A Typical Week for the MacPurdy's...

Yeap.  Just a typical week in the MacPurdy home.  We've gotten back into the swing of work.  It took Breagha until this week to accept that she is back in daycare.  The new school year here starts next week so both Shamus and Breagha are moving up in daycare.  Shamus will be in preschool.  Crazy!!!  His birthday is next week so we're going to do a camping birthday weekend.  We figured we should do it while we can...no camping in Canada in January!!  Not me anyway!

Darryl and I went out on a date this week.  Very nice.  I'm not sure about the other married Mama's out there...but for me...I get excited when Darryl and I go out alone!  :)  Put on the make up, do the hair, pick out something nice to wear...a big date night!  It was great.  You appreciate the nights out more now.  Went out for a drink and then to the movies.  Expensive night but it was great to just relax with Darryl.

My week at work was quite busy as my director was up from Sydney.  He's very work - work, but in a good way.  Darryl's job....hmmmmmm, well, hmmmmm, not sure.  Darryl's company just did more lay offs and I really think the company will close down the office soon.  Who knows but it doesn't look too good.  So, we may be home sooner than we thought!  We're just waiting.

This weekend is a long weekend as it's Australia Day on Monday.  Basically this means beer and BBQ's.  We don't have much planned as we're going away next weekend.  And may need to save money for moving home!  :)

The summer is coming to an end here but you would never know.  It's been really muggy this week.  You can take a shower and after drying off...sweaty again!  Good times.

And that is a week in the life of the MacPurdy's!!! 

...I am behind with my emails since our computer had a virus last week...but I plan to catch up soon!!...thanks to everyone for keeping in touch.  I apprecite it!...

A little update...

We've been out and about alot lately so it's tough to post everything.  I picked a couple of day trips that we really enjoyed so here you are...

These pictures are of  Tamborine Park.  It's only about 40minutes away and a great little day trip.  A nice spot for hiking or just relax by the waterfalls.  And it has camping...so if we're still here in a month or 2 we may try it out!! :)

The kids really enjoyed the waterfalls and trying to climb on the big rocks.  They were pretty cute.  Shamus is getting really good at trying to climb on his own.  He's getting big!  He'll be 4 soon!!


Stopping for a snack.  Breagha was so lady-like.

Dipping our feet in the water.  It was pretty cold!

Heading back up ...need to check out the next waterfall.

Did I mention how cute they were?  

The waterfall behind Darryl and Shamus  - the locals would sled down the rocks into the water.  

Shamus on his own expedition!

And us trying to do a family pic...balancing the camera on it's little tripod ...not too bad!  It was really a great area.  There are 3 different waterfalls and  you just keep climbing down.  Lots of locals swimming and jumping off rocks.  Felt like home.

Then off to do some hiking.  It was a great rain forest.  Huge trees too.  On the way out we stopped to eat at a little restaurant on this tiny street.  Best gourmet pizza since we got here!!  And amazing deserts!!  Perfect finish to the day.  Yummy.  

I really like this pic.  The little waterfall in the middle of the forest was very peaceful.

Like I said, the trees are HUGE.

And very cool.  I like how the trees look like a bunch of little trees that make up one huge tree.

Breagha is still taking the lazy way out...on my back.  :)

We've also been enjoying the beaches quite a bit lately.  Santa got the kids bodyboards for Christmas and Shamus has been doing really well so we bought him a bigger one.  We have a video of him "riding a wave" so I'll see about posting it soon.  For now, a couple of pics.

This is Bribie Island.

Nice beach.   And a cute little town.  We like the beaches that are in a small town, with a park right beside it, and BBQ's.  That's all we need for a great day.

While Shamus bodyboarded, Breagha played in the sand...and enjoyed some nachos.  

Dad was kept very busy.

And while Shamus bodyboarded, Breagha slept.  :)

Our last beach day was spent at Currumbin Beach.  It truly felt like an Aussie beach.  It was the first beach we went to that really, really was like you imagine Australia to be.  Surfer dudes ridin' the waves, lots of kite boarding, wind surfing, and great waves and a beautiful beach.  We didn't even bother to bring the camera because it was just a regular beach day but I wish I did!!  We'll be going back so pics for next time. 

The Joys of Technology

It looks like we have a virus on our computer. Darryl is ready to thru it out the window!! He is hoping to get it fixed over the weekend but I wanted to give a heads up. I'm at work right now so this is the only way for me to check my email or the blog for now.

So, no skype either because that is thru the internet.

I guess this is really a heads up for our faithful readers - Momma Rosie, Momma Shirley, Kell, and Ash!

So, we hope to update you soon!!!!

Miss you!

Well done Canada!!!!

So, anyone who is a true Canadian...heheeeee...knows that the World Juniors are in December/January each year. Starting on Boxing Day. This is hockey by the way. :)

Soooo, it was tough for us to keep up with the tournament since we had a pretty busy schedule over Christmas...and Australia definitely does not follow hockey. But, thanks to TSN, we managed to watch a couple of games. Most importantly, the final games!!!

The tournament was in Ottawa this year so brother Duane was lucky enough to have a seat to every game so he must of been pumped!! Great games.

Getting on their CCM clothes...thanks to aunt Cheryl!!!

Shamus and B were into the hockey too!! We all enjoyed it. The games with Russia and Sweden were great. Luckily, Canada won the final against Sweden!! This is 5 years of winning for Canada so they are on a great winning streak.

Shamus wearing his Team Canada jersey. Just like the hockey players on the ice!
Well done Canada!! Wish we were there.

More Christmas Updates!

It's just too difficult to keep up with the blog when I'm trying to cover the Christmas Holidays!!
Too much stuff to write about!
I'll try not to bore you but I like to think of the blog as a journal too so I want to make sure I touch on a bit of everything. Lucky you guys!! :)

Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day - It's all about spending time with family and friends. And it's all about FOOD! Lots of food. And it was really, really yummy...everywhere we went!


...this is a long post but I thought I'd get a few days done in one shot!!!...

CHRISTMAS EVE...AT MIKE AND MIREILLE'S...

Mike and Mireille were kind enough to have a bunch of us over for Christmas Eve. They had some fun Christmas games to play, there was lots of food and drinks, and great company. Thanks Guys!

Me and Maddox

Game #1 - how difficult is it to open up presents with big winter gloves on? Took a while to get thru all the paper!! (no one knew why Mike and Mireille brought big winter gloves to Australia?)

Debra gives it a go.

Give-err Purdy boy!

B enjoyed the guitar. This was also used in Game #2. Very entertaining.

Also part of Game #2. Just for the record. Katrina beat Ray in this...and it was guys against the gals. No question as to who won, right?

The Gang!!
Thanks for a great time!

TIME TO HEAD HOME...TO OPEN UP SOME PRESENTS!!

In my family, we always opened our presents on Christmas Eve. I really like this tradition because it spreads Christmas out and it seems longer. We have a nice supper, open up our gifts from our family, and then we would go to Gramma Sadie's house!! Christmas morning meant gifts from Santa Claus. EXCELLENT!

So, we've been continuing with this tradition and it's been going well. We got back from Mike and Mireille's and had lots of fun opening up gifts. Thanks to everyone for the presents!! And thanks to Cheryl for my yummy chicken bones. I did try to share them a little...but not too much!

Oh, the things you can't get in Oz...thanks again to Cheryl for her wonderful care package. We're set for a while!

B got a "Dora" suitcase and backpack so she's good to go!

Shamus "helping" Raul with his gift.

Shamus got night vision goggles from his cousin, Chloe. He was very excited!

K, so he and Darryl had to go outside to try them out!!

CHRISTMAS DAY...MORE FOOD.
We had Nick and Mariana come over for Christmas dinner. It was a really nice time. We didn't know how the dinner would turn out because the Aussie's don't do the whole "turkey dinner with all the trimmings" thing. It's too hot for that.

So, we did some whitefish, shrimp, potatoes, and veggies on the BBQ. It turned out really well. And then I cooked a small chicken and dressing...just so we could have a taste of home! And then lots of salads and bread. I tell ya, we ate very well. Hats off to Darryl for doing a great job on the BBQ. Thanks Babe.

They were all dressed up in their new Christmas clothes!! Cute as can be!

And our nightly visitors....2 possums. I guess they live in the trees outside the house. The tree branches hang over our bedroom window upstairs so the possums tend to spook me out every so often.

BOXING DAY AT NICK AND MARIANA'S...
Even more food!! el Mexicana!!

Stay out of the kitchen boys...
Nick and Mariana cooked up a wonderful Mexican dinner for everyone. As usual ... delicious!! Thank you. We had a great time!!

Shamus and Raul wrestling. It took the kids a few days to get used to Debra and Raul but by the time they left the kids were giving them hugs and kisses!! sniff sniff. We were sad to see them go!

Yeap, trying to get a group picture but Raul didn't want to put down the food. heeheee...thought it was funny!

All the Christmas excitement had worn out the kids!!! Shamus fell asleep first and Breagha followed up shortly after!!!

Stay Tuned.