First day at Pre-School

This is Miss L, all ready to go! She also had a great day. I think she stayed pretty close to her Grandma, she is a teacher at the Pre-School. Matt made sure he was home so we could both pick her up and see how her day went. She spotted us and ran straight over to me and wrapped her arms around my neck, her smile was so wide and she told me she missed me..... I cried.

Back to school

Shawn had his first day of Year 3 today.... He loved it! He has " the best teacher in the school " according to him. Aunty Sue would be "the best teacher in the world".

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie

Today is Australia Day. We started the festivities with prime seating for the local parade. Then we met up with the Baldwin family for lunch in the park. I could have sat there all day, nice to kick back and not think about the washing pile up or entertaining the kids... Then we drove out to Saumarez Homestead a national trust property. It had been many, many years since I had been out. We had a great time looking through the old home and playing in the gardens. All of the kids did so well. We had to put special 'booties' over our shoes and not touch a thing! No photos allowed inside.
I still managed to take 173 photos today, I didn't know what ones to post so I went with the very last one. Matt and Shawn are camping out tonight in the backyard. Matt had wanted to do it all holidays but time (and weather) was not really on our side. It also reminded me that I need to buy a new torch...opps! Shawn's smile is so wide, that will light the tent. They have been playing cards but I think have turned the light off now.

Some scrapping to share.

It has been awhile since I have shared some scrapping. This page is for a sketch challenge over at Scrapbooking Top 50.

Well I have had a wonderfully busy few days. For our anniversary we wentto the movies and saw Twilight. There were pretty slim pickings, but I am so glad I got to see this movie on the big screen. The cinamatography was sensational! Then we went out for dinner followed by a drive.

Yesterday was a big day, but so fantastic. A friend from high school got married and I was the photographer. The day went so smoothly, the bridal party was so super to work with. Might have helped that I knew some of them. It was just the best day and night. So many friends from school, some I had not seen in over 10 years. I realised that I was so lucky to have such a great group of friends in high school and how I am pleased we can see each other every few years and it was only like yesterday we chatted! Now I am rambling.... sorry...

Well I have some photos to sort through and the Sunday paper to read. Night x

A big day!

I thought this photo would be appropriate for this weeks Sky Watch Friday, since Monday is Australia Day. I took this while we were at Green Oak after Christmas. This Mountain has been affectionately named Australia Mountain by Matt's family for years. The top looks like the map of Australia, in this shot some cloud is in the way. Actually this is also the view you see from the outhouse :)

Today Matt and I have been married for 10 years... We plan on going to a movie then out for dinner. Thanks Grandma for having your Grandchildren :)

not much to share....

I am going through the archives and am posting another photo from over Christmas. I still have not edited my scrapping images to share, sorry!

Not much is new in our little home. Matt has been busy with work after the few weeks off and now being a short month. I don't work this Saturday morning, instead I am doing some wedding photography... should be good fun!

I have been on the hunt for good pants, it is not an easy task! I want good pockets and good movement... just like jeans! Oh well!

I am now going to attempt to scrap, if I don't fall asleep.... :)

later that night.... Well my eyes and hands can't seem to co-ordinate so I am now surfing the net. I found some really yummy blog cand HERE. Now I think I may go and play some Facebook poker... a bit of a no brainer, just what I need.

Happy birthday Grandma!

Hello! Well I am still complety in love with my laptop. It has a card reader built in. I downloaded photos today for the first time. So simple!

This is another shot from Sydney. Taken from the top of Sydney Tower. Liberty loved it, nose pressed against the glass.

This weekend has been nice and quiet. A bit of housework and a bit of scrapping. Good balance!

Amanda is coming for dinner tonight. Roast in the slow cooker, so easy. I will go and make the gravy now and just wait for her to show up..... I have spent many, many hours over the last 18 years waiting for her. For some reason I still wait, now that says something about our friendship!

Hope you have had a great weekend! x

Sky Watch Friday

Happy Sky Watch Friday!

These are some stock photos I took over Christmas at Green Oak. The top one I had a lovely time just 'playing' with the camera. I set the tripod up out in the paddock and tried different settings. I have not really made time to look at them all since I have been home, I just randomly picked this one! The bottom image I really like. It is the outside light mounted from the shed. As I finished playing I turned to go back to the house just as the generator was turned on.

The sky was so pink and navy blue, very stunning.

Today is another hot day, so far we have a breeze that is wonderful! Yesterday afternoon the kids and I went to the pool. You know it is very, very hot when I actually get it!

Please if you have some spare time have a look at some other SWF images.

My new toy.

Today this wonderful thing came home with my husband. It is very nice!

I am laying on the couch surfing the net, watching SVU and kicking back.... I could get very use to this!

I don't really want to transfer 'stuff' from my PC to this, so I will do the necessities manually. Please leave a message so I can add you back into my emails/favourites. Hey, I am lazy now :)

See you tomorrow for Sky Watch Friday.

First scrapping for the year!

This is my first page for 09. 20 minutes and done! It looks like 20 minutes worth too. lol The colour reproduction is dreadful, sorry.
This LO is my effort for the 123 Challenge.
The criteria for this month is 1. Include the words "New Years Resolution" 2. Orange and Yellow 3. Animal/s.
So the ribbon is actually yellow.... I don't have the patients today to get it right. This room is hot and Liberty decided not to nap today.
Well I will now go and get the washing in and get ready to go and pick Mum up from the airport.
Byeeeeee :)

Products used are... Fancy pants and Stampin' Up! papers, America Crafts 'Fieldhouse' bird, Smiggle pen and other goodies. The saying I printed from Heidi Swapps Blog

More photos of my boy...

It seems the last few posts have had photos of Shawn... so why change that! This was a beach we stopped at in Coffs Harbour. We wanted to find a beach that was dog friendly to let Combi have a play. I love this photo of Shawn.

Nothing exciting has been happening here. Both of the kids rooms have been cleaned and sorted top to bottom. They look so much better now. BIG job! Liberty still had the cot up in her room and it was storage for the stuffed toys. I will keep the cot and in many, many years hopefully put my children's, children in it. :)

The Christmas tree is finally down. What a job! It has never been up this long before. Now I am going to tackle this room. Computer, craft and Matt's office all in one.... Yuck! Well I better get started.

My Boy!

Is this not the cutest kid in the world.... not really a question :)

He paid for this quality hat with his own money. It was on display at On Tap at Darling Harbour. $15.00 He has even offered for me to take it to scrap camps... so very thoughtful. Shawn now mows the neighbours yard, so I am sure this hat will get lots of use. I will just swap the Pepsi for water. :)

Sydney Sky Watch

These are some more shots from our Sydney trip. Top L & R is the Diamond Princess cruise ship, or planet as it is so huge. The left pic was taken from the train station platform. The bottom R pic is taken from the sky. We went up Sydney tower and I couldn't resist this shadow in Hyde Park. Bottom L is a beach somewhere around The Entrance that we stopped at on the way home. We got back in the car just as a storm hit.

For more Sky Watch Friday images from around the world click HERE.

Star Wars Powerhouse Museum Photos

Just some of the 144 photos I took of the Star Wars exhibition.

Home....sweet, sweet home.

We are home from 2 nights in Sydney. Shawn loved the Star Wars exhibition. It only had a few hands on activities, it was mostly props, costumes and models. I was even allowed to ride the air car.... I am soooo cool! :) We also hit Sydney tower and the aquarium to see the Dugongs. For many years I have wanted to see (or swim with) a Manatee, so this was pretty neat for me. Shawn loves the aquarium, he is one well travelled young man. He was so excited to go in the Star Wars monorail that I had to quickly take a pic. Yesterday as we left the hotel we thought we would hit the outlets at Homebush. Ido love a successful shopping trip at outlets. :) Ten we thought we would take the scenic route home and a 6 hour trip became 9 and a half.... 9.30 last night we pulled into our driveway.... home sweet home.

Home for a day and then off again...

Well we are home.... Tomorrow we go again. This time we are going to Sydney for 2 nights. I really want to take Shawn to the Star Wars exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum. Both Shawn and Liberty are very excited... Shawn loves travelling to Sydney and exploring. In preparation for the trip they both have applied Star Wars tattoos. Very cute!

Well I have a lot to share about our adventures of the past week but a lot to do ready for our adventure tomorrow so I will have to fill you in another time. Hope 2009 has been good to you so far. x

Going Fishing...

These are my shots for Sky Watch Friday. I actually took it yesterday... The house on the hill is actually where Smuggler will be spending his holidays. The wonderful Rach is going to bird-sit for us while we are away. Silly me didn't take my camera with me when I dropped him out there. The view is 360 of amazing views. A storm was rolling in on one side and perfect the other.


The other image was taken just for fun... I loved the colour of the sky through the trees. Both images are untouched. I did sharpen the landscape for the net. Sad how the internet can dull an image... or is it just my computer? :)

We are going on holidays until early in the new year. First stop is fishing.... No electricity, telephone or mod cons... I am really looking forward to getting away. I will miss my computer... but that may be a good thing :)
After fishing we are off to Grafton to see in the new year with my dearest friend in the whole world. From there who knows where we may end up!
See you all in 2009! Cheers, Julie :)

Tonights the night

Well the cookies and milk are under the tree and the carrots are in the driveway.

Wishing you all the magic of Christmas. x

Cristmas Candy Container

I got the idea for these containers from the wonderful Mrs Rach. The container cost $2 from the local cheepie shop. It is a fishing tackle box. I used one sheet of Basic Grey double sided paper to cover the lid. Some stickers, Kindy Glitz and Dimensional Magic. Then comes the good stuff... lollies. The majority of these came from a local speciality shop where you can by each variety by the scoop. It is not an economical way to fill the container, but you can find candy that you normally wouldn't find at a supermarket and it makes for a more fun surprise! I am just waiting on the Mod Podge to dry on one I am making as part of a 21st gift. You can pretty much fill these with anything! I think they make a unique gift. They would be no good for me... one TV show and they would be all gone! LOL

I missed a day with my ornament posting sorry.
This one is Matt's. He is a Steeler fan. He follows them by all types of Internet browsing since we don't get the games on TV. I believe they are having a pretty good season.
Matt's arm is good. No more visits to the doctor, just salt baths. Hopefully it will heal soon. I work this morning and he took Shawn and Liberty Christmas shopping...
Tomorrow I am taking a family photo for some friends at the park. After that we are off to Matt's parents for Christmas. So a big day tomorrow.