It's getting hotter!

(Warning Vicky- there is a spider picture)

Hello again everyone here are a few photo's of our new Saturday BBQ spot at Muddy's. It's a waterpark / playground on the esplinade. There's heaps to do and loads of big shady trees. This is one of my favorite bits, it's a stream with bridges and a little gate to change the flow of water. This bit is great for leaf boats!

This is the main water bit, with heaps of jets and rain curtain coming off the roof. The jets turn on and off which sends the kids crazy.
There are loads of play stuff too so I just run from one to the other all morning. When it first opened on Saturday I had the whole place to myself.
The BBQs are just under the wavy roof thingys, so they are really close, the whole area is fenced from the road and the esplinade walking / bike track, with loads of free parking just outside the gate. This week we were joined by Rick and Brian (a new BBQ recruit) we also ran into Dave Vehlo who may join us next week as well. There was no sign or sound from Mr Taylor who remains AWOL to this very minute.
This was my first go on a flying fox, I loved it sooo much I didn't want anyone else to have a turn and screamed the place down with delight everytime I hit the end.
These are my two new little birdies, they are zebra finches and I have called them 'Tweety' and 'Furry' (for those Monty Python fans - they are the birds who say 'Ni' - we are the keepers of the sacred birds)
I have started having showers now and mummy has made me some special soap. I even try to wash my own hair which is such a relief because I have to be held down in the bath to have my hair washed and my screams can be heard down the end of the street.
Daddy was very very brave on Saturday morning, this spider was heading for the bird cage. It was so big that daddy had to jiggle the bug catcher to fit it all in. That is a large moccona coffe jar that it's 'resting' in and that's a 50c piece we are comparing it with. It's not very well now. Ewww!
On Wednesday night we had Rick, Mark, and Dave Rennie over for dinner, however we all ate too much as usual but everyone seemed to enjoy the evening. On Friday night, mummy's team put up a fantastic but unsucessfull fight for a spot in the AFL grand final next week. Mummy's friend has almost guaranteed tickets and had promised to fly mummy down if Collingwood got a spot - bugger! Oh well, there's always next year. We are being inundated with tomatoes and are waiting for a scrummy sauce recipe from Frank's mum so we can cook em all up. Mummy's neck is almost better finally. Daddy is doing well and keeping busy at work. It is really getting warm here now, and we have been in the pool twice this weekend, it's a bit chilly but it won't be long now before it's like a bath. I am really doing well at day care and there are no tears when mummy leaves now which is such a relief. The girls are fantastic with me and have really made me feel comfortable and safe. I am answering the phone at home now so if you ring, don't be surprised if I answer and start chattering away to you. I even left a message on big ears answering machine.
Well that's about it I think, I hope your world is fab and that you are all happy and well. Love and hugs - Kylin. xoxoxo

Water Works

Hello again everyone, we have lotsa photos again for you so here we go. This is me at the pirate ship last week, I was having a D & M with Rick, but made time for a quick pose.

Once we got home, I then helped daddy wash the car, I have an obsession with hoses at the moment.

I woke up the next day with a very bad limp. we then all spent 3 hours in casualty until someone saw us (there are no drs surgeries open on a sunday here) I had a torus fracture in my ankle, which was explained as a "fold" in my bone. So really, it wasn't a fracture as such but I did damage a bone which laid me up for a short while.
Mummy found this ace bubble machine for $15 at woolworths (safeway for the southern states) it is absolutely fantastic, and just fills the room with bubbles. The water isn't really that color, I have red and yellow food color in the water (we have colored baths in our house)
Mummy read somewhere that putting smiley faces on my hands when I go to day care can help me remember that mummy is coming back to get me, this has helped a lot and so mummy made a special smiley face t-shirt for day care too.
Our friends Louis, Shinobu and Aya came to our breakky BBQ last Saturday. Shinobu used to work at the hotel where mummy worked and Lois is the next in charge after the head chef in the kitchens so having a Saturday off was a huge bonus for him. Apparently he can look after his own breakfast. Damian's friends Dave Rennie and Andy Hamilton came along as well and seemed to enjoy the experience.
We are having Mark, Rick and Dave over for dinner on Wednesday night. This is Aya. Lois and Shinobu's daughter. She is just beautiful and is getting a brand new baby brother for xmas. This is Louis's 2nd job, as a horsey. He has the best knees in the business. He also had Kylin on the back just before I took this photo.
I found a tree that I could climb all by myself, I do so have my mummys genes 'cause I gravitate up any tree that looks remotely climbable.Today we went to Muddy's. a water park along the esplinade. We met Rick, Erin and Ryan there. I had the best time and daddy has suggested we come here every sunday. We ran into one of mummy's ex work mates Justin who was there with his daughter. Unfortunately, we had to just say a quick hello and go cause I was wayyyyy past my bed time and chucking a spaz.
I loved it, despite my shying away and squeeling
After a while I got really hungry so I ate most of mummy's sandwhich and a bucket of fruit.
Then we all got into dry clothes and I had a big turn on the swings.
So that's what we've been up to, plus mummy's team are another week closer too the AFL grand final - yayyy. sending you all love and squishes until next time. xoxoo

It's becoming " all the same" again

Just for Big ears

Hey everyone, things have been hectic but getting back to normal slowly. We have tons of photos for you so lets get into it: This was taken on our way home from Brisbane. was looking at the view in the next pic and turned around to see the full moon in our tree, so snapped that as well.
You might have to click and enlarge some of these photos - there is a blanket of mist at the base of the hills, it was a gorgeous sunrise. I did a memorial garden for Damian's dad, it's a little corner with a special chair so Damian can go and have a beer and have some quiet time with his dad's memory. There is a picture of Denis on the fence and a bronze plaque has since been added underneath. There is a bird feeder on the fence and I planted some paw paw seeds in the pots by the shed as Denis loved these also. My friends Damian, Di and their kids came back from the Cape and spent a week in Cairns, so we got to catch up with them quite a bit during their visit which was just lovely. They have headed back down south now but it was fab to have them with us for a little while. Here Kylin has all but eaten Scotts punnett of tomatoes of which Scott salvaged - none! This is just a funny kid thing - Kylin loves this sign and tells me all about what's happening in the pictures - no grown up drink, he doesn't understand the cigarette one, then the black man does this and the black man does that, then you put on your big boy pants, hold mummys hand and walk the puppies. hahahahaha (you will have to click on the photo to enlarge it and see the detail) Craft morning, after making shaving cream pictures, we did pasting - he just loved all the dab dab dabbing with the paste brush. Daddy, Scott and Boo. Scott has sailed for about 3 months so we had him over for dinner before he left. He is so good with Kylin, he reads in silly voices, plays games and generally just gets kidnapped when he comes here. He doesn't seem to mind though. Kylin looooovvveeesss tomatoes, he will sit on Marisol's "wobbily chair" and if I let him go, will eat 4 or 5 tomatoes before I stop him. Which is why we started to grow our own, they got "blossom end rot" which somehow seems to have cleared up when I chopped all the leaves of the plants?? anyhow, they are going quite well now.......... As are our herbs, we now have basil, flat leaf parsley, thyme, rosemary, oregano, dill, and corriander. We have that much in fact that we are now supplying the local butcher with herbs for their sausages, rissoles and other yummy stuff. On fathers day, Damian and Kylin went out flying the kite, (you might have to click on these ones as well) with daddy's help, Kylin managed to run and get the kite in the air quite a bit. the kite has a hawk like design on it, and there were two hawks circling above us and came down quite close while the boys were playing with the kite.We were invited out to lunch at the hilton by Auntie Marie, who is the Auntie of our dear friend Sooz. We hadn't seen her for ages and it was so lovely to catch up with her. She had some of her friends there as well and although it was quite breezy down by the water, it was a perfect day with fantastic company. Today we had our end of season bowling lunch, and I got ANOTHER trophy!!! yayyyy Damian came to lunch with us and Kylin was very well behaved despite having to sit for a very long time. This is my team mate Karyn who is a complete ratbag although she looks relatively normal. :) Bowling wouldn't be half as much fun without her. So that 's it for the news, we hope you are all happy and well. It is 175 days until Big ears gets here - yayyyy - snot face is very excited. Look forward to hearing from you all. Love and hugs -Karen, Damian and Fluff magnet xoxoxo.

Our trip to Brisbane

Hello everyone, it was decided at the last minuite that mummy and I would fly down to Brisbane so mummy could go to grandpas funeral. Auntie Jo said she would look after me at home while the service/s were on, so that's what made mummy say yes we would go. Uncle pointed stick lent daddy his car while we were down, so he was able to pick us up at the airport. We had to get up at 3.30am to get ready for our flight so by the time we got there, mummy and I were really tired. We went to Rob n Jo's lovely home and the girls were really excited to see me again. They made us feel really welcome and had organised their very busy lives around our needs for the couple of days we were there. Here's daddy tormenting Ellie (in green) n Becky (in pink). That's Aimee snuggled in love hearts. :)I made myself at home and once again took over the trampoline. I fell off it the next day and mummy nearly had a heart attack. I was ok though, just got an enormous fright.
On the morning of grandpas funeral, I was really pale, didn't eat my breakfast and was starting to get very hot. Ellie sat with me watching cartoons and giving me kisses.
Mummy got ready to go, but by the time they had to leave, I was just flopped over mummys shoulder making little grizzly noises, hot, and all I wanted was mummy cuddles. Mummy didn't know what to do - finally daddy made the decision that mummy should stay with me because they would have needed tools to extract me from her. Mummy felt awful watching daddy go alone, but in the end it was better that she stayed with me because I was up and down all day. We went to the Drs and I had a very red throat a little temp and an ear infection. Mummy gave me some pain killers and I went to bed early once daddy came home.

Auntie Lisa and Uncle Chris, Meg and Kiah came over too. Auntie Lisa had cooked a yummy dinner for us all and the boys hooked in for a catch up.

They just look like trouble - don't they?

Mummy slept in with me that night, and I had a pretty good night considering. The next morning we crawled out all feeling a little trashed. Except for luscious Jo who bounced down all radiant and lovely. The girls were off to netball and sadly we had to say goodbye - I was very sad to see them go. Uncle Rob took me to see the diggers chomping up the block next door so that took my interest after they left.
All too soon we were at the airport again, me dosed up on painkillers, mummy having had next to no sleep for the last 3 nights was not looking forward to the flight home. Grunk came out to the airport to catch us again for a brief time. Mummy loaded up and we said goodbye to daddy yet again and we were off.
I was excited to be at the airport and kept wanting to line up for other peoples flights, we could see the planes through the windows and I got upset everytime one left without us. Here is a picture of mummy looking shattered. Goodbye Brisbane!
I was pretty good on the flight home until the descent. I was covering my ears and crying really hard, I wouldn't take anything to drink, or suck on so mummy couldn't do anything to help me except hold me and try to comfort me. We had some lovely people behind us, the ladies were stroking my hair and felt very sorry for me, the man commented that I had done so well, when mummy told them I had an ear infection they all just melted. I fell into a deep sleep about 5mins before touchdown and the lovely people behind us, carried all our bags for mummy so she just had to carry me. They carried them all the way to the taxi rank, mummy was soooo gratefull she almost burst into tears (no sleep, stress, worry - mummy was not in a good place) Bless those people - what a lovely thoughtfull group they were. :)Damian is very gratefull for all of the support, flowers, cards and e-mails he has recieved. He will be staying in Brisbane for the next week-ish.
The service for Denis Snr was held at the cathederal and there were hundreds of people there, from what I learned it was a fitting goodbye for a wonderful man. I am really sorry I couldn't go, I didn't get to say goodbye to him. He really was a lovely person and always made me feel very welcome in his family. Damian is doing ok, it will still hit him on odd occasions, as it does to all of us who have lost someone, and thankfully, we will be there for him when that happens down the track. Thank you to everyone, especially Rob n Jo for knowing exactly what we needed, and re-arranging their lives for us - only to have us spend the afternoon on their balcony, to Aimee, Becky and Ellie for looking after Kylin so well, sharing all their toys and being so very patient with him when he started the " what are you doing......" over and over again. To Chris n Lisa for the lush dinner and visiting us whenever you could, it was lovely to see you all. To the much revered Uncle pointed stick, (eees not roman but what has he ever done for us? umm.....well he did lend us the car......oh yes there is that.........er the aquaduct? the roads? public order? umm no he didn't do any of that) having your car was just a godsend thank you thank you thank you. And to our dear friend Mark who put his hand up to look after our home, plants and fluffy things while we were gone, what would we do without you? It's a bit overwhelming when you need help, to just ask and recieve it or have it offered to you out of thoughtfullness. We really are so gratefull to all of you.
Kylin is getting better but is not yet 100% hopefully he will fight this off on his own without any antibiotics. Marisol n Jazz are visiting tomorrow so that will lift his spirits heaps too. (and mine)

I would just like to extend my sympathy to Denis snrs family and friends whom I didn't get to see at the funeral. My thoughts are with you all, I am sorry I was unable to deliver my condolences in person.

My Love and hugs to you all - Kaz n Kylin. xoxo

OK OK OK

So after all that build up, I didn't mention Randy in my weekly post.

This song followed us around restaurants and in the car

I thought it was following him. I realise now, it was following me

Listen and you will hear what I choose not to write.

Just for you Cam xoxo

Can't get this song out of my head now ..........

An emotional week

Well here we are. Post visit, post Damian's dad passing on, what can we say?

We miss both of them!

me n boo jumping in puddles n makin footprints

At Palm Cove in a hammock we didn't pay for - yayyy
More of us who didn't pay for the hammocks.....
Kylin being "grown up" while we had coffee

A seafood feast ! Damian returned to Brisbane on Saturday afternoon and his dad passed away early on Monday morning. He will be in Brisbane some time to come. I will be flying down with Kylin on Thursday and coming home on Saturday. The funeral is on Friday.

Our love and hugs to you our dear friends - we love you xoxoxo

Another update

A nice little song to listen to while you read

double click on the play arrow

Hello everyone, Just a quick one this week as mummy is very busy.

This is me in my new fluffy dressing gown, it's exactly the same as daddys. We had a pyjama morning this morning cause it was really cold.

Mummy and I snuggled on my little couch and read books.
Then we made silly milkshakes - this is my car one.

One morning during the week mummy woke up with all mist in her bedroom

and we were in ground level cloud - Cool!

We went to the "buy back shop" which is a fancy name for the shop at the tip,

and we found this cool little fridge to go in my house for $2 !!

It was filthy but mummy scrubbed it all with bleach and it's fab now
Mummy made me a "stove" out of a mailing box

and my "saucepans" are metal measuring cups.

We are no longer going to cheeky monkey as I was too much of a disruption to the class (hee hee) I had fun but it wasn't fair to the other kids.

Our friend Damien and his family have the car fixed and are back on thier way up to the Cape, and we expect to see them again around the end of August.

We have a countdown on the fridge now because daddy is coming back on Friday afternoon, he has been away for 3 weeks and we are sooo excited.

I have been helping mummy walk the dogs by walking nicely beside her for the whole walk and not running off. Last time we went I was pretending to be a pussy cat, consequently, I brushed up against some foliage and ended up with a paralysis tick burrowed into my head. Luckily mummy found it the next morning (it was still pretty small) and managed to get it all out. Mummy slept in my room last night cause it takes 24hrs for the toxin to work and it starts at the feet and works up, so cause I was in bed sleeping, mummy would not have known it was affecting me until my breathing started to be affected - which is an ambulance call - needless to say, mummy didn't get much sleep. But I am ok which is the main thing.

I am still getting upset when I go to daycare, but mummy is getting better at leaving me, having actually witnessed me come good and play after a relatively short time. The ladies are all lovely and they have been taking extra care of me knowing that daddy is away and reassuring me through the day that mummy is coming back. That's why mummy picked this song because although it's good for me to socialise and be at daycare, "it's always better when we're together" :)

Mummy's friend Randy is arriving here on Friday too. (He is in Melbourne at the moment) Mummy is trying her best not to let the excitement suck the breath from her and is under strict instructions to keep breathing.

AAARRRGGGHHH 17 years!! She simply cannot wait another 2 days :)

Breath, breath, breath

There is that whole thing that we have a week together, and in all honesty may never see him again, sleeping then seems such a waste when you look at it like that, so maybe mummy will caffeine up for loads of music, cooking, yapping and not much sleeping :)

breath, breath, breath,

It's gonna be ACE!!

So from Sunshower and the fluff magnet - mwa mwa Love to you all xoxoxo

Getting tecco now.....have a listen.........

(You need to double click on the play button)