Back to previous page
The big trip
In the school holiday, Sarah and the kids did the big trip again. The first stop was
Kel and Glenn's in Talangata valley. The next day, Piet and Emma went off to
build a dam with auntie Bell. Progress was
quick - remnants of last year's dam were still around - and soon the dam was
finished. Piet and Emma took a
sip of water from the dam (body of water) behind the dam and
fooled around.
Emma immediately recognised Abbey among the other horses. Shandy had passed away in August at the rather ripe age of 38, so Abbey now enjoys the company of other horses. Emma is still keen on and comfortable around horses, while Piet wisely chose to stay inside the car. Emma gave Kes a pat as well.
Melbourne
After two nights, mum drove on to Melbourne, where dad joined us on Thursday night, as he could work two days from the Melbourne office. The dinners at Jo and Pete were a particular joy, with the kids eating first. We caught up with a number of friends, made a short trip to
Balnarring beach to see Calumn and Campbell, went to our old church and saw a larger group of friends for a picnic in the park. On Tuesday morning, dad flew back to Sydney and mum drove to Bendoc.
Opa and oma
Leonie had taken a second dog to keep Pippa company. It was a bit less bouncy and Piet being slightly more used to them, was willing to help
brush Charlie. The
tulips we planted half a year ago were out, as were lots of other
flowers as spring was in full swing.
Emma and Piet still enjoy the swings and their
fluffy toys too. Oma read books during the
tea breaks and many other times. Emma helped Opa construct a cardboard
dinosaur together. Since our last visit, the kitchen had been augmented with a proud new
stove. It replaces a fiddly gas cooker and electric stove in summer, while in winter the wood stove will continue its use.
The sandpit was the center of play for many hours, while outside drawing and needlepoint work were also popular. On our last day, opa lit the pile with wood trimmings. We watched from a safe distance. With virtually no wind, the flames rose high and got a bit too hot. Piet and Emma wisely retreated to watch from a safer distance.
Assembly at school
Piet's class was performing 'Shake your tail feather' at the school assembly. The school assembly is a meeting with about 300 kids plus teachers from the bottom three years (K, 1 and 2, roughly comparable to groep 2, 3 and 4 in the Netherlands). Awards are announced, kids get some experience in public speaking, a lot of experience in waiting and the odd performance is given. Piet had practiced the dance at school and at home. He liked his
costume. We went to school an hour early and after a little
wait, class KC
practiced their dance.
The official performance (plus a school song, Piet making an announcement and getting an award) are on video, see these four videos
The last Sunday in October, we celebrated Will's second birthday in a similar fashion to last year. We baked a butterfly cake. Emma and Piet made drawings, while Piet also wrote a text on the reverse. We spent the day on Colin's beach, a relatively secluded beach at walking distance (though for mum, we took the car this year). We built a sand castle and ate the cake. Releasing two balloons - as Will would have been two this year - at the beach did not work, as the drawings were too heavy. Instead we released the balloons at home with two flowers from our garden.
Go to the previous or next or sitemap page
P.S. Since 27th October, the time difference with continental Europe has increased to ten hours.
