I realised I forgot to include some photos from the recent swimming carnival. The school organises 4 weeks of intensive swimming 5 days a week starting at 7.30am, with the last day being the carnival. Poor Soph was so excited, but was really sick that morning and so missed out. But had managed to recover by the afternoon in time for a celebratory meal at Maccas. Prob not the best parenting move -buying them french fries just hours after having gastro! Anyhow, it was really professional (one of the teachers was on the Olympic Committee apparently) All the teaching staff (the officials) were in white and were carrying megaphones. They used proper starter guns. They even introduced each swimmer before they stepped up onto the block and gave the wave to the crowd. Hilarious -and very much Ethans cup of tea! He did well in his races, but I think I was more excited seeing him in the stands with his friends laughing and cheering. I heard one kid walk up to Ethan and with his arm out ready to shake hands said " well, this is it, may the best man win". How cute.

Can you spot Ethan?...no... me neither, but I know he was definitely in this race...

And there he is again on the starters block. Nup....no idea where, but I was cheering away anyhow.

Ah there we go -he came 2nd in the freestyle-WOOHOO! And still happy to hug his mum in public, bless his little cotton socks.

Another weekend gone -this one a bit of a mix of good and bad. We really didnt enjoy missing my mum's birthday -first time in my 39 years. Thankful for skype, but not quite the same.
On the bright side we had quite a few social events, which helped things feel more normal. A couple of dinners, afternoon tea and swim and the International School Fun Day were all alot of fun and helped us to feel more part of the community. Our 15th wedding anniversary also took place last Thursday, so we treated ourselves to lunch at a local resort.

Lunch at The Pearl. Noice.

Go Buddy!

International School Fun Day

Soph giving the Spider Web a red hot go.

Coming out of the Haunted House

Bigger than their heads -actually think we may have lost Soph there for a while...

Having just recovered from the excitement of getting our visas -we now have another reason to rejoice. We have a dog!! Does the fun ever end??? We picked up Buddy from the SPCA about 10 days ago -and she has made her prescence felt ever since. Not one to just fly under the radar is our Buddy! She was 8 weeks old when we got her, and having spent most of that time in a small cage, is now making up for lost time in our yard. Very cute-other than at 6am when she wakes us. Kids are very happy -although,having waited 10 years for this moment, Ethan says " so when Buddy dies, can we get a cat?" Super.

We also had a lovely Mothers Day, but always get a little extra homesick on those days.I got brekkie in bed, took the dog to a cafe for the first time, went to church and then was waited on hand and foot all day. Suited me quite nicely. The shops even had basil that day so Tony made pesto and we had a beautiful bacon pasta for dinner! Everything else is humming along as usual. Had a great lunch with 2 couples from our church in Lindfield today -its SO nice seeing people from home!...esp when they leave you with a yummy box of Hawaiian chocolates which we are working our way through at record speed. Looking forward to celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary tomorrow. I said to Tony " I wonder what the gift tradition is for 15 years?" and he said "Lead?".Quite the "keeper" ha,ha!

Buddy Boy-who,incidentally is a girl.

Mothers Day pressie -and muesli,yoghurt and poetry from Hannah.

Quick coffee before church

Mothers Day snap

and again with Buddy..

Lunch with some lovely St Albans Lindfield folk.

Haven't posted for a while, but more through lack of motivation than busyness. The great news is that our visa came through -which means we can get on with why we are here. Tony will start by meting up with the Board and getting a feel for what happens etc.. I will continue with whsat I have been doing, but also spending a bit of time scrolling through the maths and english syllabus, with the possibility of home-schooling Hannah for terms 3 and 4. She is SUPER excited by that prospect just quietly....not! Anyhoo, we'll see -just weighing things up for the time being.

We continue to have few friends no social life, which means we have enjpoyed alot of time as family. Alot. This has been fun, intense at times and has meant that we have had time to do stuff we wouldn't have at home. Time to be productive and creative -we are very thankful for the joy that is pinterest. Below are some examples. Next post, be prepared for some new puppy photos -if all goes according to plan!

Visiting some Sydney friends on their holiday-great for mental health!

Nutella shakes-addictive.

Bubble socks 

Another science experiment

Puppy-proofing our property

The boys usual post-dinner/pre-bedtime reading position.

Earning pocket money

Ethans new found love of drawing

 

Yummy teppanyki just round the corner from us

Spotlight on Sophie

Hi everybody!

This is Sophie here and i am going to tell you a bit about Fiji!
This term i have been taking swimming lesson with the rest of my school.
I am in the second highest group and Ethan is in the highest and in the squad.
Iam enjoying  Fiji (sort of) but I am missing Australia and all friends and family.
The thing sI like about school is my teacher Mrs Susau, my friends Kyra and Charis. It is alot of fun playing outside. It is different to Sydney school becuase you can take peanut butter to school, there is alot more grassy areas and there are no smartboards or play equipment, just grass and it is different because instead of K-2, it is K-4 and that means that you can make more friends and all the kindy kids are very popular and are so cute.

We are getting a puppy soon and I am very excited. The name I want is Winston and so does dad. I'm also starting dancing soon which I am scared about because I'm new.Goodby everybody!

Piano lessons with Gulnara.

Bubble fun

Bit of art on a lazy Saturday

Oh and one just for Grandad and his birthday-