The ever changing hair.....

Tara and Emily dressed up for 70's day!
The school has a great spirit, and each week there is some sort of theme- odd socks, back to front day, crazy hair day etc. The class with the most participants wins points towards a smoothie party. And the individuals within the class can get their own points too- by collecting character cards (given by the teacher to anyone exhibiting one of the 7 traits). The individuals with the most points get to go to an ice cream social with the principal!! (who is such a cool guy- a motivating factor!)




Tara loved having her hair braided in Mexico, and kept them in for as long as possible. Last time we went she only had the top done, and had been longing for the full head for a while. It was a real battle to get her to let me remove them...



However, when we took them out, she was absolutely thrilled with the amazingly glamorous result- and is now begging me to take braiding lessons , so she can look like this more than once a year!!

Coming of age.....

Emily has finally reached the age where Nigel can impart his glorious knowledge to her, and walk her through the fine details of his legendary Saturday breakfast!!
He is training them thoroughly, in the hope that one day he will be treated whilst in bed!!
We even cracked open a tiny tin of Heinz beans to celebrate her new sausage sizzling skills......

Or.........Wish You Were Here?

We have just had a few days away in Mexico again- it is becoming a favourite place to go....
Aside from the fact it is a relatively cheap trip, the journey is easy, the weather perfect, and the beach wonderfully quiet, we are enjoying the familiarity that returning to the same place brings. We don't have to explore when we arrive, or wonder what we will need to take, or stress over navigating, and so we relax much more quickly each time we go.
We love the beach at sunrise, when the rockpools are visible, and when the shallow water is perfect for skimboarding, but it is also beautiful at sunset when the ocean is warm and the rippled sand is cool, and we love waking from our siesta and hitting the swim-up bar when the margaritas are half price, and sitting in our deckchairs whilst the kids bury our feet, and buying junk from the hawkers, and getting our hair braided, and having breakfast on the balcony, and sleeping with the patio door open listening to the ocean.......... OK, we love it all!!
Well, there is one thing we don't like.........coming home..!!

'Wish you were here?'

Well, you will have to use your imagination, as this pic of our friends was the only photo allowed before the camera got confiscated!!!
Pink Floyd was the very first band I saw in concert(almost 30 years ago!!), and their music was a big part of my teen years, so I jumped at the chance to see Roger Waters (the voice...) at the Cricket Pavillion. The setting is absolutely amazing- an outdoor ampitheatre with seating for 12000, and then 'lawn seating' for a further 8000. Lawn seating involves bringing a deckchair or blanket, and settling down on the grass, with a chilled beer from the 'liquid lounge', watching the sunset, and then listening to fabulous music......did I forget to say it was 25C?
The first half was all the 'oldies but goodies'- lots from Wish You Were Here, and The Wall. The second half was the entire performance of Dark Side of the Moon.
I Loved it, but I was amazed to realise how little I understood of their music at the time!!!
I knew they had a slightly political edge- but that was putting it mildly!! He had just written a new song about Tony and George(as in Blair and Bush), and there were lots of anti war images and comments. The Animals tour which I saw all those years ago had a flying pig (aww how cute.....)- this time, the pig was covered in political graffiti, with a huge 'IMPEACH BUSH NOW' all over its rear end!!
But it was rather surreal as they let it go and it floated off towards the stars, with a big 'free at last' written on its belly!!

Autumn is officially here....

Well, not in the true climatic sense, as the changes are barely perceptible there! On Saturday, it was 39C in the day, falling to 29C by 8pm. Gorgeous for sitting outside with a chilled glass of white wine , but still not cool enough for jeans or sweaters- so not really Autumn. And, definitely no colour change on the cacti!!
So, I have given in to the culture, and bought up Walmart's wonderful autumnal accessories, strewn them all around the house, and we are pretending that the season has truly changed!!