WEST COAST EAGLES!

What can I say?
They are the better team on the day, what great television! And over 97 000 people at the G. Well done. That's the end of footy until Auskick starts next year.....so now it's LITTLE ATHS!.....

Grand Final Day 2006

1.5 hours to go 'till the AFL GRAND FINAL is played. There are at least 2 very excited Auskick participants here who think that watching a Grand Final MUST be better than a birthday.

The idea of this posting BEFORE the game is played is to have a genuine guess at who will win the premiership. I'm going for the WEST COAST EAGLES. Just think they are a better team. I hope the Swans can do it, but I don't think so.
There. We'll see........

No outings today so far. Maybe later. Doing a few 'normal' Saturday things around here.

More later........

Saturday, September 23rd

Today we went for a cruise through the hills of Monbulk and Olinda. To think you can travel only 30 minutes, encounter NO traffic lights, and feel like you're 200 miles away from home. We either get out too much or not enough.
We can highly recommend the Olinda Falls a a great destination for a day or an afternoon (kids included, even prams with large wheels are o.k.).
On the way home stop at the Olinda lolly shop, but don't buy Lindt chocolate or jelly belly jelly beans, as they are the same as what you get at Safeway, but cost alot more.
There are alot of things there that you don't get anywhere else though, so it's well worth having a look and spending some cash. How we managed to get out of there with five kids for under $7 I don't know (what a tight *##@!).

It actually felt like a Saturday today: a day off (so... I stopped at work on the way through for 2 seconds! That doesn't count does it?) Had a lot of fun doing some desktop publishing yesterday, and look forward to seeing what response comes of it. Raising standards by doing something new or a little bit different, and then watching to see who follows suit is one of my favourite evil experiments.
Have opted out of the "multi-coloured snakes" for now, and have an short but effective piece of media for a 5 minute childrens missions talk, that was also alot of fun to put together as the boys helped me with the digital photography.

Looking forward to a smooth day tomorrow for church in the a.m. and work in the p.m. And to the "Northeners" arriving down south next week!!

Of course, here are some photos of the day.

Thursday, 21st, 2006.

Look out for these little dudes!

Although I don't think the one with the flowers on her shirt could be all that dangerous, really. Love the gangster-mobile.

It's school holidays here and as usual it takes about two weeks to get the hang of it.

It's been a fun one so far, with one of our "flat-lander" nephews (still not using names on this blog...how paranoid!) coming to help the boys get into as much mischief as they could come up with, going on a few bush walks, swimming, cruising through the hills, a movie, a visit to our fabulous new library, and of course, as much footy as we possibly fit in.
It's always a sight to see three under 8 year old boys walking around with their "stubbies" of Bundaberg ginger beer and AFL stick on tattoos, acting real tough and cool as they walk up to town (no pictures this time).
From a distance you can't be sure that their drinks aren't actually real stubbies, so we do get some looks from concerned citizens along the way.

K (ah ha! An abbreviation to a name!.....starting to slip already) is at work today, so it's my turn to yell....I mean hang out with the kids. Our usual routine of doing a house clean-up is a little more relaxed today because it's holiday time.
Still haven't heard from any of the more mature-aged persons from our clan.

We're all looking forward to our new Victorians arriving next week sometime.

Either the little J has just woken up or there is a wounded wombat in his bedroom trying to get out. Time to go and get lunch ready while I still have two hands free.

Sunday, 17th September

Friday Night Football. Saturday at the market, at the Lake, Up the Street.
Perhaps one day I'll take some local shots to show what it looks like around here.

It's been an eventful week for us. Always enjoy a challenge and it's ironic how nothing seems to move in a positive direction without at least one or two negative things popping their heads up. Makes me realise that the world is bigger than me so I'd better not try and run it myself, and of course without the challenges it wouldn't be so much fun!

The grapvine tells me that some relo's might be moving south to the lucky state soon (yes, even with a world wide web, the grapvine still functions....). And to the south-eastern suburbs!! You'll soon forget those beaches and rainforests when you see our shopping centres and freeways, some of which are so good you get to pay to use them!


Another Monday just around the corner. This week potentially holds alot in the way of family and work, and of course will be over before it starts.

Click on the "Little Bro" link to see the antics of a very clever toddler who may not be able to walk yet, but look out Michael schummaker!

Thank you for the input on the "snakes on a plane" phrase.
It is very close to being used as "I'm sick and tired of these multi-colour flavoured snakes in this multi-coloured floppy bag," (I have a multi coloured, floppy bag that will contain lots of candy snakes as a prop in a talk, that leads to other lollies in the bag being used. I won't be going for the deep tan look to match Samuel L. Jackson in the movie though........) hmmm, maybe, maybe not.

Love to hear from anyone in the family over 60, sometime soon. A keen observation put forward in the nicest way possible from a 6 year old recently was ".........when someone in our family dies, we get to see everyone more...."

Some pictures of a happy girl (above) and an increasingly mobile little boy (left).

Read about a family with 16 kids yesterday. Yes, 16.

Tuesday, 12th

Left:"Now that I have your attention...."

Back into the swing of things. Great to feel refreshed.
EVERYONE should get some time off whether they think they need it or not. Reminds me of the old story about the woodsmen (how politically incorrect!!...........Germaine who?) who found he was working harder and longer each day but cutting les and less trees. It was only when he took some time out to sharpen his axe he found that he was able to match and exceed his productivity.
Jesse seems to be getting bigger and heavier all of a sudden. I'm getting Sammy mixed up with Darcy, and Eliza seems to be able to say whole paragraphs clearly....oh, and there is more grey hair on the bathroom floor when I have a haircut. What does it all mean? It means that life is definitely on the right track. The annual staff dinner tomorrow night.

Read a great poem by Rupert McColl about Steve Irwin today (look it up on the net), which was very nice. Luckily I get to work with people who have that same approach to life: if they dropped dead tomorrow doing what they are doing they would be happy.
That attitude can be confronting but makes you evaluate why you do what you do and challenges you to ask if you can say the same thing or even close about what fills your hours.
If not, why?
It also helps when I face challenges that seem to throw a spanner in the works and slow things down.
Missed Denny Crane last night (compensated by watching Frasier Crane instead...) but if I don't go now I won't be able to watch Rove Live....quality time with the wife, isn't it? Yes, I know how to make my woman happy.

Just to finsh for the day, I've been desperately trying to come up with a child friendly, usable alternative for the 'snakes on a plane' ads (you know the one, "I'm sick and tired of these
!!***##! snakes on this #!***! plane!") that I could use. Just can't think of anything that starts with an 'M' or an 'F' that go together and are not rude and makes any sense.

First Week Of September

Here are some updated pics..........








Some updated images

First week of September

Well we did the holiday thing for a few days. Highly recommended! The weather was a bit of everything, but that's expected in Victoria. There was heaps of things to do with the kids where we stayed though (thanks Rob). The indoor pool was a real hit and we didn't have to go off site unless we really wanted to. You can only really tell if you were gone long enough when you get back.....another week would have been good but, yes, I feel like I've been away.
The twins had their 3rd birthday. Thank you to everyone for all the presents. They love them. A few pics, although no one looks too excited in them (you had to be there).