End of Auskick

Jack and Cooper have been attending Auskick every Saturday since April, and it has finally come to a close.  Each of the boys attended the presentation session, and received a certificate and trophy:

Morgan and Hiraina's Wedding

We headed up to Port Douglas for Morgan and Hiraina's wedding in August.  WHAT A WEEKEND!!

Mum and Dad looked after the kids, so Justin and I were able to spend 3 days, 2 nights in glorious Port Douglas, visiting family, walking on the beach, and attending one of the most beautiful, emotional, and absolutely stunning weddings I have ever been to.  It was fabulous.

Here are Justin and I ready for the wedding:

School Transition

Cooper had school transition, which meant a 2.5 hour session at school.  He was very excited, and breezed into school without a backward glance.  My boy is growing up!

We were all very proud of him:

Another Day, Another Award!

Jack received his 'Gold Certificiate' for Mathletics in August.  This is for the maths tutorial computer program which is run by the school, and means that he has achieved over 1,000 points for 20 weeks.

Great work, Jack.

Go Bombers!!

As a part of Auskick, the boys receive free tickets to a Bombers game.  Grannie and Pa looked after Lachlan, while the rest of us went to the game with Adam and his two boys.  It was a good night:

Dinosaurs!

We visited the Dinosaurs at the local shopping centre again, this time with a friend.  There were a number of life size animatronic models:

And the kids could have a go at paleontology with a chisel and brush to discover a dinosaur in clay:

School Holidays

During the June school holidays, our local shopping centre had a Dinosaur theme.  The kids were in heaven!

Crazy Hair Day

The end of Term 2 was 'Crazy Hair Day'.  Any guesses as to which team Jack goes for??

The Jacks finish Basketball

Jack, and his friend Jack, have been playing 'Biddy Ball', a simplified version of Basketball.  In June they finished their season, and each received a medal.

Jack's Great Wall of China

For his birthday, Jack received a 3D jigsaw puzzle of the Great Wall of China.  I'd never seen these before, and he did a great job!

Mildura with the Wangi crew

In June we all headed up to Mildura to meet up with Drew's family as they headed around Australia.  We had a fantastic weekend up there, and it was great to catch up with the Wangi crew again.

Kinder Duty

Lachlan and I went to Cooper's kinder for kinder duty in May, and I was amazed at how well Lachlan blended into Kinder life.  He particularly liked the 'quiet time' cubby, which Cooper showed him:

And the boys had a lovely time playing with all the creepy crawlies!

Tim the Teddy comes to visit

Cooper's kinder has a teddy called Tim who is given to each child to take home for a visit.  In May, it was Cooper's turn.  Tim had a lovely visit, he was shown the skills of a double light sabre:

Joined in the superhero fun:

Went to a delicious family dinner at Mum and Dad's:

And was introduced to his great great grandfather at the library!

Dinner with the crew!

We had a great dinner out with the boys' family friends in May.  For the first time, we could have a 'kids table', and they had a great night.

Mothers' Day

I had a lovely Mothers Day this year, the boys had a wonderful selection of gifts from kinder and school, which were just lovely.

Jack's Birthday

Jack had a Star Wars themed birthday this year, as evidenced by his gifts!

Aussie of the Week, Again!

In April, Jack received yet another Aussie of the Week award at school, this time for his writing.  Great work, Jack!

Barwon Heads

We had our first caravanning experience with Julia and Simon this April, as we headed off to Barwon Heads.  It was a great weekend, the kids had an absolute BALL together:

They were eaten by the local sharks....

And when they were all asleep after a big day, the adults could have wine in the crisp, April air!

Lachlan's Birthday

Lachlan always has his Mothers Group buddies around for his birthday, and this year was no different with Lachy and Jett giving the superhero dressups a run for their money.

Cooper's Birthday

Cooper had a dinosaur themed birthday for his 5th birthday, with a party at home:

And was made the birthday king at kinder!

Lachlan's Big Boy Bed

Up until now, Lachlan has been sleeping on a mattress on the floor (to avoid the risk of injury if he fell out).  We have decided that the time has come for him to move up in the world, so he has graduated to a big boy bed.  He is delighted with the change, mainly because there is a great cubby underneath it now!!!

Easter

Yes.  Easter occurred.   Yes.  There was chocolate.   Yes, it does affect my boys...

School Fete

March held the annual school fete, much to the excitement of my three boys.  It was a fairly exhausting afternoon with our lot there from 1pm until about 6pm, and not stopping or sitting down for the entire time!

Cooper couldn't wait to see how Sophie would enjoy the swing ride:

While the Jacks looked like they were planning something....

And Lachlan got in touch with his farming heritage.

Lachie loves his Dinosaurs!

One thing I have noticed when visiting Mum and Dad's house with Lachlan, is that the dinosaurs ALWAYS get a run.  This day it was a fence / dinosaur / city combination. Nice one!

Red Bull Flying Dancers

In March, Marcia and I went to see the Red Bull Flying Bach.  It was a show with about 8 male hip hop dancers, and one female ballerina, all dancing to Bach music.

IT WAS FABULOUS!!  If you ever get a chance - GO SEE IT!!

After the event, we had coffee and cake, looking at the lights of the city.  An absolutely fantastic night.

Beechworth

We had another weekend in Beechworth for the Queens Birthday weekend this year, a caravanning adventure accompanied by Marcia and some of their friends.  It was a beautiful weekend with cool nights, and lovely clear days.

On one of our days up there, we visited the town of Chiltern which is a beautifully preserved historic town and which boasts the only working Linotype machine in Australia.  The two people running it showed us and our boys exactly how it worked.  It was fascinating.  So much work involved!

They also printed a few pages on their old printing press.

Jammin' Jacks...

We visited Jack's mate, Jack P and brought the guitars.  Both boys belted out 'Gold on the Ceiling' with the radio as backing track.  Jack P's mum and I have already started working on names for their band ...

17th Feb - The Glory of Computer Games

We had an opportunity to look after Adam and Kate's kids back in Feb, which gave James and Patrick the opportunity to show Justin and the boys their Sonic Racing game.  See if you can guess who was the most enthusiastic participant....

4th Feb - Cooper's First Day of 4 yo Kinder

Cooper started his year of 4 year old kinder with great confidence this year.  He was flanked by his support crew of prior and future students of the kinder, and was happy to show them around.

The other Jack's birthday

Our Jack's best mate at school is another Jack.  'Jack P'.  Jack P had a rollerskating party for his birthday in January and it brought back all sorts of memories for the Mums involved!

Here are Hudson and the two Jack's sporting their dazzlingly stylish rollerskates:

18th Jan was the BIG DAY!

Yes, I realised that I haven't blogged for a while, so prepare for a few updates!

It needs to be noted in the record books that the 18th January was the date when Cooper first rode his bike without training wheels. 

Photographic evidence below!!  Good on you Cooper.

The Tooth Fairy is Working Hard...

Jack has decided that the time has come for the tooth fairy to put her money where his mouth is.

In the last three weeks he lost one tooth:

Then another...

 Then another two!

Another one is wobbly on the bottom too.  At this rate it will have to be pureed food!!