puff and huff

Dad finally has a break from uni assignments and reading for a little while, and we had the chance to celebrate mothers day. Big week. Huff has been experimenting with more complex hair braiding (or Mum has).

On the weekend, Dad took the kids out to see a movie – Detective Pikachu. Puff was encyclopaedic in his knowledge of on-screen creatures, not entirely to the enjoyment of those around us (although they didn’t say anything).

Huff had picked out a “family” photo frame from the mothers’ day stall, so Dad took an updated photo of the two of them to go inside it.

We also had the cousins come over for dinner and play on Saturday night, saw Grandma and Dad’s side of the family for Mothers’ Day, and Dad tagged along for swimming lessons for the first time in three months.

Another regular school week, this time with Dad’s birthday in the mix. We went out for breakfast as a family, which the kids enjoyed. Mum attempted to capture them at their most photogenic.

Dad had a work training day, and Mum surprised Dad with gelato cakes. The kids were excited to be a part of it.

On Sunday, Dad had to fly interstate, so Mum took the kids to a markets in Barangaroo. Huff ended up with some new dolls, which she was pretty excited about.

There were some challenges with parking the car, so they had to walk a long way in the rain, but the weather cleared up eventually and they had a great time together.

Other highlights of the week were a wider-family gathering for Dad’s birthday, cross country, being back at school for term two (which started with swimming lessons on the Tuesday… an abrupt end to the holidays).

We were away for a week, so here’s a two-week recap.

With Puff away at camp, Dad and Huff went for a walk, past some ducks, to a cafe.

We took Grandma to see Puff’s post-recorder-camp concert.

He had a great time.

It seems like we’re having a run of cafe photos this fortnight. This was breakfast with the whole family.

We went down to Towradgi to go through Grandragon’s old place when an ice cream van drove past. Dad and the kids ran after the van, and had ice creams. We were unsuccessful at sending it back for Mum and Aunty C.

We had lunch with Uncle J and C, at another cafe.

The kids are learning to touch type with the old Typershark app from a long time ago.

We had a trip to the loganbrae orchard, where the kids played with animals and picked apples.

The reason we missed last week’s post was being at minsters’ family camp for Dad’s work. The kids had a go at swimming a few times, and had a good time learning about the Bible and meeting some new friends.

We also managed a trip to the cinema with Grandma to see Missing Link.

A sad start to the week. Grandragon wanted Puff to play “Abide with Me” at her funeral, and he managed two repeats of the song before the sadness really kicked in for him.

After the funeral, though, the kids bounced again, and were able to enjoy seeing family members. They’re still processing their grief in their own way.

We had an early morning appointment one morning this week, so we stopped for hot chocolate (also coffee) on the way to school.

Once the holidays started up, the kids’ mood brightened considerably.

Puff even managed a smile for at least part of the drop-off to recorder camp.

Huff, missing her brother for a few days, tried a range of different distractions (including Minecraft, a new obsession for her) – here she is playing with magnets.

See you next week for the pick-up from recorder camp, and more!

It’s been a sad week, preparing for tomorrow’s funeral. The kids are variously sombre, and then going back to their usual selves. To be fair, this expression came from seeing the camera and wanting to be a bit silly.

Huff was given some Minties, and so put them in this toy cupcake for Dad, with a note for him.

On the weekend, Huff wanted to cook pancakes for breakfast – she eyeballed the measurements, not realising that it was important to get the ratios right. Nonetheless, they turned out well.

Here’s the artwork she made to celebrate.

Sunday we took the cousins to church as well so their mum could catch up on some sleep. They enjoyed the change of scene.

It’s going to be a challenging day tomorrow, but (we hope) encouraging too.

A very sad week this week, which is not at all reflected in the photos. We are at a point where we’ll be missing Grandragon as we continue to count the weeks. Both the kids are handling it well, with thought out questions as they try to figure out what grieving and moving forward look like. Mostly there have been joyful reminiscing of the good times, and a gratefulness for the faith Grandragon showed so they can rest in the assurance that she isn’t gone forever.

On Friday we brought the kids out of school early to head down to the hospital. After a bit of a visit, Dad took the kids down for a walk to the shops where we found an internet fridge.

The kids spent quite a bit of time at Wollongong over the weekend, playing screens and being around. 

Dad took the kids out for breakfast late on Saturday morning on the way back down to Wollongong again.

Huff still managed some mugging for the camera.

Saturday night Dad and the kids went to get Sushi, and dessert.

From there, the busy run of life continues on.

Another school week, this time with Harmony day in the middle. Huff decided to have her hair orange.

Saturday we went back to the hospital to visit Grandragon, and celebrate cousin T’s 3rd birthday. We had a hospital picnic.

It ended up being a late night; Huff nearly made it all the way home still awake.

Sunday we were back to a single car. Mum headed back to Wollongong again, while Dad, Huff and Puff went to church on foot. 

We walked a bit further in the hot autumn sun, then went to see Grandma and Doc.

Doc gave us a lift home and stayed for a cup of tea.

Meanwhile, Grandragon had lots of family visit her from all around the place! She was glad to see everyone.

Another week with Grandragon in hospital and some extra visits to see her. Puff managed to get some homework done in a less-than-ergonomic stance, but may have found the overhead TV a little distracting.

Puff had the selective schools test this week, which goes for about 4 hours (with some breaks). He was in good spirits afterward, and Mum and Puff celebrated with a milkshake.

Huff had crazy hair day, so she celebrated with crazy hair.

And Dad celebrated a rare night off by taking the kids to the swag swimming night. They both enjoyed splashing around for fun, even though they had been to swimming lessons that morning.

And now, some sleep.

There were two roads diverging over the weekend: Mum and Huff went to a birthday party for one of Huff’s friends – there was laser tag, arcade games, 

And dodgem cars (this photo was a bit staged, as Huff let her passenger do the driving).

Meanwhile Puff and Dad went camping with Puff’s boys group: here we are walking near Minamurra Falls.

Puff is pretty competent now at setting up our easy-assemble tent. 

We were up early on Sunday to see the sun rise near the beach, and found some of the other leaders already there!

Meanwhile Huff was visiting her grandmother for breakfast.

Other highlights: Huff is flying through reading the Roald Dahl box-set that Puff read a while back. She has moved on to being interested in this narwhal stationery set.

And that’s about it: apart from that it’s a regular week.