Summer holiday

A new adventure for us this summer and a return to simpler pleasures.

Cooking and eating outdoors

Finding shady spots to eat lunch

and quiet spots to swim

Walks at dusk

and plenty of time to just hang out with each other.

Night-time Picnics

The littlies are getting into night picnics this summer. Before Christmas we went to Carols by Candlelight in Sydney's Domain. Based on the success of that event, we took them back to the domain for an evening of African music.

Play dough, cars and tea sets kept the heeby-jeebies at bay, while papers and people watching were enough for the adults as we waited out the hours until showtime. The drizzle of rain did little to dampen their enthusiasm for a night under the city skyline. They danced and played and ran through the picnicers. Oh, and there was a free photo booth that had them intrigued. It took alot of effort to lift those two babes high enough to get us all in and then they sat squat to wait for their little photo to pop out. Small things.

A taste of summer

Strawberries and blueberries by the punnet-load. The taste of salt on my lips after a day at the beach. Champagne over Christmas. Prawns and oysters and fish and chips by the beach.

However, Summer 2009 has yeilded a new taste .

Home made smoothie icecreams made with love by Tools. We eat them for our afternoon tea on the deck. Each day a different flavour. Today it was cherry, banana and nectarine. Delish!

The Littlies have their own icecream eating style. The Rooster likes his to melt so he can suck it, smoothie like, from the straw. Missy devours it with her two hands and and enjoys every moment of the experience.

Big cheer to AnastasiaC for such a great theme in this weeks Eyespy Sunday.

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Christmas time is beaut!

What a lovely Christmas we have just had. Santa was a generous fellow and was good to all of us. The Rooster still keeps asking "Is it Christmas time?". I have told him it's Christmas until the tree goes down and then we have to wait another year to do it all again. A year is a long time for a three year old so it is met with such a big sigh of disappointment. I have consoled him with the fact that he has a birthday to look forward to, but even that seems a millennium away.

It is such an exhausting time of year for both the littlies and the adults but I feel a little sad that it is over. It was such a magical time this year, the Rooster's first real Christmas. He loved the countdown on the advent calendar and the carols (or harols as he was calling them at one time). He loved collecting the post each day and looking for his name on the cards from far away places. He took such delight at putting out his sack and the goodies for Santa and his reindeer to feast on after delivering his gifts. I wish I could I could bottle his excitement when he came downstairs and discovered that Santa had come and had left the treasures that he wished for.

But, I do love the down time between Christmas and New Year, eating leftovers and catching up with friends at a much slower pace. I am looking forward to the summer with my family. We have a list of things we would like to do with the kids, visits to the zoo and the beach, but I am mostly looking forward to the slow days at home. Late starts (for the one who gets the sleep in!), going out for coffee, playing with the kids with no rush to do the next thing and lots and lots of pottering about the house.