Back to School

Yep, Back to school for the boys tomorrow. Did the baking biscuits /grocery shopping thing today as usual, stocking up on supplies.

As a child I loooved the first day, new books, new felt tips (if I was lucky) and a new teacher. I loved the chance to start things new, learn new things etc.

I'm definitely a new starter kinda person and not so great at the finishing completing project kinda thing. If I ever went to a UFO (Un-Finished Objects) weekend, I swear I would need a big truck to load up all the stuff. Think back to those hook loop rugs we made as kids....

BUT.. I have finished this weeks dare at No8 Wired. Yep actually started and finished this layout in one night. Loved the Hot/Cold and New/Old products ideas. I really need to use some of my old stuff so this was a good challenge for me... now I just need to do another fifty layouts and I would have used all the old stuff I have.

Holiday Tricks and Treats

Was still at the beach for most of the last week. Kids loved riding the bikes around the footpaths and tarsearled roads (we don't have those at home) and especially loved the bike park, Cam really shone at the jump.

Home now, still motorbike madness around here, one of our apprentices Brent came over tonight with his bike as well, and showed us all how it is done!

I can only imagine what motorbike tricks the kids must be dreaming of tonight!

I finally put my layout for the NZ Dares site up, The theme this fortnight was 'Going round in Circles'. Well for me it's about motorbikes, there just doesn't seem to be anything else around here lately! I am helping a few friends with their wedding invitations in the next few days. Weddings are always a cool time to gather family and friends, this year I have been specially asked to be a bridesmaid, in not one, but two weddings. You would have thought at 35 yrs old you would be past that sort of thing but apparently not. I am very honored to be asked in both cases and now I can't wait for the weddings, and all the fluffy stuff that goes with them. Catch you soon Megs

And then there was another one

Just when you thought it was safe to walk outside and not get bowled over by the boys on their motorbikes screaming around the house, Pete has gone and got a trail bike for himeself. The noise of all threee bikes together is 'one of a kind' and certainly impressing the cows ...not.

Have had some lovely lazy summery days at home, catching up on chores and nights visiting friends (Hi Sam and Sonya) and Family (Hi Craig's and Lamont's). Still some ironing to do, but when isn't it there.

I thought that could be my Ali Edwards word of the year

'washdryandputawaytheclothesinthesameday',

but I was pretty sure that any resolution around that wouldn't last diddly pip, so my word for the year is

Balance

Between our work and family time, play time and volunteer time, sleep time and awake time, giving and receiving, etc. It would be great to have a bit more balance this year, less extremes. I am also feeling quite reflective tonight. A friend of the family that was diagnosed with cancer in Nov last year passed away quickly this week. It has been quite a shock to our family and a reminder to me of what may happen with dad's health as he heads into a new treatment next week. (Hi Dad)

On the scrapping front I have been very lucky to be asked to join the NZ No8 Wired Dares Blog and the first dare for the year should be on the site this Friday, so go have a look. My layout should be added later this weekend depending on internet connections.

I am off to the beach this weekend to catch a few waves with the kids, I am taking some scrapping stuff with me to do at night-time. ;)

Catch you soon, Megs :)

Back to work

Well sort of.. loottts of washing and drying after the rain,work accounts, and still working on that Big Picture Library of Memories sorting. It's fun to watch the kids re-finding the Christmas presents they forgot about, and they are busting to play Jungle Buzz with Mum and Dad. Betta go and cook some of that fish we brought home.. Cheers Megs

It rained last night, rained and rained. Camp is a little wet around the edges but drying out fast in the heat of today.

Have had some more lovely days in the sunshine, refreshing day trip to Whangapoua Beach. Bee-ute-ti-full sand! Oh, how I could have dug my toes in it for days.. Boys had a great swim in the waves and we throughally enjoyed an impromtu BBQ with friends afterwards..Good Summer Times.

The boys 'rain induced' boredom was abated for a short time yesterday as we all cooked lunch together. Sweetcorn fritters and fruit Kebabs, all hands on deck and then a huge appetite for eating the 'fruits of our labour'. Wasjigs and the making of friendship bracelets helped fill up yesterday.

Have been diligently sorting photos for the Stacey Julian Big Picture Library of Memories class.. Nothing like looking at some older photos to remind yourself what you used to look like.. I can see some more time bike riding and walking around here before the holiday is over.

catch u soon

Megs.

Size does matter

so Pete says.. not many fish have been coming home lately, a few gurnard and snapper, but yesterday some big ones came home in the boat.. ..and now he is happy. Spent yesterday at the Cooks Beach Fair and then took the kids for a walk through a little bit of bushy / scrub to Lonely Bay, where they had a lovely afternoon. relaxed and sunburnt Megan

Happy on Holiday

Happy on Holiday, yes well now we are, but the holiday break started with a bit of a hiss, as the door of the utility was unlocked to a hor-rid-able smell. The power in the whole utility had been 'tripped' and so the freezer had been turned off since around labour weekend. Decomposing fish bait makes for a bad, bad smell. Still, we dealt with that calamity, had two others - caravan canopies ripping etc and finally made it to bed that night exhausted. Day two - much better, kids playing in the sand, friends and family visiting, Coromandel FM on the radio.. now it really feels like a holiday.

The Day After

The day after Boxing Day.. the recovery

• finding the kitchen bench after yesterdays cooking
• finding the lost parts of toys ..already
• finding the patience to listen to crazy frog 'We are the Champions' for the 20th time this morning
• finding the keys to the boat lock thingy, so we can take the boat on holiday
• finding the Mylanta to combat all that rich food I ate yesterday

Yep, 'spose it's a fairly typical Boxing Day here.

We had a great Christmas, you can't beat your four year old pulling you by the arms out of bed at 6am screaming 'come on Mum, you gotta come, you won't believe this, you won't believe what is in the lounge ..truly Mum, come on.'

It really felt like Christmas for me when I heard that.

Pete and I did the big splurge and got the boys a 50cc motorbike. Cam says 'This is the best present I ever got in all my seven years Dad'. Aaron has one comment 'Yea-ass' which I think means pretty great.

We had breakfast with Peters parents, then late lunch/dinner with mine. Lovely company, lovely food, great day.

Best present: DH and I got a Digital SLR ..pretty darn cool

Noisiest Present: Kids got these screaming monkey things that you fire like a catapult and they scream monkey screams as they fly through the air .. umm lovin' that present, we have three of them as well, one for each of the boys. Thank you Aunty Lynne.

Best cooking success: New recipe for Curried Mango and Chicken salad went down a treat.

We are off to the beach early tomorrow morning, setting up camp, awnings etc for most of the day tomorrow, then pure beachin, boatin bliss for 3 weeks. Yeeeha

Christmas is coming closer

and closer and closer. My lack of organisation is showing. I am feeling very overwhelmed.. so what is a girl to do.. scrapbook of course. I spent three whole hours on one card for a challange at Scrapbook Outlet. Three whole hours, cripes, this model isn't going on the production line!.

I used the beading dimensional magic idea from Nic's blog and had to use non-christmas colours to make a card. It was a good medative workout gluing those beads on, I chilled out heaps and went to bed at 2.00am in the morning - a happy little scrapper.

The card won the competition too!, and was sent to a very special lady who has made so much home baking for my dad and our family lately. A very special lady indeed.

Scrapcamp

Scrapcamp was cool, the best part was getting away from home and all the jobs to do there and just 'Be girly, with the girls'. Shopping with Sonya and Jennifer at Tirau, all the little shops your husband would never stop at, gotta love that. In the theme of a girly weekend (vs life at home with 4 males) I even started a mini album on the topic. The suggestions on 'How to remember to be a girl' from all the other ladies at our table sure were good for a few laughs, and Nic thought of a good title for it too..Out of the Mud.. I like it. I really enjoyed the challenges etc and this is the page I completed in 1 hour from the Saturday night challenge using Sassafrass Lass papers. The photo is my sister Haley and her new fiance on their engagement announcement. I was pretty stoked with how the page turned out - was really buzzing completing it - literally, (go the V drink) and was also pretty chuffed when it was chosen as the winner. Cool prize too from Scrapbooking by Design, a cigar box from Cosmo Cricket and some other little things.

Biggest Laugh of the weekend, the walk that I went on at 6.30am to catch up with the others. I didn't find them and kept switching between paths trying to see where they were. In the end it seems they didn't go walking, but went scrapping instead, and they didn't let me in on the joke for ages too.. very funny, as I am not normally a morning walker either.