Haircuts.....

Still no photos of our recent holiday to show you as I haven't had a chance to go through them yet, and there are LOTS to go through, however I thought I would show you the most recent change in our house.......

Evie has not had a haircut since before we left the UK - that's more than TWO YEARS now!

As a little girl she was desperate to have long hair but we had always had it cut pretty short while she was young because of 'brushing issues'!!

However, when she reached the grand old age of 7 we said that she could grow it if she wanted to, and so she did.

Two years in the making......



However a few weeks ago she started telling me she wanted it cut short again....

I told her to give it a little while before we visited a hairdresser just in case she changed her mind....

but she hasn't....

Still adamant that she wanted short hair I took her to the hairdressers yesterday and now she looks like this......




it takes me back to when she was 5 or 6 and doing ballet and she used to have exactly the same haircut then....

and she loves it!

An admission......

Ok, it's official and I'll happily admit it ..... I'm past it!

Seriously, I have discovered, during this lovely vacation that we are having, that I am not up for the 'adventurous, thrill seeking' holiday activities any more......

..... cruising to an island surrounded by crystal clear turquoise water, watching the dolphins & turtles swimming in the shallows, relaxing on a beach with beautiful fine white sand & then snorkelling around shipwrecks, marvelling at the coral & handfeeding the tropical fish - now that's great..... lovely...... relaxing...... holiday-ish......

....... doing a physically exerting, terrifying, high ropes course with two kiddos...... not so much fun anymore.....!

I'm done in!!

I'll sleep well tonight that's for sure!

Can't show you any pics as we don't have the ability to upload any whilst away but they will come..... in abundance no doubt.....

birthday boy......

Yikes, 11 years old..... how did that happen?

It seems one only has to blink or draw breath and the children age another year.....

He's officially called himself a 'tween' (I hate that label!)...

Here he is snuggled up in our bed at about 6am ready to open his pressies....


Lego was the pressie that got first dibs for construction..... you can never have too much Lego he informs me! Something from the Lego series 'Atlantis'.... that's as much as I know!!


A big box of KNex (thanks Dottie & Neil) was next to be 'constructed'..... it contained hundreds of bits like this......


and lots of other small, long, round, pointy, easily lost bits!!

He recruited Evie to be the 'finder of bits' as he called out what he needed during each phase of contruction......


Then, of course, we had to stop for morning tea...... chocolate caramel slice, as it's known here (or millionaires shortbread as I know it), was requested......


along with these funny straws that had little flavoured balls in them so that when you sucked milk up through them they flavoured the milk and, hey presto, you had an instant milk shake...... I am so glad that the kids only get one day per year when they get to choose all meals and treats for the day..... these CANNOT be good for you......


LOTS more construction (actually it took him pretty much the whole day to contruct this double roller coaster track...... but, oh boy, it was fun to watch the two roller coaster cars spin round that track complete with flashing lights!!)


Finally, instead of a 'normal' birthday cake, Isaac chose 'A Plate of Soil in Engine Oil' from the Roald Dahl cookbook Even More Revolting Recipes. I got this photo just before I put the cake in to bake but didn't manage to get one of the 'finished product' because the batteries in both our cameras decided to run out of juice!


We had such a lovely day together - we played games (in between all that construction), went out for afternoon tea to one of our fave cafes and snuggled down to watch a movie together in the evening.... lovely day, lovely memories.....

Eclectic.......

Isaac makes me laugh......

He's always had the most eclectic reading taste.....

One morning this week I found him pouring over 'The Thinking Toolbox - 35 lessons to build your reasoning skills', which is a book Brian brought home from work (which he uses as part of his Philosophy teaching).....


and then in the afternoon he was all comfy on the front room chair enjoying (for the millionth time - I exaggerate not!!) a Magic School Bus book.....


in between those, he probably devoured a couple of picture books from his toddlerhood and fantasy fiction adventure!!

Inspiration and magic.....

this morning, whilst eating breakfast, Evie was completely engrossed in reading The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks.


this is not the first time Evie has read this particular book.... nor will it be the last I am sure.

and just like when she reads Narnia books and imagines hidden doors into magical worlds, this book causes her to wonder.....

in her room I find her little Beatrix Potter tin.....


with this cute fella inside.....


and a light sprinkling of fairy dust, just for good measure.....

and her hope? That her tin will be magic and she will end up with a 'real live' deer......