Sand Dune Picnic

30 July 2017

On a perfect winter's day the girls packed a picnic basket with a tablecloth, chips, chocolate chip biscuits and freshly squeezed (and strained) orange juice.

Other essentials such as umbrellas, towels, books, toys and one brother were gathered up and we found ourselves a spot in the sun and out of the wind and sat back to enjoy the view.

Apart from a couple of dog walkers we were the only ones there - we could imagine we were where nobody else was as we climbed up, rolled around, ran down, explored and lay around the sand dunes.

A perfect afternoon.

Leave a Comment Erin, family, homeschool, Natalie, outdoors, Rory

Clareville Fishing

In the January holidays we went down to stay with Nanna and Poppy and one beautiful afternoon met up with big cousins Hayden and Joe at Clareville Beach on Pittwater.

Over the last few years Hayden has developed and nourished a fishing passion and while we were at the beach we noticed sea birds swooping into the water close to shore and not seeming to care about the humans - they were chasing fish!  It didn't take Hayden long to suss it and get out the fishing rods and his enthusiasm carried to the girls - their first real fishing experience!  And so much better because they were successful (Hayden usually releases all his catches, which Erin was very relieved about).

The cockatoos were quite presumptuous and demanding, as usual.

And Natalie with Joe.

Leave a Comment family, outdoors, Sydney

Cupcakes and Dragons

August 5 2017

Natalie LOVES cupcakes - it's as simple as that.  She could make cupcakes every day.  So, we made some.  Then the girls iced them, made a tower out of them and then they were eaten!  (In a family of seven, even with a couple who avoid sugar, things like that do not last long).

And then, because we are reading the Lily Quench series, we decided to draw dragons.  But of course, I needed to find some help via youtube.  Normally we would use ArtVenture, but I know she doesn't have a dragon in there ... so we went elsewhere.  I think they turned out quite well.



This is Natalie's - after she painted it I copied over some of her pencil lines with a marker pen so as to make the image stand out better.



And this is Erin's.

Leave a Comment art, family, kids cooking

Acorns

15 September 2017

In the middle of August we went for our first family trip to the snow (without Robin unfortunately, so we took Joe with us instead).

On our way down we drove through Canberra and Joe had a memory of gathering acorns there years ago with his mum.  He wanted to do it again ... so we made a detour off the main road, found a park, and collected acorns!

For us it was amazing and wonderful to find them literally scattered along the street!  We thought it would be hard to find some, but there they were, at the first park we stopped at.  People walking their dog even stopped to ask what we were doing - we must have looked so excited and interested.

There were long acorns, fat acorns, one with their furry hats still in place and others without them.  Occasionally some were still green too.

Weeks after we came home, the girls planted some - we may have our own little Sherwood Forest soon!

 As of March 2018, no acorns have sprouted.

Leave a Comment family, garden, holidays, outdoors

A Perfect Bushwalk

September 15 2017

On one of those beautifully warm end-of-winter days, on a day when I was feeling the need to take it slow and steady without stress, Christina took us (myself, Erin and Natalie) into West Head National Park for a walk.

The wildflowers were out, the sun was warm, the girls were happy and the bush smelled good.  The views into the distance are a good reminder of how big the world really is and the small Australian wildflowers are a good reminder to stop and be in that moment, in that small part of time - if you go too fast you miss them.

We stopped at a rock platform, all warm and toasty in the sun, and Christina and I had a snooze.  How wonderful to lie in the bush and sleep.  I woke after maybe half an hour because the sun had moved and was no longer feeling burning hot on my legs!

While my sister and I were snoozing, the girls had occupied themselves by building rock sculptures, decorated with flowers (apparently they were pirate ships).

Leave a Comment family, outdoors, Sydney

Chinese Writing

15 September 2017



In our history study of ancient civilisations we have most recently been looking at China.  And in a very timely coincidence Erin picked up a set of Chinese calligraphy brushes that Nanna was getting rid of, so we were able to try our hand at writing some characters.

We looked at how our names are written and also at how the characters have changed over time.  In the end we each wrote a "story" using the few simple characters that we had looked at.  The rest of us then had to try and interpret it (this was a bit tricky times!)

I was pleasantly surprised at how interested and happily occupied the kids were.

Leave a Comment family, homeschool, HSIE

A Moth and Some Flowers

26 September 2017

Last night Erin came running in to me, "Come and look at this amazing moth".  And sure enough, on the bathroom wall, was a moth with colourings I have not seen before.  We took photos and showed them to Nanna and Poppy (we are staying here at the moment) - it was lovely to hear her sharing it all with them.

And staying here - all the flowers are out in this jungly garden.  I am sitting here on the deck, before the sun comes over and makes it too hot, listening to many busy bees hard at work on the lemon tree flowers.  In the last couple of hot evenings the scent from the lemon tree has been wonderful.

It is prolific this lemon tree.  Even having to battle with possums and cockatoos, mum and dad still have more than enough lemons for themselves and everyone!  And it acts as nursery maid to some of dad's orchids, and the pot plants - all benefiting from the shelter and protection it gives.

This morning Dad was very excited about his oak tree - it is growing tassels for the first time, does this mean it will produce acorns?



After a quick google I have discovered that these "tassels" are catkins, the male flowers that produce the pollen which then disperses to hopefully fertilise the female flower allowing acorns to grow.

He grew this oak from an acorn he collected on a visit to Edinburgh years ago, walking in an area he used to go when he lived there as a youth.

And now for reason for the original idea for this post - flower photos from Dad's jungly and overgrown but happy garden.

Leave a Comment family, garden, Sydney

Moreton Bay Figs

25 September 2017

Yesterday, an unseasonably hot day, we ended up spending the afternoon at Balmoral Beach in the shade and care of a HUGE Moreton Bay Fig tree.  Apparently these trees can live well over a hundred years and I would believe it looking at this one's enormous trunk, branches and roots.

Balmoral Beach has these fig trees along the whole esplanade, but we stayed with just one.  The perfect spot for shade near the water's edge.  These trees are part of my childhood, they are all around the Sydney foreshores and I love them.

The water is still way too cold for me to swim, but the kids did (of course) as did brave Monique.

Leave a Comment family, Sydney

Gingerbread Families

22 October 2017

Natalie woke up yesterday determined to make gingerbread men.

This all started because Natalie and Erin had found some photos from a few years ago, on an iPad, of them all decorating gingerbread men with those special icing tools.

Our cupboards are very bare at the moment (due to my reluctance to go to the shopping centre) so Natalie and I made an early trip to the petrol station for butter, used up all the flour, substituted rice malt syrup for golden syrup and hey presto - gingerbread men ... and girls, and grandma, and grandad, and mum and dad - the whole family!



Natalie is very practical and does everything hands on, loves to use all the right tools; but the icing is (always) her favourite part.  She had in mind that she wanted to use those special icing tools - that was the main reason for making the gingerbread men in the first place!

The only problem is, they had been got rid of a loooooong time ago.  So we substituted plastic bags with the corner cut off and despite her initial reluctance she accepted it and thought they worked just as well.  (And of course it helps to balance precariously on the bench top while you are icing your biscuits!)

I think they worked out quite well, given all the substitutions in the recipe - they have certainly all been eaten.

Leave a Comment kids cooking