A wedding of the Celtic traditional kind!

How time flies!!  So much for me starting another blog!  I have been very busy with work and have been unable to find time to do anything other than spend time with my family and go to work!  So, it has not been all dull and gloomy here....although the recent cyclone that threatened our shores made the days that way! 

We enjoyed a trip down to Gladstone, once again.  This time for my best friend's wedding.  It was a beautiful ceremony - done in Celtic traditional style, where the bride and groom quite literally 'tie the knot' by having ribbons draped over their clasped hands and tied together after they said their traditional (but not the 'I do') vows.  Each ribbon represents a certain aspect that they 'may' bring to their union, but which is 'not their intention'.  Here are some links to help me out, because it is quite beautiful to watch, but quite difficult for me to explain right at this point in time (I have just finished a 'sleepover' at work - more on that later!).

http://wendymyers.wordpress.com/extras/in-lieu-of-a-unity-candle/tying-the-knot-ceremony/

http://www.gothicweddings.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=21&Itemid=30
Scroll down to see the actual vows they took - this is pretty much it!


http://www.myspiritualwedding.com/content/005422.shtml
And about the colours - http://www.myspiritualwedding.com/content/005423.shtml

This is truly a beautiful ceremony!  Unfortunately, I forgot to take my camera, so I do not have photos of the bride and groom (or the beautiful ribbons J made!).  I manned J's camera for the afternoon/night and *think* I got a couple of shots that she would like!  Unfortunately, she wanted the camera for the honeymoon, so I couldnt take it home and take them off (I tried - I truly did!!).  However, I will leave you with my fantabulous point and shoot photos (which, as you should know, I am a HUGE fan of right now!  hehe) of the clouds and landscape coming into Gladstone on the weekend of the 21st/22nd March:

How do you know you are nearly into Gladstone?  When you travel from the north and take the turn off from Mt Larcom, you get a grand view of the powerhouse!  Sometimes it looks dull and boring, like many industrial buildings, but on this day, it was looking a little more spectacular in the heavily overcast conditions!

These photos were taken on the way home - the day before the night the cyclone was due to hit the coastline.  It is amazing how, just over 500kms away, we were affected by Ului!  Although we weren't as affected as those actually HIT by it, we still felt the shock!  Notice how overcast it is?  This was the main aim of these photos that day!

Christmas day.

It seems that I got a little ahead of myself over the last couple of days!  I didnt tell you what we did for Christmas!  Well....here goes!

This year, we only had 5 of our 8 kids with us.  Weez was with her Nan and Poppy and Corky and J-Man were with their Mum.  Happens every 2nd year for us....a quiet Christmas - well, as quiet as it can get with 3 young boys with an endless supply of energy!

Christmas Eve we headed down The Boyne, set up camp outside my Dad's house and settled in for the night.  I took my sewing machine down, fully planning on sewing up the Christmas stockings that I bought from Spotlight a couple of days before (at 75% off of $14.95 - which made them just $3something - they were hard to resist!).  Problem was....I had no foot to go with my sewing machine!  Somewhere along the way (between house, car and Dad's house) I lost it.  With no spare ones with me, I abandoned mission and sat about, catching up with Dad and chatting with Pete.  We were not late to bed, because we knew that the kids were going to be up early the next morning.

Yep - the boys were up early!  After not being able to make up the stockings, I decided to 'steal' their pillow cases and provide them for Santa to deposit their presents in.  this proved to be a bad move, as Mickey and Bubba both woke up, crying for them!  I had no idea that they were so attached to their pillow cases!  Bubba was the first up.  He ended up sleeping beside me, so he woke me at the same time with "Mum!  It's morning time!"  LOL  Of course, Mickey was next up and went straight upstairs.  Bubba probably forgot about presents, because he was straight onto his bike!Will was left sleeping in the van....he had been up most of the night - new bed, new noises (or lack of at Dad's place), etc to get used to.

The boys soon found their pillowcases again!  And soon delved into the depths to see what Santa had brought them.  There were plenty "OOO's" and "AAAH's" as they poured over their gifts. 

Next up was brekky - nothing really special, but Will had fun, all the same!

At around 10am, we decided to head on down to the river and play on the beach to fill in time before we were to head over to my brother and SIL's house for lunch.

They enjoyed splashing in the water.

And Will especially enjoyed ruining the sandcastles that Daddy made!!

On the way home, Will enjoyed being perched on Daddy's shoulders.

And Bubba Pete enjoyed riding his bike.  This is a particularly cruel hill for kids to ride up (a long, gentle slope) - I did it many a time when I was a kid and dreaded it all the time!

That is all for the photos!  I forgot to take my camera to my brother's house and, as a result, forgot to take photos for the rest of the day!  My brother, Dad, Pete, Lenny and Moo enjoyed a little bash with the hockey sticks out the back of Dad's place while SIL and I looked on.  I cant tell you how much it pained me to see everyone with those sticks in their hands and me unable to join in because I could twinge my back, again!

That night, we had leftovers from lunch.  We didnt feel like eating much, because we had been eating and drinking all afternoon, but the kids still had a fair meal.  We said goodnight to my brother and SIL early that night, because they were heading off to Carnarvon gorge early the next day.

Merry Christmas!!!!

Ok, so a little late with this actual post, but Merry Christmas to all!!! I hope everyone had a fantastic time and Santa brought them all they wanted!

We made a last minute decision to head down to a property at Agnes Waters (we only had 4 kids with us, so it was a little easier to just up, pack a few bags and leave!!).....SIL Mum and Stepdad's place. It poured down rain the night of the 23rd, so were at odds whether we wanted to camp out in the rain. BUT we made the trip and set up camp in the very overcast afternoon. Christmas Eve wasnt too bad...just a few drizzles....but Chrissy day was fantastic!! Very overcast, but not hot, humid and awful, like so many other Christmases I have known!

Tea that night was a lovely, big Red Jew that Pete bought from the fish markets just before we left......bloody lovely fish!!! It fed 6 kids and 10 adults (I think that the 4 dogs got a little each, too) and we were still picking from it when everyone had had a plate full! It is tradition for them not to eat red meat on Chrissy Eve, so it was a fitting meal....and very filling!!

The kids had a fantastic time opening their pressies up in camper in the morning before Christmas. As SIL's whole family were there, we thought it best to do that first then head over to the house for brekky. Brekky was VERY simple, with vegemite on toast, cereal and the usual non-cooked stuff.....no bacon and eggs and no dishes to wash up (used plastic plates!!).

About 10:30am came some nibblies as well as some more visitors! Christmas certainly IS the one time of year where I eat and eat all day and dont feel guilty!! After lunch, we all had a rest and everyone was back up by 4 or 5pm. SIL's Mum was a little under the weather the whole time, so it did her some good. I just hope she doesnt/didnt pass the flu onto anyone else!!

Heaps of video was taken over the days, but not many photos, so I can only show you guys a couple! Bubbles were the theme for the day......there is a bubble machine on top of the chest freezer, there and the kids were chasing them and having a HEAP of fun! See the sky in the background? Yep....that is what it was like ALL day!! AND windy!!


Here is SIL entertaining the kids with one of those bubble wands! They really loved the huge bubbles from it! Well....when the wind wasnt blowing them apart, anyway! She DID manage to get one or two off whole, though....so all good!

Great start to the week!!

Well....it is the start of the holidays and we DO have Pete's kids here.....BUT......Pete is away for the next couple of days!!!!! He has taken the two older boys (Lenny and J-Man) with him and is working a whole 6-7 hours away! LMAO......not something I would normally be happy with, but, for some unknown reason (could be his bad mood on the weekend) I AM glad!!

The babies are at daycare, today, and I DID have heaps planned for the girls and I to do, today - like start teaching them how to sew (giving them an early Chrissy pressie), painting some things for Chrissy pressies and the like - but, it turns out that Pete needs me to do some work, this morning, so they are being put off......just for a little while. We are headed into town this arvo to visit a friend, so I plan on cruising through the paperwork and having it finished on time, so we CAN get some things done!

Our weekend was GREAT!! Saturday started off a little rocky, with Pete getting shirty at the kids while we went out to garage sales and the like, but all was well after a very quiet drive up to Yeppoon (quiet, because the babies were asleep in the back and the kids were in the very back of the car and we couldnt hear them, coz my car is a little noisy when going long distances - picture no air con, windows down and wind rushing through the car!). He seemed to get over himself and enjoy the afternoon.....even though he SAYS that he HATES getting together with his family. The kids had fun in the pool, although Bubba pushed the limits a little and stepped off the edge to the deep end (they were in the shallow part - more like the spa bit, but not actually separate from the main pool)......just checking that he COULDNT reach, like Mummy said, I spose!

Yesterday, we had lunch with my Dad, Bro and SIL. Bro and SIL are moving out from across the road (they have bought their own house over the other side of town), so I saved them some bother and made them some lunch, because I could not help out any other way.....something about me being pregnant and picking up heavy objects PLUS all the kids wanting to follow me over there!! After lunch, I went over to my friends' place and spent a little time with her. Her parents are up and are like parents to me, so it was great to see them, too.......the pool was just a bonus.

No crafting done on the weekend. Just a few quick and easy sewing projects on Friday night. But the social time with others (besides direct family) was excellent!!

Happy Easter!

The morning has come and gone. The kids have got their presents. There is no chocolate, here, unless it is given to the kids from someone else. Even then, we 'ration' it out to them, so that they are not out of their trees for the holidays. For some strange reason, the Easter holidays start AT Easter in QLD and not the weekend before, like so many lucky states! Well, lucky for the parents, not the teachers! hehe.

We went on a nice little bike ride this morning - to clear the head....apparently. Well, as nice as a kiddy chair and a kiddy trailer on the back of a bike can make it, anyway!! My plans are to take the kids to and from school on the bikes, so I had better get some fitness up about me or I am just going to be totally stuffed!! The hills are the killer! Not going down them - the trailer pushes me on them - but going up them! I was afraid to change gears, at first, because my bike has had troubles before in that department! Our plan was for a large ride before lunch, have lunch at a brilliant little take away and then come on home, stopping off at a friend's place on the way. Didnt happen! We got 1/2 way to the shop and I decided to turn off and make my way to my friends place! My legs were KILLING me! But my friend was duly impressed...hehe.

Pete has just bought me a cross trainer (elliptical exercise machine, where you stand and pedal instead of sitting on a bike. Oh! and you use your arms, too, so good all round.), so I will no doubt be hopping on that every day. All it takes is 5 minutes to get a decent work out on one area, so I will definitely be doing that! Just pop on when the kids are asleep or something like that and off I go!!

I have set myself a challenge for this long weekend - to clean up my soap making area. This involves the other areas under the house, here and takes up about 1/2 of the under-house area (if you catch my drift. So is a pretty big job! When we moved here, everything just got thrown in left, right and centre - where it could fit best - and I have been putting off sorting it all out until now! I have set this challenge on CM mainly for myself, but I have asked the girls to join in with me, also. So far, a couple have taken up the challenge with me and sorted out their areas that they have been putting off, themselves, so all is good - I am not alone in my endeavour!