Just Too Darn Busy!

I can't seem to keep up with the blog these days!! I thought I better at least write a note so everyone knows we're still kickin'! It's been hard to find free time these days.

Last week I worked the 1030am-7pm shift. (I rotate between 7am-330pm and 1030am-7pm) I worked late on Monday and Tuesday. Home on time for Wednesday. Thursday night Darryl and I went to a movie (we figured we need to keep the babysitter in the picture). Friday night was my first outing with work. They had drinks and food for the staff at a bar a couple of blocks from the office. Good time. Then Saturday morning was up and about early to pick up a car rental as we had a few errands we wanted to do outside the city. Rush back to the city arond 3pm so we could pick up some snacks and go see RiverFire. We met up with Steve and Cari, Rej and Clo, and Nick and Mariana. Riverfire is a festival in Brisbane and there is a great fireworks show on the Saturday night. Amazing stuff. So, we walked down to the Botanical Gardens to watch the fireworks. Nick and Mariana were kind enough to get there early and grab a spot for everyone. Thanks Guys!! I think the fireworks were the best I've seen yet. They do a huge show downtown and the fireworks also go off the Story Bridge and off the top of some buildings downtown. Very cool.

Soooooo, then we took off early on Sunday morning to do some hiking with Shamus and Breagha. We drove about an hour out of the city...on the way up the coast...to the Glass House Mountains. Some great hiking there. We had a great time with the kids. And got to see a few things along the way....lizards and snakes and birds. I'm not too keen on the whole snake thing though because they can be extremely dangerous. Very poisonous. A bit scary!!

We headed back to the city around 3pm and it was just enough time for me to rush off to the grocery store to put in a huge grocery order!! Took advantage of having a car!! And then back home to get supper rollin'!! We were having friends over for dinner on Monday night so Sunday was spent getting the food ready. I was back to work on Monday (Darryl was off because he's company moved offices over the weekend. Lucky bugger) and rushed home so I was ready for Felicity, Nigel, and the kiddies, Tycho and Seraphie. (Felicity and I met about 2 weeks after we arrived in Brisbane...she also took me dress shopping for my Pandemic Pary dress!!) Tycho and Shamus are the same age and have a great time together so it was nice for they to hang out.....it's been tough since I've been back to work so they haven't seen much of each other.

And that's been the last 8-9 days! Pretty busy and I can't seem to find the time to post pics of all the activities!! I'll try but can't promis anything! :) This week I work 7am-330pm so I'll have more free time in the evenings. We'll see how it goes!!

Lots of news at home these days - Ray and Kendra had a baby boy - Cole Hillier Grant. Congrats to them!! Everyone is doing well. Adam and Tammi are expecting their 1st....so super exciting! Darcy and Erin should be parents soon!! Good luck guys! Annnnnd, Darryl's sister Kelly is due very soon too! Lots of baby action these days!
Good luck to everyone!

Birthday Party Time

So, we got up early on Sunday morning to head to South Bank for a birthday party. Jason is Mike and Mireille's little boy and he turned 2!! The big 2! I love how a lot of people here do birthday parties for the kids...they have it at the park. It's perfect because there's lots of room to run around, plenty of things to play on, BBQ's to use, and your house doesn't get destroyed!
The party started at 1030am and we didn't leave until almost 3pm! So, we had a good time. Thanks for the invite!

The birthday boy. Jason is a month younger than Breagha but he's almost as big as Shamus! He is a bigggg boy. He must be eatin' his veggies!

The guys hanging around the BBQ. There was tons of food!!!! And of course it's legal to drink in public so beer and wine too!

Shamus was obsessed with this. It was a rocket (just made of styrofoam) that would shoot into the air.

Not sure what the kids were "getting down" to here but it looked pretty cute.

Mireille with their new addition, Maddox. And Jason. A busy family!! We totally understand! Mike and Mireille are from Montreal so they're just like us - don't have any family to help out with the kiddies. So, we're hoping to "use" each other as babysitters.

Ah, Mike getting the cake out!

And Jason dippin' into the cake!

And now Shamus has Ray helping him out with the rocket! (Ray works at Pandemic too...it's was mostly all Pandemic friends)

And Dad and B chillin' out in the grass. Having a little bite to eat.
A great day in South Bank.

Back to work on Monday. I'm super busy at work. A good busy, but busy. Plus I've managed to pick up a cold this week. Shamus too. So, I'm hoping that we'll be back on the mend by the weekend!! Planning to lay low and relax with the kiddies!

Byron Bay

We went to Byron Bay on Saturday morning. It's about 1hr 40min from Brisbane...down the Gold Coast. It's a great little surfing town and we had the perfect day!! Bryon Bay is just so cute so we definitely have to spend the night next time!

The kids love the water. They could spend the whole day running along the beach and digging in the sand. So, we spent a few hours on the beach and then checked out the town. Of course we had to buy a few things. :) We got Shamus a cute "Che" tshirt.

See the kids swimming clothes? That's the normal swimwear here. Some of the clothes are long sleeve to protect them from the sun. And it's very common for adults to wear a tshirt like Shamus - it's called a "rash" shirt. Which comes from the surfers -they wear them to protect their skin when surfing..laying on the board. But, now everyone wears them for protection from the sun. And Breagha wears big one pieces now. You won't really see any little girls wearing a little one piece or 2 piece bathing suits. Just too dangerous with the sun. Which is a good thing.

One of the highlights for Shamus and Breagha...having Dad swing them around!! And then race up and down the beach.

Cute little "Father and Daughter" moment.

Not sure if you can see all the little black spots in the water and by the coastline...surfers.

Cool Dude Shamus. Breagha just won't keep her sunglasses on or we're constantly losing them. But Shamus doesn't like to do anything without his.

And here is the racing!

Ah, and now for the "Father and Son" moment. It was pretty cute. Darryl was looking out at the water. So, Shamus walked up beside him, put his hands behind his back, and just stared out at the water like Darryl.

See the lighthouse right behind us? Up on the hill? Well, that's where we went after checking out the town.

Breagha could dig in the sand all day. Which is usually my chance to just sit and chill out. Always nice! And Shamus discovered a stick on the beach so he was busy with that for a while!!

Ok, look at this pic. Check out the seagull. Doesn't it look like it landed on Shamus' hand? Thought this was funny!

So, after checking out the town and doing some shopping, we headed off to the lighthouse. It's only a few minutes out of town and a great view. It's the most eastern point of Australia so kind of cool. We got there around 430pm...before sunset...so it was pretty busy. I think lots of people go to watch the sunset. There was even a couple on the path (path to the water) with 2 glasses of wine. Yeah, it's legal to drink in public places here. I asked around...it's legal. Bizarre.

The view from the lighthouse. We did the trek down and we actually saw a lot of dolphins and a whale.

On the way down.

The waves were so loud...crashing on the rocks. It actually sounded a bit like thunder.

And we made to the bottom!!
So, after the lighthouse we headed back into town to have dinner. We had a great time. It was so relaxing and peaceful.

Sunday morning was off to South Bank for a birthday party. Our friends Mike and Mireille had a party for their son, Jason. His 2nd party. So, those pics are coming soon!

Pandemic Party...And of course Pics of the Kids!!

Last Friday was the Pandemic Anniversary Party. The company went all out. Everyone looked so beautiful and handsome! The dresses were classy and the guys were very sharp in their tuxes and suits.
Steve's cheesy 70's outfit and moustache was just entertaining!! heeheheee...nice stache Steve! Good outfit!

This was Darryl and I's first night out with our new babysitter. We had her come over a couple of times before but only for an hour. The kids were pretty upset when we left but they did quite well. And on a side note - Breagha started peeing on the potty yesterday! So far, so good but we'll see in another week!

I always enjoy putting on a nice dress and seeing Darryl in a suit. He's darn handsome!

I got my dress at a vintage shop just outside downtown Brisbane. My friend, Felicity took my shopping there and it was lots of fun!! Straight from the 60's and I just pictured Mom wearing this when she was younger!

Jeff and Lauren looking very cuuuuute!

Our table

Very handsome aren't they!

So, the night was great but I ended up having too much to drink. It's not good when the waitors just walk around all night topping up your glass. No idea how much you're really drinking!
So, I'll know better for the next Pandemic party. Thanks to Pandemic for hosting a wonderful night. They do so much for the employees and families.

.......
And just wanted to add a couple of pics of the kiddies. I haven't posted much pictures of them lately so I just wanted to show them off!!!!

The kids are doing well. They're getting used to daycare and me being back at work. Shamus is getting so tall. And he is starting to really enjoy his bike. Still loves soccer.
And Breagha is finally getting her last 4 teeth. I saw one popping thru this morning so maybe the other 3 are close behind!

And here we go....

Last week I was in Melbourne for training. I've been at my new job for about 3 weeks now and I really like it. It's very busy and we're short staffed, but we're getting there! We've hired 4 more people in my department so I'm hoping that we'll be more on our feet by next month. My manager seems really great so I'm thankful for that!! And everyone in the office is very friendly. And they all work well together. The training that I took was to learn the company's computer system. The course was really busy but good. I didn't see all of the city of course but I was happy with what I did get to see. It's a beautiful city and reminded me of Montreal. Lots of great old buildings, yummy restaurants, wonderful shopping, and lots of entertainment.

I know this pic is dark but it was night time! :) This is along the river by the casino.

I love when the trees are all lit up. Very pretty. This is outside the casino. I went with a couple of girls from work and they were really into the drinking and gambling!! If anyone knows me...I have no interest at all in the casinos. But, I did go in to check it out...and to have some drinks! The casino was pretty big and the vibe is always fun. But, no gambling for me. I'm all about saving my money for shopping!

My favourite food...seafood. Love it.

We also did some city cruisin' on the tram. Great way to get around the city and there's a free one!! My feet were getting really sore though because we would start our sightseeing as soon as our course was done each day which means I was still in high heels! By Friday my feet were sooooo sore! But I got to see quite a bit.

Of course you can't go to Melbourne and not check out Flinders Station. The main train station for the city. It's huge and beautiful.

And you can't go to a big city and not catch a show!!! My favourite thing to do. So, one of my coworkers and I went to see Guys and Dolls. It was great. Amazing dancing and singing and quite funny. It was set in New York City in the 1940's and I must say that the Aussie's did a great American accent. That was my highlight of the trip!

The exhibition building. Huge.

Some narrow little streets...just like Montreal. Quite similiar to Montreal but English!

I also went to the Victoria Market which is quite popular in the city. It's pretty huge. The market sells everything....your typical fruit/veggies to hardware supplies to pet supplies to clothes to footwear...you get the picture! I picked up some new pj's for Shamus and B.

So, I flew back to Brisbane on Friday night. And spent the whole weekend bonding with Darrylie and the kiddies!! We had a wonderful weekend. Did lots together and the kids were happy to have me back!