We had lovely spring holidays, shared with Monte’s parents. The weather was fairly average, but we did have some lovely days where the sun shone (if only for a while!). There was a lovely mix between going on fun outings and having quiet, restful moments.

The Holidays started a bit early for our family, with the two oldest children having a nasty virus. Although they don’t look very sick in this photo of them all waiting at the doctors, they had temperatures of 38 and they felt dreadful.

Monte and I went to a cocktail party, hosted by Bendigo Bank. I didn’t know what to wear, being a larger version of myself at present. I was glad I kept this dress that I bought for my brother’s wedding, when Matthew was a newborn baby in 2006. It’s now a few sizes too big, perfect to wear around my belly. I really like the wrap around style; it’s always flattering (I have quite a few wrap around dresses actually!). We had a really fun evening and the children always enjoy the company of their babysitter!

One of the highlights of the holidays was going to the Russian Ballet with Georgia and Maxine. It was wonderful to expose Georgia to the theatre and the ballet was brilliant! The highlight of the evening was when Maxine was called onto the stage at the end of the Nutcracker excerpt. Unbeknownst to the ballet company, Maxine was a professional ballet dancer! I’m glad I managed to take some (blurry) photos. I was madly rummaging through my bag when she was onstage. It always seems that I can’t find my camera/phone when I really need it! I’m so happy for Maxine; this was a really exciting moment for her (happening just hours after she arrived in Hobart!).

Gordon and I took the children to a puppet show and puppet making workshop. It was a lot of fun and the kids learned to make their own pop-up puppet with materials you’d easily fund around your home. The event sparked a great deal of creativity with Matthew, who spent the rest if the day making different types of puppets. After dinner, Matty and Elora treated us to a most entertaining puppet show whilst Georgia slept over at her friend’s house.

The next major event of the holidays was celebrating Elora’s third birthday. She was so happy and excited – fully aware of what was happening and how special the day was. She asked for a pink heart cake (I made a banana cake). She decorated it herself, which was so much fun for her, and it was so yummy!

Monte and I went out for dinner, while Maxine and Gordon babysat. We had Thai. Just us. It was soooo good to have those hours together. The food was delicious.