It's almost time.....

time for the kids to open their gifts under the tree.
I've been away for the past week with my family, we went to a lovely christening and afterwards my husband came home ( for work) while the kids and I stayed with some special friends. Our friends have kids the same age as Megan and Ryan so they had an absolute cracker of a time, there was daily trips to the pool, camping in the back yard, cricket at the park.......the big boys went to the pictures.... twice! We ate beautiful food as there happened to be a chef in the house.......I even picked up a few tips! We relaxed, crafted, chatted for hours......if it wasn't Christmas and I didn't have a hair appointment today ( booked 2 months ahead ) I would have stayed on another week!

A dose of retail therapy is always good and something I love to do when I go to Goodiwindi, there are only a few small boutiques there and I always find something unique. We turned a 3 1/2 hour drive home into a 7 hour trip because we stopped in both Moree and Narrabri for more therapy.........the shops are simply beautiful this time of year all decked out for the festive season.

So now it's back to reality.......unpacking, washing, ironing, cooking, I even had a flat tyre this morning.....the first one in about 7 years. Mark spotted it on his way out to work and changed it before I was even out of bed........isn't he a darling!

Well I must be off, I have a huge basket of washing waiting to be hung out before the rain appears again......take care and have a lovely day!

Last day of school holidays.

I have mixed emotions about today being the last day of the school holidays, on one hand I know I'll be able to dive into my sewing again and have a coffee with a few special friends. On the other hand there will be no more of this...........
heading down to our farm and checking the cattle, lighting a few fires to clean up a bit, watching 30 kangaroos bound across the top paddock.

Witnessing the birth of a new calf.

Generally just watching the kids having the time of their lives.....

out in the open air, running and exploring.

We won't be able to have a big relaxed cook-up for lunch for a while.........

or be able to spend the afternoon climbing trees.

No none of that, it's going to be routine, early mornings, homework and after school activities, and our weekends will be spent at the Rugby with Ryan, all until the next break!

So wherever you are I hope you enjoyed the holidays with your family, and good luck trying to get the kids out of bed early tomorrow morning.......I know I'm going to need it!

Something to make you smile.

It could be one of many things but today I'm not feeling overly cheerful.........maybe it was the intense burst of house work early this morning, or the fact there is only one cupcake left and the kids said that I was allowed to have it ( I am choosing not to by the way ), I don't know.....it's just too hot around here.

Here's something that did make me smile.......nice huh!

Here are some more holiday pics.........We all had so much fun especially because we had great friends we met up with.

The kids went boogi boarding......Megan was so over the fact that she kept getting sand in her eyes that she decided to wear her goggles......what ever works I say.

I'm kinda enjoing taking pictures of everyday life so today I'm going to give you two to look at....

"Gate duty"

"Someone has been playing with mum's camera"

Here is the latest Scrapbooking Kit I purchased, I got it from Cut and Paste and I'm so looking forward to diving into it......although I have a few scraps on my desk I'd like to turn into cards first! That's about all I have for today.

Today......

Ryan was my little helper......have a look at what he helped me make.....ooh that looks scrumptious.....lickety lick yeah!! Here is another look at our lip lickin' cupcakes........and that's about all I'll be doing, lip lickin' that is........my new year is not about going on a strict eating regime.... it's about better choices.....and I chose not to eat one just like last night when I was about to choose which drumstick I was going to eat......choc chip or mint choc chip, when thank goodness the phone rang and I chose to answer that instead, all I could do was once again lick my lips while the kids got those.
Oh look here they are again, by now you might be thinking " so what it's just a cake" but hey....they are freakin yummy lookin' aren't they? Now my mouth is salivating I think it's time to change the subject!
OK, here is a bit more on our time away......in case you haven't already guessed we went to the coast. These pictures were taken on the way over at Dorrigo.......see that sign post behind the kids.......that is our last name and yes that Lane is named after my husbands family, his father and grandfather owned a large portion of the farming land around Dorrigo around 20 years ago.

The views are just like a post card in every direction....and from a few spots on a clear day you can see the ocean. Mark seems to think that we should retire here.....hey wouldn't that be funny.....the Schmitt's living on Schmitts Ln.

That's all I have time for today....call back soon.

Can you guess....

where we have been since I last posted by looking at this very pleased little face?
Happy with herself isn't she.

It's been a real busy week....today besides trying to stay comfortable during this incredible heat wave which threatens to melt me like the wicked witch of the west.....I am washing all that sand out of our luggage.......oh what a joy that is......at least when hung on the line it's dry in like 5 minutes flat!!!

OK, I had better go and drink some more water.......stay tuned for some more holiday pics and a look at some goodies I got in the mail.