Birthday blog!

Hi guys. We’ve all aged since the last blog entry – well, Sam has! My ickle baby is now 9! Scary stuff. Can’t imagine what I’ll feel like when he’s in his twenties and rolling home from the pub (who said ‘more wrinkly???’ Own up!). He thoroughly enjoyed his day. It’s the last week at school before a well earned two week break, and they really made a fuss of him. He got badges and sung to and was allowed to pick something out of the teacher’s birthday box (oooo eeerrr!).

Thank you for his presents and cards. Actually, he didn’t get presents; he got gadgets! A mobile phone, an iPod shuffle, a watch, a new battery for his PSP…….. a teenager would have been impressed with Sam’s haul, let me tell you!

The birthday fairy came up trumps again!

Sam really liked borrowing my iPod – not to listen to my dodgy taste in 80’s power ballads, but I download a lot of podcasts from a London talk radio station that I grew really fond of before we moved. Anyhow, Sam’s grown to really like listening too, so he has not only songs on his iPod (the Darkness, Buggles and Steps – a very eclectic mix!), but mostly has podcasts of LBC! He loves listening to them every night. I must admit it’s sad, but I think it’s really helped me not to be too homesick. Sam also got an ant farm for his birthday and collected about four ants this afternoon and he’s named them after the LBC presenters! Weird child, eh? Must take after his Father!

He is chuffed with his mobile phone that Nanny B bought him. He’s fantastic with it! When he used to go to the deli or the skate park with his friends, I used to make him take my mobile, just in case. He always phoned when he was told to and was very mature with it. If it means that we can give him a little more freedom to explore Secret Harbour, but can call him when we need him, or when he needs us, I don’t think it’s a bad thing! He’s already had a trans-atlantic call from Nanny B; how exciting! I’ve got a feeling that all his birthday money from Nanny D will be spent on ‘top ups!’ I’m not even going to show him how to send a text message ;-)

So, after school, we took Sam out for a nice meal in Mandurah. He really enjoyed it and they did the candle thing with the cake that I’d bought (sorry – made). The cake was fab (and huge!) and Sam was chuffed. Hoorah!

Whoa! Another year and he'll be setting off the sprinkler system!

I was explaining to Sam that he was born at 12.14 lunchtime. ‘that’s when you popped out of my tummy!’ I told him. ‘Did I really?’ he asked. ‘Actually, no’, I said, ‘you came out of my (front) bottom’. ‘Yeuch’ says Sam, ‘couldn’t you have found me a cleaner exit??’ I ASK YOU????

So, last week was the school Sports Carnival. Good grief, it was nothing like a Templewood Sports Day and I was really unprepared! It literally lasts all day because the school is so big and there are so many kids! There were Mums and Dads there who did the whole works and came with cool boxes and chairs and….. well, half their houses, really. I thought we’d done really well be remembering to take two deckchairs! Darcie was up first as they ran the events in age order. She was in the 50m flat race. She was very determined – all straight hands and gritted teeth for better aerodynamics. Paul tried very hard not to laugh as she did comedy running; running along looking at Paul, smiling, rather than the finish line….. but it worked, because…….

SHE WON!!!
Darcie’s teacher, Mrs Singleton is at the front in the scarf BTW.

Sam did very well in his flat race too, finishing 4th. Then in the afternoon they had team games and events. The whole thing was run like a military operation (but when there are 800 kids, I suppose it has to be!).The school is split into four factions: Dune (yellow), Ocean (blue), Tuart (green) and Sunset (red). Sam and Darcie are both in Ocean. The day was good and the kids worked really hard to do their best. It was cloudy though and quite windy, so you can imagine my horror, when I removed my sunglasses at the end of the day and I looked like I’d spent all day on the piste skiing!! I was SO sunburnt. I looked like a comedy sketch where they paint round your sunglasses – how embarrassing! However, enough about me…. back to the important stuff….

The children all rallied really hard to win faction points for their team. Lots of the kids even sprayed their hair in their faction colours and had team ribbons and everything. I’ll know for next year and I’ll make more of an effort next year, I promise ;-) The prizes were announced at the end of the day with individual trophies for each child who won the most points for each year of the school. Overall, the winning faction was….. OCEAN!!!

So, enough of the events, on to the house! They are coming on, but it’s still a couple of weeks away from the next staged payment and the first floor slab I think. So when the Supervisor said three weeks ago that they only had a ‘week/ten days tops’, he was obviously speaking Australian, which we should have translated to mean ‘two to three weeks, weather permitting!’. Never mind, better the money’s in our account than spent on 20 tonnes of concrete! Not a very environmentally friendly house ours; especially not when you add all the electricity usage, the chemicals for the pool (maybe) and the fossil fuels to be used on heating the water. Perhaps our next house should be an Indian TeePee.

We went to our new neighbours for a BBQ on Sunday and met all our neighbours-to-be from all sides. It was a nice evening and they all seem friendly enough. Our neighbours to the back have a daughter in Sam’s class (much to his disgust; he only ‘does’ certain girls!) and she does tend to stalk him whenever we’re on site! The only slightly uncomfortable part about the evening was when this one neighbour mentioned about losing her view of the sea because of our house. Once would have been OK, but she must have said about it at least 5 times! Sorry, but if they were that concerned, they should have bought our plot! I wouldn’t mind, but they camped out to buy their plot of land. They could have bought ours, but it was slightly more expensive. So how can they then moan that our house will block their view???? They even asked where we would be putting the fence as at the moment, they have a lovely view (yes, you would, because our house hasn’t been built! Wait until our monster’s up and all you’ll see is a brick wall! J Don’t mean to sound hard, but you can’t buy a cheaper plot and want the dearer plot’s views, can you? I just hope it doesn’t get awkward.

Anyhow, build a bridge – get over it! The house is coming on very well. We now have a downstairs loo, walk in pantry, home cinema, HUGE en-suite and a very vivid imagination to be able to visualize what it will all look like once finished! We keep visiting the site and arguing over what’s going where, then we have to come home and study the plans to see who was right. It’s our new party game. I’m winning 2:1 at the moment. It’s looking good, although already we’re looking at things, thinking; ‘why on earth did we want that to go there?’ Goodness only knows what we’ll be like when they put all the electric points in; probably won’t have any in the practical places. I won’t be surprised though. When it came to the electrical plans, we just went a bit mad with a magic marker!

So, this week marks the end of Term Three at school and I can’t wait! The kids are knackered and rude; well, Sam and Darcie are, don’t know about the rest of the school. The Company has sponsored the school newsletter for 10,000 copies as the school wanted the newsletter to go colour. I’ve put a link to it here: school newsletter but the funny thing is, it isn’t in the same format on the website! It looks much better than this one, but at least you get the idea and get to read the jist of it! It’s also funny that the school proof read it and signed off the print run, and only noticed on the first edition that they’ve got 10,000 copies of the Secret HABOUR News. They are currently being reprinted – D’OH!

Monday is a public holiday, so everyone has a day of rest. It’s in honour of the Queen’s birthday (I don’t know, before you ask!). The

.......... and here is the news..............

The house is coming on nicely. We had a site meeting with the Supervisor this week who (although only appeared to be in his late 20's) had everything in hand and seemed to be on the ball with the trades and the schedule of works. He thought that the brickwork for first floor level would be finished in less than two weeks - we were godsmacked at that, but then the next day, the brickies completed an entire outside wall of the house. So it looks like they will meet that schedule. Then we have to pay the biggest staged payment of them all (gulp!) and the scaffolding arrives and they go up further. I asked him what stage we'd be at by Xmas, and he said it we didn't have the roof on, it would be imminent.

This is a picture of Paul's office (well, will be!).
See, I am spoiling him with a golf course view!

Although, there could be a problem coming up with the build, as the last few blokes on the site have looked a bit dodgy!

They look like a right shower, don't they?

They were a special delivery from Nanny B. Poor old Adam had all the trucks from Bob, but they don't sell the people (doesn't make any sense at all really, does it? Welcome to Australia!!!). So SuperNan came to the rescue again and packaged over a complete set of the characters for him. He loves them - as the picture below shows his glee when he unwrapped them, but the trouble is, he insists on taking them to the building site with him. We then spend twenty minutes looking at what the builders have done and another forty minutes trying to find the characters that Adam has buried in the sand! I nearly gave up and abandoned Spud today; he was only saved by a last minute ferret about with my foot!

The builders need all the help that can get to have the house finished on time, so Bob and Wendy are reporting to site first thing on Monday morning to help; although Bob might melt a bit in his donkey jacket! We showed some Aussie friends and they did comment that Bob should really be wearing shorts, a singlet and thongs ;-)

He looks very pleased with himself, doesn't he?

So apart from the 'norm', it's been quite an uneventful week. Sam fell base over apex on his way home from school on Wednesday and has scraped all the skin off his chin. From a distance, it looks as though he is sporting a little goatee beard! Sam also got a certificate for doing really well in Indonesian class this week! He's done well as the other kids have been learning Indonesian for a few years now, so he's a star to even understand what they are saying! The school photos went well, apparently; we shall see what the pictures end up like! Good job they were last week, before the chin incident!

Darcie's class made vegetable soup this week (for the letter of the week 'V'). Next week it's whale sandwiches ;-) They have both been practising hard for next weeks athletics carnival. The weather's been quite nice this week and we've had to resort to sun tan lotion for the first time in months (although the weekend has taken a bit of a turn for the worse - must know we wanted to go out in the boat!).

Paul, Sam and Adam all went for a haircut today. Adam looks about 5, Sam had a crew cut and looks like a teenager and Paul looks like a newborn (in as much as he's got that much hair now!).

And whilst we were out....... well, see for yourslef what Darcie had done! She was VERY brave!

What a lovely weekend we had!

We picked the kids up early from school and pootled off on our drive down south. I slightly mis-calculated, and our 1½ hour journey was suddenly calculated by the Sat Nav as 4½!! Bugger! Never mind….. I packed the back of the car with as much stuff as I could empty out of the house (or at least, that’s how it felt ;-) and we trundled on our merry way. I think we’d got about half an hour down the road when we stopped at the Miami Bakery. It’s an award winning bakery that sells…. wait for it…… gourmet pies! Well, you know how the Aussies love their pies. I swear if you wrapped a piece of road kill Roo in pastry, they’d eat it! They even did a ‘garlic prawn pie’ but Paul was saddened that they’d sold out – yeuch!

Anyhow, the family were re-fuelled and we got to Dunsborough at about 5.15pm – not bad really as I don’t think we actually left ‘til gone one and we did stop a few times. The holiday let was lovely! It was a two storey – felt SO weird to have stairs again! It came with a BBQ (too cold and too much work to clean; see I am turning into a lazy Australian!), dishwasher (heaven!), two TV’s and a DVD player (so that Adam could have Pingu wherever he goes!) and the best….. wait for it………a SPA BATH!!! Yes, a bath big enough to actually cover your knees with water! Fan-bloody-tastic! So we unloaded the car (I unpacked – Paul moans that I’m REALLY anal, but I have to unpack before anything!!) and then went for a walk up to the boat ramp – about 1km. There was a tarmaced cycle track though, so the kids took their scooters and were happy. The boat ramp was like rush hour at Piccadily Circus! There was just boat after boat. They were all going crabbing. They had lights and drop nets and metal crab scoops. There were signs near the sea telling what was an acceptable size for keeping and advising everyone on the maximum catch numbers per day – all very strict. We stood watching and it started to rain. Then we saw something neither Paul or I have ever seen in our lives…. we actually SAW the end of a rainbow! It came arching over from forest behind us and dropped into the sea about 200 metres in front of us – amazing! I think the gold must have sunk though as it wasn't floating on the water.

Is it only me, or does anyone else have the urge to deposit Adam in the wheely bin? NO? Just me then!

So we had a big bowl of spaghetti that I’d cooked the night before and packed (it was nice, but next time, I won’t pack it with the clothes – only joking!), then we all fell into bed; as Peter Kay says, the sea air makes you sleep…. Not before we’d all had a go in the spa bath though! Individually, that is! Adam laughed a bit too much for my liking once the jets were turned on – it was tickling his ‘bits’ apparently! Perhaps that’s why Sam had more baths in two days than he’s had since he’s been in Oz??? Note to self: don't let Sam use our Spa bath in the new house!

The morning came and I had a strict itinerary for everyone with things that were to be enjoyed! That’s an order! We left the cottage and went to Cape Naturaliste where (if you’re VERY lucky), you can see whales on their migratory journey. I was so hopeful and we stood and we stared at every white cap, every sea bird, every current…. Until…… WE SAW THEM!!! They were quite a way out to sea and my camera wouldn’t focus very well, but if you double click on this picture, it will enlarge and you can see………. A WHALE FLIPPER! I was SSOOO pleased! It completed made my trip – didn’t care what else happened – I’d seen a whale in the wild!

Double click - it's Free Willy! No, Mum - not THAT sort!

After this excitement, we visited Nigli caves – only about a ten minute hop in the car. This too was fab. There was a guided introduction where they told you all about the man who found the caves in Victorian times, and how they used huge, great whicker baskets to ferry all the Victorian tourists down into the cave with the help of pulleys and a donkey! The kids loved it – Adam especially loved all the nooks and crannies (much to Paul’s disgust – he was a man stressed to the limit with too many stairs, too many black holes to disappear into and not enough light!). They even had a slide that the kids loved that went through the cave – a real adventure and they spent a good half an hour on that alone! It was a very enjoyable trip, but 701 steps later, we needed refreshment and visited The Caves Hotel for lunch – yum!

Going down....... menswear, hoisery and intimate apparell!

After a re-fuel, we headed into the Margaret River – the wine capital for Western Australia - and let the kids run loose in the Candy Cow where they hand make sweets. Darcie was in piggy heaven! She bought a gob stopper that’s almost a big as her head! I tried to encourage Sam to buy one, but he’s no sucker (geddit?). After this, we popped in to a local grocery store and stocked up on a few provisions and headed back. It’s amazing the amount of ‘better’ food you can buy there. All gourmet and hand made, with cheeses from local dairy farms and olives from local growers. Delicious, but made us realise what we are missing; namely Tesco’s finest!

The next morning, I was slightly less strict with my itinerary – I didn’t even put my Sergeant Major’s cap on! Sam had another spa bath ;-) and we headed off the Margaret River again.

On the way, we stopped off at a Venison farm. The kids played with a friendly ‘PR’ dog on the porch and we shopped, buying some venison sausages, ham and steaks. Sam and Darcie tucked in to a venison sausage, thoroughly enjoying it until Paul pointed out what it was ‘made’ from! Sam’s little face dropped. ‘It’s funny Dad,’ Sam said, ‘but sometimes, you don’t enjoy stuff as much when you know what it’s made of!’ How true. Tonight, I’ve made Toad win the Hole with the venison sausages – kind of like Bambi in Batter (goes nicely with my Kangaroo Lasagne; or Kanga/Sangne.

Beautiful view, isn't it?

I’d booked Paul in to the Voyager Estate Vineyard for Father’s Day lunch. It’s a beautiful place – very much similar to Brocket Hall in Welwyn. The menu was fantastic and the kids meals were huge and didn’t come with chips which is always a bonus in my book! We had a fabby scoff and a glass of wine that was recommended by the Vineyard to be taken with each main course. It was the best dining experience that we’ve had since we’ve been here.

Darcie does a posh lunch - good job you can't see Adam to the side, drinking his melted ice cream through a straw! Class, eh?

My favourite photo of Adam from the weekend. I really think I've captured him here!

Even the kids ice creams for dessert came with a designer chocolate sauce and decoration. It was great value for money and Paul was given a waiter’s corkscrew as a FD present. Oh, I forgot to tell you what the kids made him…. Sam’s class made Rocky Road (like Debbie’s flapjack, but not as nice) and Sam made him a lovely card. Darcie decorated a stubby holder (a polystyrene device to pop your beer into and keep it cold) and made a great card. She also made wrapping paper and bought Paul a West Coast Eagles (AFL team) cup – Sam was disgusted; he’s a Docker’s supporter! Adam gave him nothing – apart from a few more grey hairs a another wrinkle over the course of the weekend ;-)

So all in all, a fabby time was had. Sam didn’t want to come home he was enjoying it so much. He made us agree to return in the summer holidays.

Back to reality when we got home and it’s been a busy ‘ole week! Business has been quite busy with lots of enquiries, which is nice. We are sponsoring the school newsletter too, so that’s all in the pipeline at the moment. The school want to go full colour with the newsletter, so we’ve agreed to pay for the printing of the template. It looks fab! More on that when it gets finalised, although it’s nice to support the school….. Speaking of school, Darcie received a merit certificate in assembly today for ‘always being polite and helping other members of her class. You are a star, Darcie!’ Hoorah!! We got a note from her teacher yesterday to say that she’d be receiving her certificate, but Darcie didn’t know, so she was very pleased. We asked her tonight how she felt about receiving it and she said ‘very proud’. Bless!

Sam and Darcie both have their school photos this week. Again, it’s all different to Templewood. You get sent home the info with all the packs available and they offer different themes and frames as well. What concerns me though is that I’ll pay out for their photos and then get a really crappy picture back of a gimpy looking child. Of course, I’ll have no grounds for complaint as they’ll simply reply: ‘but Madam….. that is what Sam looks like!!!’ Argh! Sam has told me that he’s taking hair gel in for ‘proper preparation!’ I’m more concerned that his photo will be taken after lunch – forget the face, everyone will be concentrating on what he’s dropped down his t-shirt! Think I’ll give him a pot noodle for lunch tomorrow!

On a positive note, also, although Paul’s operation was postponed until the end of October, his bloods came back today and his cholesterol has dropped dramatically – so happy days!

Oh - and we have brickwork on the house! We have a kitchen wall and a window. I'm getting on the phone tomorrow to a blind company for an in-home measure and quote! The house is starting to look a bit bigger now - I suppose walls will have that effect. I'll post some more photos of the house when I download them from the camera, although how exciting CAN a wall be??? As a reminder, click on 'My Photo Album' to the top right hand side and I'll put some more pictures here that don't feature on the blog.

Take care guys - and Happy Birthday to Abi Fraser and Abi Wright. Both birthday girls today!