Author: cafedave

Not too much to report from this week – Dad was away on a residential for four of the days – we did the school drop-off together on the way.

And then suddenly it was Mother’s Day – Huff made the Lava card on the left (a pun on I lava you), and Puff made the card on the right.

Then the family were off to catch up with a friend, their family and their cat.

And eventually Dad returned home, but didn’t take any photos to celebrate. It must have been a tiring one to break that habit.

Next week, an update on Huff’s adventures at swimming lessons.

We had a wedding to go to this weekend, which the kids really enjoyed. Both of them were happy with their wedding outfits (having thoroughly outgrown their previous ones).

We even managed a whole family photo (not sure when the last one was).

Huff was excited to have her camera with her, and took lots of footage of the reception. We were proud of how well behaved they were.

The next day the kids went to Kiama markets for a look around. Puff liked the pelicans.

Huff, while a fan of the seagulls and the waves, was happy to have found a ring to wear, and a S.P.E.W badge.

Puff liked the rocks that were on sale, and showed Dad the different rock stalls.

They were having a good time making rabbit ears for Dad too.

Puff and Huff also helped Dad with a uni assignment.

Dad was mostly working through his birthday dinner, so we don’t have photos of that, but is feeling well loved, and glad to have had the splinters of time to spend with the family this week amidst work and uni. 

We are back to a more consistent routine; school is back, and life is returning to normal.

We had a friend come over for dinner, which was exciting. The kids were glad to see her.

Huff somehow still has some Easter chocolate left.

On Saturday, Dad was out in Katoomba again for the day, so on Sunday, Dad took the kids out for lunch after church. It’s amazing how much progress they have made – they can pour cups of tea for each other and roll their own rice paper rolls without any help from Dad. Huff was particularly vocal about how much she enjoyed lunch.

So then, a bit later, Dad took her out for hot chocolate, which was even more exciting, as you can see.

Looking more sombre, Puff was heading to SWAG, which is back on again after a year of COVID closure. He was glad to be back, and it was amazing to see how much bigger all his friends are after a year’s absence.

Dad is still taking advantage of the drive to school to check in with Puff and see how he’s going. We were trying the “five why’s” technique on some motivation challenges around homework – we’ll see how that goes.

And just like that, the school holidays are over again, and the kids are back to school. Huff made the most of her holidays with lots of sometime and reading. When a friend visited, there was an artwork they’d made together that hadn’t been finished, so Huff wanted to deliver the completed artwork to her friend’s house, so Huff and Dad went for a walk and a chat.

Having missed out the previous week on seeing a movie with Dad, Puff went into the city with Dad instead for a day in at Dad’s office, and some public transport adventures around it.

On both of the last Saturdays (and this coming Saturday), Dad had to go to Katoomba for work. The first of the Saturdays Mum and the kids came too, and Mum and the kids saw the sights while Dad was working. Here are the kids at the 3 sisters.

Here they are drinking apple juice at Loganbrae.

Here’s Puff showing off the delicious produce of the region.

Huff made the most of the day by reading one of her Christmas present books.

The second Saturday, Dad was still late to return from Katoomba, so Mum, Huff and Puff went to the drive in with some friends in a different car. They arrived super early and so had the full experience.

Sunday afternoon was an early birthday afternoon tea for Dad, and a chance for uncle J to play some games with the kids.

And then on the last day of the holidays (the pupil free day) Mum, Dad and the kids went to Sydney Zoo again (our last trip there was before the pandemic began). It was a great day out, and we each found our own group of animals to enjoy watching.

Puff was handing back this phone, having laughed at whatever joke Dad had shared with him.

The kids were different in their level of enthusiasm to pose for photos away from the actual animals.

We did manage one photo right at the end with the giant koala statue.

When hearing their high-points of the school holidays now past, it was encouraging to hear how many things they had done, and what a great time they had had in their different adventures. Kids really do remember the time you invest in them. 

Happy Easter! We had a very enjoyable long weekend with family and friends. On Good Friday, Dad took the kids for a pre-church walk. Huff found her favourite “heroic pose” rock, and paused for a photo.

We had a fun time, and the kids were talking about other things they remembered from previous walks, which was reassuring that they are remembering their outings with Dad.

In the afternoon, Dad and Huff watched the new Disney movie. It was good to have some time together.

We had Aunty S and uncle N come over for dinner and a game of Catan, and Puff won! 

And the kids had the chance to meet a friend’s new puppy.

They enjoyed meeting the puppy much more than being photographed.

Other highlights were a picnic with Aunty C and Uncle J, seeing Doc and Uncle A, and seeing our church friends (and having lunch with some of them). 

We keep noticing that Huff is getting bigger, but this week it was time to do something about it as far as pyjamas were concerned. With Harry Potter still being the order of the day for her, the HP pyjamas were an easy choice, once Mum altered them to fit correctly.

Saturday was a day spent with Dad, who had to work for much of the day, so the kids were entertaining themselves, playing on screens, drawing, and listening to audiobooks.

In the afternoon, they did the same thing, but outside. Can you spot Huff?

After the workday was over, we went out to near the bay run for a bit of a walk together as a trio, then headed to Leichhardt for gelato, and then to a friend’s house for dinner. A big day all-in-all.

Monday morning Huff was up early, so went with Dad on his morning walk, which was a lot of fun for both; always good to explore how Huff sees the world.

And Puff had a big week as well. This was the last photo Dad took of him pre-braces!

And this was one of the first photos of him with braces. He will be in a much better way once they’re all over with, which is – of course – the point.

Lots of soft food in the mix for a little while, but he’s done very well so far bearing up with the challenges. Even the dentist was very impressed. 

The photos are back! The kids spent a day with their uncle and aunt while Mum and Dad went to a Saturday training course on how to be better at conflict resolution, and then Dad disappeared as has been his custom, to work on a uni assignment.

The weather has been rainy for four to five days, but in our particular part of Sydney it hasn’t been a big inconvenience – others we’re talking to are much worse off, so it’s been a chance to reflect and be grateful on what we have.

There was still time during the week for a coffee run with Huff on the way home from school.

And we’re back to having kids church at church, so Huff had the chance, with her classmates, to share what she’s been learning.

Puff is too old now for kids church, so he sits in church and listens to the sermon.

Huff wasn’t sure about leaving the house in the rain, but was glad she did.

We’re still a bit out of the habit of taking photos as we go, but hopefully this will pick up again when Dad’s studying is on two weeks’ hiatus between subjects!

A quiet week; school runs, the cousins visiting, watching some TV shows together (current favourites are Jeeves and Wooster, and The Goes Wrong Show), visiting Doc, but not much in the way of photos that are suitable for the blog. Will try for more suitable photos next week.
 

Huff had a friend’s birthday party this week, and wanted to make cake pops as a gift, so we have this secret process reveal. To coat cake pops in chocolate, use the same implement you might use to remove an olive from a jar. Dip the cake pop in the chocolate, let it drain off, then place it on a tray to go in the fridge, where the chocolate will solidify again. Huff enjoyed putting these together, and enjoyed spending the time with Mum working on it.

Another big week; we have few photos to show for it but lots of experiences. Huff is excited at the prospect of taking a laptop to school for BYOD, and Dad has been quietly introducing her to a few programming concepts, to see if she will find some joy in writing some programs.

Dad took the kids out for lunch on Saturday. It was good to sit with them and check in.

Even though there was plenty of bolognese in the fridge, Huff had a particular lunch in mind (and there was enough left over for dinner as well).

Sunday we went to a belated Australia Day party, and stopped for some sustenance on the way. Here Mum is showing off something amusing for Huff to see on her phone.

The kids spent hours swimming, we were proud of Huff for going to district swimming during the week, and we’re now – as Autumn starts – re-emphasising the importance of sunscreen as a part of life in Australia.