Happy Birthday Collette

Yesterday was Collette's birthday. It's great being a teacher and having a birthday in January because she never has to got work on her birthday. Yesterday afternoon, Mum, Collette, Hayden, Jess and me and the kids met up with Aunty Zoe at Longford to go through the cemetery there to find some rellies. We grabbed some lunch at the bakery and headed back to the caravan park where Zoe and Jim are staying. I envisaged some small caravan that you hook up to the car but instead it was this HUGE winnebago-type thing and was very luxurious. Inside had a loungeroom with recliners and a lovely kitchen. It even had a laundry and is so big a truck has to pull it. I could definitely go around Australia in one of those. Zoe and Jim are leaving for Canada next week so it was good to catch up with Zoe again.

Hayden and Collette took the kids for a walk to see the ducks and ended up letting them do rolly pollys on the way back. So lovely all covered in grass stains.

All that would have been better with photos but of course I left the camera at home. At about 3.30 we left Longford and went home to get ready for Collette's birthday party!!

Collette always has good birthday parties as they play such fun games and it is so funny to watch all the YSA being big kids and playing little kids games. There was heaps of yummy food that we all tucked into. Someone got some great eating shots with my camera.

Hayden, Danny, Chris and Paul

Kelv tucking in

Hallie and Jeshua

me and Julia

Sacha

One of the games was pass the parcel and each time it was unwrapped the person had to do something with Collette. Julia Fuglsang and Collette had to make up a dance routine, Jeshua and Collette had to sing on Singstar together and Danny Polley for the second year running, won a date with her.


They played pin the patch on the pirate and the one where you tie a balloon to your leg and try to pop everyone else's while protecting your own. That came down to a dual between Sacha Rattray and Anthony Wheeler.

Out on the deck they played musical chairs.


This is Kyle Andrews with no middle name (that's how Jess described him to me) that Jess met at the YSA Convention in Adelaide!!

Lovely shot there Jade

We had great food and it was lovely catching up with Chels and Dave. Hattie and Oliver are only like 6 days apart and ran around together. It was good catching up with Sarah too who is down visiting Kelv and Annette over Christmas.

Jonty seemed a bit freaked out by all the noise at first but then settled down for a nap.

Nice hair Jay

Elle and Jonty

The YSA were still going strong when we left at about 10pm. It was definitely a generation y party with half downstairs playing guitar hero and half upstairs playing singstar. Cool party Collette!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COLLETTE

Just hanging around

Jonty is really enjoying his new playgym that Santa brought him for Christmas. He is looking at and talking to the toys that hang from it and is randomly moving his arms around as he tries to figure out how to touch them.


Seven weeks on and Hallie is still loving being a big sister and insists on burping him everytime he has a feed.

First glimpse of summer

Today Simon took the kids to Ulverstone to drop Hallie and Oliver off at Oma and Pop's place for a little holiday until Sunday. Oma took them down to the beach and despite the nippy winds, they went in the water, clothes and all.




What is it with kids and cold weather and wanting to swim. I can't ever remember being cold when I was young. Now I feel it all the time.






On the way home, Simon stopped at Sassafras and took these awesome shots of hay bales in a paddock. It is one of the things I love most about north-west Tasmania and if I ever had to leave, would be something I would really miss. Seeing the paddocks like that makes me want to get out and run around the hay bales, but then I remember I am not young anymore and probably wouldn't even make it over the fence.




On the way down Simon stopped off to visit Nan Van Hoorn in Devonport. She is 93yrs old.

Weegeena rocks in the New Year

Last night the Wheelers, Mum and us headed to the Websters for a NYE party. And party we did.... in that we made it to midnight without piking out. It was crazy choosing to stay up late and miss out on precious sleep but who could resist a party at the Websters!

This is one of my favourite photos of Mel and Tyren

Mark had been roasting a lamb on the spit all afternoon and Dean was out the back on the barby cooking up steak and sausages. We all brought either a salad or dessert and Jayne's brownies (well actually Georgia made them) were a hit. Mel made this scrumptious choc cake and Jackie kept bringing out yummy dips.

Okay enough about the food........... there was quite a few people there and everyone enjoyed themselves despite the blustery old night. It got down to 10 deg but noone let that dampen their spirits. Rene Ziesel, Chris, Lisa, Mum, Mark and I sat around the fire chatting away while the rest of the party played games. They were so loud, I was afraid they would wake the neighbours but then realised the neighbours were there so it didn't matter.


This horn Jackie has was so loud, it sounded like a siren signalling the end of a football match.

The view from the fire back towards the garage with everyone piled in playing games. Really us adults are just big kids.

Jonty and Lachlan timed their feeds at the same time so Steph and I sat inside for awhile and fed them. I wondered how much sleep we would get that night..... crazy new Mums!

Just before midnight, the ones playing games counted down but according to Chris' iphone which looked up the official time, they were out by 1min and something seconds so us around the fire counted down again after them. It was a crackup.

Jasen and Darryl

We got home at about 10 past 1 and boy was everyone grumbly. The kids slept in until 10am this morning so that was lovely. Oh apart from Jonty but we don't count him yet. He was still a good boy and gave me a good block of 4hrs sleep before waking. Well I would have got a good sleep but Sarra woke about 5am, spewing in her bed all over her pillow. Oh the joys!

I asked Simon to take some pics of everyone around midnight because I had Oliver asleep on my lap, thinking he would take some nice pics of people that were there and all I can find is 50 million different shots of the lamb on the spit............................. gross.