Back to School ...

Today was back to school for Blake .... he was looking forward to his first day in Year 8.




Before heading off to school for the first day of the school year we always stop for a quick visit and photo with Nan & Pop ....





this year was quite a buzz with my niece (Jessica) starting high school (yesterday)




and nephew (Jacob) off to Kindergarten for his first day today.




So here we go for another school year ...




Now for a busy weekend covering books etc !

Me & My Boy ....

We have a tradition of an outing of Blake's choice on the last day of school hols ... today it was just him and I cause DH was sleeping (shiftwork).

It was just a simple outing ... a bite to eat and the movies to see this



Not a bad movie ... the storyline is pretty basic with a few humerous parts & some catchy tunes.

It fills my heart to spend time with my 'soon to be 13 year old' boy, always my baby but growing up so fast. Don't know how much longer he'll be happy to hang out with his mum but for now i'll cherish whatever comes my way :O)

Need some retail therapy ???

Here's a peak at some yummy things to tickle your taste buds ....

Lots of cute MAYA ROAD




Spunky GENERATION Z from LYB




and the always gorgeous PRIMA



Nothing like some new product to get the creative juices flowing!

Well, today is the last day of school holidays in our house. We are off to do our traditional 'last day before school' outing .... then back to routine tommorrow!

Keep smiling :O)

... so where was i ....

Oh yes, more pics and chat about our school holiday activities.

Following our fab day at Nelson Bay, the next morning we were up bright and early (well actually, i'm not so sure about the bright, but we were up early LOL!) and headed off to Sydney (for the 2nd Sunday in a row).

Every year my sister (Karen) and i ponder over what to give each other's kids for Christmas ... which usually results in just exchanging money in cards .... this year we decided instead of presents/cash we would organise a day out together.

So off we went on our little day trip ..... we caught the train, then the ferry to Darling Harbour.




The weather was quite warm but certainly not complaining about a gorgeous sunny day on Sydney Harbour!



We visited the Maratime Museum and seen their current special exhibition of Mythical Creatures ...





and then walked through the rest of the musuem which has lots of interesting things





We had lunch and a bit of a wonder around (always so much to see with just the general 'goings on') and a bit photo play at the pier under the bridge (gotta take the opportunity whilst the kids are being co-operative)...







We spent the afternoon at Wildlife World. I love the butterfly enclosure there .... twice butterflies landed on the kids but i wasn't quick enough with the camer :O(

But the taking this photo in the spider section was a bit of fun !



What a great day ..... i love visiting Sydney!!




Needless to say after a big day/weekend and long train ride home we fell into bed and slept like logs!!

Hope everyone is enjoying their school hols ... can't believe we only have a little over 1 week left [eeeek]! All the school shopping (uniforms, shoes, stationery etc etc etc is all done ..... now just to squeeze the last bit of holiday mode out of the next few days before the routine starts again for another year!

Keep smiling :O)

Julie x

SCHOOL HOLIDAY FUN !

We have been busily enjoying the school holidays and lots of day trip activities.

Saturday with other friends/families we headed up to Nelson Bay. Firstly in the morning the kids and a few dads had a session of Battlezone Playlive laser skirmish. We have done this before (including Blake's birthday party last year) as they hold sessions at Maitland Gaol ... the kids (and big kids) love it !

Here is a pic of the group "hoo haaing" their chant before they set of into the bush for battle !


and the troups are off ...


Ready for action ...



After a couple of hours in the bush we then ventured into the bay and where a lovely shaded table beside the bbq was waiting for us and we spent the day (& early evening) by the waterfront. Lots of eating, drinking, swimming & relaxation ... perfect!!

The kids spent the whole day doing this ...


Sunday we were up bright and early and out for another full day of fun and adventure .... will be back soon to share some more pics!

Cheers,
Julie :O)

GOTTA LOVE A BARGAIN

.... nothing like some bargain shopping to kickstart your scrapbooking in 2010 ... 40% OFF ... take a look HERE

GETTING ORGANISED ....

Today Blake and i spent the day out shopping for 'back to school' .... all done and ready to return for Year 8.

We had planned to have brekkie at one of the cafes by the lake but left home a little later than originally planned so we done brunch instead ..... i love little outings like this with my boy. Have to make to most of it .... i know that the time will come when he busy hanging out with young girls not his dear old mum !! LOL!

I have done no scrapping over my Xmas/New Year break .... i really want to but just seemed to be busy doing nothing in particular and just didn't get into it.

Here are a couple of simple layouts i done before Christmas (sorry 'bout the poor photography) ...




Hopefully i'll get motivated and have more to share soon (or find some others in my stash that i haven't shared yet) he he !!

Enjoy the rest of your week !!

Julie :O)

A Day trip to Sydney ...

Happy New Year to everyone ....

We had a very quite New Year's this year .... just a bbq tea with Mum & Dad and watching the clock 'til midnight to welcome 2010 before climbing into bed .... very uneventful but quite enjoyed it that way!!

Today we were up nice and early, on the train and down to Sydney/Darling Harbour for the day.



The weather was very ordinary but the rain pretty well held off and certainly didn't spoil our day; however, i didn't really get the chance to play with my new toy (camera) as much as i would have liked :O(

We went to the Imax Theatre and seen this in 3D:



AVATAR .... this is actually the 2nd time we have seen it but Blake was quite enthralled and given the amazing special effects & cinematography we figured seeing it at the Imax would be a real hit! We went with other family friends .... the boys just loved it. Blake advised on the way home he would like to go and see it again ..... i think twice is suffice but will definately get the DVD for him when it is released.

Back to Work tommorrow [sigh] ... back to reality.

Never mind, it has to happen 'sooner or later' .... although i will be having a few days off "here & there" over the school holidays and hoping the have the last week off.

Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Keep smiling :O)

Julie x