Three monthly update?

Not intentional but my poor old neglected blog only gets looked at quarterly for some reason... Facebook and other peoples families on the photography blog have taken precedence over this one but never fear... an update is here :) There's too much to catch you up on so i'll start from today... or yesterday to be precise, read on :)

This blog update of course is all about a certain little muppet who turns six tomorrow... SIX! 6??? Yep... 2,134 days have flown by (give or take a few for leap years and whatnot) since we introduced him into the big wide world and every year we and those around us wonder what will he come up with next?? LOL! 6 Years of joy, laughter, tears...oh the tears, his mine and dads and probably many others around him ^_^ but it's fair to say we've all enjoyed the ride that has been Jesse Harrison and we definitely don't want to get off!

Yesterday we had a small party for him and some friends from school mainly and in line with this terms learning at prep he opted for dinosaur themed party. So off i went in search for a dinosaur cake that would top the last dinosaur cake (3rd birthday) which wouldn't be hard coz looking back on it was a pretty poor effort LOL!and viola! The picture looked extremely hard and complicated and my good friend Jacque (otherwise known as the cupcake lady) was on standby in the very likely case i failed at this cake but i surprised even myself ^_^

Anyways, enough about me as this all about Jesse and his birthday, check out the highlights of the party including the dinosaur themed food, dino-dig and of course the slip & slide which was a blast!

There was talk amongst the mums that after the dino-dig the slip & slide would be great exfoliation... any takers?? My fee is cheap =D

As promised...

Or threatened- whichever way you look at it :) here are the rodeo photos from 'Mt Isa Rodeo 2010'

This year I really enjoyed playing around with my new lens and got some great in action captures, those guys out there are unbelievably brave (and or stupid LOL)! Of course there's also the captures of the kiddies that just melt my heart and makes me laugh at the same time. They're so big and so darn cute! LOL, mummy goggles are out and on big time!

Here you go :)

Oh... and for those of you who think Lily makes it easy for me when asked to pose here are the commands i was giving her from left to right:

"Stand there and look at mummy"... "Stay right there with your eyes closed so i can see your face".... "can you put your hands on your hips?"

Hello... Long time no see :-)

I thought it was time that you see me again and find out what we've been up to in the last... ummm...3 plus months?? Yes it has been a while *blush*

Ok, here's our last 3 months in a nutshell:

First let me start with the InspireMe photography workshop I attended in May, i'd been saving and planning for this event for almost a year and it was totally worth it! Sadly I neglected to take as many photos as i should've have of the amazing accommodation we stayed in probably because i was too busy laughing and goofing with Rowena whom i go waaaaay back with & Heidi who i met the night before the workshop but the three of us just clicked like lifelong friends and the fun began!For now here's just a quick show of the time i had there- i might dedicate a proper post to this in the next few days so here you go:

After what Lalo called my 'fantasy camp' (and in effect it totally was- no kids, no hubby and no cooking! YEAH!)he and the kids drove to Townsville to pick me up and we all had a bit of a family holiday...

In between all of that we've also done the everyday stuff that takes up up precious time too...

and last but certainly not least we had a great visit from the Abideens just a week or so ago (i'm still finding clothes to be sent back in what might be a shipping container!)...

More photos from their photoshoot will be featured on the photography blog in case you're interested :)

Ok, well there you have it! A super fast catch up on our lives for you and stay tuned coz it's rodeo weekend so i'm bound to have more to share soon :)

Yeehhhaaaaw!

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!

Yes my baby is TWO already! I'm sure it was just a couple of months ago we were welcoming her into the family...

And wasn't it just a couple of weeks ago when she turned one...??

Ok, so maybe i've lost a few days and hours in between but it really does go so fast!

Here's a few pics from her 2nd birthday celebration...

She's become quite the little poser this girl of mine...

So there you have it, my baby's two and yes before i know she'll be starting school (blah blah) but it's ok, coz i'll be there with the camera as always and you'll be here watching it all happen with me :)

Thanks to those of you who made it and those of you who couldn't thanks for your birthday wishes too, we are truly blessed with beautiful friends and family and we thanks God everyday for every one of you. Mwah!

I might be a bit obsessed...

What started off as kinda cool thing to do for Jesse has kinda turned into a bit of an obsession for me *blush* and i've spent quite a bit of time researching and finding out the right thing to so it all works out, yes i AM talking about the caterpillars!

When I realized that one of the caterpillars was actually growing and thriving in the makeshift home i thought i better find out what we had and how to help nature along so to speak.

After having gone to the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary in Cairns about a year ago i thought it may be my best chance of finding out what to do (and what not to do) and what we might be dealing with in the way of these little critters, so i emailed and next morning i had a reply from them, so cool!

Apparently the cocoons we have are actually moths *bleagh* which is funny to those of you who know me because i have quite a severe phobia of them- still I'm persevering with those two cocoons if purely just for the educational aspect to Jesse.

Despite being told that the caterpillar is probably a moth i went into denial LOL! You see (from my research) caterpillars can vary in their appearance depending on what host plant they're well... being hosted in- depending what they're eating basically. So to just show a caterpillar even to an expert is kinda iffy, so i just read up on what butterfly caterpillars do Vs moths and this little guy...

I'm convinced is a butterfly caterpillar! The info sheet i got from Australian Butterfly Sanctuary mentions "they will often eat the skin they have just walked out of" and i saw that happen a couple of times, it was bazaar!

Here's another big chunk from the info sheet: "You will notice that each instar changes the appearance of the caterpillar slightly. When they are small they are brown and white and designed to look like a bird dropping - a pretty good idea if one of your main predators is a bird! However, in their last instar the caterpillar’s skin is a green colour and designed to merge with the colour of the food plant it is sitting on. At the end of the fifth instar, the caterpillar will be readying itself to pupate. You will notice that it will attach its hind parts, again with silk, to a leaf or branch and then it will spin a loop of silk and hang off that by the ‘neck’. Within a day or two the last skin will have dropped off and the newly exposed pupa casing, which will be very soft initially, will harden providing the protective covering within which the butterfly will form" Sooo... do you reckon my caterpillar is in it's 5th instar right now?

=D

Anyways... that's my news for today, oh and just one more little cool thing i found that fuels my obsession...remember the bit about looking like a bird dropping?

Can you see it? Here's a closer look :)

Cool huh? Yes, i've gone mad and I'm gonna try see this little guy through his journey too ^_^

Stay tuned for further updates!

Straight to the point...

For those of you not on so much on the Facebook scene I'll make this a super quick photo share about our goings ons (is that a word?) since the last time i shared. So lets get to it (and these are in no particular order)...

In the last month Jesse has started soccer

We went to Townsville and stopped at the usual Kronosaurus Dinosaur pit stop in Richmond

Lily's still modeling my sewing creations quite happily

Jesse had a pirate party at school after doing a unit of it at school... No not a unit of piracy as such but learning about treasure and ships and the like

We visited the old township of Mary Kathleen which has the abandoned uranium mine now filled with water, the colour of the water is even more amazing than what it looks!

We dyed some hard boiled eggs as an Easter activity...

Lily was just happy to get to eat them after the dying process ^_^

I had a birthday, thanks for your calls and pressies MWAH!!

And the most recent chapter is that of our caterpillars that Jesse found on the orange tree! We started with 4 in the cage, and two cocoons, we now have one very fat caterpillar and the two cocoons still going strong. I hope to get to show you some exciting pics of emerging butterflies in the coming weeks, or maybe moths as has been the running joke with my known 'love' for the little critters!

So there you have it my loyal subjects in a nutshell these are the days of our lives. Now just because i can i'd like to show you my favourite photo of the week for now- i had my trusty close up set on my camera trying to get a glimpse of a caterpillar inside a cocoon and Miss Lily came up to be so...

Back again...

I know what you're going to say, no posts for a month and now three in one week! Well don't complain! Who knows when I'll have another busy month or two and you wont hear from me again so sit and enjoy! And now before i get hate-mail about how i neglect my male offspring let me say on record that he does not like the camera again these days, he pulls faces and generally just runs away so I'm the first to hope he passes this phase again real quick... and I'll keep trying of course but you REALLY don't want to see the out takes, trust me! =)

So what's the actual purpose of this post? I just wanted to show that Lily can get just a bit cuter than you thought :)

That's all for now :)

The holy couple...

Yesterday Jesse said he and Lily wanted to play Shepherds so he brought me the muslins to tie around their heads, Lily was happy to oblige. Next thing I know he's shoved a soft toy under her shirt and they looked like this...

I'm still laughing =D

Quick update...

Life's been busy here in the Isa, from Jesse starting school to cooking & sewing and just life in general my blogging's gone by the wayside so after a quick nudge from the family here i am sharing our life with you :)

Jesse's taken starting school totally in his stride, he gets up, gets dressed in his uniform, puts his lunch in his bag and tidies his room all before i even get out of bed! Then he patiently plays his Leapstar or reads books till my alarm goes off so he can have breakky and we make our way to school.

Lily's adjusting well too, she gets time with mummy all to herself and can play with toys without being bossed about by big brother- however she does ask about him still especially at lunch even at week four of the school term.

All in all school is going great, the teachers are lovely and Jesse has of course already made a heap of friends. I'm totally thanking God for having a hand in this as i've seen so many kids crying and just being anxious about this stage in their lives, knowing who we are in God gives us all the confidence to take those big steps in life right?

As i mentioned above i've been doing a bit of sewing, made my first dress and was totally bitten my the bug! This condition isn't helped by having a cute model either I'm afraid...

Then of course a family has to eat and since last year Lalo indulged me with a beautiful new camera i have to make the most of it and food is the perfect subject! It stays still and allows me to move it to better lighting without the incessant whinging and fake smiles for those mouthwatering images that will in turn make my siblings wish they lived closer to me LOL!

Ok, for the Australia Day holiday Lalo arranged for us to go to a property 1/2 an hour from Mt Isa and rough it up for a night with good ol' country hospitality. Of course i see this as photo ops with the green lawns and rustic look to the place...

but alas it wasn't to be... Lily was teething and for a baby that doesn't normally cry much she made up for it this time! So behold the lovely scenery at least...

And as for Jesse... well he was more interested in the pigs!

Now for some snaps from around the house...

Till next time :)