My first phone pics

I have one of >these<. Here are my first pics of some random strangers :oP If the random strangers don't want to be so famous, let me know and I can take the pics down!


Not bad for a phone eh? Especially since it still has the protective plastic over it's lens!

Air Show

On Sunday the boys, dad and I went to the Defence Air Show. It was veeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry windy and I hate wind (and rain) but apart from that it was good.

The Roulettes were up just as we arrived so we saw them but I didn't get any photos of them. EJ momentarily morphed into Dr Seuss and announced that the Roulettes "don't crash, or bash, or have a moustache". Later we got their leaflet and found that he's right, none of them has a moustache!

This one is taken from inside Connie:



Here's a F111 (I have had to zoom and crop these but I think I did well to even catch him!):




I'd like to say this is Liam being excited (it is the kind of reaction he had when the F111 dropped a "bomb"), but he's actually laughing at the flags flapping in the wind!


Hercules (not usually used for aerobatics but sometimes makes an exception for special occasions...):


We had a look in the Dehavilland Caribou:



... during which a bunch of FA-18s flew directly over us and very low, and nearly scared EJ out of skin because it was LOUD and he couldn't see what it was (because he and Liam were just inside the Caribou). I was just outside, still on the ramp, so I caught them:


Here's Mr F111 again but this time he's moving. Please excuse the distance!

Oops, it's not distance, it's just a tiny plane. I'm surprised the man in that video doesn't have a headache after it flew in one ear and out the other!!


Here are the boys looking up someone's nose (Lockheed Hudson) because they have windows there:



For a more knowledgeable description of events, you might like to click on Dad's blog. He might even come along with some corrections for my blog. :o)

Today we went to Fairyland... yes, we really did...

Fairyland is at Lobethal - click here to see their website.

It's a "village" of 19 fairytales (18 cottages and one wishing well). You can see into the cottages but can't go in; and many have a button to animate the scenes or tell the story. Old people like me are fascinated by the antiques hidden in the scenes in many of the cottages - furniture, bowls on washstands, toys, books, kitchenware... some are replicas but many are real antiques. Here are a couple that might interest Mum, not that she's an old person:

I think Mum has one of these dolls without a wig:

This one's just a sewing machine to interest the sewing person:

Some cottages had windows on more than one side. I could take better photos at those ones, with less reflection off the glass. Here are the boys looking into the Red Riding Hood cottage:

Some of the others were...

...The Elves and the Shoemaker...
...Santa's Workshop...

...Rumpelstiltskin...

... and Old Mother Hubbard...

Some of the village pixies:

There were two cages next to each other, one with a galah and one with a sulphur crested cockatoo, who both had the most personality I've ever seen on birds (no sexist comments please!)! Everyone was talking to the cocky because he was loudest, he'd say "Allo"and "How ya goin'?" and "Dance cocky, dance!" until the galah got tired of being neglected and called out "Watch this!" and put a cup on his head! This made the cocky hang upside down on his perch and screeeeeeeeeeam with laughter! When everyone left the cocky wailed "Bye! Seeya! Bye! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!". I didn't get all the good bits, but here he is (the shorter of the two videos I took of him):

Here are some pics of Liam throwing a ball to hit a target to knock Humpty Dumpty off the wall (good shot too!). These are very fast multiple pics of one throw:



Before we left I got petrol and reset my odometer, and it was only about 64km to get to Fairyland and back (we had swimming lessons, baths and laundry this morning and still made this trip). It's good to discover - or rediscover - what's in your own backyard. :o)



Quotable quotes from this week:

• I told the boys all three of us might enrol in Tae Kwon Do. Liam's reply: "Ummmm - you too? That would just be funny!"
• Liam: "When mum was at school, which we all know was over ten years ago...". Geez, I'm so old.
  
• I commented on someone spruiking. EJ: "There's no spooking. I can only hear blurry talking."

In memory of
(click^)

Gayle Airlie, 47, Maroubra, NSW - in Bali with eastern suburbs friends

Belinda Allen, 23, Wheelers Hill, VIC - on holiday with four girlfriends.

Renae Anderson, 30, Caringbah, NSW

Peter Basioli, 44, Byford, WA - a Perth wine merchant

Christine Betmalik, 29, Croydon, NSW

Matthew Bolwerk, 27, Secret Harbour, WA - was to marry his fiance in Bali just days after the attack

Debbie Borgia, 45, Tempe, NSW

Abbey Borgia, 13, Tempe, NSW

Gerardine Buchan, 46, Chifley, NSW

Steven Buchan, 47, Chifley, NSW - Steve was in Bali with his wife Gerardine, their daughter Candice and his only sister Cathy Seelin. Only Candice survived.

Chloe Byron, 15, North Bondi, NSW

Anthony Cachia, 33, Reservoir, VIC - a chef since he was 17.

Rebecca Cartledge, 20, Nunawading, VIC - holidaying with Jessica O'Donnell

Bronwyn Cartwright, 28, Hawthorn, VIC - a fun-loving nurse who spent her last day bungy-jumping

Jodie Cearns, 35, Brisbane, QLD - died in Melbourne's Alfred Hospital.

Jane Corteen, 39, Bicton, WA - mother of two, died with her twin sister

Jenny Corteen, 39, Fremantle, WA - on her first holiday with her twin since they were teenagers

Paul Cronin, 31, Forbes, NSW

Donna Croxford, 36, Port Melbourne, VIC - mother of Breanna, 5. Donna was celebrating Sue Maloney's 40th with a group of girlfriends.

Kristen Curnow, 27, Bendigo, VIC - died with her friend Angela Gray

Francoise (Franny) Dahan, 30, Caringbah, NSW

Sylvia Dalais, 55, Seddon, VIC

Josh Deegan, 22, Adelaide, SA - on an end-of-season trip with Sturt football club

Andrew Dobson, 40, Armadale, WA - father of three, on holiday with a work colleague

Michelle Dunlop, 30, Menai, NSW

Craig Dunn, 18, Ulladulla, NSW

Shane Foley, 34, Coogee, NSW - Coogee Dolphin

Dean Gallagher, 19, Perth, WA - on end-of-season trip with Kingsley football club mates

Jared Gane, 27, Gold Coast, QLD -

Angela Golotta, 19, Adelaide, SA - was dancing with Josh Deegan in the Sari Club

Angela Gray, 31, Bendigo, VIC -

Byron Hancock, 22, Perth, WA - a Kingsley player who loved motorbikes and cars

Simone Hanley, 28, Cronulla, NSW - sister of Renae Anderson, she died two months after the attack

James Hardman, 28, Sydney, NSW

Billy Hardy, 20, Tweed Heads, NSW

Nicole Harrison, 29, Perth, WA

Tim Hawkins, 29, Hobart, TAS

Andrea Hore, 38, Albury, NSW

Adam Howard, 26, Centennial Park, NSW - (Coogee Dolphins)

Joshua Iliffe, 28, Kensington, NSW - (Coogee Dolphins)

Carol Johnstone, 35, Busselton, WA - loved sport, shopping, her husband and two children

David Kent, 41, ex QLD

Dimmy Kotranakis, 27, Blacktown, NSW

Elizabeth Kotranakis, 33, Blacktown, NSW

Aaron Lee, 34, Geelong, VIC

Justin Lee, 31, Geelong, VIC

Stacey Lee, 30, Geelong, VIC - had only recently found out she was pregnant

Danny Lewis, 19, Ulladulla, NSW

Scott Lysaght, 33, born in Wollongong, NSW

Linda Makawana, 49, formerly of Kiama, NSW

Sue Maloney, 40, Elwood, VIC - a holiday to celebrate her 40th

Bob Marshall, 68, Adelaide, SA - a club official and former player with Sturt football club

David Mavroudis, 31, originally from Wagga Wagga, NSW - (Coogee Dolphins)

Lynette McKeon, 46, Kincumber, NSW

Marissa McKeon, 14, Kincumber, NSW

Jenny Murphy, 40, Wangaratta, VIC - a mother-of-two celebrating her 40th

Amber O'Donnell, 27, Keysborough, VIC - Bali was her first overseas adventure

Jessica O'Donnell, 21, Nunawading, VIC - had turned 21 only a month earlier

Sue Ogier, 35, Frankston, VIC - met her husband Glenn only 12 months earlier on a blind date

Jodie O'Shea, 29, Como, NSW (died in Royal Perth Hospital)

Corey Paltridge, 20, Perth, WA - Kingsley teammate, playing air guitar on the Sari Club dancefloor.

Brad Ridley, 32, Forbes, NSW

Ben Roberts, 28, Sydney, NSW

Bronwyn Ross, 32, Carrum Downs, VIC - mother to Haylee, 12, and Teagan, 10

David Ross, 20, Perth, WA - Kingsley player, worked two jobs to pay for the trip

Kathy Salvatori, 37, Malabar, NSW - mother of two girls Olivia, 10, and Eliza, 7.

Greg Sanderson, 24, Forbes, NSW

Cathy Seelin, 45, Malabar, NSW

Lee Sexton, 46, Perth, WA

Tom Singer, 17, Maroubra, NSW - survived in hospital for nearly one month after the bomb

Julie Stevenson, 35, Maroubra, NSW

Anthony Stewart, 29, Werribee, VIC

Jason Stokes, 31, Bullsbrook, WA

Behic Sumer, 43, Kings Langley, NSW - died on evacuation to Darwin

Nathan Swain, 24, Earlville, QLD

Tracy Thomas, 41, Inglewood, Perth, WA - mother of three, died in Royal Perth Hospital of burns

Clint Thompson, 29, Kensington, NSW

Robert Thwaites, 24, Gold Coast, QLD

Charles Vanrenen, 26

Jonathon Wade, 21, Perth, WA (Kingsley)

Vanessa Walder, 40, Carnegie, VIC - the mother-of-two was in Bali with best friend Sue Maloney

Jodi Wallace, 29, Gymea, NSW

Shane Walsh-Till, 32, born in Leeton, NSW

Robyn Webster, 44, Marrickville, NSW

Marlene Whiteley, 42, Frankston, VIC

Charmaine Whitton, 29, Bangor, NSW - in Bali after her wedding plans fell through

Gerard Yeo, 20, Coogee, NSW - the youngest Coogee Dolphin to die.

Louiza Zervos, 33, Marrickville, NSW

Not the last room

This is the last room of the original four-room cottage, and again, the colour is perfect for the things I already have!



There are also the kitchen, bathroom and laundry which were added, but I'm not sure if I'll blog them as they just aren't as interesting! They don't have the same character as the old parts of the house, with it's real vents that go straight through solid stone walls, and sloping timber ceilings ....



... or the antique locks ...

~*~

Today's school holiday activity was hockey - Liam with red sleeves and EJ in orange:

School Holidays

Some of what we've been up to:

Wednesday October 3: We watched a Scooby Doo performance. Fascinating I must say. Although those pants on Shaggy.... he was worth watching from certain angles... and I think the men in the audience thought similarly about Daphne...

Friday October 5: We went to the hills. Stopped at Lobethal for lunch (those darn rednecks leave their Christmas lights on all year!), and continued on to Woodside and the chocolate factory. These "cement mixers" ARE full of chocolates! We saw the snakes going onto the conveyor belt to get coated in chocolate - I think Liam's expressions can tell the story in the pics below. We also went to the Whispering Wall (Williamstown) and I really wanted to photograph the water level which was visibly lower than last time, but my camera batteries went flat. The boys met some other kids there, who they talked with from the other end of the wall.





Sunday October 7: Not much, just the usual swimming lesson, and made sure we attended the hardware store's sausage sizzle, as it was a school fundraiser.

Monday October 8: There was a Scooby Doo art activity at the shops. It was called Scooby Doo because the "man" himself made a brief appearance; the activity (painting plaster thingies) was not related at all. But it was fun and the boys wore their art smocks in public! First pic is Fred pointing ... "Help! The monsters are coming!"



Wednesday October 10: Today the boys tried Tae Kwon Do. They were a bit scared of the instructor and the volume of the session, but afterwards we discussed that it is self defence and the loudness encourages kids to be loud if attacked, and the "anger" is training kids to get angry and direct that energy into self defence if attacked. The instructor is not angry, he's just loud and strict. EJ then made a very interesting observation about when he might need to use self defence, and they agreed to try another session on Friday. The instructor is only loud and strict during the lesson; afterwards he was all smiles and chats and lollipops. They also have hockey and tennis coming up this week.


Oh, and I sold a house.