A monster...

We took a drive down to the Gold Coast yesterday, hoping to find beautiful, sunshiny weather. But we knew a storm was forecast and still we wanted to try our luck, to surprise the kids' Uncle for his birthday.

We drove down there with little traffic on the road (yay!) and expected to be bombarded by schoolies everywhere. But it was very quiet....even on the beach....until this beauty reared its head...

That's when we saw some activity. The surf life savers moved in record time to pack up, a bride and groom about to say their vows outside, had to find another venue...fast! And those brave enough to have hit the beach earlier, were moving at pace to get their cars under cover!
This monster moved quickly but it was fascinating to watch it come across.

Blogger Award...

Lookie here!! Two lovely people have given me this award. Thank-you very much Leanne and Nic! So, here are the rules...

1. The winner may put the logo on their blog.
2. Put a link to the person who sent you the award.
3. Nominate 5 blogs.
4. Put links to their blogs.
5. Leave a message for your nominees. OK here goes...........

Mandy : This lady is amazing! I love her work and she seems to produce a layout almost daily! How inspiring is that!

Lisa : A new blogger and I'm glad she is! We chat a bit at Scrapboxx and I absolutely love her style!

Sheree : This lady has a wonderful gift of just being able to produce the most wonderful pages. I love her work too!

Petrina : Check out this lady's style. She creates the most divine layouts! Plus she designs her own chippies! Sooo cute!

Tatum : This lady has so much talent...she blows me away with what she produces! Just gorgeous work!

Enjoy ladies! You all inspire me for different reasons and I love checking out your blogs! Have a great day!

Create...

Today I finished playing with this...

"Xmas" (round LO)

 

I wanted to try something different. And I came up with my first "round" layout.

Christmas themed of course!

A posh luncheon?...

I don't think so! Just our turn to play host for our quarterly get together with good friends. Remember this lot?...

Add one person, (Hi Bec!) and take away three (sorry you couldn't be there Liz, Louise and Peter) and you have a recipe for a casual lunch where talk IS NOT suppose to turn into full on work discussions!!!! Or anything stranger for that matter!

Talk does however, revolve around life in general, having a good laugh (usually at our husbands' expense!) and of course, what the kids have been up to. Oh and don't forget the constant banter about not burning the food on the barbecue! Sorry Geoff, that one is all yours! King of the BBQ and all that!!

And see Geoff, I haven't mention the glasses at all!

Throw in that competitive nature that men seem to bring with them in droves at a gathering, and it usually leads to something like this...

How many time can we keep the ball in the air, David Beckham style!!

What was the record fellas? ...Yeah right! Good luck next time!! Lol!

Create...

I seemed to have lost my mojo at the moment...But I did complete these two layouts in the last week.

Ethan loves to try anything his older sister or brother attempts. It's a clear case of "If they can do it, so can I!"... He makes a good effort at least, although, when it comes to climbing...I'd rather he wasn't so persistent! Lol!

 

"Juz skippin'"

This layout is one I wanted to do about Tahlia and her bike accident. Actually more about her getting back on the bike after having such a dramatic fall. As you can see, there is no journaling yet, but the space is there, ready for the words to be written.

"skid"

We have a busy few weeks coming up before school ends for the year, so I'll try to keep up with the blogging. I'm sure I'll have plenty to share...even on a slow news day! Lol!

And thanks to all those who expressed concern about our recent wind blown experience. We had just the rain and the strong winds, with very little damage around us. Others were not so lucky. But I thank you all the same. Take care.

I've been tagged...

Mandy has tagged me to share six random things about myself... So, here goes...

1. I have just finished writing a letter to my daughter's school to request a specific teacher for her next year...

2. I often host a Mums morning tea for a group of friends, who like me, often crave more adult conversation than the Wiggles or the Bob the Builder catch phrases we get at home!...

3. I am an iced-coffee nut. More specifically, Espresso Dare...

4. I do more clothes washing than I care for...

5. I am currently sewing several ballet costumes for the end of year recital, that my daughter volunteered me for (not even her ballet class)...

6. I have never broken a bone in my body or anybody else's for that matter...

Six random things about me. How boring are they! Lol!!

Back to other stuff now. The weather here has been wild. Really, crazy wild. Strong winds, lots of torrential rain, plenty of lightening strikes and one or two blackouts. And we are expecting more this afternoon. Some areas hit by the huge storm have been described as being like a war zone. It was pretty scary watching the storm pass over us. Especially when we saw our full garbage bins get blown down the street.

The kids were both fascinated and frightened at the same time. I think, they thought, they were in the middle of a "tornado". Lol! Trees were being blown down everywhere, so I can't really blame them for exaggerating the situation in their minds!

This tree fell at the school. Thankfully it was Sunday and not Monday.
Let's hope the rest of the week brings decent rain, but leaves the strong winds at home.

Humid weather...

It's quite hot and sticky here at the moment. The days are getting longer and the kids are enjoying their extra time outdoors. Ethan especially. He just loves to be outside...even if it is raining. The other day, in the cool of the afternoon, he was sooo excited to see the moon that every few moments, he would stop and let me know, quite emphatically, that it was still there. In the sky. I suppose he wasn't used to seeing it out while he was still playing.

He is in the habit now, of letting me know about everything he practically sees! So very cute and not annoying at all...well, yet!

As for the weather, I guess, some days I wish we were back here...

...even if the whole camping thing was a debacle, at least the water was refreshing!! Lol!