Family Photo

This year our Playgroup had a novel idea for fundraising - affordable family portrait sittings. It worked like this:

1. Make a booking
2. Turn up
3. Have a series of photos taken with your entire family, children only, parents only and variations on the theme
4. Pay $12. This includes a framed A4 size photo. The $12 goes to the playgroup
5. Purchase any other photos you like (once printed) or the entire pack for about $130 which includes the digital images on CD and the copyright. Similar packages at Pixi Foto would cost several hundred dollars and you still wouldn't get the digital images or the copyright!

Well, here is one of the family shots.



(Hi Karen.)

A reunion at last (well partially)

My baby sister, Lauren, is coming home from her recent European adventure that saw her employed as a tour hostess for Contiki throughout Europe for the past 6 months or so. After a whirlwind return and catch up in Wollongong, Lauren and Dad will be making the trip down the Hume to stay with us for a week during the Spring Racing Carnival season.

We're all looking forward to catching up again, and while it won't be a full reunion since Damien, Kellie and Co. will be in Sydney, it will certainly be good to have Lauren and Dad here for a week. The boys are really looking forward to seeing Poppy and Aunty Lauren again.

Spring is powering on in Melbourne. We go from highs of 36 to overnight lows of 5. It's amazing and I wouldn't give it up for quids.

My work now has a fair dinkum office in Melbourne and I'll be gracing it with my presence for the next couple of days. I'll see if office life has changed much over the past 6 months or so.

Ciao.

Still in the Pink

Well, it's past the half way mark of the month and we're still in the Pink.

Lawn bowls has started again and Michael is again rolling up on Saturday afternoons.

Angus is in his last term of pre-school at which time he will move to BIG school next year and his lovely teacher, Mrs Tozer, will retire. Her able assistant Pip will remain at the school with Elisha. Patrick will be in grade 3 when Angus is a wee little preppie.

On Monday we bid farewell to Viv, Brian and Nan as they headed north up the Hume back to Sydney. With the visit by Viv and Brian before the school holidays, our trip to Sydney over the school holidays and their return visit on completion of the school holidays, we've just spent 2 month together. It was sad to see them leave but we had great times over the last 2 months. And it's only about 2 months until we visit again.

Well, that's about it for the moment.

Pink for October

Those of you with a keen eye might have noticed the change in colour. Well I've gone out in sympathy for all people directly or indirectly effected by breast cancer. This was not my idea, but was the brainchild Matthew Oliphant and one of his co-workers. And I think it's a great idea.

Back on the home front, after a busy month we're all back at home and have returned from Sydney with Viv, Brian and Nanna (or as the kids know them: Nanna, Grandad and Grandma!).

The lawn bowls season is on the horizon, beginning next weekend. Woo-hoo!. The Swans lost the AFL grand final in a thriller and the Storm lost the NRL grand final in circumstances we would rather forget. There's always next year - C'arn the Saints!

I'm here, then I'm there...

What a busy 2 weeks it's been. I was in Christchurch last week for work. I could have been in Tibet for all I can tell about Christchurch. I went from the airport to the motel, to the office, back to the motel, etc.

While in NZ, I called home only to be informed that we were to head to Sydney once I returned as the school holidays have then started. Mid next week it's back to Melbourne for me and the family will follow on the weekend. Very busy indeed.

We managed to surprise Angela (Karen's sister) with our arrival in Sydney. Ang thought we were visiting friends in Victoria and when she arrived at her Mum's place to welcome her Mum and Dad home from Melbourne, she was confronted by Clan Walker.

As those of you who follow the AFL would well know, the Saints were subsequently bundled out of the finals on the night we went to see them. Gallant in defeat, they led all night until injuries forced them to succumb to a second rate Demons side 10 minutes from full time. And the following week saw the coach sacked! I learnt of this while in NZ - and not from the NZ media either!

Well, if you read this before we leave Sydney and would like to catch up, give us a holler! Ciao.

Footy Finals Fever

St Kilda have made the finals again. The faithful live in hope. I have managed to secure tickets to tomorrow nights clash with Melbourne Demons at the spiritual home of football - the MCG. Patrick, his mate Nathan and myself are going along tomorrow night to see which Victorian team will form half of the Victorian assault on the Premiership semi-finals next weekend against the losers of this weekends interloping interstate battles being waged in Adelaide and Perth.

It could be a very long drive home from the MCG tomorrow night or I might take two 8 year olds out on the town to mark the success! (just joking Child Services!)

On a different note, just when we thought Spring had sprung, we've had over an inch of rain in Upwey during the first week of September. You never can tell.

Spring

After a mild-ish winter and one that did not deliver on the snow front, Spring has well and truly sprung on the first day of September in Melbourne. We were languishing with only half an inch of rain for the month of August until about the 20th, then in the space of two days we received an inch and a half!

Now on September 1st, we've had the hottest start to September ever - a fat 25 deg C!

Patrick has just arisen from his bed and is trying to tell me he needs a fan! I'm sure we'll be back to long sleeves and hot water bottles in the next few days.

It's still Winter

It is definitely still Winter here in Melbourne. Especially since we're currently looking forward to a high of 11 degrees on Friday! This has been one of the worst snow seasons for the Victorian Alps in many many years and Mt Baw Baw is closing this weekend.

My Dad (Graeme) visited last weekend, arriving on Friday evening and leaving on Sunday afternoon. It was great to see him again and we look forward to his next visit with Lauren (my little sister) on her return in November from trekking through Europe as a Contiki tour guide. What a hoot!

Dad had only just departed and Viv and Brian arrived for a two week stay. The house is abuzz with the interaction of grandparents and grandchildren once more.

I'm still enjoying working from home, While it does present a different set of challenges, the benefits are fantastic. Like once I finish breakfast, work is at the end of the hallway and when I've finished work, the family is just outside the door. My company has secured an office in North Melbourne and we'll be taking up residence in the next 6 weeks or so. I won't need to go in there every day so I'll get to enjoy the interaction of working in an office and the solitude and benefits of working from home.

Patrick has finished AusKick for the year and received his medal at the final session last weekend. We had a BBQ afterwards and now we've got a 6-8 week break before Milo cricket starts again! Angus seems keen to take up AusKick next year too.

The lawn bowling season is almost upon us again and my Club has been fortunate enough to get $40,000 from the Federal Government and $18,000 from the State Government to help with the replacement of our synthetic green destroyed by a flood over 18 months ago.

Karen and I are attending a trivia night this weekend. It's that time of year again - every group/organisation seems to be in fundraising mode.

'til next time, Michael

Gee we've been a slack lot...

Gee we've been a slack lot. March was our last post! Sorry.

So, what have we been up to since March?

Well, we went to the Cadbury Easter Egg Hunt at Werribee Mansion on Easter Saturday (I think). That was a great day. The kids found heaps of little solid eggs, we got entry to the Mansion for the day as well and the entertainment on the green was enjoyable.







May saw Michael change jobs (for those who don't know already). He went from Computershare to PayGlobal. It's the same sort of role but in a much smaller company and a totally different industry. It's already seen him in Sydney twice and will eventually see him in New Zealand - after all it is a Kiwi company.

Sometime since March we went with Col, one of our friendly neighbours, to a miniature railway. Col is involved with Puffing Billy and the volunteer railways of varying sizes have Open Days for each other so we managed an invite to this one with Col. The detail in these miniature trains is outstanding. The kids (and the adults) loved it. And to top it off - it was all FREE!

Angus fell asleep on what turned out to be his last ride of the evening.







We spent the mid-year school holidays in Sydney (for those we didn't catch up with) and Michael actually worked from Viv and Brian's place. Since he's working from home these days, it doesn't really matter whose home it is, does it?

After the holidays we headed back south and have been experiencing a very cold winter. It hasn't helped the Victorian snow fields, but it's been 'bleedin' cold in Upwey.

For those faithful few that have been following the saga that is the synthetic green at the Upwey-Tecoma Bowls Club, we've had a breakthrough. The President, Secretary (Michael) and one other committee member met with AFL legend and Victorian Sports Minister, Justin Madden, a couple of weeks ago on the off chance that he might take pity on the CLub and dish out a few $. Ten days later we get confirmation through our local State member (also a Labor MP) that we'd been allocated an ex gratia payment of $18,000. While this doesn't cover the replacement of the green, it puts us in a better position to get the remaining funds required. So with a bit of luck we should have a new green in October. Stay tuned for more details!

What have we been up to?

I can't believe it's been 2 months since our last post! Well, since we left Sydney in the New Year and came home we have been busy and we have been doing stuff. We forget to take the camera someties. But I think we've nailed that now that both of our new phones have a 2 mega pixel camera onboard!

Anyway, if you're interested the cafe at the end of the pier at St Kilda is being rebuilt - true to style. We went to the craft market a few weeks ago and took a stroll down the pier to have a look. What do you think?




And from our walk around the market, here's a couple of photos of the family.

(it was too much for Owen!)

And Angus was fascinated with the fishermen on the pier.


We'll write again soon. Have a good week!