Remembering Alison

Alison Fisher Lall and her beautiful girls were killed a year ago on the 27th. Alison was my first ever friend at 4 years of age and remained my friend until we were 28 years old. We got married on the same day May 27th, 2000 on our family farms. She always called us the Marden Red Heads. I have so many memories of her. We lost touch after we got married those things happen and I am sorry they did. Because last year on our anniversary her husband killed her and her two girls and himself , spared their one year old and sent the whole of Ariss in a spin.

I still have moments , nothing like what her family goes through. But our lives mirrored each others. Kids the same ages the thought of what happened and her not ever walking into my life again just rips my heart in two. She shaped a lot of who I am as a person and I will never forget her. Alison ......

XOXOXO

Anniversary and National Booking Reading Day

It's our 9 th Anniversary on the 27 th!!! We aren't going out though until Friday night. Babysitter booked and then I don't know what we will do as there isn't too many fancy places to go. But it will be nice just to have some alone time together.

The 27 th is also National Book Reading Day. Where the whole of Australia reads Pete the Sheep at 11 am. The kids get to dress up as their favourite book character. Hannah is going as the Incredible Book Eating Boy. Ciara is going as Eloise. But I have no pictures because Owen wasn't helping me out and everything turned out very blurry.

It's all good though!

Frustrated and Taking a Break!

I've stepped up and taken on the job of organizing the Cobar Women's Rugby team. All the little details that no one wants to do. Most people just want to play. Hey I was that person. but I'm injured and they need the help. So. But for the last three weeks I have been throwing myself into this job trying to get people to step up with me. They aren't and I have had it today. I gave a deadline they still are blowing me off. So today and tomorrow I'm letting it go.

Taking a break. Building up my tolerance to have another go.

It's all good!

Beautiful Sunday

Sunday morning I went out to take some photos for my photography course. Then the Cobar's Camera Club met at the train station. Was a beautiful morning to myself to do something I enjoyed. No kids, no noise, no organizing for rugby. Just me time. We were given three photo subjects to try to take photos of and to make it even more perfect a train rolled into the station. Couldn't have asked for a better morning. Just what I needed with this past week.

I'll post the photos later.

It's all good!

Sickness, Changed Plans, and Awards

Well the kids gave me their disease! Gastro really bad Thursday night. I made it through Grey's Anatomy barely and then until 4am it was a blurr. All I asked was for Eric to put the kids on the bus. Which he did and then he began being in the same state. Not fair!!! Why can't the mommy be sick all day by herself? Well our plans got bust for the weekend. Was suppose to have 12 parents and 15 kids over for a little get together but with both of us ill all day Friday the prep work wasn't going to get done. I did make it out for about half an hour to go see the girls at assembly. They were both getting awards and Ciara's class was presenting a poem. So I ran in quick to see before heading back to bed for the afternoon.


It's Saturday morning as I write this and I am still not up to par. Eric is feeling much better?? Go figure but I am glad that I did cancel today as I wouldn't have enjoyed cooking or visiting.

Eric's gone 4WDing with some mates, Owen's napping and the girls are visiting friends. So I am going to kick up my feet and hope this headache goes away.

It will be all good!

The Dream is Over

Well went to practice last night, I'm the new Cobar Women's Rugby Team Go to Person, anyway thought I'd run around and have a go. Yeah knee didn't like it popped out again. Not as bad as the first time. But......So it is over the dream of playing one game when I was 40 is gone. There was a chance I could have played at the World's Masters Game in Sydney what a chance in lifetime that would have been to play against women from all over the world. I made it to 37 though. So pretty good. Don't know if I can watch the team play and not feel pangs of missing it. I love that feeling of speed and good ball handling.

Time to mourn, my body just can't do it anymore.

I don't know if it's all good!

Sick Again!

Well the kids were all sick on Friday night which kind of wrecked our weekend. Eric and I were to have a date night and go to the rugby game. But I had to go to help and Eric stayed home with Ciara and the flu, Owen and a fever and cough, and Hannah with a bladder infection. Owen was suppose to be our kidney problem but it seems like something is going on with Hannah that they didn't pick up.

So sick kids and no going to the Cobar races on Saturday. Sunday Eric went to a Stockton 4Wd meeting. We are planning to go 4Wding on the beach near Newcastle on the June long weekend here. Exciting.

It is now Wednesday and Hannah is better, Owen is still miserable and Ciara has a return bought of the flu. It has been raining for two days. I can't get out and do some of my photo assignment and I have been stuck in taking over the Women's rugby union team and organizing it so I have been ignoring the kids a little while figuring it all out.

It is raining tonight and the women don't want to go to practice. But I have played in the UK and Canada where the weather is a lot worse then this so........ I can't feel for them. Hopefully the coaches are of the same mind set.

It's all good!

Piano's and Photo Homework

I found so much out about our piano from this man Cyril Jones. He has traveled all over the world to fix pianos and had been to Guelph. He loves the Guelph piano's and was very excited to see one here. The keys are all fixed and it sounds great. He said if this piano could talk what talk it would talk. There were beer and wine stains through it as well as some smoke stains so..... wild parties in the 40's and 50's from my grandparents?

Cyril should write a book he has amazing stories and I could have listened to him all day. So now to practice some more on the piano and Ciara to continue her lessons.

We had to take a family photo and write a little blurp about why we like Cobar Public School. So this is one of the photos we took. It took a while. Clothes falling off, weird faces and closed eyes!!!

The next two photos are from my course. Had to take some high key shots. So here they are. Still working on some others for my assignment.

It's all good!

First Place and Life

Well the next four photos we my first place wins at the Cobar Show. The last two photos are my second place wins. I won my money back from my entry fee. It was just nice to have someone that wasn't family or close friends saying my photos were good. Complete strangers think so.





Today poor Owen has an awful cold and is very cranky. It is not helping that I am knee deep in organizing the Cobar Rugby Union stuff. The job got passed to me and it is a little unorganized so I can't put it down till I have it all sorted.

Also our piano is getting fixed. The ivory keys are popping off because of the different climate here in Australia so finally a piano tuner came to town and we are getting it dealt with. Yes the bill will be dear but the skill of this man is amazing. Cyril is his name and his is the most interesting 83 year old I have every met. He's fixing my violin as well because the tuning pegs aren't holding anymore. I could listen to him all day and Owen loves him. He was telling us about his WWII adventures at 18 years of age. He went over to Japan after it had been bombed to help clean up. Amazing the people you met on such average days.

It's all good!

Cobar Show 2009

First thing out of the mouths of the girls was cotton candy!!! So we had to stop there first. We went to the show Friday night but no pictures from that. All the kids eyes were bulging and they couldn't decide which thing to do first. Games, rides, food?!? I wanted to see if I had won my photo entries. I had four firsts and two seconds. ( more on that later - I will post the photos tomorrow)

Eric and I both took the girls on rides that were meant for taller kids but okay if they went with an adult. The twisting, twirling, up high rides did numbers on our tummies ( the adults) but the smiles and the screams of joy from the girls was great. They wanted to go again and again. But we didn't!!! We won some prices at the clown games, watched the fireworks, and motor bike trick riding. It was a great weekend.

It's all good!

South Australia

Well this cartoon sums up what it was like in the car with three kids. They were great but it was a tough being in the car everyday driving. It is much nicer to stay for a few days in one spot. South Australia is great though. Flinders Ranges camping , splashing in Whyalla, Dolphins in Port Augusta and the longest jetty in Port Germain. The Easter Bunny found us in Flinders and left us chocolate all over the camp site. We did some 4WDing and Eric was so happy. The hike we had hoped to do was going to be a little longer then we wanted to be with the kids. The shortest hike was going to take 6 hours. And they are not quite up to that length yet. Hope you enjoy the photos.

It's all good!