Showing posts with label trips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trips. Show all posts

Passport Photos Round Sixty-Seven. Also, Ice Cream.

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I just had a four-year-old come into my room as I'm writing this, asking if she can take off her pants and put on a tattoo.

I don't know what kind of show she thinks we're running here, but I understood when I looked up at her: that would be a tutu, darling.

Last week, after the homemade passport photo debacle, (and you must know that we had three or four separate photo sessions followed by running all over here and beyond trying to find a place with decent printing services, all for naught) it was decided that we would task the professionals  with the impossible job.  So off we went to the other side of the city, and the professionals took approximately 10 minutes to obtain suitable photos of all the children, who calmly and peacefully obliged with perfect passport poses.  Naturally.

On the way home, we had to stop at this epitome-of-ice cream-parlors, Aglamesis Bros.  I'd just been out this way the day before, and stopped at a very swish yarn store next door.  I knew I'd have to bring the kids in, because really...how could I not?

So He Says to Me, He Says.....

"Passport photos are going to be really expensive for all six kids..."

I groan with dismay.

"What?" he says.


This is not mamma's first time at this rodeo.  That's what.

A Big Trip for Mamma

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 Beautiful Perth

I know, it's been a whole year since I last posted.  Don't take that as a sign that there's been nothing going on around here -- couldn't be further from the truth!  So much has been going on, in fact, that I'm afraid I will never catch up with myself on this blog.  But, never mind -- I'll just quickly show you a few things I've been up to most recently :)

I went to Australia, by myself, for five whole weeks -- a bit of June and the whole month of July.  Can you believe it?  Daddy, Grandma and Grandpa held down the fort here and gave the kids a most fabulous summer.  Proof of that was the fact that few of the kids actually wanted me to come home, if it meant that the wonderful summer trips were over and school would be back in session with boring old me.

Anyway, sooooo much happened on my trip.  It had been five years, so five weeks was barely -- no, not even close to -- enough time to catch up with my wonderful, large family.  A sister, brother, nieces and nephews and cousins I'd not seen for five years -- unthinkable! and lots and lots of gentle, homey, welcoming things I'd missed for so long.  The sunshine, the grapevines, the ocean, the stars -- the Milky Way stretching like a long thin cloud across the crystal-clear night sky.

My youngest brother got married and my youngest sister had her seventh baby while I was there.  The kids were all on school holidays, too.  It was such a joyful trip and felt like one long celebration.

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The ferry that takes you across to the Zoo.
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Surfers at Scarborough
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In Jeremy and Thi's back yard
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Jeremy and Thi
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Thi's sister and dresses of her own design and construction
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Nieces and nephews
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Beautiful sunny-morning brunch reception in the Swan Valley
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Sweet-E
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At the hospital, my favorite! Salad Rolls
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New baby W
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A get-together with the awesome ladies of the Down-to-Earth forums
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Inspirational knitting -- Waldorf Doll and wardrobe by one of the DTE ladies
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Escaped alpacas visiting mom and dad's
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Breakfast out with Jeremy and Thi
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Fremantle
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Kailis fish and chips -- the best on the whole trip
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Cooking out with Josh and Paula
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Me, my sisters and mommy

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Out for Devonshire Tea -- Lavender scones, strawberry-lavender jam, clotted cream, and tea.

Gater's Third Birthday and a Trip to the Museum

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I think the next several posts are not going to totally be in chronological order. I don't know why, I think I just got bored with that. Anyway, perhaps you would like to see what we did for Gater's 3rd birthday.

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Daddy took the day off work in honor of her birthday, since Joman had cross-country training that night and there wouldn't be enough time to celebrate otherwise.

Miss Rose dressed Gater in an appropriate princessy-dress (the same one Miss Rose wore for her fourth birthday -- a Princess Party!) and off we went on a special outing.

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We made a re-run to the Cincinnati Museum at the Union Terminal. I took the kids there in May for a free school function, but we weren't there five minutes when Roks threw up, so we hastily left. He was mortally disappointed, as the museum is expensive and we hardly ever go. This time, we bought a membership. Clever of us, hey!

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We thought the little girls especially would have fun in the Children's Museum part. It really is a super-fun place, all hands-on and interactive.

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It was a crazy noisy place when we were there, overloaded with preteens who were loaded up on pop-tarts and off their medication for the summer (true story, I heard it in the bathroom,) but the little kids managed to have a really fun time, anyway. There was a shop to buy groceries from, a cafe, a house, cars to drive and fill with gas, a post office, mailboxes at every station, a nursery, a veterinary office, a water discovery center, buildings and construction "vehicles" and so much more.

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One of my favorite parts is where they have all different kinds of homes, from all over the world, to go in and have a look at. That was really interesting.

As an aside, I kind of want a yurt.

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Roks and Bert got to visit the state where they were born! Western Australia. This was a display of some Aboriginal folks who live up north of the state, and below, is a letter the little boy wrote about Perth, the capital city where my little boys were born.

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Pretty cool!

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I guess all the continents were represented, and there were drums and thumb pianos and all sorts of things to play with.

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Gater and Bert spent the most time at the veterinary clinic. They looked at x-rays and examined their animals.
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Roks got to play at his dream job in the cafe. He constantly talks about having a restaurant. He informed us that when we die, he is turning our house into a restaurant. There was more to that conversation, which was very funny, but I can't remember it now.

He can be a bizarre child.

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When we got home in the afternoon, we had cake-and-present time. Gater had requested a "Dora Princess" cake, and that is what she got. It occurred to me that I post a lot of pictures of these type of decorated cakes, which are so simple and cheap to do that a broke monkey could do it, and perhaps I should do a tutorial. I will try to do that tomorrow.

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Miss Rose had made a whole box of Easy-Bake Oven mixes for Gater. It was a great effort, and Gater was so excited to receive them. We haven't baked any yet, but we will.

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And Gater's present from Mamma and Daddy was her very own big-girl Princess Bed, with all the beautiful Princess bedding. She has been sleeping in a crib this whole time, and she was finally ready to move up.

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I think she had a great birthday.
Happy Birthday, Gater!
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