Park Time

Even though it was Winter in Melbourne, it isn't that cold.

It didn't rain much, so we would just put on a warm jacket and head to the park!

Cameron got this great rocket for his birthday, and they had plenty of fun shooting the rockets up high into the sky!

Wombat Bend Park, just around the corner from Mum and Dad's house, opened in March. It is a great park, and the kids spent hours there!

Hello Possums

Sorry that the photos are tricky to see. But every evening outside Nana and Pa's house, 2 possums climb in the trees in their front garden. The boys enjoyed getting the torches out to find them

Cameron's 8th birthday

Cameron's birthday falls in the summer holidays when we live in Berlin. He loves it, because he ends up having 3-4 different parties. We normally have one with his school friends in Berlin (see Kung Fu Panda post in July), one Nana and Pa, and one with Granma and Grampa. So, there is lots of cake to be eaten!


This year was no exception, and we were at Bright in the morning for his birthday. A delicious chocolate cake for morning tea.



Then in Melbourne for dinner. Party food and an ice cream cake for dinner. Finding those Freddo frogs in the cake was fun!

Our boys are growing up!

A boy and his dog

Cameron loves dogs..and would love a dog of his own. When he is with Nana and Pa he chases their dog, Rosie, around everywhere.
When we are at Bright with Granma and Grampa, where ever he goes Benson is not far behind.






I am 99.9% certain once this expat trip is done and we are back in Oz, the first thing we will be doing is buying a dog...the question will be what type, and who gets to name it. We have already come up with a couple of names combining both boys names.
"Camander" "Alron"...it's a work in progress!

Walking

Lots of great bush walking tracks around Bright.

So with wet weather gear on we would set out for long +5 kilometer walks.


and sometimes, it is really hard to get a good photo...thank goodness for digital cameras (I would hate to think how much money we would waste on "silly" photos)

sometimes I can take 10 photos before I get a good one of them both together in the same shot.

Campfire

The best thing about going to Bright in the middle of Winter is that you can be sure there will not be a total fire ban day. So, the kids harrass Grampa for a fire "down the back".

In other years we have toasted marshmellows around the fire. Phil came up with a different idea instead...damper.

So, after looking for a quick recipe in Granma's recipe books (it's been years since we have cooked damper), we made a quick batch and the kids set to work.

The reason marshmellows are great to cook around a fire, is because it is quick. Baking damper on a fire requires more patience,

There are often far more fun things to be doing around the fire than rotating a stick with dough on the end of it.

But once the damper was cooked through, it was delicious with butter and jam.

random photos at Bright

Bright

Up to Granma and Grampa's for a week. The kids love to explore in the bush and the river than are behind their house.

Catching up

Getting back to Melbourne, means catching up with lots of family and friends. Sometimes we a re so busy talking, we forget to get the cameras out to take some photos of everyone. This year it happened more than ever, so there are only a few shots.

But it was great to catch up with everyone that we did! Even a few old friend who we have found again on Facebook!

Great Pa and Cheeky

A day trip across to Sale to see Great Pa. The new freeway was great, and cut the journey down a lot!

We met "Cheeky" the cockatiel, who runs the roost in this relationship! The boys were amused that Cheeky sits on Pa's head and shoulders all the time!

We took Pa out to lunch...a cheap meal it turned out to be. Thursday is buy 1 meal, get a children's meal free!