Joeys have been having a Spy series of activities combined with another Joey Mob. It has been fantastic, a lot of fun! Tonight saw the Joeys go to a local park and go on a hunt to find the Double Agent and collect the prize!
The kids had to go in disguise, so of course William went as Batman (although I was expecting Ben10) .. I didn’t take a whole heap of photos .. but I did get some lovely ones of William on the playground before hand …
Totally love this photo!
Swing me mum .. Please!
I am participating in the Open Day for National Arboretum Canberra on the 14th March, and we went up today to see the site and check out the view .. oh my goodness it is stunning!
Jordan came home from school last year one day and said he wanted to take part in the Weetbix Tryathlon. hmm I thought not really his thing, not being terribly athletic, but ok, he wants to give it a go.
I let it go for a couple of days and he kept asking, so I filled in the registration form and he was all set.
Now it was a bit of wait from then until now, and he really didn’t get into training. Although he swims every week, and he is improving hugely with that. He also rides his bike everyday, the running was a concern though. But the Tryathlon, is just that .. its a TRY-athlon. It is about encouraging kids to give it a go, if they can’t quite do it they get a break, they can take it slow, and they get help.
Well, the day finished and I am SO PROUD of him. He gutsied through it magnificently. He didn’t not get any help on the swim. He took it slow and steady, but he completed the 200m with no assistance, he then took off on the ride (apparently he overtook a few kids on that one), and then went in for the run. I seriously thought he might flake, but no, he said he ran the whole distance, and I saw him come around the corner just going for it!
I highly recommend the Tryathlon, all the kids get a medal and a certificate. They get a kit before hand with T-shirt and other freebies. He just loved it, and is going to go out again next year!
This idea definitely seems to be a tradition in schools these day, they have a classroom friend (teddy, animal whatever ..) that goes home with different children every day. You take photos, draw pictures and then write a story about your time together. You may remember Iggy from last year, he stayed with us for a couple of weekends! William was always heartbroken when it wasn’t his turn!
Anyway, in their class this year they have Buddy. Buddy is a big snuggly teddy bear! And again we went through tears every night when Buddy didn’t come home! But finally, he has! We didn’t take many photos of Buddy visiting, although Tom & Will wrote the story together. It was lovely to see that brother time!
I totally love playdough, I love making it but I thought my kids were a bit old for it now … well I was wrong. They asked me to make it today (well Tom asked me), so I checked out the ingredients we had in the cupboard (I did need to restock a couple of things) and went for it.
Now I use a cooked playdough recipe that is on the back of the Cream of Tartar packet. I have tried many recipes and this is by far the best! It is a little messy to make but it definitely gives the best results!
One thing I have noticed is that it also comes out better being cooked in an electric frypan. I don’t know why that is, but again many tries and this is by far the best!
Anyway, ingredients are
I just then chuck it all into the electric frypan (on high). I also put the water in first as it doesn’t seem to stick as much at the beginning then. For a bit of fun you can add essential oils, glitter or something to add texture.
You then just stir and stir until it gets solid. It should have a shine to it, but not be greasy. You can also bake this dough, in a slow oven until hard for things like decorations or models.
Anyway here are the pics … (as you can see it looks terrible before it looks good!)
as you can see, it really doesn't look like much at the beginning
keep it moving!
almost done
lovely smooth playdough
now for green ...
balls of playdough
playing with playdough
Well it has been raining all day today, and although is has meant that everyone has been inside it is a lot cooler! So yay, I was able to do some baking. The kids wanted to join in so I wanted something quick and simple. What better recipe than the 100’s of Biscuits Recipe. I found the recipe originally over at Picklebums, and it is a gem! Thanks Kate!
Now unfortunately I let this kids add what they wanted to them, we divided it up and the kids went to it (hmmm sometimes I do wonder about the risks involved in this …)
mixing .. mixing .. mixing
no, there isn't anything wrong with your eyes .. they are pink & green
and blue ...
all cooked!
They are filled with different combinations of choc bits, cornflakes, and currants ..
I wasn't quite so adventurous with mine! Just plain ol' currants!
Definitely love rainy afternoons! And because of the cool weather I have a Roast Chook in the oven … mmm mmm mmm!
Just a couple of digi layouts today .. been finally playing around in photoshop! Photos of Jordan, 10 years apart!
It has been a while since I took some photos, just to take some photos. That is to have a bit of a play with the camera. I love taking flower photos, but I have really been a bit out of it lately and haven’t picked up the camera. Most of shots lately have actually just been with my little point and shoot.
Anyway here is what I took today, with a little tweaking in photoshop …
Even managed a bit of a ‘bokeh‘ effect with this one, yep that was natural, no artificial bokeh overlays added!
Jordan again donned his scout uniform, and came along to the first night of our newest Scout Group in the ACT. He is so enthusiastic, it does my heart good!
Here he is, joining in, and showing ‘em how its done!
For work, we had a Scouts ACT stand at the Festival. Luckily only for the one day, although I am sure there would have been more people around on the Saturday, rather than the Sunday. A few people did brave the muggy weather and it was quite successful.
Jordan decided to come and help, he loves to put his hand up for this kind of thing! He even got up close with Kenny the Koala.
