Hello everyone, we have lots n lots of stuff to tell you so be warned! Our computer went on a holiday and when it came back, all our Kodak pictures were gone, so we have lost quite a few good shots from Australia day etc which is a real shame. Damian has left work and is now officially a "Mr." his office had a lunch for him at the Pier to say farewell. They also brought him a fantastic digital camera and a really nice card, he will be sorely missed for lots of reasons! Australia day we went to Bindi n Dan's along with Shane, Marisol n kids, Rick n kids, mark, Libby Mat and Ryan. We decorated their patio within an inch of it's life, Dan dressed up, we had fake tattoos, lots of beer, too much food and all had a completely brilliant day. Something (or should that be someone....) happened to the gravy.... and as appetising as it looked, soon became gritty industrial waste that turned solid as it cooled. No matter, the lamb was sensational!! Bindi made a mexican dip and we needed shovels to get it all in faster, yummmmo! In other news.... Mark, as we speak, bobs unhappily out at sea. He left this week and really doesn't want to be there. He has become such a part of our everyday lives, we miss him so much and knowing he is miserable makes it harder, poor thing. We had tacos for lunch last Sunday with the usual suspects, and it was our last meal together for ages as we won't see him again until April. "snif" It is now only 13 more sleeps until we are beseiged with lusciousness, Big ears, Danny, Caroline and the girls are coming to stay and we simply cannot wait to have them all here. Our Cairns family is really looking forward to meeting them and seeing big ears again. A couple of weeks ago we got a huge new fridge, a purchase which was long overdue, for ages we have struggled with the other one and it is just too small to cope, up here we have to refrigerate a lot of stuff you might ordinarily keep in the cupboard and there was just no more room. Speaking of new white things, I had my teeth whitened recently and have also had some other work done to "fix" my dodgy smile. I am really really happy with the results! As I type I am being enveloped in the alluring waft of fresh baked bread - our dear friend Filiz gave us her bread maker when we mentioned we were thinking of buying one. It is enormous and pretty much opens the packets for you it's so easy to use. Today is our first attempt and it's looking really good so far. Now for some photographic imput.........Kylin has gone up a class at swimming and he no longer needs me in the water with him (for his lesson) there are only 3 kids and he sits on the step until it's his turn and listens to everything Miss Janet tells him. We are so proud of him, he really loves it and with Janet's guidance, has improved heaps since his first lesson. 
Last Saturday was gorgeous Miss Marisol's birthday. She had a lunch at the Yorkies Knob (yes that really is it's name) boat club. It was a gorgeous day, everyone just relaxed and stayed way longer than any of us thought we would. The tables were right beside the kids play area so we didn't have to worry about them they had a huge day too.
Last Saturday was gorgeous Miss Marisol's birthday. She had a lunch at the Yorkies Knob (yes that really is it's name) boat club. It was a gorgeous day, everyone just relaxed and stayed way longer than any of us thought we would. The tables were right beside the kids play area so we didn't have to worry about them they had a huge day too. 
Yummy birthday cake for a yummy girl
Jazz n Aya blowing bubbles
The next day it was Aya's turn and we went to Squeekers for her party. Kylin loved the fairy bread but thankfully, gave the sausage rolls n stuff a wide berth, prefering instead to just eat sauce!
"Helping" daddy wash the car - saturated as buckets are for sitting in, standing in and tipping over one's head apparently.
Part of the area outside our ensuite that we are in the process of facelifting, I found this mask on sale and he sits perfectly on that little wall.
I know, I know, it's dark. Last night, Damian and I went to see Chris Wilson at the tanks art centre. He has never played in Cairns and I haven't seen him since I left Melbourne 8 years ago. He is an absolute master on the harp and his voice gave me goosebumps more than once. The crowd really got involved which just fed his enthusiasm even more and it was one of the best performances I have ever seen him give. I got to meet him after the show and he autographed another CD for me. He was really relaxed and friendly, and said he'd love to come back to Cairns and play again. I used to go see him and Shane every week at the local pubs and he just gets better each time.
Just one more thing, we realised that the sand that we used in Kylin's sand pit, has a warning on the bag similar to that on potting mix bags. Do not inhale dust etc etc It is actually not meant to be "played" in. This astounded me as it was sold to us specifically for the sandpit. I never thought to read the bag - it's sand! So a good lesson for us and perhaps a forewarning to you if you intend making a sandpit in the future. Happy birthday to our Feburary babies.
Marie C, Merial, Marisol, Jessica G, Trish, Mandy D, Ernie, John H, Kimmy, and Taylah.
Hope your special day was - or will be fantastic.
Love and hugs to you all from us xoxoxo
