Hi there, this week has flown by. Trying to get stuff organised for going away, and still need to wade through all the paperwork to get ready for the accountant in NZ when we come, ready for the end of the tax year. I've managed to book us a night in Brisbane not far from the airport, for the night before we fly out, which will mean we won't have to be up at some ungodly hour to get to the airport, hopefully we should be able to leave around 6.30am from the motel, and we can leave our car at the airport for the week. We've got some pommy friends housesitting for us, and may be going to leave Patch with them, but not sure about that one yet.

The pictures above are:

1. Olie, getting ready for battle

2. Round 2 of battle

3,4 & 5. Cody and Olie, making soup for their teddy bears.

There has been more rain, this week off and on, so definitely the rainy season now, it's cooler the last couple of days, and everything is really green, funny how people think Australia is very dry, but it certainly isn't the case here, it really has been pretty green most the time, since we moved here, apart from maybe a month or two, though I do miss seeing flowers in peoples gardens, you very rarely see a flower around, apart from what maybe on a tree.

Olie is off to a birthday party at a park tomorrow for his friend Damon, he is into Ben10, so I was instructed by Olie, to which alien to buy, I think I came home with the wrong one, but he seemed happy enough, I mean for gods sake, an aliens a bloody alien isn't it lol. On Sunday, Olie has another boy coming round for a play date, so a busy weekend for Olie, then next weekend they both have a birthday party to go to. Cody has just lost another tooth, so that is number 6 now, even though it was quite sore, he had been wriggling it all night, and he was dying to get some more money for his money box.

Cody's teacher has asked me to come and help on their class trip, which is to a Maleny dairy farm, in another week, so that will be fun - 20 odd kids loose on a farm.

Off to pick up the phamphlets soon, I've just got given a different route, which is around our house, so yay, flat ground, no hills to walk up.

Been a pretty uneventful week at Grants work, he found a large spider underneath some timber the other day, and got someone else to squash it. Grant and Kelvin are off start the Gloria Jeans coffee shop job on Monday night. Right really better get out of here, and go and pick up these papers.

Caught up with Kelvin and Caz on Saturday night for pizza at their house, Sunday we finally took a visit out to our investment at Noosa (pics above), it was good to meet the management there, they have just taken over several months ago, and the place is looking really good, we are looking at updating the furnishings in our room, to bring it more up-to-date, our room is in the blue building - 5th photo down, and on the top floor, we have a good view to the river across the road, we even got to test out the pool while we were there.
It had been very hot and sticky, but we have had some good rain since the weekend, which has cooled it off in the last couple of days, tonight must be the coolest it's been in a while, it's lovely for a change, and we haven't had to use the air con., in the last couple of days.
Cody's been off school, yesterday and today (Thurs), with a temperature, seems to be bouncing back now though, so will be back to school tomorrow.
Grant and Kelvin have got the job for Gloria Jeans (coffee shop), to start soon, sounds like a biggish job, so all good, Kelvins been busy networking with people, and sounds like some good jobs coming up in the pipeline.
Friday tomorrow, so the boys are off to the shop after school to get some treats, and we'll watch Jumunji again, as it's the Cartoon Network movie for Fri night.
P.S. Not sure what's going on with the date thing at the top, it's always a day out - it's Thursday today, not Wednesday.

Hi there, we've started to get a bit of rain at last, it has been raining a little bit each day this week, had none today, but lots in the night, temp still would have been 30 today, we had lots and lots of rain last weekend, and our lawn flooded pretty quick, as you can see in the pictures. Cody and Olie had lots of fun swimming in the rain.
Not much has happened this week, last weekend was probably our first weekend where we stayed home most the weekend, it was nice for a change, just to hang around home. The boys have started emptying the dishwasher everyday, we have dish drawers, so they empty one drawer each a day, Olie declared on the second day "I quit, I don't wanna earn any money", lol, I told him too bad, he was doing it anyway, he hasn't grumbled about it too much since.
Grant hasn't had any run ins with the turkey this week, he did watch a couple of lizards having a fight today - it all happens at his work.
I've been in helping at school, and delivered some business directories, went back to school today to sort out what I will be doing with the 'Support a Reader', just have to wait for my blue card to arrive, and then I will start, I think I'm working with Yr4 kids.
Cody has just come out with his big thick winter pyjamas on, he said he has them on because it's winter (it must be still about 25 degrees out there at 7.30pm lol). We have the air con., on at the moment, I don't think he will have them on for long once he gets in to bed.
We've just been reading "Captain Underpants", the boys think his books are hilarious, we have just about finished the first one, Captain Underpants has a name code in it, Grandad Ken, your name is Flunky Hamstertush, Grandma is Poopsie Hamstertush, Grandad Shaw is Poopsie Pizzasquirt, and Nana Shaw is Pinky Pizzasquirt, hope you like your new names.

Hi, the boys are back to school now, and we are getting back into some sort of routine. Grant's new job is going good, apart from run-ins with the turkey, Monday he left his lunch on the table when he got to work, and next minute the turkey had his peanut sandwiches out in the bush lol, then Tuesday, Grant was not impressed when the turkey took his tobacco outside, and tipped it all over the ground, it's a shame that turkey isn't a bit fatter, then we could eat him.

The boys are settling into their new classrooms, and are with a few kids from last year, Cody is bringing home more homework now, and Olie will start bringing home some next week. I help out in their classes for an hour each, once a week, and am going to be doing some volunteer work for the school - helping kids learn to read, and ones that need extra help, the school will get my Bluecard for me, and I do a short 1 hour course next week, then I'll be into it 3 days a week (1hr each day).

They are enjoying their swimming lessons which are on a Wednesday after school, it's only just down the road from us, so very handy. Cody and Olie have got their first newspaper run, they are keen to earn some money, to save for games, it's only once a month, 400 houses, which is a lot, so I can see I will end up doing most of it :) I've just picked up a phamplet run, just got the first lot today, it'll be twice a week (250 houses), all this walking should get me fit. I had to go and pick them up today, guess what the name of the street was called - Newspaper Lane, hee hee, it's right next to the Sunshine Coast Daily, I had wondered where abouts that was, thought I might send them an email sometime, and see if they have any casual work.

We're off to the park not far from us after school, going to cook some sausies on the BBQ down there, and take the cricket bat down, I found this park last week when I was driving around, didn't even know it was there.

Been selling buttons on Trade Me still, I think I'm addicted lol, I've just bought a whole lot of TM, and had them sent to Sonya's house, I can't wait to see them, a lady that just bought some off me, said she was going to make a button charm bracelet, I hadn't seen once before, so did a search on the net, and now I'm hooked, I've just started making my first one, I'll stick a pic of it on here, thought I might sell them, when I've had a bit more practise, lots of the buttons I've just had sent to Sonya's will be perfect for the job.

Right better go, got mail to post, and phamphets to fold before the school pick-up.