A Potty with privacy

Rhys takes his potty training very seriously and prefers not to have an audience when number twos are in progress!

Sacred Heart Cathedral

This impressive church presides over Bendigo. It is over 300 feet high. The foundation stone was laid on 25 June 1897 and the church was blessed on 29th September 1901. The final spire was completed in 1977. I have tried to use photos which give an indication of the sheer size of it.

Easter Hat Parade (more photos)

Here are some photos of the girls at school with their hats on

Easter Hat Parade

Easter Hat parade is on Thursday at school. Last year we didn't realise what a big deal it was until the day when Natasha had to quickly don a chinese hat that was lying around in her classroom. So this year we put in a little more effort. Don't they look cute?

Fun in the Sun

This morning we packed up the togs and towels and headed for the pools with our friends. Enjoy!

"Look here Xavier, I'll show you how to swim"

Catching up with family and friends

It was great to have a trip to Waiheke Island in the rain and spend some time with John (Wayne's Dad). We also managed to catch up with Butlers, Tom Keven Way neighbours and the girls had a great day at the zoo with Richard and Stacey.

Giant Slugs and catch up with cuzzies

This slug fell out of Nana's worm farm. Children surveyed it with a mixture of reactions from interest through to trepidation. Stacey and Caleb were there to join in the fun.

Mum's Party

Mum's 60th was a lot of fun. It was great to catch up with everyone. The kids dressed up for the occasion.

Trip to New Zealand

Well we are here after months of anticiption and we are up to day three already. Not much sleep was had in our poky hotel room. The flight was great, Emirates gives a great service. Here are some photos of the trip over. Dad took the plane landing photos.

And then there were two (school kids)

Yesterday was the first day back at school for the girls. Emily enjoyed a great first day yesterday with her best friend Emily. She said "Bye Mum" with confidence and got through her day like she had been going to school for years. Very tired at the end of the day and happy to see her bed. She will get Wednesdays off for the month of Feb and then it's full time after that for years and years.

Holiday bumps and hairstyles

Here are some photos taken yesterday of the kids. My friend Annie plaited the girls hair and gave Rhys a haircut. Natasha and Rhys are looking a little the worse for wear. Natasha had an altercation with the corner of a speaker and Rhys crashed into a freezer doing his usual 100 miles an hour everywhere. Luckily Emily has her feet planted firmly on the ground.

Daylesford

On the way home we stopped in at Daylesford and enjoyed some time at Lake Daylesford. Wayne and Natasha hired a peddleboat for half an hour. Wayne spotted this big turtle swimming in the lake. Very nice spa town.

Point Lonsdale

A highlight of our holiday was Point Lonsdale. It had a fabulous beach with rockpools big enough for kids to swim in. The big ships enter Port Phillip Bay here through a channel called The Rip. They were quite spectacular to watch.

Geelong

Geelong is a fabulous city. I was amazed at how much thought had gone into the design of it's waterfront area. The footpath that runs around the beach area has rod holders built into it, the drinking fountains that were dotted along the footpaths had dog drinking bowls chained to them. They had ramps instead of stairs leading down to the beach, perfect for pushchairs and they had a Mens Baby change area at the beach which I have never seen before. There are over 100 bollard people dotted around the area, I took photos of some. Here are the Geelong photos.

Fairyland

On the way to Geelong for a couple of days we decided to check out Fairyland in Anakie. We were the first people there for the day and enjoyed the different fairy tales with animations. There was also a great view from the top and an old fashioned playground with a big slide that the kids enjoyed.