Where Have the Days Gone?

Credits: Papers & Elements - http://www.magical-creations.blogspot.com/

Its hard to believe that Christmas day is just around the corner. It seems as though the days have been whizzing past. Do you like my new layout and don't the kids look good? I am really lucky they still enjoy spending time with each other. The WordArt has been created by my friend Mo in NZ who has been busy learning how to actually create stuff. Well done Mo, hope you like how I have used it.

We have been busy making the rounds of all the different Carols evenings and now feel sufficiently Christmassy. Last nights effort took us to Elder Park which is a 10 minute walk from where we live. The place was packed out by 6pm with more people constantly arriving. The singing didn't start until 8pm and it was very hot waiting in the evening sun. Gary took a couple of pics to illustrate the sea of humanity, unfortunately the camera died shortly after. Arrrgh! Hopefully we haven't lost all the pics as it seems to be a digital card error. Fingers crossed the camera shop can sort it all and quickly. The Carols were good and it all finished up about 11pm with a fantastic firework display.

It is starting to heat up over here at last with an expected temp of 31 for Christmas day. Just as well we are planning to spend a bit of it at the beach. Christmas morning will find us having a bubbly breakfast with friends and then on to another friends for lunch and a trip to the beach. Am looking forward to the no cooking side of it :0)

If I don't get around to another post before the big day, Merry Christmas to you all and HO HO HO.

WaterWorks

Yesterday it poured and it poured, actually its still raining the next day and that is unusual for Adelaide. I wonder how long it will take me to sound like an Australian and go around saying 'Oh but we so need this rain', while standing there totally drenched.

It was a busy day yesterday with the kids last day of school. They had a leaving assembly in the morning and then back to their classes to finish off the day. Us mothers all went out for a farewell lunch and to make plans for the holidays. Back to pick the kids up at 2.15, still raining and there they all are adding to the rain. I don't think I have seen that many Year 7's all crying at once before. You would think they were leaving the planet not the school.

My dry eyed girl came out and said that the girls were all jokingly calling her insensitive as she wasn't bawling her eyes out like the rest of them. I reminded them that when you move countries a few times you sort of get used to saying goodbye. And, after all they are only a text or msn away from each other. Gee, they could even pick the phone and actually talk on it.

After dropping the kids off to a friends for the night we call a taxi to take us to Gary's Christmas work do - still raining. One hour twenty five minutes and 2 more calls to the taxi company later we are not happy campers. More so cause we only live a 20 minute walk away from the city. But walking in high heels in the pouring rain is not a recipe for success. A break in the rain and we give up on the taxi company and scurry as fast as we can to a bus stop. A success. We get there dry.

A good night was had by all and Gary and I got home some time after 3am, heh heh. We are just about to head off to pick up the kids and go to a Christmas party with the people from our old street. Can't get too carried away though as from there we are taking the kids to Christmas At The Proms in the festival centre this evening.

Sunday I think will be a good day to sleep. And before I go have at look at the layouts I did with some of Eilish's graduation pics. Doesn't she look lovely. Not that I am biased.

Credits - Quickpages by http://kimbsdesigns.blogspot.com/

Wordart by http://www.wordartfun.blogspot.com/ and http://elegantwordart2.blogspot.com/

Rush Rush Rush

I don't know about everyone else but the days just seem to be rushing by. Here are a few pics of Eilish's graduation. As you can probably tell it was easier getting silly shots of her than nice posed ones. I hope to have a layout or two in the next day or so. The night went well and I think Eilish's only complaint was that her calf muscles were very sore the next day from so much dancing. Poor Girl.

Tree decorated, a wee crafty bit and an Award

Santa Hats, Christmas music, fizzy drink and lollies - Time to decorate the tree! Credits: http://teristhingomyjigs.blogspot.com - Quickpage http://www.wordartfun.blogspot.com - Wordart

A pleasant afternoon spent with friends making these fabulous wall hangings.

Credits: http://summertimedesigns.blogspot.com - Giving Kit

Lookee! Another award. Someone thinks I am doing ok. lol

Cat sent me a treasured friends award which I am to pass on to 5 treasured friends. Thanks so much Cat.

Now I had to stop and think a while on this. Not because I don't have many treasured friends but because most of them don't keep blogs. After thinking hard I came to the conclusion that in the digiscrapping community we are all like minded friends who just haven't met each other yet. So with this thought in mind I pass the award on to -

1 - Mo - who is my first and foremost treasured friend. Thanks girlfriend for starting me on my creative journey.

2 - Teri - your work is beautiful and what a lovely part of the world you live in.

3 - Summer - have recently started following your blog and admire your strength and positivity (that a word?). Not to forget your Giving kit totally rocks.

4 - Shelly - Thankyou for your fantastic instructions on how to edit HTML to play around with blog backgrounds.

5 - Annies Little Footprints - Anyone who loves Winnie the Pooh just has to be great.

and now I had better tuck my little darlings into bed and find some caffine.

Blanchetown

What a busy weekend! We drove to Blanchetown on Friday morning after dropping Eilish at school (she had elected to stay with friends) and amazingly for us nothing happened on the way. Actually, nothing happened on the way back either. Perhaps we are wearing our travelling bad luck out. The weather was looking a bit dubious but we were packed and nearly there. Of course it turned into a cracker of a weekend as you can see by the pics. Blanchetown has the first of a series of Locks along the river Murray that allow the houseboats to travel up and down the river. The top small pic shows one of those self same houseboats and in the background a small boat about to use the Lock. Thats me in the kayak in the bottom pic. The rugby boys spent most of the weekend in and out of the river, either being towed on the 'Doughnut' or getting lessons from me in our kayak. I did manage to have a paddle most days and also made the most of the early morning swims. In fact I think I used the early morning swims to help wake me up. The adults all socialised very well, too well perhaps as we were lucky to get to bed before 1am each morning. We picked Eilish up on Sunday afternoon and made our way home to deal with the mountain of washing and finding something for dinner in our empty pantry. Sigh. Poor Connor was one of the walking dead having truly burnt the candle at both ends. Deciding that he might as well burn the candle in the middle as well Gary took him out to Elder Park to listen to the Guitar Festival. Both boys had a great time but didn't walk in the door til 11.30pm. Consequently Connor was a wasted unit this morning and it was decided to let him sleep it off. He woke up around lunchtime. Thats all for now. Time to bring in all that washing and as it is the 1st of December we have to decorate the tree too. HO HO HO Credits - http://summertimedesigns.blogspot.com/ (Giving Kit)