BackYaRD FuN!

As I was walking into the backyard after picking the kids up from school... there were monkeys everywhere! Crazy monkeys!! Hanging upside using the jumping ropes, swinging from tree branch to tree branch, and even climbing up so high! Karen, my neighbor, and I sat by watched, laughed, and enjoyed some adult time conversation!

VeGeMiTE

After many conversations with Amanda, asking me if we have tried vegemite, I finally bought some to eat. So, This one is for you Amanda! She loves the stuff! Most every kid at school eats vegemite for lunch. I haven't met an Aussie yet that didn't like it!

Just curious, what is this Vegemite stuff made from?

Concentrate Yeast Expract

Ingredients: yeast extract (from yeast grown on barley), salt, mineral salt, malt extract (from barley), colour, flavours, niacin, thiamine, riboflavin, folate

I was also given instructions on how to eat it. First, spread butter on some toast. Then spread on the vegemite... sparingly. Not a lot. Well, I did just that! And the results are...

I put on way tooo much!

Everyone tried it except for Scott. We were all good sports but Daniel was the only one who ate his entire piece. The rest of us only ate a bite... AND that was all I could stomach.

Sorry, Amanda... I will have to give this stuff away to someone who appreciates it more than we do!

Another Holiday?

As a child I loved the games where you had to find the picture that was different from all the others. Well, here is one for you! What do you notice about each of the two pictures?

Yep! If you guess kids... you are right! The last day for kids was on April 1st for their long awaited fall break. They had two weeks and one day "holiday" from school. At least that is what I thought! After getting up, dressed, and ready for school on Monday, 19th, the kids and I head out for school.

Needless to say that as we rounded the corner to the school, it was empty. No kids, no teachers, and no parents. We all looked at each other with blank stares and thought we were late, daylight savings time was over the holiday too. So, I was thinking we must have set our clocks wrong, even though we were on time at church the day before. Maybe I was missing something here.

As we walked on up to the school, a little girl dressed in her uniform, jumped out of the car beside of us. So, I thought, well, we must be late.

We then headed to the office so I can check the kids into school... we ran into Daniel's teacher. Yes, she is laughing at us and said, "You know that there isn't school today... it is just a day for teachers." I responded laughing, "Well, I guess I have trouble reading the school calendar. Somehow I missed the following Monday too." While pointing over to a sign she then commented, "It tells you over there on the billboard when the kids come back to school." Boy, am I really embarrassed NOW! Okay, so I can't read a calendar AND can't read the marquee out by the road! Daniel looks up at me and says, "Mom, It's all in the details, It's all in the details." (A common quote that is used in our house.)

As far as the little girl... I told her to go to the office and they would help her call her mom to come and pick her up. But as we were walking back home... another mom stopped me and said, "Is there no school today?" So, I guess I'm not the only one who doesn't pay attention to the details!

So the kids had two weeks and two days off from school! They celebrate more holiday's around here than any other place! (the Aussies' will be the first to tell you that!) Oh, they also had the next Monday off from school too because of ANZAC day!

So off to the beach we went!

Make your own Lollipops

I can't take any credit for finding this super easy craft to do with my kids! When Scott brought a box of "stuff" back from the states... Mandy had packed this great craft for the kids to do. So easy and so simple! Thanks Mandy! My kids loved it and are still loving it. They will do anything for a sucker!

Jolly Ranchers, Lollipop Sticks, and Parchment Paper

1. Unwrap the Jolly Ranchers.

2. Place the candies in groups of two or three on parchment paper. My kids had all sorts of designs going on. Even crooked candies worked... as long as they are somehow touching.

3. Set oven at 275 degrees. Bake for 5 minutes. The 6th minute watch them melt and then take out of the oven at the 7th minute.

4. I took the parchment paper off the cookie sheet to make it easier to "roll" the stick into the melted candy. Daniel wasn't very precise in making sure the stick was straight... as long as it was in the candy. Both ways, straight and crooked, worked.

Daniel will tell you that the stick stays better in the candy if you stick out your tongue while twisting!

Allow suckers to cool... Approximately 15 to 20 minutes while laying on the parchment paper. While my back was turned, Samuel couldn't resist the candy laying right before his eves and stuck his fingers in some of them. That kid... What will I ever do with him? The kids named one sucker, The Alien. If you look at Claudia's closely, you will see the ALIEN!

Royal National Park

http://www.visitnsw.com/town/Audley/Royal_National_Park/info.aspx

Today we headed out the with Wells Family to Royal National Park. I know I keep repeating over and over how beautiful it is here... but there are only so many ways to say beautiful. The drive throughout the park was breathtaking. Some of the roads, which hugged the coast, felt as if we were flying along the ocean. With crystal clear blue skies and a SW breeze... it made for the perfect day. I was a little chilly but the kids, well they are kids, and don't seem to mind the cold. I wouldn't be in my swimsuit at all today!