Hosea's first birthday

It was special having Nana and Grandad staying with us recently when we celebrated Hosea's first birthday. On the morning of his birthday he got stuck into opening and playing with his presents (some new books, fun bath toys and a toy drum). His ultimate favourite was the blue smiley-faced ball that Hannah gave him. Later in the morning we headed out to Warrawong Wildlife Sanctuary for a walk in the tranquil surroundings; We fed kangaroos and wallabies and spotted some turtles. We enjoyed a picnic lunch augmented by some sweet treats from the cafe. That evening we went out for a family meal at the Marraytville Hotel which was recommended by friends as it has a nice playground in the restaurant. Hosea loved his 'popcorn chicken' with chips and we had a really pleasant evening together.

And as if that wasn't enough we'd decided to have a party for him the following weekend as well....an afternoon tea followed by a BBQ at our place. Guests were Murray's Auntie Valerie, Murray's parents, good friends from church, two of Murray's workmates and their families and a family that we'd gotten to know through kindergym. Hosea was well and truly spoiled when it came to gifts – a beautiful patchwork quilt from Nana, a huge teddy bear from Aunty Valerie, some lovely wooden puzzles and lots of special books! We enjoyed the 'treasure hunt' provided for us by some friends who couldn't attend the party but had hidden their present for Hosea on our front section and provided a GPS clue!! The place was a melee of helium balloons and party food with kids alternating between tearing around the section on their bikes and cooling off in the paddling pool. I think it's fair to say that Hosea enjoyed the food and the action as much as anybody – he tried out all 3 of his new birthday T-shirts getting wet in the paddling pool and got completely covered in 'pillarbox red' icing!

Thank you to everyone from N.Z who sent birthday wishes; it was a really special day and we are so grateful for our wonderful family and friends!!

Aunty Jenny comes to stay

In October we welcomed our first visitor from the Wood clan – Murray's sister, Jenny. It was great to spend time with her and catch up and the children really enjoyed her company too.

We decided that it was high time we checked out some of the vineyards that Adelaide is famous for so we took a day trip to Mclaren Vale. We explored a pretty olive grove and visited the Fruchocs factory (if you're curious about what a fruchoc is take a look at Hosea's birthday blog). We admired the view (and the pricey menu!) at d'Arenburg vineyard and settled on a cafe-style lunch at Red Poles Gallery. Their resident dog provided plenty of entertainment for Hannah and vice versa – she was kept busy throwing a stick for him to play fetch with for the duration of the meal!

It was nice being able to show Jenny some of our weekly activities – playgroup, kindergym and Spark and to introduce her to our friends here.

Jenny and Hannah must have a similar taste in shops – or perhaps both of them just know how to sniff out a bargain. We came across a scrapbooking supplies shop which was having a closing down sale and Hannah was chuffed when she and Jenny came out of the shop with “matching bags”.

We also took Jenny to explore the historic Harndorf village – established in 1839 and settled by Lutheran families. We took a picnic lunch although it wasn't great picnic weather. . . which gave us a good excuse to warm ourselves in a cafe with an open fire, hot chocolate and apple strudel!

Thanks, Jenny, for a fun time together – looking forward to seeing you again soon!!

Camping at Stringybark Forest

We really enjoyed having Granny come and stay with us during the first week of the September school holidays. It was fun being able to show her our place as we hadn't moved in last time she was over visiting us in Adelaide. We also managed to show her some of the sights, including taking a tram at Glenelg beach, the view from Mt. Lofty (might have done better if we'd picked a finer day!) and iconic Ikea.

The highlight of our time was going camping together along with friends from church. Our chosen campsite was Stringybark Forest, Deep Creek Conservation Park on the Fleureiu Peninsula. We purchased a new tent for the occasion partly because our old tent is in storage back in N.Z and also because we needed something with a bit more room now that Hosea is on the scene.

We enjoyed the unique environment of Stringybark forest, including being able to observe kangaroos grazing at dawn and dusk, seeing some beautiful wildflowers on one of the walks near the campground, and sleeping on a bed of tree roots when our lilo deflated during the night!! On our first day at camp, Murray, Hannah and I went on a 4WD trip to the nearest beach – blowhole beach. At night we had campfires so the children would have bedtime stories around the fire followed by toasting marshmallows. Magical! We even managed to fit in a few games once the kids had gone to bed.