Being Bir-Day

So, if you were our newest family member.... just what would you so to endear yourself to the family? Let's ask Bir-Day - the newest member of the Brisbane Balmforths.

Look cute? Check.
Be playful? Check.
Give cuddles? Check.
Bathe in sunbeams? Check.
Hide in the furnishings and sneak into the liquor cabinet? Check and double Check!

School Fete Time

Last weekend was Poppi's school fete. What a day! Of course, the day really began the night before with questions of "How much longer til the Fete?" repeated every few seconds minutes. Our children were so incredibly excited, we were even surprised they managed to fall asleep.

As with most fetes, each family was asked to contribute. We contributed Fudge (no, not our "famous" Peanut Butter Fudge - too many possible nut allergies floating around at schools). 2 kilos of fudge to be exact - Milk Chocolate fudge buttons (where we learned to NOT try and be fancy with fudge - it just doesn't work), Dark Chocolate fudge and White Chocolate fudge. (We even tried (and failed) to make White Chocolate & Maple Fudge. And this is where we learned that shortcuts in fudge (ie using sweetened condensed milk instead of buckets of sugar) is not really a good idea.)

On the day, we did our best to get to the school at the exact minute the fete started, but we were a little delayed. But, it took no time at all to make up for the few precious moments that were wasted driving in the car. Poppi & Hunter rode spinning teacups, a precariously hung (and somewhat dangerous looking) carousel. And!!! The children had a million trips down the big slide with the burlap sacks. In fact, that slide was the highlight of the day and the scene of much negotiation about how many trips would be made.

(We didn't have the camera with us -DOH! But, here's a few happy snaps captured on the camera phone. Enjoy, despite the quality!)

Gymnastics is in his Future!

Miss Poppi Clare has been taking gymnastics classes as school on Friday afternoons. She seems to be enjoying herself. From the times we've been able to attend and watch her learn, we can see that she's really taken to the beam. And over the course of the weeks, she's made some really fantastic improvement in introductory vaulting. We are, of course, so very proud of her!

Hunter attends as an observer every Friday as well. And boy oh boy is he picking up some really fantastic tricks. His favourite? The Cartwheel. And he'll show you just how good he is at them - anywhere, anytime, for anyone who will watch! That includes the front room, the shops, the park, wedding receptions, other people's houses....

And at only 3 years old (ok, nearly 4) he has The Cartwheel down pat - even better than his big sister! He's even figured out how to do them one-handed. And thanks to some "coaching" by dad, he's got himself a pretty decent HandStand, too! He was pretty keen on watching the men's gymnastics during the Olympics and reckons when he gets big and strong, he'll be able to do what he saw those young men doing.

And it looks like he'll be starting some actual gymnastics classes like his big sister in the new school year. We just can't wait to see how he goes!

Poppi's Sports Carnival

We seem to have a shortage of batteries around the joint lately. We find ourselves stealing the AA's out of the camera(s) to power the wireless mouse. Or the motorised (noisy) Thomas the Tank toys. Or the remote. Or one of a couple of dozen other things in the house that require AA's. And when we don't have enought to go around - boy do we hear about it!

Poor Miss Poppi is quite disapointed in our power shortage. It is preventing her from powering her own (Fisher-Price kid-bashing-friendly) digital camera and taking photos to her heart's content. For that matter, it's also hindering us from taking more current photos. (Aren't you glad we have about a year's worth to catch you up on instead?)

Nevertheless, prior to our current portable power deficiency, we were able to attend Poppi's first Sports Carnival. She was very excited to participate in all of the events. And we're quite certain she had a ball with most of the events - Hopping with a ball between the legs, Egg on a Spoon Race, Obstacle Course, Relay Race, 3-Legged Race and the like. Except for the big run at the end - she was quite happy to take it easy. We figure she was just thinking slow& steady wins the race. Too bad it was a sprint. :-)

Poppi's Class lining up for the first event

Poppi's Class after the Big Run event!