a wander in the trees together

After our magical snow adventures, we spent a lovely afternoon wandering through the trees at the Arboretum (well, more scampering around, in the case of the kids!), before our dear friends had to start the long journey home. 

This little woodland elf....

Peeling paper bark from the trees...

The theme of the week soon became 'pranks', namely a (very mild and good humoured) prank-war between the boys and the girls. 

The following is a series of photos I snapped of the kids discussing previous prank successes, and then the girls whispering and giggling up up a storm, as they gleefully discussed their next attack. They were in their own world and it was so lovely to capture these unguarded moments. 

Priya and Lily have the most precious bond. They shared a room and whispered all night, played all day and just had the most delightful time together. Oh, the simple beauty of girlhood friendships.

Georgia, you are such a beautiful mum! A rare little family snap (how well coordinated are they??!) xx

We love these guys, our little twinning family, and can't wait till we can hang out again.

Oh, and Arboretum, I love you too!!

26.52 snow adventures // fun with friends

We live pretty close to the snow but I have admittedly been pretty slack about taking the kids there.... all that driving and snow-gear-gathering just all seemed a bit much. #lazymum

My lovely friend Georgia, her three kids and her sister drove alllll the way down from Queensland for a visit recently and they were keen to embrace a 'proper snow day'. It was the motivation I needed to make it happen and I am sooooooo glad I did. It was such a fun and magical day, the kids had a blast and we did too. It was even more fun going with our dear friends, seeing our horde of kids playing together (we have 3 sets of same age and gender duos, so it's pretty perfect!) and embracing a bit of childhood fun ourselves, sliding down a massive snow hill on our bottoms at top speed was frankly hysterical!!! 

Most of the photos I snapped on my phone and are up on my Instagram but here are the few I managed to take with frosty fingers on my big camera. 

Why walk when you can get towed, right, Florin??

Beautiful frosty Thredbo..... you can't tell in this photo properly but it was actually SNOWING!! So magical!

I promise he is not passing out from hypothermia, he is just mucking around!!! ;) As per usual!

Florin, you little snowman, are the cutest!

Making the childhood classic - snowman! With coal for eyes and carrot for nose.... #prepared

The all important placing of the nose.

This crew! They are all such good buddies and had such a fun day! Miles hugging Florin is toooooo cute!

Snowman abandoned as the kids run off to climb the hill. So sad!

This boy had sooooo much fun in the snow. Even though he was soaked by the end of it, he never once complained of the cold and just kept exclaiming 'I love snow days! It's so beautiful! Thank you Mummy for this fun day!' #melt 

Theo, speed demon!

Mark, getting some serious speed too!!! People were flying down this hill, it was so awesome!

I just love this little image. At eight, Lily is allllll about her friends, so to have a snow adventure with her little soul sister, Priya, was just a dream come true for her! They had the best fun, two little adventurers!

Well earned hot chips at the end of an incredible day!!

Thanks Georgia and Co. for a fantastic day (let's not talk about the phone incident haha!) and for motivating us to all go on such an awesome and unforgettable adventure. 

We love your beautiful family to pieces!!! xx

Project 52: A portrait of my family, once a week, every week, in 2017.

17.52 {with his headphones on}

Eli loves to listen to audio books and music, especially in the evenings when he is trying to wind his bouncing self down for sleep. I discovered him like this one evening - clearly sleep had over taken him mid-scroll for his next book selection!! Melt my heart, why don't you, kiddo?? 

For my own memory file, I want to record here that his favourite current audio books are Chronicles of Narnia, Veggietales stories, Where the Wild Things Are and Anne of Green Gables :) 

Project 52: A portrait of my family, once a week, every week, in 2017. 

11.52 farmer's market

My boy and I had an early morning outing to the local Farmer's Market before we headed on to church.

We had blueberry bagels and coffee (well, babycinno in his case!) and perused the stalls, picking up all kinds of fresh, local, delicious goodies. Eli could choose any fruit or vegetable that he wanted... and he chose a punnet of figs and ate about five in a row!! This kid loves his food, that's for sure.

It was such a lovely morning of wandering around and exploring with my sweet son, eating and chit-chatting together, bundling up memories along with our fruit and vegetables. 

We will be back.... and not just for the blueberry bagels!

{Project 52: A portrait of my family once a week, every week, in 2017}

30/31 {the january project} back to school haircut

Back to school tomorrow, so it's time for a freshen up. 

Snip, snip!

(Don't worry, he is not cutting off the ear, just trimming around it, haha!)

{january photo a day project}

18/31 {the january project} a surprise adventure

Every now and then, (I won't pretend we are organised enough to make it super consistent!), we like to take one of the kids out in the evening for some special one on one time. 

A special outing can go to 'next level' exciting when you make it a last second surprise.... after bedtime!!! Such a simple thing to do but it makes it that bit extra fun :)

So, Eli was already tucked up in bed when I came into his room with clothes and shoes and said 'Quick, get dressed, I'm taking you out for ice cream!'. Surprised and overjoyed was an understatement!

We got in the car and I jokingly said 'So, do you feel like some icre cream??' And Eli replied sweetly 'I don't mind, Mum, what do you feel like?'

#meltmyheart 

Well, I felt like ice cream of course! 

So we went to the foreshore and ate gelato, walked around the lake, chatted and played. It was simple and lovely.

As we drove home Eli said quietly 'Thanks for taking me out, Mum.' I said 'That's okay, buddy. I just love spending time with you.' He replied 'I love spending time with you too, Mum. It's my favourite thing in the whole wide world'

That's why this kid has my heart forever. He exhausts and yet melts my heart like no other.

Love you, sweet boy xx

{the January photo a day project... but I couldn't choose just one, could I?!}