Saturday sports, homework, play dates, sleep overs, birthday parties and the rest there is always someone here or somewhere to be. Combine that with running a business and being ward RS president to 120+ women and each day is filled with many things to do.

I realise the kids will be teenagers in no time at all and that we will be entering yet another stage of change & adjustment. In the meantime I am excited about this new stage we have entered although I am still figuring it all out. I am grateful for Josh, Alyssa & Nikayla every day in so many ways. I love seeing their personalities, talents, special qualities and weaknesses elvolving. I love that we can now enjoy doing more things with them they were previously too young to do and we really enjoy their company (well most of the time). It certainly never gets boring having kids.
I haven't put any photos of them on my blog in a while so have dedicated the rest of the post to photos of them and some of their achievements this year.

Nikayla & Alyssa off to their Beach Party themed school disco

Josh - 1st place in both his sprint races at the senior athletics carnival

Alyssa receiving a 'Gotcha' award from the school principal for being safe, respectful and a learner within the school.

Alyssa came 1st place in this years cross Country held earlier in the year

Nikayla came 1st place in this years cross country

Josh - on our Coffs Harbour trip in June

Alyssa Coffs Harbour in June

Alyssa with Megan Woolley during our time with the Woolley's at Yamba in June

I feel like a broken record always saying "someone is gonna get hurt" but in this instance I was right when Josh and Alyssa's struggle over a ball resulted in Alyssa fracturing two bones & 4 weeks in a cast when she lost her footing taking Josh down with her & her arm took the brunt of the impact.

Even a cast on her arm didn't stop her from taking out 1st place in the sprint race at the athletics carnival.

Following in her big sisters footsteps Nikayla also came 1st place in the sprint race at the schools junior athletics carnival.

One of my favourite sights.
It is not uncommon to find the kids all asleep in bed together, usually in Josh's room.
It is nice to know they do actually care about one another, as I really do wonder some times.

Goodbye Nan

2010-06-14T08:03:00.007+10:00

On the 20th of May 2010 my grandmother Sheila May Triffitt passed from this life. In hearing of her passing I was happy for Nan that she is now reunited with Pop who passed away in January this year. It just didn't feel right seeing one without the other.
I flew to Tasmania to attend the funeral. It was a cold, drizzly day but the service was lovely and brought back many wonderful and happy memories. I had the opportunity to stand and sing I Am A Child of God with my cousins and their children at the funeral. It was a very emotional & beautiful experience to be surrounded by extended family and feel the bond that exists between us. I am grateful to be a part of such a rich posterity.

Reading my cousins blog entries about Nan has been a trip down memory lane. Like Carli expressed our memory banks of Nan are very similar. Some of my memories that come to mind are:

Nan's visit to QLD in 2008

Spending the day with Nanny when I was younger. After the morning work was done and lunch dishes were clean we would head out into the hut at the back of the garden for an nap. I would enjoy laying alongside Nan chatting and browsing through her piles of magazines and books before falling into a restful sleep. When I woke up I would head back out to the house or garden where I would find Nan back at work. She didn't ever stop for long but made sure she had a nap each day.

Nan and Pop joined us on many of our family holidays both in Tasmania, interstate and even overseas to New Zealand. We always enjoyed their company. When driving between destinations we loved the fact that Nan needed to stop frequently for toilet breaks as it meant we would get something to eat (usually treats) each time we stopped at a roadhouse so we would constantly ask her if she was ready for a toilet break.

My memories of Nan at home are dressed in her 'home clothes', usually old slacks and a top and without fail she would have a hankie on hand, usually stuffed into her bra. When it was time to go out she would always go to great effort to dress up. She has many beads and brooches and other accessories to go with her various outfits. For Christmas one year she went all out and even put some tinsel in her hair to compliment her outfit. It always brought a smile to our faces when on many an occasion out with Nan when she was looking very elegant with her matching outfit and accessories she would reach into her handbag and pull out her black thick rimmed sunglasses that totally clashed with what she was wearing and looked more like men's sunglasses.

Growing up when we lived nearby Nan & Pop, Nan would often turn up at our house to get her hair done. I recall many occasions where mum would set her hair in rollers and style it while we sat talking to her. Nan also often accompanied us on many trips into town (Devonport & Launceston) where we would spend most part of the day shopping.

I loved touring Nan's garden with the running commentary on what had just been planted, what was in bloom and the sampling of fruit and going home with a bag of veggies fresh from the garden. My favourite was the raspberries. Since moving to QLD I crave for the fresh raspberries that I acquired a taste for at a young age and the reminder that they bring of my grandparents well loved and tended for garden.

Nan spoke often about dying. One summer in my late teenage years I remember a week spent with Nan & Pop helping Nan do some household chores that she was finding more difficult. Nan had asked me to wrap some Christmas gifts and as she opened up a box in her spare room where many of the gifts were stored she pointed out her burial clothes there ready for he when her' time was up'. She never feared death, often it seemed she looked forward to it. She knew where she had come from, why she was on earth and where she was going when her time was up. Out of the box where her burial clothes were kept came the hankies, soaps, socks and other items ready to wrap for the grand kids & great grand kids. Nan knew exactly what she had for each one. Following the wrapping of the smaller gifts she gave me a bucket for each family that we filled with food items from the overflowing storehouse at the back of the garage. Each bucket was then decorated with tinsel ready to give out on Christmas Day.

One of the last memories I have of Nan before she had a stroke that put her into the Grenoch nursing home was sitting in church with her and Pop in Deloraine. They were both so frail but sang the hymns with such determination. It was testimony Sunday and Nan who had a reputation for always getting up to bare her testimony leaned over to me and apologised that she would not be getting up that day as she had bad stomach pains and was not feeling well. I told her that was okay and that I knew she had a testimony and that I would get up and bare testimony instead. Nan has been an amazing example of unwavering faith. Every day her example was a testimony to those around her of what she believed in.

My thoughts now are of Nan & Pop together again. The world feels a little different now and that is because they are no longer here, but I know I will see them again one day.

Mum's Surprise 60th

2010-02-21T14:36:00.000+10:00

Mum with the grand kids on the night of her actual birthday

Six months ago we decided we couldn't let Mum's 60th birthday pass by without a special celebration. Mum has entertained so many people, opened her home to so many and helped so many celebrate special occasions that it was definitely her turn. We decided to hold a SURPRISE 60th party and put together a book of stories, memories, thoughts and photos from her family and friends.
It was a real challenge trying to plan when Mum always seemed to be nearby. Trying to meet without her noticing something was up became so difficult that one day Carissa and I decided that we would just have to do it while she was around. We developed a code language to discuss plans for the party and even resorted to planning the party while sitting in the cinema together with Mum alongside us (and she still had no clue). She is so much a part of our lives and loves to be where we are and never miss out on the fun so unbeknown to her she was nearby when most of the planning was done.

Just prior to Mum's birthday we travelled to Tasmania for Pop's funeral. Mum aware that 2 days after we returned to QLD she was turning 60 commented that she didn't feel right celebrating with her birthday being so close to Pop passing away and was not going to do anything to celebrate. We reminded her that Pop would have wanted her to celebrate.

Everyone in Tasmania did a great job at keeping up the surprise, especially Uncle Kim & Auntie Deidre as Mum & Dad stayed with them while in Tas and they managed not to let it slip that they were flying to QLD only 3 days after our return to be here for the special night.

On Mum's actual birthday we went out for dinner as a family to the Kalinda Restaurant at the Royal Pines Resort. We enjoyed a beautiful meal and ran into the Millington's who were there celebrating Avis's birthday.

Family Birthday Celebration Dinner

We had originally planned to spend the rest of the week each doing things with Mum but because we had been away we had run short on time for the final party preparations so were flat out getting things organised. Poor Mum got a bit neglected for the few days leading up to the party as we kept all declining her hints to do things like movies, shopping etc saying we were too busy. She then threw a spanner in the works when she declined Dad's invite to take her away for a night down the coast. We had planned to do all the setting up for the party while she was away. Once again the plans proceeded with her nearby. She popped in to visit a couple of times and I was throwing things in cupboards left, right & centre making sure to hide all evidence. Well it was well worth the effort because the night of the party came (Saturday 6th February) and she had no idea.

AND THEN THE SURPRISE PARTY...

All the guests arrived at 6:30 and congregated in the marquee in our back yard. Those who had travelled from interstate remained in our outdoor patio area with the lights out as an additional surprise (once the intitial shock had worn off). Mum thought she was coming for dinner cooked by the grand kids and dressed up as they had requested. When they arrived the kids opened the gates to the backyard and Dad drove Mum in where everyone was waiting. Her hand flew up to her mouth as she realised what was going on. As she climbed out of the car she was in complete shock, speechless, totally overwhelmed & there were even a few tears as the reality set in of what was happening. The yard was filled with close to 70 people here to celebrate with her.

Mum hugging Deidre & Colleen alongside them

She was completely blown away, again & again & again

Mum and Colleen Hargreaves embracing

Mum with 2 of her bridesmaids Ruth Pawson & Colleen Hargreaves

Party Guests

Mum after arriving discovering all the guests who were here to celebrate

Lanai & Maureen Lunson

While Mum was busy discovering and chatting with the guests I was catching up with Kylie who I haven't seen for 10 years. It was so wonderful to see her again and felt like we had never been apart.

Gavin, Mal & Judy Munro, Bob Cowan

Sam Allen & Hannah & Matt Hardman

Narelle Woolley, Karen & Tim Luaki & Rosemary Dent

As the night rolled on there was lots of mingling and catching up. We celebrated Mum through sharing funny & embarrassing stories, presented her with her tribute book & Carissa sang a song she wrote about Mum accompanied by a PowerPoint of photos from her childhood days until now.

Mum's Birthday Cake

Live Entertainment - Wayne Lunson

Embarrassing Moments

Jenn Cowan & Marlene Glass speaking to Kylie Barnes

Sam Allen with Louis, Judy & Mal Munro & Jenny Stokes

John Glass with Colin, Rosemary & Hannah Dent

Mike & Sharon Stone

Bob Cowan & Mark & Chantelle Tang

Auntie Deidre, Carissa & Kylie

Bill Harding, Dad, Mum & Auntie Jeanette with other guests in the background

Mum with Nathan

Bill & Jeanette Harding

Laurel Carter & Maurie & Judy Shea

John Glass with Lois & John Jeffrey

Wayne Lunson

Johnny Imms with Bob & Jenny CowanMal & Judy Munro

Sam Allen & Dallas Woolley

Timmy Christie & Nathan

Narelle & Dale Woolley & Lene Tuiatua

Gary Stokes & Dad

Denise Bosse & Warwick Allen

Malissa Tuiatua, Cassie Woolley, Jenny Cowan & Sharon Stone

Mum & Ruth Pawson

Johnny Imms & Uncle Kim
Auntie Deidre, Colleen Hargreaves & Jeanette Harding

Maurie & Judy Shea with Barbara Martin

Rebecca Jack, Ruth Pawson, Bill Harding, Wayne Lunson

Jenny Stokes, Laurel Carter, Sharon Stone & Konnie

We were so lucky to have such wonderful helpers in the kitchen who kept the food coming throughout the night.

Kristy & BJ Katene

Sam & Jaci Smibert

and many other wonderful helpers who pitched in to help on the night (thanks Deidge & Maureen).

Opening her presents

The night went off really well - A fitting tribute to our wonderful mother!!

THE DAY AFTER

Sunday after church we had more time to catch up with a pot luck lunch here at our house. It was so lovely to see everyone and reminisce on the good old days. To top off our BIG weekend I was sustained as Relief society President of our ward the same day.

Johnny & Andrea Imms with their kids. I have only seen Ella recently so couldn't get over how much all the others have grown.

Memories of a Great Man

2010-02-08T15:45:00.011+10:00

At the end of last month I returned home from Tasmania where I attended the funeral of my grandfather (Pop) Henry Leo Triffitt who passed from this life on the 25th January 2010. What an amazing man! I feel truly blessed to be one of his descendants. I hope that one day Colin & I can be the kind of grandparents to our grandchildren that Nan & Pop have been to us. They have been such an important part of our lives growing up with their involvement and example.

Pop was a magnet for the grand kids who loved being around him. He was so much fun and had a great sense of humour. We knew him and he knew us and the love was reciprocal.

Some of my memories of Pop :

Pop was always so proud of his spuds & we enjoyed eating them (they tasted so good)

In my early years I spent much time in hospital. Nan & Pop would come and visit often and Pop would always have some treats in his pockets or tucked in his jacket he would sneak into the hospital for me and hide in my bedside drawers.

When grocery shopping in Woolworths Deloraine (known then as Rolf Vos Supermarket) we would run into Pop from time to time. He would quietly slip us kids a coin or two and tell us to go choose some lollies.

We had so much fun at the river with Pop. I remember many times riding in or on the back of the land rover and opening and shutting gates for him on the farm. As a young child I gained a love of cubby houses from Pops shacks. I used to think they were the best cubby houses around and loved sweeping them out and tidying them and had much fun playing in them.

Pop was there the day I found a leech on my leg and freaked out. I sent my heart rate through the roof and through the roof and I thought I was going to pass out. He took me calmly and started joking about how my blood must have tasted good, he quickly sat me down & sprinkled salt on the leech and had it off is no time and then set about to find me something to eat & drink to help calm me down. He was also there the day I ran over a snake on my bike at the river flats and I was hysterical and too scared to look down thinking the snake was still wound around the wheels of my bike and once again he was there and helped calm me down with his kindness and humor.

Pop always enjoyed a bit of competition. if it wasn't hammer and nail competitions it was arm wrestling with his grandsons.

Nan & Pop joined us on many family holidays both in Tasmania and interstate. Pop was always so much fun to be around. I will never forget going to the Gold Coast theme parks and all the rides we went on Pop came on too. We had so much fun on the mine ride at Dreamworld with Pop, he was making jokes all the way that we were going to fall off the edge. At the end of the ride he was very excited to announce that his back that had previously been out before the ride had clicked back int0 place & he wanted to ride again.

Nan & Pop on our Gold Coast holiday ready to join us for a swim. It was a rare thing to see Pop in shorts

Pop always brought smiles all round and I used to love the way he was cheeky to Nanny when the grand kids were around. He would pull her leg and she would be so gullible and fall for it every time.

Nan & Pop spent many Christmas Days with our family before we would turn around and go to their house in their evening with all the Triffitt family. One year we decided to have Christmas lunch out at the Argosy in Devonport. Somehow our meal order was misplaced and we were waiting for ages to eat. We were so hungry and us kids were getting restless waiting. Pop grabbed the butter and sugar in the centre of the table and started giving us kids a lesson in how to mix the sugar through the butter to get it just right and then he had us eat it. Between that and his story telling he kept us all entertained until our meal finally arrived.

Nan & Pop were always there to celebrate our Birthdays, Baptisms, Weddings, Baby Blessings and many other special occasions.

My 8th Birthday

Our wedding at the Sydney Temple

Josh's Baby Blessing

As the great grand kids came along Pop was a big hit with them too. He amazed me how he would remember his great grand kids names. During the past year since Nanny has been unable to speak Mum & Dad would call Pop's room at Grenoch every couple of days to see how they both were. Often I would be visiting Mum & Dad's when they called and I would have Nikayla with me. The minute Pop knew Nikayla was there he would have a little chat with her and every time without fail would start singing to her over the phone and sometimes she would join in too or sing to him.

Josh trying to feed Pop a drink & Pop playing along with it

I have to keep reminding myself that Pop is no longer living here on the earth. He is so alive in my memories it feels like he is still here and always will be. I know he is close by though and one day I will see him again. It is hard to see Nanny without him as they are a match made in heaven and it doesn't seem right for one to be without the other but I know it will be but a small moment until they are re-united again.

Birthday Boy

2010-01-23T20:44:00.004+10:00

On Thursday Josh celebrated his 9th birthday. Josh had a big pool party last year for his birthday so I told him no party this year and that instead we would just do a few fun things this week. On Wednesday we had Paige & Carter spend the day with us as Sam is back to working Wednesdays now school is about to start up. The kids had lots of fun together and played happily all day. I packed a picnic lunch, we loaded up the car with the scooters and off we went to Jacobs Ridge. When we arrived we discovered all the picnic tables and chairs had just been freshly painted with 'Wet paint' signs so we pulled up a spot on the grass and enjoyed lunch. i then sat on the bank while the kids scooted around the park. They has lots of fun but it didn't take long until they were worn out & we had exhausted our supply of water so we headed up to Mum & Dad's where they had a drink, ice block and a play and then off we went home again.

Our picnic

Carter, Alyssa & Nikki riding their scooters

Nikki holding Louis

When Sam arrived to pick-up Paige & Carter we were all excited to see she had already collected Louis from his Wednesday daycare mum. We each took turns having cuddles. He is growing so fast and is very cute. He is such a good baby.

Thursday (Josh's birthday) didn't really go to plan. We had plans to go to Dreamworld & Whitewater World for a while and then to a movie afterwards. We were getting ready when Mum & Dad called and said they had received news that Pop was not doing well and they were looking for flights to Tassie. Most of the available flights were around midday so they were flat out packing and booking flights. By that stage the only train they could catch to get to the airport in time had left so we drove to their place picked them up and drove them to Brisbane airport to catch their flight. By the time we got home it was mid afternoon and not much time left to go out so we invited Josh's friend Michael who lives a few doors away over for a play and for his birthday dinner. We had planned to make a basketball cake but due to the days events we had to settle for a Coles chocolate mud cake with a printed picture of Ben 10 on top. Josh thought it was cool and was not at all disappointed he didn't get his basketball cake.
Friday we shopped for the last of things for school and finished the day off with a swim at Carissa's in the complex pool followed ba y night out at the drive-in to see The Tooth Fairy with the Allens, Woolleys and Thomas's. We all enjoyed the movie and I got to have very long cuddles with Louis. He sat on me knee happy the whole movie until right near the end he started getting restless. Sam handed me the dummy and I cradled him put the dummy in and after a few big smiles he was off to sleep. Talk about a dream baby!! (no I am not clucky for more, I am just enjoying others babies more now my own have grown up).

Mum & Dad had told Josh they were taking him Ten Pin Bowling for his birthday this year as he is always asking to go. They had invited all the family and booked the lanes for tonight. Despite them not being here we went ahead with the plans and have just returned from a fun night of bowling.

Josh & Lindsay

Alyssa

Auntie Carissa with her groovy socks

Uncle Nathan looking pleased with his bowling efforts

Josh has had a fun few days around his birthday with plenty happening and dropped off to sleep very quickly tonight.

Winners of the Get Ready for School Packs:
Congratulations Lisa & Simone you will both be receiving a Get Ready for School Pack in the mail. I will email you both to get your postal address.

Back To School Product Giveaway

2010-01-18T14:16:00.006+10:00

One of my favourite Job Jogga's packs is the Get Ready for School Pack. They have been great in our house, helping eliminate school morning madness. Josh and Alyssa know their school morning routine inside and out now and are ready for school in no time. Nikayla starts school this year so they will be going up on her bedroom door next week ready for the first day of school.

With the kids soon heading back to school I have decided it is time for a product give away. I have 2 Job Jogga's Get Ready for School Packs to give away valued at $17 each. If you would like a free pack simply leave a comment at the end of this post telling me in a few words what your greatest challenge is as a parent and you will automatically go into the draw to win a pack (Winners will be drawn on Friday 22nd January at 8:00pm and I will announce the winners on my blog).

*The pack includes the six magnets pictured above. I will also throw in To Do & Done magnets with each pack. The chore system can be set up on the fridge or a magnetic board on your child's door or in a central area of the home. I have included a picture of Alyssa's chore system set up on a board on her bedroom door below.

Our Island Adventures

2010-01-16T09:08:00.012+10:00

This past week was Colin's last week of holidays. His company shuts down for Christmas every year which meant he would be starting the new year back at work with no annual leave days until he accumulates some more. He decided he would like to go away for a few days to unwind before going back to work this week. We booked 3 nights on Moreton Island at the Tangalooma Wild Dolphin Resort.
We left Monday on the 10:00am boat headed for the island. We arrived just over and hour later and the Real Estate lady we had booked our apartment through was there to meet us at the jetty. We got settled in straight away and headed out to explore the island. We had 4 great days of beach and pool swimming, kayaking, exploring, walking, relaxing, reading and sleeping. Our apartment had an awesome view of the water and we found ourselves just sitting watching all the goings on. There was always something happening on the beach or in the water and plenty of dolphins swimming around. Night times just below our apartment up to 11 wild dolphins would swim into the shore to be hand fed by resort guests. The kids were fascinated watching the dolphins. They were real show-offs and seemed to love all the attention.

The cat we travelled over on

Night time wild dolphin feeding

Our Apartment block

Alyssa, Nikki & Josh

On Wednesday we went on a desert safari on board a 4WD bus around parts of the island. It was lots of fun as we were nearly bounced out of our seats on a number of occasions. To stop the bus getting bogged the driver had to drive fast and made sure he had a good run up to any steep areas. We stopped at some huge sand dunes for sand dune tobogganing. The hill was a killer
(I would have never made it up before my heart op). It was a steep & steady 4 1/2 minute walk to the top. I of course had to stop and admire the view (more like catch my breath) on the way so it took me a little longer but was well worth it. The ride down was exhilarating, but over way to fast.

Nikayla was the youngest one on the bus and they thought she might be to young to ride down the dunes. They asked her if she wanted a go and she replies 'yeah!'. She was up the top in no time, no waiting for Mummy or Daddy to catch up. They put some goggles on her to stop the sand getting in her eyes and off she went for a smooth ride. Up she got with a huge grin on her face, a little disoriented and then off up the dunes again for another go. Second time round she let her board down too close to the ground and sand sprayed up all over her to the point where we couldn't see her amongst all the sand. We knew she would have a mouthful and be covered from head to toe in sand so we waited anxiously to see how she fared. Up she hopped, spat some sand out of her mouth and proud as punch with a big grin yells "Hey, Did you see me?"

The down side of the trip was that the kids have developed a phobia of lifts. Our apartment was on the 4th floor and after riding up the lift at the end of the second day we reached level 4 and there was a big clunking noise. Colin joked that the lift had broken and then it became reality when the door didn't open. We tried the button and nothing was lighting up and doors wouldn't open. We pressed the emergency button that dialled the lift company located back in Brisbane somewhere. They took our details and said they would alert the appropriate people. The temperature inside the lift was getting very warm and it was only a small lift so we were all squished in and getting very hot and sweaty. There wasn't much ventilation and the fan wasn't working either. Fortunately just prior to getting in the lift we had stopped at the store and bought the kids and ice cream so that helped distract them and keep them a little cooler.
Some resort guests then tried to use the lift, realised it was out of action and called out to us. We told them to get help fast as it was getting very hot. After about 10 minutes (seemed like much longer) a call came through on the phone in the lift, it was the lift company who ran through some things for us to try. We followed their instructions but nothing worked. Then finally they told us to try and pry the doors open one more time. Colin put all his strength into it and managed to get them open just enough for the kids and myself to step out. Before Colin had a chance to step out the door automatically starting slamming shut. Colin & I both saw it closing fast and at the same time managed to grab it and hold it open long enough for him to quickly slip out.
The kids refused to use the lift for the rest of the stay so we did lots of walking up and down the 8 flights of stairs to our apartment. fortunately on the day of check out the lift technicians were there so we didn't have to cart all our luggage down the stairs. We got in the lift confident that if it got stuck again the technicians were right there to get us out.

Back home and into full swing again. Carissa moved house the day after we got home so we have been busy helping her move and get unpacked. She bought this little villa late last year in a complex about 5 minutes from us and has been renting it out until now. Her tenant just moved out so she is moving in. She is looking forward to doing it up, adding her personal touches and making it home. The kids are all keen to have their first sleepover at Auntie Carissa's and to try out the pool and tennis court in the complex.

Our Christmas & New Years

2010-01-16T07:53:00.007+10:00

Santa & his helpers - Josh, Nikki & Alyssa (the girls snuck my red lipstick)

December 2009 was the first year I did no Christmas baking or craft leading up to Christmas. Between all the usual end of year Christmas celebrations and parties, Christmas shopping and getting the kids end of the house re-arranged ready for the arrival of the Penney side of the family, Christmas snuck up on us very quickly.
I did manage to get 4 days of R & R during the busy lead up to Christmas. Mum and Dad have talked about spending Christmas at a beach house for years and finally this year that is what
they did. The got a beachfront apartment on the Northern NSW Coast at Cabarita for 3 weeks leading up to and including Christmas. It was in a lovely setting with the beach one side and pools on the other. I took the kids down there the week before Christmas for 4 days and we had a lovely time. Mum & Dad had a lovely relaxing Christmas there with half the family and the rest of us visited them for lunch and swimming on boxing day. Colin and I have decided we would love to get away for Christmas next year as we have had Christmas and family at our house every year since we have lived in QLD (now 7 years).

The Beach Cabarita Resort

View from Mum & Dad's Apartment

Nikki Enjoying the Sun & Sand

The week leading up to Christmas we had a date night out with friends. We went to an Indian Restaurant up in Brisbane. We ordered lots of different dishes that we shared and all of them were very good. Dallas & Cassie had their new camera they were trying out so photos are courtesy of them. Thanks Guys!!

Sam, Cassie, Konnie & Denise

Colin, Warwick & Dallas

Christmas Eve Pop Penney, Uncle Adrian & Auntie Tami arrived with cousins Kirsten & Samuel. The kids drove us nuts all morning asking 'When will they be here?' They were very excited to see their cousin Kirsten who they haven't seen in a while and to meet their cousing Samuel (10 months). I don't think poor Poppy got much of a look in when they first got here as they saw him not long ago in October when he came to stay so he got bypassed. Adrian and Tami & the kids stayed for 11 days and Robert for 13. Everyone had annual passes to Dreamworld & Whitewater World so we spent lots of time at the theme parks enjoying the rides, water slides and swimming.

Nikki, Alyssa, Pop Penney (Robert), Kirsten & Josh outside Whitewater World

Kirsten, Alyssa & Nikki with Dora at Dreamworld

Nikki, Alyssa & Kirsten on Christmas Day on the new (larger) trampoline wearing their matching Tinker Bell nighties from Tami & Adrian

The girls riding in the tea cup at Wiggles World Dreamworld

The girls with Waggs at Whitewater World

Christmas Day - Robert shouted us Christmas lunch at sizzler
Adrian with Samuel, Tami, Kirsten, Nikayla, Robert & Alyssa

Robert with Samuel

While the family was here we had a Penney get-together and invited Kirsten, Duane, Grace, Xavier & Trevor over for a BBQ. It is always good catching up with them.

Kirsten & Konnie

The girls all playing together on the trampoline
Nikayla, Kirsten, Alyssa, Grace

The second last day of the year Ben Tang turned 8 and was baptised. Josh attended Ben's baptism and then spent the day at the Tangs afterwards for Ben's Birthday.

Michael, Josh Ben & Riley

New Years Eve we headed to South Bank for the family Fireworks. Robert bought the kids all flashing light headbands. It was easy to keep track of them.

Adrian & Samuel, josh, Kirsten, Alyssa & Nikki

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!

Dallas & Cassie with Megan

The New Year was off to a start with farewells to the family and another birthday and baptism.

Megan turned 8 on the 5th of January and we celebrated her birthday with her at the Woolley's. Megan had organised many of the party games herself and the kids had lots of fun. They all decorated her birthday cake which looked great. Afterwards we went to the chapel for her baptism. She looked gorgeous in her white dress and was radiating.

Visitors, Moving & Our Baby Turns 5

2009-12-02T20:12:00.012+10:00

Early in November Sam came to stay with us for 5 days. She is well into her first pregnancy now and thought she would fit in one last visit before she has the baby. It was wonderful to see her again and the kids just adored her as always. Her and Scott just celebrated their 1st wedding anniversary. Scott is keeping his annual leave up his sleeve for when the baby is born so didn't come with her. We had lots of fun shopping for maternity clothes to accommodate her expanding belly and just relaxed. We are super excited about the upcoming birth as she is due next month.
As always Sam was 'happy snapping' the whole time she was here and took lots of photos of us and the kids so I have included some here.

Sam started a tradition way back when she first boarded with Colin & I in Launceston (back in the uni days) of buying us flowers whenever she has come to stay with us. Every visit to Queensland she has managed to get to a florist at some point during her visit and bought us flowers. This trip we didn't go near a florist and I thought nothing of not getting any flowers.
Two days after Sam had gone home I arrived home to find a big bunch of flowers (with 5 chocolate hearts - to make sure we got one each) sitting by the door with Thank you card from Sam.

Early November I returned for a follow up appointment with my cardiologist. He was very excited to see me and called me in first even though he had other patients waiting before me. He is really happy with how I am going and did the usual E.C.G which showed everything is still fine. He said he will see me again in another 12 months when he will do a coupl eof tests and if everything is still fine he said I won't ever need to see him again (unless I run into any prablems down the track) so that was great news.

Taken at the end of the day after the big move in Mum & Dad's new lounge room. You can see the redness in Mum's left leg even from a distance

Mid November we were flat out moving Mum and Dad. The house they were renting sold so they were required to move house. It was a huge job and Mum's back went out on her and the stress of the move caused her leg problems to flare back up resulting in cellulitis followed by another leg ulcer. Dad had an attack of AF in the middle of the move so I had to drive him to the doctor where his heart rate came under control. He was ordered to go home and have a rest (not the easiest thing to do when your in the middle of moving) but he managed to have a sleep and felt much better afterwards. We were so busy moving I didn't get a chance to take any pics except the one above. They are now settled into their new home in a nice estate across the highway. We are all praying the owners wont decide to sell the house any time soon as none of us are ready to move them again.

Mid November we had Simone and Simon over for dinner. They were on holiday and staying on the Gold Coast. It was lovely to catch up with them and to meet their gorgeous children.

The kids had a fun time playing together as they are all so similar in age

November ended with our baby turning 5. She is still a delight and so easy to please. When we asked her what she wanted for her birthday she would reply "I'll like whatever you want to give me". Our baby was born with music in her and she has danced and sung her way through everyday since she could walk and talk so we made it a musical birthday with gifts to make music and CD's to dance and sing to.

Nikayla's birthday was on a school day so I took her shopping and out for lunch. In the evening we had the family over for dinner and she clung to Uncle Nathan for much of the night.

Halloween Fun

2009-11-05T13:13:00.000+10:00

On Friday night the school had a Halloween disco. Alyssa wanted to dress as a witch so we dug around to see what we could find to pull off her witches costume. Josh opted out of the disco as he said her would rather a night home with Colin to do boys stuff. He said 'If I go it will just be for the food and to listen to the music". He is not keen on dancing.

Alyssa had a great time at the disco and stayed up most the time dancing. They always hire a great DJ for the school discos who makes it lots of fun for the kids. During the evening I had a Mum of one of the boys in Alyssa's class come up to me and tell me her son had informed her he wanted to take Alyssa on a date to the city - so cute!

Saturday night the kids all dressed up (I am so dissapointed I forgot to take a photo as they all looked great) and headed out trick or treating. It is a really big thing here in our suburb and at least every second house they visited had a treat for them. Last year we had no idea Halloween was big here and were at home having a quiet night when kids started arriving on our doorstep every coupl eof minutes through the evening asking for treats. Lucky I had some treats in the house that the kids were able to give out but it didn't take long till we ran out. This year we were prepared with lots of treats. Some of the houses had gone all out with decorations outside and one house had people dressed at the front that looked like statues and as the kids walked in through all the cobwebs to the front door they would scare the life out if them.

We stopped for a toilet and drink stop at Mum & Dad's and because my kids went inside when Mum opened the door all the other little kids out trick and treating that arrived there at the same time thought they could go inside too so Mum ended up with lots of little strangers inside her house looking for treats. Lucky she was prepared and had a big basket of lollies ready to give out.

We headed home when Niklayla and her little friend Paige started complaning of tired legs. We had covered quite a distance and their bags were starting to weigh down. We have had to ration out the treats so their teeth don't rot as they got heaps. It was lots of fun and a whole new experience for me as I only recall ever doing anything for Halloween once growing up when we had a fantastic and very memorable Halloween activity one year.

Our Whitsunday Adventure

2009-11-01T20:20:00.018+10:00

Last weekend we returned from a fantastic family holiday at Airlie Beach. We are just loving exploring Queensland and still have many more places to visit. Colin was so looking forward to getting away after being very overdue for holidays. It was a really relaxing week away and none of us wanted to come home.

We flew to Mackay where we hired a car and drove to Airlie Beach. We arrived early in the evening to discover there was a big Whitsunday Festival on. We went to the Airlie Beach foreshore where there was live entertainment and fireworks followed by an outdoor movie. It reminded me heaps of Southbank on the Brisbane river but on the beachfront instead. The weather was perfect and there were lots of people swimming in the big lagoon pools while watching the fireworks and soaking up the atmosphere.

We stayed at the Big 4 Whitsuday Adventure Resort as it had lots of activities to keep the kids entertained. We had so much fun and when I wanted I was also able to kick back and relax with a book around the pool and resort while the kids were happy at play (big kid included).
We spent the first few days around the resort and exploring Airlie Beach and then later in the week booked on a couple of day cruises to explore some of the Whitsunday Islands.

Picnic area at the resort

The kids spent heaps of time on the jumping pillow at the resort (big kids too of course)

Outdoor movies were screened of an evening throughout the week we were there

Tennis

Playground

Our Cabin
Mini Golf - Always a favourite for our family
Basketball

and of course the biggest hit of all at the resort was the large lagoon pool with 2 waterslides.
The kids didn't hold back in telling Colin and I we made tidal waves when we came off the slides into the pool.

Below the Airlie Beach foreshore and Saturday morning markets in the background

more photos of the foreshore

The kids exploring the big lagoon pools by the beach and surrounds

Time to cool off - The water and weather were beautiful

Watching the camel rides

Sand sculpting competition

A visit to the Shute Harbour Marina

Our first day cruise was to Daydream Island and long Island. The day cruises allow you to spend anywhere from a couple of hours up to a full day on the islands enjoying the activities and facilities on each island.

Colin & the kids waiting to board the boat for our first day cruise

Konnie and kids

Time to board

Kicking back ready for the ride

Approaching Daydream Island

Arriving at Daydream Island

Visting the Living Coral Reef at Daydream

Exploring the Island & enjoying a yummy buffet lunch

The girls loved the mermaids all over the island and wanted to be photographed with each of the different mermaids we came across

Walking along the island to explore the south end

Time for some mini golf on the Daydream Island 'Around Australia' themed mini golf course

passing through Sydney on our way around the golf course

Through the mountains

Taking a break on the walk back to the North end of the Island

after half a day back on the boat and off to Long Island

The walk into Long Island was exactly that Loooong.

More swimming on Long Island
followed by lots of kayaking in the beautiful water and relaxing by the beach and pool

Colin & AlyssaColin & Nikayla

Back on the boat where we got a drenching on the way back as water continually sprayed up over the side of boat. Josh took to the cabin where it was dry. (pictured top left)

A fun day out returning at 6:00 pm ready for more the following day

The following day we cruised to Hamilton Island and Whitehaven Beach.
It was the weirdest thing crusing out amongst all the islands and all of a sudden you see high rise buidlings on an island in the middle of nowhere. We loved all the islands but especially Hamilton Island. We are definitely planning on returning for a family holiday in the future.

Approaching Hamilton Island

Arriving and hiring a buggy. It was so much fun exploring the island by buggy. The kids had a blast on the back waving to everyone and giving Colin directions where they wanted to go next.

The buggy parking everywhere cracked me up. They lined the streets everywhere. Much easier than getting a normal car park.

Exploring the island beaches

and of course more swimming and relaxing by the pool

I was still coming to terms with the big resort buildings on the island

View from one tree hill - All the way up I was yelling to the kids 'Make sure you hang on' as I was having visions of one of them letting go and coming off the back of the buggy and rolling down the hill.

Hooning around

After a lovely lunch on board Fantasea the next stop was Whitehaven Beach. It was so beautiful and the water crystal clear and sand so soft. The cruise included beach toys and sports & sunshades to kepp eveyone happy for the rest of the day.

All the sunshades lined up along the beach

We then spent a couple more days enjoying the resort and for our last night in Airlie booked alternative accommodation as our original accommodation was booked out. We stayed at Peppers Coral Coast Resort. it was located on the hill at Airlie Beach with beautiful views.
It was 3 bedroom and 3 bathroom so Josh was wrapped having a queen size bed and his own deck and ensuite. The girls shared a room with their own ensuite and Colin and I had a lovely big spa in our room which was soon overun with children.

Alyssa caught enjoying the view on the deck

Colin & the kids on our apartment balcony at Peppers Airlie Beach

No one wanted to go home. It was all over too soon.

Time for Change

2009-10-15T14:18:00.003+10:00

Whitney, Brittany, Adam, Amber Lee, Tom, Peter, Cameron & Ammon

For almost a year now since my release from Stake YW's I have been teaching youth Sunday School. We have been studying church history which I have really enjoyed. I have been teaching the 16 and 17 year olds and have had an awesome bunch of youth who have been a pleasure to teach. They have kept me on my toes with their many questions.
For the past couple of months I have taken my camera along to church to get a photo of my class and then I get so caught up in teaching the lesson and catching up with them on their social lives I forget. Finally a couple of weeks ago I remembered to take photos... and just in time it seems for a release and new call into the primary presidency. I am now having a crash course in primary and right in time for the primary presentation - yeeks! I have spent so much time in YW's and RS but have not yet had the pleasure of previously serving in primary other than a few months in Hobart when I was a YSA so will see how it goes.

A Fun Packed Saturday

2009-09-13T07:42:00.007+10:00

Yesterday started out with basketball in the morning for Josh & Alyssa followed by our Stake Primary Activity in the afternoon. It was really well organised and kept the kids busy the whole time.
On arrival the kids received coloured ribbons to help them identify their age group and group leader. Nikki was in the yellow group, Alyssa green and Josh red. They were directed into the cultural hall where they were entertained for half and hour with a fun puppet show. They all sat very engrossed and had lots of laughs.

Following the puppet show they seperated into the groups and followed their group leader to their various activities for half an hour before rotating to the next activity.

The activities included:
Drumming - The Big Favourite

Puppet Making - as a follow up to the puppet show
Physical Activities run by the Tangs
and an Aboriginal Session with a didgeridoo and boomerang

The last point of call was refreshments where the kids were given a sausage in bread, packet of chips and apple and drink before heading home worn out and ready for a good nights sleep.
It was a fun packed two hours enjoyed by all.

Our kids were worn out but not ready to head home to bed. They were keen to go to Brisbane for the annual Riverfire fireworks & music extravaganza.

We headed to the Kanagaroo Point Cliffs just opposite the Brisbane Temple where we met up with Mum & Dad and Bill & Jeanette Harding and had an awesome view down the Brisbane River and across to Southbank where all the action was happening. We also had a speaker right near us to hear the live radio braodcast

Just as we arrived the roulette air show was underway and was very entertaining to watch.
At 7:00pm the fireworks were kicked off as 2 F-111's swept low across the city with a massive roar as they did a 'dump & burn'.
We enjoyed a solid half hour of a fantastic firework display before the evening ended with another tremendous roar as the F-111's travelled overhead back though the skies for another dump and burn. It will be the last year they will appear at riverfire as they have now been de-comissioned which is dissapointing as it is something everyone looks forward to.

Some of the kids favourite fireworks were the many smiley faces like this one lighting up in the sky again and again all over the place.

We were fortunate to get a great parking spot in Brisbane and were home just after 8:00 with our 3 sleepy heads who had enjoyed a fun packed Saturday.

Our Kitchen Coming Together

2009-09-05T22:22:00.002+10:00

Life around our house has been a little crazy of late. I almost feel like I have been camping under my own roof. We have been getting our new kitchen in and oh what a process (I could never be a renovator). Colin & I spent much time discussing and planning our kitchen & then Colin drew up the plans. The fun bit was visiting all the kitchen show rooms and opening and closing everything and looking for the best options to suit our needs. I got to the point where we had seen so many kitchens I was dreaming about them. Once we finally decided which company to go with for the supply and installation of our kitchen the wheels were in motion. We removed the old kitchen ourselves ready for the new kitchen to arrive. You just don't realise how much you rely on things like the kithen sink, bench & dishwasher until they are gone. We went back to washing up in a camping tub on our plastic outdoor table that was our make shift kitchen bench. I felt like I did hundreds of trips a day into the laundry for water. The dining room table was covered in everything that had no where else to go so Colin & I took to dining with the kids at their small table & chairs (thank goodness IKEA make their kids chairs strong enough to hold adult weight or else we may have had to resort to a picnic blanket on the floor). Fortunately we kept our existing pantry, pot drawer and a few overhead cupboards so there was still some form of order left in the kitchen.

After a weekend with no kitchen the cabinets arrived and the following day our installers arrived at 7:30am to start work. They had a laugh when they arrived to find our whole family dining at the kids table for breakfast. We were really impressed with the guys that came. They were such hard workers and were here 11 hours during which they only took a couple of short breaks despite us telling them to take more. They got 3/4 of the kitchen finished but were unable to complete it fully as the bench we had been supplied was a standard size and we had ordered a larger bench. The correct bench arrived this week and the kitchen installation was completed on Thursday after another 8 hours hard work by the installers. All we have left to do now is the floor tiles, some wall tiles and our splash back. The manager of the kitchen company is coming Monday to see the finished kitchen and apparently also has some compensation for us as their apology for the mistake with the bench.
I took our first photos today of the almost finished kitchen. Below are the before and after shots.

BEFORE - Choc a bloc

Our makeshift kitchen & dining prior to the new kitchen arriving

AFTER - Our new kitchen
We opted for lots of drawers including corner drawers that I am loving
we also designed an area for food storage into the back of our servery. Now I will have room to bulk buy.

Back view of servery

Shelves for food storage

Corner drawers

The wall on the right used to be a big empty wall.
Now it is filled with drawers and cupboards

I spent the day today putting everything away in the kitchen. It was such a nice feeling to have some cupboards and drawers left empty instead of having things falling out everywhere.
It was all worth it.

32nd Year

2009-08-19T12:20:00.000+10:00

Lots of yummy cupcakes made by Carissa

Growing up I used to think when you reached 30 you were old. So I guess now I am a couple of years into my thirties that makes me officially 'old' by child opinion. Scary how fast time flies.
I often look at our 3 children and think surely they can't be ours.
I had a great birthday and was very spoilt by family, friends and also by perfect weather.

It was Stake Conference weekend for our stake and I was privileged to be a member of the Stake Conference choir. I decided when I had my operation earlier this year that if it was successful I would take the next opportunity to join the choir (not that my singing voice is that great but I just have a love and appreciation for music) . Prior to the operation I enjoyed singing but would often get short of breath and would end up mouthing the words rather than singing as it was too exhausting. It was a great feeling to sing my heart out and feel fine. I am still noticing lots of little things each and every day that are easier to do than before - I feel so blessed.

Our kitchen was ripped out last week in preparation for our new kitchen being installed tomorrow (I am sitting here right now anxiously waiting for it to be delivered any moment). With no kitchen we decided to celebrate my birthday at the park. All the family came along to help celebrate.

Enjoying a picnic lunch

Carissa & Nikayla busted eating chocolate

Nathan with his little tag along Nikki

Natalie & her sister Laurie who was up visiting

Not hard to guess what Colin & Josh were up to...

Auntie Carissa stole the football. Turned in to the kids chasing her and a pile on

Just as we were packing up to leave the park Debi, Earl & Lachalan and Kate stopped by to wish me a happy birthday.

The day was topped off when I found this message on Josh's Megasketcher at the end of his bed with him fast asleep after a big day - so cute!

Our Sports Mad Son

2009-08-07T13:27:00.001+10:00

Josh pictured far left

Today the school held their junior sports carnival. Alyssa who was excited to participate decided her body just wasn't up for it after fighting the flu this past week and reluctantly opted to stay home. Josh on the other hand despite promptings from myself that he should stay home and rest was determined to participate no matter what. He loves his sport and won't miss any opportunity to be involved in sport of any kind. He put on a brave front that he was feeling great and was up and dressed early for school this morning. After giving Alyssa a restful morning at home I dragged her up to the school to watch the sprint races. Colin also took an early lunch break to come and watch. Josh came in 3rd in the grade 3 boys 100metre sprint. Once the race was over he was very obliging when I offered to bring him home from school early. I have a feeling he will be a wipe out for the next couple of days.

Josh with his 3rd place ribbon

Annual Visitors

2009-08-06T21:19:00.003+10:00

Every year we get the opportunity to catch up with Uncle Wally & Auntie Wanda as they head north on their annual holiday. The kids love them both and look forward to their visits. Uncle Wally is always a big hit & no matter how long between visits the kids always remember Wally.
They arrived yesterday and are staying with Mum & Dad for a couple of days. Nikayla had a lovely day out today with the adults. Grandma & Grandpa & Uncle Wally & Auntie Wanda came and took her out for a bbq and play at Paradise Point while I enjoyed some quiet time at home alone after having the kids home from school sick with colds & flus this week. Tonight we all ventured out to the local tavern for dinner. Oh how I love coming home to a clean kitchen when we eat out.

A Night at the footy with Nathan and Natalie

2009-07-31T18:51:00.000+10:00

Last term Josh & Alyssa participated in the AFL Auskick program after school on Tuesdays for 8 weeks. Josh received some free tickets in the mail for 2 adults & 2 kids to go watch the Brisbane Lions VS North Melbourne Kagaroos last Saturday night. Colin & I had prior plans to go to Dales's 40th so Uncle Nathan & Auntie Natalie stepped in and took Josh & Mitch to the footy and then for a sleepover at their place. Natalie kindly sent through some photos today.
The boys had a great time and were sworn to secrecy by Uncle Nathan about what time they really went to bed. We knew it was late as Josh was so tired he was swaying all over the place on Sunday sitting in church until he finally dropped off to sleep on my lap.

Josh & Mitch
Mitch, Josh & Nathan

Fancy Dress 40th

2009-07-26T18:10:00.001+10:00

Last night Dale Woolley had his 40th Birthday Party. It was a 70's & 80's movie/tv character themed night and was lots of fun. We had a yummy spit roast dinner cooked in a great outdoor oven made by Dale topped of with a live band Mayan Fox.

Dale as Beetlejuice with Maddison who was also celebrating her 7th birthday and spent lots of time on the dance floor with Dale.

Narelle as Sandy from Grease

Jeannie & Master Nelson from I Dream of Jeannie

Dallas as a motorbike Rider from a short tv series in the 80's with Cassie as Daphne from Scooby Doo

Reeve McLennan dressed from Monkey Magic (and temporarily posing with his wife as Darth Vader for a Star Wars shot)

Dallas & Cassie with Denise as Samantha from Bewitched

Matthew from KISS & Kylie as Cruella DeVil in 101 Dalamations

Sam & Warwick from Star Wars

Glen as Indiana Jones

Naomi Jordan as Velma from Scooby Doo

Chey as Popeye & Tracy as Morticia

Andrew, Malissa & Deanne

Sharon in one of here dresses from back in the day with Lene & Malissa

The Millingtons & Muirs with Rose from MASH

Chantelle Tang as Laverne from Laverne and Shirley

Sharon & Mike

Wendy & Scott

School Holiday Road Trip

2009-07-26T09:30:00.001+10:00

Ready to go to church in Port Macquarie

Time to catch up on my blog again. I started this post a few weeks back but never got around to posting it.
The school holidays come around so quickly. I look forward to the break from making lunches and helping with homework and busy mornings but I don't look forward to all the fights that take place when the kids are home together. We decided to go away for the first week of the holidays and keep them busy so they wouldn't be at each others throats.

Sadly things didn't go quite to plan and Colin wasn't able to get time off work due to 2 staff in the estimating department being put off a few days before we left, leaving Colin & the other senior estimator with a very large workload. Fortunately Mum & Dad were able to join us for our time away so I wasn't alone.

We left home on Friday morning at 9:30am for the long drive to Port Macquarie. I had explained to the kids beforehand it would be the longest drive in the car they had ever done. I soon realised that hadn't registered with Alyssa when 20 minutes from home she was saying "how much further?" & "we have been driving for ages." After lots of toilet stops, snack breaks & some playtime we pulled into Port Macquarie just before 6:00pm exhausted after being on the road for over 8 hours. Overall the kids were great travelling. Nikayla amazed me as she travelled the whole way without reading, colouring in or without a turn on the Nintendo or Gameboy and didn't utter one word of complaint. She just looked out th window, slept and sang and was an absolute angel. Wish I could say the same for the older two who weren't such happy travellers.

We stayed at Vacation Village in Port Macquarie which is an older resort but had great family facilities and we had an awesome time.

The kids spend alot of time at the resort playground

Playing mini golf with Grandma at the resort

Nikayla
Josh

Saturday we woke excitedly ready to explore the resort in daylight. Wasn't long before the kids had been on the playground and were asking to play mini golf. We got our golf clubs, balls and scoresheet and were at the first hole when Dad came along announcing he had booked us on Whale Watching and the boat was leaving in 15 minutes. We went into a frenzy to get ready and down to the wharf in time. Last time we went whale watching Josh got very sea sick so he was not at all impressed and was dragged along reluctantly. We got to the wharf to find it was a smaller speed boat that took only 8 people. The guy assured Josh we would be going too fast for him to get sea sick so he climbed in. Before leaving the tour guide said if he was going to fast or if there was any reason for concern to raise our right hand. Off we went along the river and hit open water. He sped up very quickly and we hit some big waves. The next thing I could hear Mum (who was sitting behind Nikayla and I) absolutely cracking up. She was laughing so hard she couldn't speak to tell me what was up. I spun around further to see Josh and Alyssa both with their right hands up as high as they could go looking very concerned. Alyssa even had tears starting to surface. They were both petrified and told the tour guide we were going to fast and they were worried we were going to end up in the water. Nikayla on the other hand was loving every minute and laughing. The guide told them if we go slow we will miss the whales. He reassured them they would be ok, told them to hang on and off we went again. In no time at all we had covered quite a distance and were at the whales. We initially watched 2 adult whales who kept swimming closer to us and alongside them was a 3 day old baby whale. The kids got in on the action and started really enjoying themselves. We then spotted another whale futher away where there seemed to be lots of activity. We got there just in time to catch him breaching out of the water. It was an awesome experience and because there was only 8 of us on the boat we all got a great view of the whales. The boat ride back in was lots of fun as the kids were feeling very confident by that stage so we travelled back even faster than on the way out and they giggled all the way back because they were enjoying the ride and also because Alyssa's hair blowing madly in the wind kept going up Josh's nose and tickling it. We even managed to catch a glimpse of a few dolphins on the way back in.

Ready to go Whale Watching

Nikayla loving every minute

The fun ride back in

The rest of the week was spent at the resort enjoying all the activities which included: Playground, Basketball, Tennis, Squash, mini golf, table tennis, billiards, kids indoor play area with little calssrooom, swimming pool and spa, giant chess, cricket and watching movies.

We also went walking most days and played hydro golf which was a big hit with the kids. Despite none of them hitting any targets with the golf balls they still had a great time. Nikayla would cheer every time her balls made it even into the water as the majority ended up on the grass bank in fron of her. We also did a spot of fishing off the jetty but despite lots of nibbles and continually losing our bait the only catch was some ripped up denim by Josh. The entire time we were fishing there were two dolphins swimming around us to keep us occupied.

Grandpa at Hydrogolf

Josh

The kids playing schools in the indoor playroom at the resort

The catch of the day

We decided to break up the drive back over two days and did a nights stop over in Yamba. It was a really lovely spot and we stayed at the Angourie Rainforest Resort. It was music to my ears when we checked in and the receptionist informed me they had an outdoor playground as well as an indoor playground with a jumping castle, slides and ball pit etc for the kids. After being cooped up in the car for most of the day I told them to bounce for their lives trying to wear them out for a good nights sleep. The resort and cabins were really lovely so I think we will definitely be planning a trip back there again. We ran into Bob & Debbie Gilkes while at the resort who were on a weekend getaway.

stop over at Yamba

We arrived home to Colin who had been busy while we were away pulling the bar out and drawing up plans for our new kitchen. Now we are in the process of getting quotes for the kitchen and kids corner study area so we can started on them soon.

The second week of the school holidays whizzed by and the kids spent most of their time playing with their toys ( whenever we come back from being away they always have a new found fascination with their toys after being away from them).

The weekend after returning home we caught up with Uncle Chayne & Auntie Margaret who popped in for a quick visit and came to church with us before continuing on their drive south. Later in the month we also caught up with Lyn Holloway (I can't remember her new married name) and Naomi King (Scott) at the Woolleys. Naomi hasn't changed a bit and it was lovely meeting her children.

Calling All Parents

2009-06-01T12:54:00.000+10:00

There has been lots happening on the business front as we prepare for the launch of

We have quite a few new products on board from toilet training helps to pocket money systems and of course will continue to carry our Job Jogga's chore system.

We are hoping to launch initially with at least 30 products in our range but are still falling short of that number. We have been very selective with the products we will carry and are currently seeking unique, innovative and quality products to assist with parenting & products designed by parents for parents.

If there is a product you can recommend I would love to hear about it. We are particularly keen to keep our suppliers local within Australia.

I also welcome any general product suggestions (things you may have thought you could do with as a parent) but haven't been able to find.

Our Product Categories are:
Teach Them/Train Them
Keep Them Safe
Keep Them Healthy
Natural Alternatives
Off We Go - Travel
Just Cause They're Great - Innovative
Pamper the Parent

Feel free to leave you suggestions in the comments area on this blog or alternatively you can email me at konnie@parentstoolbox.com.au

How Quickly Things Happen

2009-05-26T17:30:00.000+10:00

How quickly things happen. This month has certainly been full of the unexpected. Earlier in the month I had my post-op follow up visit with my cardiologist where it was confirmed the ablation has worked and I am still in sinus rhythm :) It was wonderful to hear him say it and he too was very excited about how well it had all gone. He then reminded me that after the first op we had spoken about the likelihood that I would still need a pacemaker down the track as the electrical system in my atria (top part of the heart) was still showing that it was stressed and sluggish similar to that in an 80 year old. At this visit he said that my atria was no longer showing any signs of being stressed and everything looked normal. It appears that my heart was just worn out from working over time for so long and now the arrythmia's have been successfully stopped and my heart rate has been slowed down and rhythm back to normal everything else has managed to restore itself to normal. It was better news than we all had anticipated.
There is a small chance that my arrythmia's could return any time or that I may still need a pacemaker in the future but at the moment neither of these things are on the cards - best news ever.

I came home from my appointment excited to tell Colin but the minute I saw him knew something was up. He had just heard news his grandfather was very unwell and shortly after received further news that he had passed away. He is close to his grandfather who was the last of his grandparents still lliving. We were then busy booking fares to Tassie for Colin and Josh and raiding the wardrobes to find some warm clothes for them to take.
The funeral went well and Josh coped fine with his first funeral. He also really enjoyed having some boys time with Daddy, Poppy and Uncle Adrian (away from his sisters).
After picking them all up from Launceston airport Robert took them to the Great Lakes where Josh got to play in the snow for the first time. He has been asking for the past couple of years if we can go to the snow. The Tasmanian weather was kind to him and there was snow on the day they arrived. He was dissapointed it was hard and not soft and fluffy as he had imagined but he still had a good time and managed to build a snow man and have a snow fight with uncle Adrian.
It was a quiet 2 nights at home while they were gone as Josh is our little chatter box so no doubt talked off Poppy & Uncle Adrian's ear while he was away.

Josh with snowman

Another unexpected event this past weekend when Dad was taken to hospital by ambulance with a racing heart, erratic heart beat, chest pain & shortness of breath. Initially the paramedics suspected it may be a heart attack but after tests comfirmed this was not the case but that it was infact atrial fibrillation (similar episodes to what I have been having over the past 30 years).
He had a dangerous rhythm for several hours and it took a while to stabilise him at the hospital. After several hours and lots of morphine his heart finally reverted back to a normal rhythm.
He has since had tests that show no damage done to the heart but they are not sure what caused the rhythm to come on and have put him on medication to try and prevent it happening again. They have also given him medication to thin his blood as the arrythmia causes blood not to pump around the body properly, it pools and can then clot. If the clots break of and lodges in the wrong place it can cause a stroke an other problems. Hopefully he will not have any more episodes and that the medication will work to keep it all under control. He looked awful on Sunday but was back to himself yesterday itching to get home and chatting to everyone and has just come home this afternoon after 2 nights in hospital and is very glad he will be sleeping in his own bed tonight.

Here's hoping the remainder of the month will be less eventful.

Nikki & Alyssa with their face painted

The New and Improved Me

2009-05-12T14:18:00.002+10:00

OUTCOME OF MY OPERATION

I have been trying to blog for a while regarding the outcome of my operation but our internet seems to be particularly slow at the moment so I gave up. Let's hope this time it works.

Thanks to everyone who has sent their love, prayers and thoughts my way. I have been overwhelmed by the support of everyone and it has helped me get through a very challenging time.
My 2nd op went very well. My cardiologist was extremely please with the outcome and told me they have "nuked the problem area" in my heart. Fingers crossed now the outcome will be permanent as I don't think that I could mentally and physically go through it all over again if it ever decided to come back. They burnt my heart much longer this time and with twice the energy and it was very uncomfortable. I literally felt like I was going to combust and felt an extreme amount of pressure/pain in my chest, throat and shoulder area (I can imagine a heart attack would feel similar). It took every ounce of mental determination I had not to scream at them to stop. Afterwards the bleeding at the entry site took longer to settle down than last time and I also had an allergic reaction to something at the hospital and had swollen eyes for about 3 days. They put me on aspirin for a month to decrease the likelihood of having a stroke after the op. Once back home I was back on my feet pretty quick but am only starting feel my strength coming back now, a month later. The past week or so I have felt like I am in a strangers body. I am really enjoying the new and improved version of me.

I feel the procedure has completely worked but have an appointment with my cardiologist later this week where I expect to get the official nod it has worked. I am hoping it will be my last visit for a very long time. It has been a real experience sitting time after time in hospital cardiology waiting rooms full of elderly people all looking at me like I am in the wrong place. The same has been my experience in ICG and coronary care units where I have been continually referred to as 'the baby/youngest' patient.
The difference I am noticing is incredible and only now I realise how bad my arrythmia's were and how much I have put up with for so long. For the first two weeks after the op I would fall asleep at night with the stethescope in my ears listening to my heart rhythm beating regularly for the the first time in my life - I'm sure I fell asleep with a smile on my face. Up until a month ago it used to keep me awake as I could feel it thumping away irregularly and quickly and would feel short of breath even lying in bed (now I need the stethescope to check it is beating). It has been such a long journey to get to this point after having lived with atrial tachycardia/fibrillation for my entire life.
I never thought the day would come that there would be the technology to fix it. I think of all the years in and out of hospital in Tas & Melbourne, the heart ache Mum & Dad went through being told it was likely I wouldn't live when I was younger, the hundreds of ecg's, doctors appointments, trialling different medications and all their awful side effects and now it is all gone - hopefully for good.
More than anything it has been a comfort and blessing to have finally met a cardiologist who specialises in my problem who was able to explain it to me properly and who could offer treatment.
The day Colin rushed me to hospital a year ago after I nearly passed out in the shower I remember thinking to myself 'great timing' as it was a Friday and I thought all the specialists wouldn't be in till Monday. The following day I was visited by a cardiologist from another hospital who happened to be rostered on for that weekend. He is a specialist in the field of heart rhythm disorders with an excellent reputation. He was the first cardiologist to ever to pinpoint accurately what was going on with my heart and explain it to me so that I could understand. He was able to point out to the other cardiologists what was going on and it was then he told me there was now the technology to perform an operation that had a 90% success rate of curing people with my condition. It was then i became his patient. When I first met him he was very abrupt and my heart would go wacko when he was around because he made me nervous. He has since become much more personable and at the end of my last procedure turned to me and said "I can't even begin to imagine what your life has been like living with this condition for the past 30 years and told me I was a real trooper". He deals with people with arrythmia's every day but said mine was particularly troublesome and he had never treated anyone before who had lived with an arrythmia as long as I have.
So many people tell me they wouldn't have known there was anything wrong with me if they hadn't found out found about my condition. I guess I just became an expert at putting on a brave face and acting as normal as possible even when I felt weak enough to drop. I have tried as much as possible to not let it stop me doing anything.
I realise now all the little things evey day I did / didn't do while living with the arrythmia.
I never stood for long because I would feel dizzy and weak quickly. I tried to avoid situations that would make me anxious e.g public speaking as sometimes it would take hours for my heart to slow down properly afterwards, as a child and teenager I always preferred baths over showers now I realise it is because I associated showers with having palpitations and feeling giddy and weak, I have only ever done low impact exercises because high impact would send my rhythm out of control. I constantly felt tired because my heart was working overtime. The thing I have notice most since not having any arrythmia's is how often I had them every single day. My brain tells me so many times a day now to expect to feel dizzy, giddy, weak etc when doing things that would normally cause it and nothing happens - I think that will take the longest to get used to. During the op I felt really cold laying there still for a coupe of hours. Just after they had completed the burning of my heart I felt my hands warm up very quickly which was a sign that my circulation had improved immediately and my blood was pumping around my body properly.

We went to Wet N Wild a couple of weeks ago as I had told Colin it would be a good place to test our my heart. Normally when climbing the flights of stairs to go on the big rides I would be struggling by the second flight and unable to speak the rest of the way up. Once at the top my heart would beat uncontrollably, I would feel extremely weak and this would continue for ages afterwards. This time I was up to the 4th flight of stairs before I even noticed my heart rate elevating. I talked to Colin all the way up and kept asking him what his heart rate was doing (comparing notes). At the top I still felt great and was talking and my heart was fast but steady, not erratic and then gradually slowed down to normal before I boarded the raft to ride back down. It was a wonderful feeling. Right now I am feeling extremely blessed and full of gratitude.

I was treated to lots of R & R after the op. We went to Seaworld resort for a few days where I relaxed by the pool with a book while Colin, Carissa & Mum & Dad entertained the kids. There has been lots happening since to keep me busy and I have been able to really enjoy all of it.

The Early Days - Fortunately I don't remember those days. I know it took it's toll on mum & Dad though.

Age 4 or 5 - One of my many visits to the Royal Melbourne Children's Hospital
I hated being away from home for weeks at a time but was lucky to always have Mum with me and sometimes Dad too. I remember visits from the missionaries who tried to entertain me and Sis Emma Chenoweth who always bought me special handmade gift (behind me are the Jack & Jill dolls she made me that became some of my most treasured toys).

I also spent alot of time in the Launceston General Hospital and was so grateful for Aunty Wanda who would come visit often each time bringing me different toys of Sarah's to play with to keep me occupied. I was always wired up to all sorts of monitors so couldn't go far and was restricted to bed most of the time.
Pop never failed me and on every visit would sneak in lots of yummy chocolates and treats he would quietly slip into my bedside drawer when the nurses weren't looking.

One of the many 24 hour heart monitors I wore. Fortunately they are much smaller now. My brother and sisters would call me bionic woman every time I came home all wired up.
From memory this photo was taken not long after they had started me on a new medication that had good results. The medication prior to this one had the worst side effects of all causing me to burn very badly in the sun even during winter. Because I kept burning so badly and losing the skin off my hands from sunburn I was confined to the class room during lunch hour and play time at school. One of the worst years of my childhood I remember.

Me with the kids on Mothers Day - A New Woman

Post Op - Laying by the pool at Seaworld Resort enjoying one of the many books borrowed from Cassie's bookshelf.

After our time away the month was filled was lots going on:

A week after I cam out of hospital we went to Dallas & Cassie's for dinner where we were able to catch up with Steve & Louelle Jury who were up from Tas. It was great seeing them and how much their kids have grown.

Other fun things we've been up to:

Family Lunch at the Royal Pines followed by swimming for the kids in the pool behind.

School Holiday Fun - A Day Trip to Coochiemudlo Island with Mum, Dad, Lanai & the kids.
Mitchells Baptism
Mitchell, Gavin, Lanai & Lindsay on Mitch's Baptism Day

A Suprise Island Getaway for Carissa's Birthday

Carissa is great at planning suprises for others birthdays and special occasions but every year when her birthday comes around she always has her birthday planned right down to the last detail before any one else can have a chance to plan anything for her. This year I told her to keep the Saturday of her birthday free for a girls day out. We left early and hit the highway heading north (she thought we were heading down the Gold Coast for a day at the beach so heading northd threw her). She then thought we were off to the Sunshine Coast until we took the exit over the gateway bridge with signs to Brisbane and the Port of Brisbane. It then didn't take her long to figure out we were going somehwere by boat.
We have been wanting to got to the Tangaloom Wild Dolphin Resort on Moreton Island since moving to Qld but haven't yet done so. Colin & I agreed I would take Carissa across for her birthday to enjoy a relaxing day while checking out the island for a future family holiday. We boarded the cat and just over an hour later arrived at Tangalooma. It was beautiful and the weather was perfect. I made up my mind as soon as I stepped onto the island that I will definintely be going back with Colin and the kids.
We spent the day exploring the resort and relaxing on the beach and around the pool. It was wonderful and we didn't want to come home. I can't wait to go back.

Mum took Carissa up Tamborine Mountain for her birthday and Nikayla and I decided to join them.

The kids with the ice cream cake we made for Carissa's Birthday

Josh enjoying his belated birthday present from Grandma & Grandpa. A day at Movieworld with Grandma, Grandpa, Mitchell and Uncle Nathan.

The Wild West Ride
Colin & I took the kids to Movieworld last weekend to check out the Stunt Drive Show as none of us have seen it yet except Josh on his visit above. We all really enjoyed it and afterwards finished with the Wild West Ride. Nikayla is now tall enough to ride some of the bigger rides so we were all able to ride together. It was so funny as Nikalyla loved it and laughed the whole ride while Poor Alyssa cried and wanted to get out.

The cars on two wheels in the Stunt Driver Show

Up the building

Through the flames
and out again

More Girl time
with
A Girls Night Out at the Pancake Parlour Brisbane with Cassie, Sam & Denise

A winning Week

2009-04-01T15:55:00.003+10:00

Last Friday Alyssa celebrated her 6th Birthday. She woke up with a big smile on her face eager to open her presents. Alyssa is referred to as 'smiley' in our house as she always greets us in the mornings with a big smile and is a very happy morning person. She opened her cards and presents from us, Poppy Penney & great Nan & Pa Ryan. Alyssa was then spoilt with more presents when grandma & grandpa arrived. Later in the day another package arrived in the mail from Uncle Adrian, Auntie Tami & cousins Kirsten & Samuel. The to top of the day Auntie Carissa arrived with 3 lovely new pairs of shoes and a big coloring and activity book. Alyssa was wrapped with all her presents & keen to get home from school to play with them.

After school Colin & I took Alyssa to White Water World for a play and swim. She loved having us both to herself. I don't know who was the bigger kid at the water park - Colin or Alyssa.

The school cross country was also held on Alyssa's birthday so she was very excited. The kids are both in the blue house team and this was their first official school sporting event since their school opened this year. They both did really well with Alyssa coming in 2nd place in the grade 1 girls race (1km). Josh then came in 1st place in the grade 3 boys race (2km). They were both very tired afterwards but pleased with their ribbons.

Alyssa running the Cross Country

Alyssa with her 2nd Place Ribbon

Josh with his 1st Place Ribbon

Our 3 kids all have a passion for drawing and coloring in. At night they will sit in their beds before falling asleep each with their own Megasketchers and will busily draw or write until they nod off to sleep. Often when Colin & I will go in to check them before heading to bed ourselves we will find lovely little messages or pictures just for us on their megasketchers. Alyssa in particular leaves us a little note every night like 'I love you lots Mum & Dad' or a picture drawn of our family with 'I love my family'. Josh has even given away a little secret once writing I love Mia (a girl from his school class).
Whenever the kids visit Mum & Dad's house they go to grandma's coloring in drawer where they each have their own color in book especially selected by grandma with lots of pencils and markers for them to color with till their hearts are content.

A couple of weeks ago mum gave the kids each a picture of the Easter Bunny to color from a local real estate agent. The kids went to work coloring their picture which Mum then entered into the easter coloring competition. After a week of wins this time it was Nilkayla's turn. Mum & Dad arrived Friday with an Easter package for Nilkayla that had just been dropped at their house by the real estate company. Nikayla had won the competition. She was sooooo excited to come home and find her chocolate chick and eggs prize. Alyssa and Josh also received a chocolate bunny each for their efforts so there were smiles all around.

I am hoping the good fortune rubs off and that this time it will be my turn to be a winner.
I am off to the hospital tommorrow to have my second cardiac ablation and am hoping that this time the procedure will be successful - permanently!! The last ablation worked for 2 weeks before my irregular and fast rhythm returned. I cried when I knew it was back; after having gone through such a long wait to begin with and then having such a smooth and successful operation I couldn't believe I would have to go through it all again. My cardiologist said because of have had the problem for so long the muscle around it is probably thicker than they had anticipated and it is likely they didn't burn through far enough to eliminate it completely. He said the always err on the side of less rather than more the first time around as there is the risk of burning right through the wall of the heart.
I had a 2 week glimpse of what life is like with a normal heart rhythm and it was significantly different. I felt the difference the instant they burnt my heart muscle and it went into a sinus rhythm. Once home I was able stand for long periods of time without feeling light headed and dizzy and was able to go to sleep at night without the thudding feel and sound of my heart beat in my chest and ears. Walking the kids to school was a breeze and I was ahead of them telling them to hurry up instead of the other way around dragging behind short of breath and feeling light headed. I also had warm feet for the first time in my life. After the op my electrophysiologist told me that I had an electrical system similar to that of an 80 year old - something he had not seen in someone as young as myself before. He thinks this is bacause my heart has been beating so fast and irregular for the past 31 years and it had prematurely worn out the elctrical system. If they are successful in restoring my heart rhythm to a normal rhythm tommorrow permanently then he hopes over time my hearts electrical system will have the opportunity to restore itself to that of someone my own age. Tommorrow they will be going in to the same problem spot with extra equipment that is harder to come by (so only used for 2nd procedures) and more precise and will burn harder and further through the heart muscle. My nerves are starting to kick in again and I will be glad when it is all over amd I am back home.
Tommorrow is also the anniversary of the restoration of the church so I am hoping it will be my day to be restored also.

Josh & Alyssa off to the school disco this week

10 Years Of Marriage

2009-03-23T16:21:00.014+10:00

On the 6th February Colin & I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. Our anniversary fell 2 days after I came out of hospital from my long anticipated cardiac ablation so we decided to celebrate our anniversary in March instead.

Last weekend Carissa came and spent the weekend with the kids to allow us our annual anniversary weekend away. This year we went to Peppers Resort at Salt in northern NSW. It is a beautiful resort and the weather was perfect. After a walk on the beach and visiting the Kingscliff markets on saturday morning we enjoyed a relaxing day around the pool. It was weird not having to supervise the kids in the pool and extremely quite; so much so that I actually nodded off to sleep in my deck chair while reading a book (normally I can never sleep during the day even if I try). We had a lovely weekend and it was all over way to quickly.

I can't believe how fast the past 10 years have gone. Feels like we have been married only a couple of years.

I thought I would include 10 photos from our dating days through till now

Dating

Fancy Dress Party - Dressed as the Flinstones - Dating

Ready to do a floor show at the YSA Ball Hobart - Engaged
6th Feb 1999 - Our Wedding Day

Taken just after Josh was born - Married 2 years

Married 5 Years

Last Year

Us 10 years later with our little family

10 Things About My Best Friend
1. He treats me like a queen
2. He is a wonderful husband and father
3. He does his own ironing (I hate ironing)
4. In 10 years of married life he has Never complained about going to work
5. Has been truly amazing when I have not been well. Steps in and takes over the home and the kids while making sure I am also well taken care of.
6. Treats me to lots of foot rubs and neck & shoulder rubs despite knowing I am not good at giving them in return.
7.Is happy to cook dinner as long as everyone is happy to eat meat & veg
8. Is really easy to buy for on birthdays and other special occasions. He is always happy with whatever he gets even if it just a bag of m&m's.
9. He is 100% Reliable - Never let's us or others down
10. If I was taken 10 years back in time and had to choose who to marry I would definitely choose Colin all over again to spend the rest of eternity with.

I've BeenTagged

2009-03-08T08:30:00.005+10:00

I have just been tagged by Kirsten

The rules:

1. Go to the section of your computer where you store all of your photos.

2. Select the 6th folder.

3. Select the 6th photo from that folder.

4. Post and explain about that picture.

5. Tag 6 other people.

So here is the 6th photo from my 6th folder

This photo was taken December 2004. Pictured in the photo is my brother Nathan with our youngest Nikayla. I had to capture this moment because it was the first day Nathan had held Nikayla and he wasn't feeling too comfortable about it.

Niakayla had a habit of waking up and crying for a feed every single time I sat down to eat. Nathan was visiting this particular day and had told me to put my feet up while he fixed me a really lovely salad for lunch. I sat down to eat and had barely got started when right on cue Nikayla woke and started crying. (Prior to that day Nathan had politely refused to hold Nikayla not feeling comfortable with holding a small baby). I started to get up knowing Nathan wouldn't get her and he firmly told me to sit back down and eat. He went to Nikayla and talked to her trying to settle he but she just kept getting more wound up. I could see the fear in Nathan's face as he mustered up all his courage to pick her up. He held her while I kept eating and was looking pretty uncomfortable not quite sure what to do with her. After a short time he was asking 'Are you finished yet Konn?' followed by 'Do you think you could hurry it up a bit?'. He was so relieved when I finished eating and relieved him of his short babysitting duties. I made sure I got a photo first though to prove to the family he had held her.

Fortunately the fear of holding them passed as they grew bigger and they have had enjoyed lots of fun and entertainment with uncle Nathan.

I tag the following 6 people:

Lisa (the blogger queen)
Cassie
Simone
Christian
Toni
Carli

Birthday Party, Baptism & Back to School

2009-01-25T20:01:00.025+10:00

Pool Party

The past few days have certainly been busy. On Saturday we celebrated Josh's 8th birthday with friends and family at the pool. It certainly beats having the house turned upside down! A party I would certainly do again. It was a beautiful day despite rain forecast. We spent three hours at the local pool swimming and had a lovely time. Afterwards the kids were super tired and dropped off to sleep early (don't you just love wearing them out) leaving Colin & I to watch a movie with no interruptions.

Josh's 8th Birthday Cake - Car Racing Track

From the Allens

From the Woolley's

From the Carters

Cassie, Dallas, Megan, Warwick, Lindsay, Mum, carter, Sam & Lanai

Nancy (Josh's primary teacher) with Adam & Paisley

Lanai, Gavin, Mitchell & Lindsay

Megan

Carissa & Joe

Megan & Gavin

Colin looking like he is up to no good

Josh & Carter

Lanai, Cassie, Reid & Sam

Mum & Dad

Carissa

Paige & Warwick

Niakayla

Breakfast & Baptism
Sunday is the day Josh has been eagerly anticipating for ages. His baptism day. he was sooo excited. Due to our church meetings being in the afternoon this year the baptism was held after church at 4:30. We knew it would be a long day so had a family brunch in the morning before church.

Josh was up bright & early on Sunday & very excited. His eyes were very sore and red from the cholorine in the pool the previous day so he was looking very tired (nothing some drops couldn't fix).

Enjoying a yummy breakfast of bacon, eggs, sausages, mushrooms, hashbrowns, tomatoes, pancakes & fruit salad (sorry about my poor photography).

Nathan & Natalie joined us a little later in the morning & scored the left-overs. Josh was excited that they came bearing gifts in the form of a Ben 10 watch and action figure.

Then at 4:30pm finally the wait was over for Josh & the baptism began. Josh was able to share his baptism day with Susannah who is a real sweetie so it made it all the more special. It was a really beautiful baptismal service.

Poor Sussanah hadn't met Josh's aunts before so became very confused when Lanai stood to conduct the singing. Susie turned to her dad & said 'Konnie has cut her hair?, then her Dad playing along pointed to Carissa at the piano saying 'and she can play the piano too . She was very relieved to discover they were Josh's aunties.
If only I could multi-task that well.

Josh with Colin - they looked so handsome all dressed in white

Colin & I with our little boy all grown up
It was a beautiful baptismal service.

Dad, Gavin, Nathan, Colin & warwick & Josh

Josh with Mark Tang - Mark conducted the baptisimal service

Family Photo

Josh with grandma & Grandpa

Joshwith friends, sisters & cousins

Josh with Nathan & Natalie

Josh & Auntie Carissa

Australia Day
It has been raining on and off over the past few days so we thought our ward Australia Day activity might not go ahead at the Park as planned. We woke to a very wet ground and overcast skies but once again the weather held out long enough for us to celebrate Australia Day. our ward usually heads to the beach but this year our favorite beach spot is undergoing some improvement so we went to the park. The kids had a great time on all the playground equipment and Josh & Ben spent most of the morning riding down the hill on the Tangs billy cart. The ward put on a awesome breakfast as always and there was a huge turn out. We were at the park from 7:30am -10:30am when everyone began to head off to hit the beaches/pools. We spent the afternoon at Lanai & Gavin's in the pool. Again the kids were tired out and drifted off to sleep early ready for their first day back at school.

Dad riding in the back of our car on the way to the ward Australia Day Breakfast

Josh riding alongside Grandpa

The girls in the back wearing pink - of course. Their theme colour for any occasion.

Alyssa & Nikayla climbing the rope tunnell

Narelle, Hannah, Chantelle

Back To School

I can't believe the school holidays are over already!!
Here are some pics from their first day back at school.

The kids are fantastic doing their Job Jogga's. Alyssa in particular is our little Job Jogga queen
www.jobjoggas.com.au today she was up early dressed ready and had all her 'Get Ready for School' jobs done.

A picture of Alyssa giving me an inspection of her room this morning before school.

Josh & Alyssa dressed in their new school uniforms for the first time

Lucky I still have Nikki to keep me company at home - only for 1 more year though

It was raining heavily this morning but it kindly stopped long enough for us to walk to school and back

Even Colin briefly popped home from work to come along and meet the kids teachers & to see them off on their first day.

Arriving at the school

Alyssa in her new grade 1 classroom

Josh in his new grade 3 class room with some of his mates from last year who have also transferred to the new school.

The first day went well and everyone seems very happy.

I'm Feeling Old

2009-01-23T16:35:00.001+10:00

Josh blowing out the candles on his birthday pavlova (his favorite dessert).

I am officially feeling old! Josh celebrated his 8th Birthday this week on the 21st. Seems like only yesterday he was born. I remember looking at him as a new baby and wondering what type of boy/man he would grow up to be, what he would look like, what sort of parents we would make.

Although he is now 8 he is still 'my little Josh' who greets me every morning with big cuddles. He is a fairly serious little guy, but when he laughs everyone knows about it as he can be heard a mile away. He loves to talk & you know when you start up a conversation with Josh you will be there a while as he is very descriptive and doesn't miss out any details. he is a bright spark and sometimes I feel like he knows more than I do (I just don't tell him that). He loves school and all sports (like his Dad), especially basketball. He also loves technology and enjoys the computer, XBox & Nintendo. He unfortunately has suffered migraines from a very young age though which land him in bed crying in pain from time to time (often brought on after concentrating for a while on the computer or XBox or at the end of the school day). He is an amazing big brother and is very protective of his little sisters. He has a way with younger kids and seems to attract them wherever we go & keeps them entertained. He is a big help around the house and is Colin's shadow when he is at home. He is very compassionate and caring but a typical male who can't find anything that is right in front of his eyes. I love him heaps and wish I could keep him this age.

Josh's Birthday Photos

Josh with his new BMX

Opening Birthday Presents

Kicking back playing the Nintendo

Josh is easy to please when it comes to food and eats almost everything. He has a thing at the moment for chop sticks and opted for Noodle Box for dinner. I wasn't complaining about a night off cooking.

A birthday isn't a birthday in our hats without the groovy party hats the kids insist we have to wear. Poor Grandpa's head is just too big.

I can't believe the kids are only home 3 more days before they are back at school. The holidays have just whizzed by. I was kind of dreading the holidays a little thinking the kids would fight. They really haven't been too bad and have played together well. Nikayla especially loves having Josh and Alyssa home. I have found I have had quite a bit of 'me' time while they have played happily together. We went to the new school this week to pick up their uniforms. Yesterday everything was labelled to we are all ready for Tuesday.

The past couple of weeks have been spent swimming, at sleepovers and day outings with friends. Of course I kept forgetting to take the camera but managed to catch a few shots here and there.

While Megan enjoyed a sleepover at our house Cassie and Dallas went looking at houses and just signed a contract on a house in our ward (yippee). It will be great being in the same ward again.

Chef Alyssa supervising the pizza making - they ate every slice.

Josh , Alyssa & Megan playing Monopoly

Josh teaching Carter how to play Chinese checkers

Josh & Carter enjoying a swim

Nikki, paige & Alyssa all smiles after their swim

A family Home Evening Dip in the pool at Lanai & Gavin's

One of mine and Colin's favorite past times in looking through display homes. We have a number of display villages nearby so last weekend we went for a sticky beak to check out one of the new display villages. We both loved the enclosed parents retreat/balcony off the main bedroom of
this particular home - a real oasis to escape to.

Just a random photo of myself and Carissa. She has been sooo busy lately with her new job and R.S. and we miss her heaps. We are looking forward to tommorrow as she is coming down for the weekend for Josh's party & baptism. I can't wait to tell her the girls have named one of their Barbie's after her (considering they love their Barbie's that is a real compliment).

A Quick Trip Interstate

2009-01-08T12:19:00.000+10:00

Colin's office opens back up next week so he is back at work Monday. We thought we would sneak in a couple of days of family time away during his last few days of holidays.

Growing up my family went away at least twice a year and all of us kids remember our holidays as our best childhood memories and uninterrupted family time. Colin is also very adventurous and keen to explore so we have decided as a family tradition we will get away as a family often even just for short breaks.

The most difficult thing was deciding where to go. There are so many parts of Queensland and Northern NSW we want to discover. Because it was going to be a short break we decided to stay close by and headed to Hastings Point, 50 minutes away on the Northern NSW Coast.

The kids were very co operative in getting ready for the trip away. I had a check point in the house to where they needed to report. I told them we were having a packing relay and they had 15 minutes to be packed. I would name one or two things they needed to get and in a flash they were back with their items and to get further instructions on what they needed next. It was the easiest and quickest pack we have ever had and they did suprisingly well bringing clean clothes that co-ordinated. Tuesday morning we loaded up the car and headed off.

Josh & Nikayla ready and rearing to go.

We arrived at our destination the North Star holiday Resort/Cabin Park where we were able to check in early as we were now on daylight savings time - bonus!

We arrived at our little cabin and unpacked. The kids were so excited to be sleeping in a 'mini house' as they called it and spent ages climbing up and down the triple bunks.

We weather was beautiful and we spent most of our time at the pool and beach. The cabin park also had an awesome kids club with indoor play centre, games room, tennis court and kids playground so there was plenty to keep them busy. They were so worn out they went to sleep earlier than usual and slept in longer than usual and I enjoyed my first 10 hour straight sleep in years - woohoo!!

At The Resort Pool

Josh walking back from the pool

Alyssa with her Kangaroo made at the Kids Club

Alyssa & Nikayla in the Kids Club Indoor playground

Alyssa in the Ball Pit

We all loved it and are keen to go back for longer with the tent next time to camp.

While away we also took a drive up to Salt at Kingscliff (one of our favourite places to stay) where we had a lovely meal and the kids enjoyed playing.

On the way home e stopped by the side of the road to pick up lots of fresh fruit and veg direct from the farmers. Looks like a stir-fry might be on the menu tonight.

New Years Resolutions

2009-01-03T20:11:00.001+10:00

This must be a blogging record for me having posts so close together rather than weeks/months apart!!

STARTING EARLY ON OUR NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS
When we bought our home almost 2 years ago the first thing we said needed to go was the green walls. Our house was only 3 years old when we bought it but the original owners were an older couple with grown up sons and they obviously had a love for green as every single wall in the house was painted green. Not an awful green, a pale green - just way to much of it. Colin and I started out with good intentions and painted over the green with an off white in the entry, lounge, dining/kitchen/family and Josh's room. It was a mammoth task and we were sick of painting so decided the rest of the house would have to wait until we felt the urge again or got someone else in to do it. We have continued looking at green walls in the study, laundry, rumpus, our room the girls rooms and the kids toilet for the past 18 months.

When discussing new years resolutions and making goals we decided the next project would be our bedroom.
1) The green walls needed to go
and
2) It was time to finally put some shelves into my/our walk in wardrobe (It is shared by both Colin & I but we call it mine as my stuff takes us 80% of the space :) and it is one of my favourite rooms in the house as it is a great place to hide from the kids whenI need a few minutes peace and quiet.

We decided to get the New Year off to a productive start by painting our bedroom. By midday yesterday it was all done. Once it was finished I put our new quilt cover on the bed to complete the room. It was a Thai style quilt cover in red and black and it looked great on the package but once on the bed I decided our bedroom looked more like a Chinese restaurant so then came the fun part of packaging it all back up to return to the shop. Lucky Colin is more patient than me as trying to get those things back in their packaging is not an easy task.

Today we went back to Pillow Talk where we returned the quilt cover and chose a new one.
Poor Colin didn't know what to think when browsing through the quilt covers I pull out a green one and say "Honey, I love this one". I have been saying daily how we need to get rid of the green walls in our room for the past 18 months only to turn around and want a green quilt cover (no wonder us women confuse the poor men in our lives).
Once I pointed out the quilt cover is much easier to replace than green walls when we become sick of it he agreed we could get that one. Just some prints for the walls to get and out bedroom makeover will be complete.

Yay - No more green walls in this room

The green still remaining through much of the house can be seen in the picture of Nikayla's room below

Colin has also been busy putting shelves in our walk-in-robe which previously was all hanging space. Only a few more shelves to go up top now and it too will be complete - Yippee!!

Today Mum & Dad organised a family picnic at Paradise Point Park. The kids were all excited about going to play with their cousins and going swimming etc. We were all disappointed when we woke up to find our blue skies were nowhere to be seen and it was raining. Usually the rain doesn't come until late in the day at this times of year and comes and goes pretty quick. We thought it would be unlikely the rain would last long so we headed off anyway.

The kids (small and large) had a great time playing. Even once the kids had finished playing in the park Gavin went back for more - interesting to see who the biggest kids are. Every time the rain came we went undercover under our picnic shelter to stay dry. Soon we realised the rain was going to continue so we decided to make the most of the wet weather and go to the movies to see Bedtime Stories. The kids have been wanting to go since the start of the holidays but the weather has been too lovely to sit inside the cinema so today there was no excuse. We all really enjoyed the movie and the kids all through the cinema were cracking up, especially at the guinea Pig in the movie named Bugsy.

Nikki & I staying undercover out of the rain

Josh sitting under the picnic table when the heavy rain came

Mitchell out playing regardless of getting soaked

The kids with Uncle Gavin

Mum looking windblown and Alyssa rugged up in her beach towel trying to get warm

Celebrating the New Year

2009-01-03T08:43:00.002+10:00

New Years Eve was a quite one at home this year. Late in the afternoon we visited the Woongoolba pool for a swim. It is a lovely little pool out amongst the cane fields and not too far from home. We all love the water and go swimming every chance we get, it is so relaxing and refreshing and my preferred form of exercise. When the kids are older we have plans to put in a pool in our yard so we can go swimming whenever we want. Meanwhile we will enjoy the pools close by.

Later in the evening after dinner Mum & Dad came over and we had a board games tournament and yummy nibbles. We spent the evening playing Junior Monopoly, Chinese Checkers and Hi Rise Dominoes. Alyssa was the proud winner of Junior Monopoly after bankrupting the other players. I was champion of Chinese Checkers and Colin was the winner of Hi Rise Dominoes. Afterwards Mum & Dad headed home, the kids went to bed and Colin & I stayed up to watch the fireworks. (the first time in a few years that we have actually stayed up till midnight).

New Years Day was a warm one so we headed off to Whitewater World accompanied by Carissa.

We spend most of our time in the Cave of Waves wave pool and also in the Nickleodeon Water Playground. We spent a couple of hours there before heading home for a quite afternoon and early night.

Christmas Day

2008-12-30T11:01:00.000+10:00

Christmas Day was off to a very early start this year with Josh waking at 4:30am and then waking up his sisters. The kids had empties their stockings filled with coco pops and milk flavouring straws and other treats and they had eaten breakfast before I could even get my eyes to open. I am usually always an early riser and can't sleep in past 7:30 - 8:00am at the latest even if I try but my body was just not co-operating. If anything gets my heart rate going haywire it is not getting enough sleep and the lead up to Christmas had exhausted me. Bob was just as bad and was up as early as the kids and came banging on our bedroom door yelling at us to get up.

Carissa had given me instructions to message her when the kids were up so she could come over and watch them open their presents (she wasn't expecting such an early start either) so arrived looking bleary eyed closely followed by Mum & Dad. Then the unwrapping began. The kids managed to unwrap their presents in an orderly fashion this year with one person unwrapping at a time taking the time to read who each gift was from so they didn't all just end up with a pile of presents with no idea who they were from.

Alyssa with some new games for her Nintendo DS

Nikki & Alyssa with their new little chef sets

Josh trying out his new basketball ring
(the old one in the background served it's purpose well with some minor repairs until our most recent storm when the backboard ripped clean off with a strong gust of wind and went flying across the backyard)

Alyssa and Nikayla trying out their V-Smile console

The girls both got Barbie digital cameras to stop them stealing mine

Josh with his remote control helicopter

Chef Nikayla with some cooking tins, pans and utensils

Lots of dress up clothes

The Grand Feast
After the morning at home assembling and playing with new toys it was off to Grandma & Grandpa's for a grand Christmas Day Feast. When we had decided what we were having for Christmas lunch and the assignments were given out we had decided we did not want too much food..... So much for that idea!!

Some of the chefs who prepared our lovely banquet
L-R Lanai. Carissa, Mum & I better not forget Dad who was in charge of organising the esky, ice drinks and was the self designated taste tester before lunch began.

So the feast began..............................

After lunch was the unwrapping of more presents

The girls new skipping ropes from Auntie Carissa soon got put to the test in an effort to burn off some of Christmas lunch

I tried to get Colin to do a one legged skip but he wouldn't come at it.

Later in the afternoon everyone headed home to sleep off lunch while the kids continued to enjoy their new toys and then it was off again to continue the feast (dessert) - this time at Gavin & Lanai's. The kids were also hoping for a swim but with a storm brewing outside they sadly had to give it a miss.

There wasn't a great deal of eating going on as everyone was still to full from lunch but the chocolate fountain was a big hit - especially with the kids

Nikayla with evidence on her face that she has been dipping marshmallows and strawberries into the chocolate fountain.

Lanai's plum pudding was once again a big hit with the adults.

All in all it was a lovely Christmas day and it was really nice being able to celebrate it all together.
I still can't believe it is all over!!

After Boxing Day we headed down the Coast to visit with Kirsten and Duane and Trevor & Wendy. It has been a while since we have seen them so it was great to catch up. We got to meet their new chickens and check out Kirsten's handy work with the chook pen she built. The kids were excited to find one egg and kept asking if they could go and check if anymore had been laid. They also had a great time playing with Grace and Xavier and their toys.

Nikayla and Grace were sooo cute playing together and walking around holding hands

Grace, Xavier & Nikayla

Grace's pink pony was a big hit with the girls

After lunch and a play the kids had a great time in Kirsten & Duane's outdoor spa

Once that was all over the girls headed out to the front yard where they did some chalk drawings and then had their own special little picnic on the lawn

The kids had a great time and keep asking to go back.

My Favourite Time Of Year

2008-12-30T09:32:00.000+10:00

Josh & Nikki dressed as Santa's little helpers

The Lead up to Christmas

Christmas comes and goes quickly every year. This year it seems to have come and gone faster than ever and this blog entry is a catch up on some of our highlights for the month.

December began with our family tradition of decorating our tree. The kids were a great help while Colin enjoyed kicking back in the recliner watching us do all the work while he handed decorations to the kids.

Colin then enjoyed reading a book while I packed all the boxes away (just waiting until he can walk again - I will be the one kicking back with a book)

Then it was on to Mum & Dad's house to decorate their tree. The kids had a great time getting into all grandma's Christmas boxes (and there are many of them) and left a rather large trail behind them. The end result was good though and not too many branches were left overloaded with multiple decorations.

The first weekend in December was an exciting one as our new school (almost complete) held an open day for the public. We have watched the progress of the new school from the very first days the trees were cleared on the land so we couldn't wait to go inside. The kids loved viewing their new classrooms and meeting their teachers for next year. Everything is so lovely and new.

Norfolk Village State School

Josh in his new classroom

Alyssa Outside her new classroom

Mum & Dad came along to check it out. Josh's main priority was to check out the oval (of course) as this is where he will no doubt spend all his play time. He can even see the roof of our house from the oval so he won't forget about Mum at home while he is playing :)

Then it was off to the office and change rooms to try on the new uniforms for sizing

Then we enjoyed enjoyed the short walk home after it was all over.

Colin even made the distance on his crutches

Midway through the month Colin was rid off his cast and now wears a black boot. We had a laugh when were at the cinema watching Twilight (yes I am another Twilight fan) and the scene came on where Bella comes down the stairs dressed for the prom wearing a matching black boot.

During the last week of school Mum, Dad, Nilayla and I attended Josh and Alyssa's Culmination Day.

Josh did a great job playing the role of Papa bullfrog in a play Goldilocks and the Three Bullfrogs

Alyssa was very entertaining to watch singing and dancing in the prep Christmas Concert

Alyssa kept turning her head to make sure we were watching - thriving on all the attention

Afterwards we enjoyed morning tea in Alyssa's classroom where we got to view some of her most recent work.

Alyssa has had a wonderful teacher for her first year at school. She loves Mrs. Illian and also her teacher aide Miss Zoe

L-R Miss Zoe, Alyssa, Miss Illian

Here is Alyssa with some of her closest friends
L-R Jemma, Alyssa, Jodie & Sheridan

Alyssa loves showing of her little sister to all her friends. They are the best of friends at home (when they are not fighting that is). Nikayla still thinks she is going to school next year despite us telling her she has another year at home with me. Nikki is going to be very disappointed when school starts for 2009 and it finally registers that she is not going.

Basketball wound up for Josh mid December when they played their last game for the year. They had an award ceremony where Josh received an award for the best shooter on his team the Jazz Slammers. He loves his basketball and team, is basketball mad and is keen to start playing again in 2009.

December was kept busy with lots of Christmas get togethers including the Relief Society Christmas breakfast, Ward Christmas Party and our annual get together with friends. Cassie and Dallas were having their house painted this year so our get together was held at Sam and Warwicks instead. We all had a great time catching up on the patio while the kids were inside holding a dance competition.

Nikayla was so happy to see Paige who has been in the states for the past month. She missed her heaps while she was away.

Colin took the kids on secret Dad and Kids business (Christmas shopping for Mummy) one Saturday morning before Christmas. While they were gone Carissa and I headed off for a couple of hours of sun, swimming and adrenalin at White Water World followed by Dreamworld. We had a great time and the park was suprisingly not very busy so we got on all the rides very quickly. We kicked back on the deck chairs by the pool for a while was Carissa enjoyed reading Twilight. I have been telling her she would enjoy the Twilight series since earlier in the year but she has only just finally started reading them and is now hooked.

We have been so busy the past couple the last couple of years around Christmas that we have not attended the carols. Our local community holds an indoor carols spectacular concert each year so we thought we would check it out this year. It turned out to be a fantastic evening enjoyed by all. We arrived early and discovered there were free activities for the kids before the concert started. They enjoyed the jumping castle/slide, sponge throwing and face painting. The concert was held inside the huge local community church hall in the comfort of air conditioning. It still had a carols atmosphere with battery operated candles and glow sticks. All the performers were very good and the kids were right into singing along and dancing. The evening was run by the local IGA supermarket and they were giving away prizes galore throughout the night from including movie tickets, meals, date nights, kids toys, food hampers, microwave ovens etc. I had to laugh at Mum who was busting out some groovy dances moves trying to win a hamper of food - unfortunately she was unsuccessful.

Nikayla after having a butterfly painted on her face

The Friday before Christmas Colin's dad arrived from Tasmania to spend Christmas with us. The kids talked his ear off for the first couple of days, and all at the same time of course. I'm sure his head had been spinning. I was stoked when arriving home after picking him up from the train he unpacked a bag full of fresh raspberries from his garden. Raspberries are one thing I miss since leaving Tassie. They are too expensive to buy fresh in the supermarket here and the frozen ones just don't have the same flavour. He brought about 8 takeaway containers of raspberries and they didn't last long.

The Monday before Christmas for Family Home Evening we headed to Brisbane. We met Mum, Dad & Carissa for dinner at a popular hotel for dinner. For $10 you choose a steak and cook it yourself on a big open BBQ and then you serve up your salad from the lovely choice of gourmet salads on the salad bar. After dinner we headed to the Kangaroo Point Cliffs outside the temple where we met up with Lanai & Gavin to view the Christmas around the world fireworks show.
We had about an hour to wait before the show began and the kids were restless so we headed to Southbank where all the action was and so we could hear the music accompanying the fireworks show.Once again it proved to be a great night out and we had a fantastic view of the fireworks. It has become a family tradition to go to south bank each year leading up to Christmas to enjoy the celebrations there.

Picture of me with the kids with one of the southbank pools/beach are behind us with the city in the background. It was a beautiful warm night and the pool behind us was full of swimmers.
I love Queensland summer nights and the atmosphere. Everything seems to come alive in the evenings and the weather is perfect. Even the summer evening storms are very enjoyable to sit and watch (from inside the house) with the spectacular thunder and lightning all around.

Kids at Southbank with Brisbane city in the background

Waiting for the fireworks to start

Our Baby Turns 4

2008-12-01T15:25:00.012+10:00

Yesterday was Nikayla's 4th birthday. I can't believe our baby is 4. It is both sad and exciting.

About Nikayla: When I found out I was pregnant with Nikayla it was a HUGE SURPRISE. It was a very long and extremely difficult pregnancy and often I would say 'this better be a good baby".

We are very blessed that she has been a wonderful baby and a true delight in our family.Like all kids she has her moments but I really can't complain as the good moments with her far outweigh the bad.
Nikayla is a such a happy little girl and very easy to love. I have loved having her at home on her own this year, she is easy to please and is great to take out and occupies herself really well. She has a great love for music and sings from the moment she wakes up through to the evening when she sings herself to sleep. When out grocery shopping we are often stopped by elderly people who comment on my little singing girl as she sings (often hymns) all the way around the supermarket at the top of her voice. She also loves to dance and is a real girl into dressing up, playing Mum to her dolls, playing fairies and Barbie's etc. She will also choose to wear a skirt or dress over jeans or shorts any day and loves pink. She is very easy to reason with and has a good temperament.She has everybody wrapped around her little finger - especially her brother Josh and Grandpa. She just has to batter her eyelids at Grandpa to get what she wants.

Nikayla on morning on her 4th Birthday trying on her new Dora the Explorer Nightie

Busy opening cards and presents

My favourite photo - Josh looking like the $20 from poppy Penney is for him

Nikayla viewing her scrapbook abum. I have been really slack since Nikayla was born at getting digital photos printed so she has not had a baby album and there are very few photos of her around the house. when Josh and alyssa would pull out there baby albums Nikayla would ask where her special book is and we would have to sit down with her at the computer and click through all our photos of her online. Mum and I got busy working on a scrapbook album for her birthday and managed to finish it just in time - she loves it!!

Birthday lunch at our house yesterday

Nikayla with Uncle Gavin and her new dog called 'doggy' (very original name).

All worn out after a big day she fell asleep on my lap.

Other Recent Happenings in our household

Alyssa is feeling all grown up after losing her first tooth. Now she knows the tooth fairy pays she is working hard on trying to get other teeth to wobble.

A trip up the ladder to get the kids balls of the roof took a turn for the worse when the ladder let go and came down bringing Colin & Alyssa down with it. Alyssa got off lightly with a couple of grazes and a big fright while Colin is still out of action 2 weeks later with a broken ankle. It happened the same week I was originally scheduled to have my op so I guess that fact that I was rescheduled worked out for the best as Colin wouldn't have been in any shape to look after me and the kids. We are hoping he will be back on his feet soon. It has certainly made me feel very grateful for the huge help he is and all that he does around home - I am exhausted doing it all on my own.