The 5 year old

So the next Steve Backshall  is 5.  As a future naturalist it was only appropriate he had a Bush Birthday Party.

At 5 years old you are the loveliest little boy, an absolute joy to us all.  There is  both a quiet gentleness about you (that I adore) and simultaneously a loud, rambunctious wildness about you too.  

Your best friend is Joshua and the two of you hang out together all day long at preschool apparently.  Your favourite TV show is Deadly 60 of course, although you don't mind Operation Ouch either.  Apart from these two shows you are not a big fan of TV, you would rather be outside.  You are a perfectionist... (I don't like too think too hard about where this trait came from!) and very competitive.  You want to be the best at everything and I admire your determination. You can read already and it won't be long before you are reading chapter books.  Probably before you start school even.  Your favourite colour is yellow, orange will do though in a pinch.  Your adore spaghetti and meatballs made by your Dad and pizza from Hugo's or Cavallino's. You are still very attached to Big and Little.  The other day, whilst watching the Tour with your dad, you announced that you were going for yellow as it was your favourite colour.  Going for yellow in the Tour is a safe bet!  Later when they handed the days winner his lion en peluche, a toy lion that is remarkably similar to your beloveds Big and Little, you squealed with excitement and said that one day you were going to win one.  As much as your father would love this I would prefer that you stuck to cycling as a purely recreational activity! 

Happy Birthday my darling boy.

Friends

Nearly 30 years ago, when we moved back to Australia after our posting to KL,   I made two very dear and special friends.  One I met on my first day at my new school, which was actually my old school but Canberra has such a transient population that there were hardly any recognisable faces.  I was allocated a seat at a double wooden desk next to D and promptly handed a Hymn book, a Bible and a sheaf of photocopied Prayers and Hymns that needed to be glued into both.  I must have looked quite bewildered as D kindly offered to do it all for me.  V I met shortly afterwards at Girl Guides.  Come around the back she enticed and I'll let you feel my bra strap.  I have been best friends with both ever since.

Last year for my 40th birthday they gave me a very generous voucher for one of my most favourite shops. 

Black and Spiro.

 As V lives in Brisbane nowadays she was able to accompany me for the grand shopping trip but D now lives in the Hunter Valley and thus has not yet seen the divine things that I purchased with their very thoughtful gift.

Thank you both so very much for my lovely 40th birthday presents.  Every time I look at the Pineapple painting it makes me smile and everybody that visits the house loves it and asks after it.  I use the butter dish everyday and it's vintage gorgeousness makes me so happy, as does the lovely hammered silver trinket box which looks perfect on my bookshelves. 

Thank you for being such marvellous friends, you have both enriched my life in so many ways.

Harry Potter vs the various Landrover Publications

Really.... I don't know why I was worried.  Saturday morning a quick trip to the library and a bunch of new books were borrowed for distraction purposes.

He slowly made his way through them as I wandered through the shops.

He is quite a good shopping companion really.

By Saturday night however all the new library books (and Harry Potter) had been abandoned for the Landrover Discovery 4 Brochure and the new Landrover Onelife Magazine.

This morning on the way to school it was still the current favourite.  I foresee a future with Top Gear in it.

The Captain and Harry Potter

 So has anyone actually read past book 3?  Anyone over the age of 25 that is?  He read books 1 and 2 last week and is halfway through book 3 now.  At this rate he will have finished them all in a few weeks time.  Apparently some of the later books have themes for an older audience and I have had a number of well meaning people suggest that I stop him from reading the rest of the series.  (He is 7 turning 8 at the end of October).  I am loath to interfere in his reading interests though.  Considering that I put up with his previous obsession with Beast Quest when I have spent a lifetime amassing a collection like this:

And that, my fellow collectors isn't even a quarter of it ( just some of my favourites!), which he could have worked his way through instead but has shown only a fleeting interest in.  Sniff.  Anyone with any thoughts on this?  Am I going to end up with a child having nightmares about you know who?  

Two little powderhounds

The last few weeks of the school holidays were spent skiing at Whistler and it was beyond fabulous.  I know, I am very lucky.  I hope the boys realise how lucky they are as well one day. We were blessed with gorgeous weather and fantastic snow and skied almost every day.

From Whistler village you can ski two different mountains, Whistler and Blackcomb.  The two mountains are joined by the Peak to Peak Gondola a record breaking feat of remarkable engineering.  It is the longest unsupported span for a lift in the world and the highest lift system of it's kind in the world.      It was an amazing experience riding in it, although the Captain admitted to me afterwards he felt a little wary, the 4 year old however is a daredevil and as you can see had his eyes trained out the windows of the gondola the whole way.

We stayed in Whistler Village and it was just gorgeous, all the Christmas lights were still up and the atmosphere was amazing.  I felt like I was walking through an illustration in a vintage children's picture book about Christmas.

Whistler for kids is a magical experience.  The ski school was fantastic, great instructors and everything else you would expect from a ski school program.  They even attach Flaik's (a GPS) to the kids so that at the end of the day you can go online and track the runs that they did each day. Probably so the instructor doesn't lose a kid either I suppose.  We couldn't believe it when we saw that the 4 year old had done a couple of black diamond runs.   I mean, he said that he had done them but we, and I know it sounds bad but we didn't believe him!  But with "big brother" watching his every move we discovered he was actually telling us the truth!

There are even a few playgrounds dotted amongst the many runs.  This one is called The Tree Fort!  Hard to believe that they managed to scamper about all over this in ski boots.

The highlight of the holiday? Well for this one it was that he got poles!  Quite the milestone for a little powderhound!

On either side of Canada we squeezed in a few days in the States.  Including a quick side trip to Legoland.

Luckily for the grown ups someone at Legoland has a sense of humour.  Even R and I had a wonderful time.  (I am allowed to laugh at the Volvo thing, my parents have always had one!)

Several weeks away though and we are now thrilled to be home and I am looking forward to catching up with you all.  I have been thinking of all my QLD friends and hope you have all survived the wild weather.  It even made the news in Canada!

Christmas 2012 and Depot Beach (far away in time...)

Christmas was fabulous.  Apparently I was even having too much fun to take photos.  Luckily my Mum snapped this one before the kids got to the crackers.

Followed by a trip to the beach house for New Years.

As we are on tank water this is the most convenient and fun way to wash off after the beach.

I spent a lot of time doing this.... (nothing).

Will someone please take me down to the beach!?!

oh okay.....  R teaching them to surf.  Me, still doing nothing.  It was a lovely break.  Happy New Year all.