Before finishing school the boys had their end of term disco which was a dress up night. They could go as either a Surfer or a Biker. In our house we had one of each, with Preston dressing as our surfer and Addison our biker. I think they looked fab, with their cool hairstyles to match. Some how we manged to give Addison a mow-hawk (or at least an attempt at one).

Preston is settling in very well at school and doing extremely well with all his reading. Reading like a little champ!! I got to visit his classroom and see all his work and progress for the term. I think this year is going to be amazing for him.

I tried my hand at sewing some bags this month using free patterns from Swoon. I made my first ever bag as a 80th birthday gift for my Nana. I also used some left over Dr Suess fabric from other projects to try making myself a bag. This one was more structured, using some foam interfacing for the sides and base. I really love how both of them turned out. It was really interesting to sew something that wasn’t clothing. I also made some adjustments to my Harry Potter dress, by adding straps, and the fit is much better now! I did another type of sewing this month. Something extremely special and rewarding. I was part of a large group of ladies from my church who did some sewing of reusable and sustainable maternity sanitary pads for the women of Vanuatu. It was wonderful that I could use my hobby in this way to help so many women.

Charles and I finally got to go to Aladdin, which we treated ourselves to for our anniversary (in May). We booked it for the final show at QPAC. It was really spectacular and Charles thinks it is the best one he’s been too. They did have a technical difficulty with their magic carpet but the show was still wonderful and I absolutely loved the Genie. I wore my 1950s dress that I made, and it fitted perfectly. I felt very glamours in it. I dressed up in another way this month too, this time for the school playgroup superhero day. I was their Wonder Woman! I did however try to cover up the best I could, in somewhat of a disguise with my black trench and sunglasses, sneaking the boys into school and of course it just happened to be the morning they had assembly! At least all the playgroup kids loved it, and I gave all the other school kids, parents and teachers a bit of a kick for their morning. It’s not every day you see Wonder Woman at school!

The first little bit of excitement that we were exposed to was the Baton Relay which was happening a matter of streets away, so close in fact that we walked to watch it. All of us watched as they passed and ran the baton for our area, all of us of course, except Jasper who fell asleep on the walk to the relay.

The school holidays were wisely planned around the Commonwealth Games, thankfully as the boy’s school is a mere stones throw away from the stadium and getting to school would have been next to impossible. Our school was also the home for the emergency services during the games! There was excitement all around us really with the buzz of it all.

While we spent some of our school holidays in Toowoomba with Gran and Grandad, I made sure that I took the boys down to see some of the activities that had been set up for the Commonwealth Games. There was a lot to see and do, particularly for the kids. They had shows on and craft, some of which we were able to take part in.

One of the first things we saw was a fish net wall where everyone could write a little note, anything they like and pin it up for others to read. I was extremely proud of Preston’s note, he wrote “I love God”. It was a hot day, so I treated the boys to ice blocks while we waited in line to walk through the Arboria; an interactive installation “Architects of Air” a luminarium, walk in sculpture of light and mazes. It’s hard to explain the experience, but the kids thought it was great, all the colours created by the light coming in, a different effect in each space and room. Pockets of air rushing in and an overall calming experience and space.

We walked around seeing the Borobi Mascot statues, went on the beach to chill out and play with our new volleyball, had some sushi for lunch and chilled out on the beanbags watching the games.

One of the most time consuming but very worthwhile activities we took part in was the sewing craft. The craft was to make a flag. Our flag was designed by us all, and I did the sewing. It’s got what we thought to be all the important things to include on a flag. We have the sky, the land and the sun. We have a fruit tree to represent paradise. We have hearts for love. The Cross and rainbow to represent Jesus and God. And our hands to join us all in unity. Ideas from all the boys and myself. We could have brought it home with us, however they did say we could leave it for display, so we decided to leave it there for others to see. I’m very proud of my little men and their flag design. What a great experience for the Comm Games 2018.

I did some sewing in preparation for Addison’s dress up day, coming soon. Working on his Flynn Rider Costume that I’m making, finishing my first ever boys button up dress shirt. Jasper did some dressing up of his own, wearing the spider costume I’d made for Addi when he was in Prep. I made myself a play-suit too, however I’m not 100% happy with this one, love the cat fabric though!

We had our professional photo shoot done, that we had won first prize for, which was enough to get six images printed! They are beautiful photos, that I look forward to displaying proudly on the wall of our home. Thanks Sunlit Studios for our wonderful prize!!

Preston went back to school with a bang, earning his first Smiley certificate on assembly. Here’s to another wonderful school term in term 2!

April was also a huge month as we sold my beloved Mini Countryman and had to make a huge decision.. to buy the brand new Countryman (only just being released… a 4month build time!) or swap to a Mercedes which would mean picking something and driving away. After much thought we decided to buy a brand new Mini JCW, but we were carless… for a massive 4 months!!! Such a sad day to say goodbye to that car, not because of the car itself but the fact that it was something so very special. Charles had given and surprised me with it for my Birthday a few years earlier. He had kept it a secret for months, designed it all especially for me. I had always wanted one and thought since having kids it would never happen (due to the size and space), but he made it happen. And while I’m sad to see it go, and will always love what that car means, I’m excited for my adventurers in my next mini!!!

Easter also meant fun and games and lots of playing. We also built a new veggie patch and planted some seedlings. Can’t wait to see how they grow. Nanny and Poppy visited for Easter Sunday and the kids enjoyed too much chocolate.

Jasper was getting excited about starting kindy soon, with a new backpack..so cute.

I’m so happy with how these turned out. The boys just look beautiful and so very magical.

Most importantly, we had a beautiful Christmas day with Nanny and Poppy joining us.