Super Lachie

Superhero and fairy week in Room 1 for most of this week - today Lachie was SuperLachie (kind of like Superman without the undies on the outside!)

Tried to capture the whole flying thing...

I seem to have got the thumbs up anyway!

And after Mike proved how relaxing having your face painted was the other week, Lily's proof today - I had almost finished her "sparkly rainbow" (as requested) when I found her eyes weren't opening after each stroke...will have to get a better photo later!

Eden wanted "flower rainbow" - why argue...?

Mo-ving On

Mike's "mo" is still there, but please don't think I'm a fan! I'm "letting" him do it because he REALLY wants to, and it's for a good cause...hopefully he can raise enough to make this worth all our whiles!

Not at all!, but I've done the donation thing...now it's your turn (this better be worth having to explain to everyone we see what's going on with his face!)

To donate with a credit card, click here or go to www.movember.com, choose NZ and search for Mike Simmons. You can also post/give donations (like all his work buddies have promised to!) and he sends them off at the end of the month. Click on this link for his "mospace"...

Sunday Morning Ride

Mike took the kids for a bike ride to get some milk (and so he didn't have to help weed the vege garden!)...some of his photos Then Lachie and Lily helped me smash up all the eggshells I've been saving (including 2 Christmas cakes worth) to put round the silverbeet to stop the slugs and snails eating them

Fast Cars and Sparkly Skies

We had a great time at Annalises' birthday party in the morning, then while Mike went back to finish up at work, all 3 kids slept for the afternoon (haven't had that for a while!) - and no, I didn't; too much to do!

Then we went to the speedway, first time for the kids and I haven't been for about 10 years or so...and it was great fun (beats listening to the political analysts on a Saturday night!). After the first round of very noisy super stocks and adjusting the earplugs, earmuffs, seating away from the showers of mud, etc. it was great. Lachie started trying to predict winners (very proudly winning himself $2), but ended up quite good at predicting which cars would end up crashed...here's his favourite of the night, Lighning McQueen ('s little brother maybe?)...

Here's Eden, all geared up, waving at all the cars, even though they didn't wave back...

Lily's decided she wants a pink stock car when she grows up (you only have to be 12 years to race the mini stocks!) because there were no pink cars...and a 16 year old girl won one of the races.

Then the fireworks show - Lily's not been a fan of fireworks to date, but this year a set of earplugs, covered by a set of earmuffs and she loved it and can't wait for the next time. Here's some of my shots...

Twirly Dresses

The girls dancing to loud (no-one was there yet!) music at Playcentre...loving these dresses!

Goodbye Grand-da

Saying goodbye to Grand-da at the airport today as he leaves for Liverpool - a quick trip to say happy birthday to Lily (or as Lily calls her 'Lily Aunty'!) - hope she's not reading this before her surprise guest arrives!

Here Eden's VERY cross (note the folded arms) because Grand-da gets to go up the stairs onto the plane but she's not allowed.

We did get to go upstairs and watch the take-off from the viewing platform, she was much happier then!

I'm Scared...

...almost terrified in fact, of what "Movember" has instore - this is just a few days into it! Thankfully it's all for a good cause, raising money for mens' health issues (so he actually needs your sponsorship as well as your sympathy for me!) - anyway, contact us if you'd like to donate and we'll give you his online fundraising form. On the website you can download a photo of yourself and try on different "mo's" - shapes, colours - the kids picked this one called "trucker", and I suppose it could be worse - he could be ginger, or balding, or growing a mullet as well!

Halloween

Not that we really "do" Halloween, but while Daddy's on nights we tend to do things a bit...differently. Here are the kids painting themselves and eachother...even Nannie just "had" to join in!

Eden couldn't stop looking at herself in the mirror
Then the dancing started...

Lachie painted his own face looking in the mirrorThen proceeded to paint Lily's tummy

Therapy...

Lily wanted to be a pink and blue puppy as a reward, and then had the great idea of painting Daddy's face too - no real theme here, just freestyle (and I had a go too!)

Turns out neither Lily or I have enough money to dare him to go to work like this!

I take it it's very relaxing!

The Naki

We had a great time away in Taranaki, despite the weather...and as usual I took so many photos - heaps of animal ones at the zoos.

So here's a selection of multi-kid shots (more efficient that way!)

Here's the view from our cabin

Watching the sea before bed

Sliding

Jumping "I believe I can fly..."
"You can build one of these, ay Daddy?"

After Sydney, Lachie wants to go on trains every holidays...this is all we could find!

Roctopus
Found some great restuarants - PaNKaWaLLa (Indian) - Lachie took this one

An Argentinian pizza/pasta restaurant, El Condor - chilling out after dinner

Do-do.........do-do......do-do...do-do...do-do.do-do.do-do.do-do
Feeding the alpacas

Clouds are good for making sun beams!Visiting "Sue" the T Rex at the museum

Sculpture of a "spider beetle"My cuties...

Mike after I tried to catch him singing along to Eddie Vedder's version of Day Tripper (long, quite boring drive in the rain)

Great trip - will be doing it again,especially as friends moved over that way a month ago, being the reason we went this time, and many recommendations from Lachie's teacher.