Bingley Bunch

fun in forbes...

I told you I'd be back to fill you in on the family fun we had in Forbes... and here I am!

As mentioned previously, we had traveled to Forbes to attend my cousins wedding... it is about an eight hour drive from home so we decided to make a long weekend of it... we arrived in Forbes on the Friday night before the wedding... our cabin at the caravan park was amazing! It overlooked this gorgeous river where the girls kids (including Russ) played boat races and threw the frisbee... getting to just spend time together, as a family, was an unexpected bonus... we connected again and it was fantastic.

On the Saturday morning of the wedding, I went to the beauty shop for a luxurious manicure and pedicure (which was so relaxing and long overdue!!) and this is what I came back to... Russ and the girls had been making boats out of sticks and leaves and sending them down the river... they were having such fun!

Between the wedding and the reception we had a couple of hours to kill... what better way than with drinks, ice creams, a frisbee and a football?

This is our cabin in the background... and you can also catch a glimpse of Jaimi there... she tends to make herself scarce when there is any physical activity going on... me? I just grab my camera! LOL! 

happy halloween to you...

Just in case you missed it, yesterday was Halloween... and where we live - it's BIG!

As she has done for the last three years that we have lived here, Darci decided to again wait until Halloween night to have her birthday party... only this year, Willow made the same decision... Willow's birthday is not actually for another 10 days, but who could resist the opportunity to see all her little friends dressed up as witches and werewolves? So two birthday parties in one evening... well, it sounded like a good idea at the time!

First there were TWO birthday cakes to make and decorate...

Willow's was just a classic Halloween scene... Darci's, however, had to fit with her Scooby Doo theme, as her and her friends all dressed as the Scooby Gang...

(psst... that's the 'Mystery Machine', in case you were wondering)

Ready for trick-or-treating - Xan, Willow, Chloe, Olivia, Corey, Lauchlan, Denby, Georgia (and Jaimi at the back in the mask)

... and off they go with Russ and Zeus in the lead.

... back home, all hot and bothered, in time for cake!

Rachelle, the witch, and Zoe, the butterfly fairy.

the Scooby Gang... Daphne (Siobhan), Shaggy (Kaitlyn), Scooby (Darci), Velma (Maddison) and Freddy (Annalyse)

... more candles to blow out and the day was over... well, not quite over... Darci's friends 'slept' over - that is, they watched movies until 7 o'clock this morning then cat-napped till 9am... I cooked them piklets at 10am and they went home at 11... then it was all over!

For those who are wondering - hell yes, I had a nanna nap this arvo!

an artshow, a choir and a swing...

Last night was the opening of the St Mary's Artshow and Xanthia joined her fellow singers to help with the official ceremony... Russ was working late so it was just me and the girls... Zoe, Darci, Xan and Willow all had pieces of their artwork in the exhibition... Zoe had TWO!

Darci received a 'Highly Commended' for her modern day interpretation of John Bracks' 1955 work 'Collins Street. 5pm'...

Willow's 'three bears'.

Xanthia's 'panda.

After we had browsed the exhibition (which included works by some amazingly talented kids!) it was time for Xan and the choir to perform...

And, of course, there's ALWAYS time for a swing!

why I stay behind the camera...

You want to know why??... well here it is... I put my camera down for just a second and it was gone!... first there is Russ' photo...

... which I only included because my butt looks smokin' hot... hahaha... this was the only photo Russ took!!

He then handed the camera to Xan... and started his performance!

Finally I wrestled my camera back... and took these...

Next time you wonder where Xan inherited her crazy nature from... just remember these photos!!

footy pie day...

Last Friday the girls school had a Footy Pie Day... pay your gold coin, wear your footy colours and have a pie for lunch! School sure has changed since I left!... Now, Xan and Willow were all for wearing their footy jumpers but at 14 & 15 years old, Darci and Zoe were not so keen... just casual clothes for them ;o)...

fun in the sun...

This weekend we traveled to Melbourne to have a BBQ dinner with Russ' best man, Davo and his wife Kate... rather than make the trek back to Puckapunyal at the end of the night, we decided to book into a caravan park cabin for the night.

The thing about having a large family is - no motel room will fit us, so caravan parks are our friend. They have everything we could want... our three bedroom cabin even had a SPA!! Fantastic!

For the first time this year (we often stay in caravan parks during hockey season to save the late night long trips home) the girls were able to make use of the park facilities - by that, I mean the POOL!!

For the record, I did wear my bathers down to the pool, but far-out, it was cold! I think it will be halfway through summer before the water will be warm enough for me! Didn't stop Russ and the girls though...

joel and marlene get married...

Last month Russ and I packed up the girls and travelled 8 hours to Forbes, NSW for the wedding of my cousin Joel and his (now) wife, Marlene... we had such a great time catching up with rellies and just spending some quality time together as a family... I'll show some more photos of our family time later... for now, here are some shots of D-day (the wedding day, that is!)...

Stuart (the gorgeous boy in the bow tie) is the son of Joel and Marlene...

Marlene with her father and step-father... I love it!

Mother and Father of the Groom, my uncle Terry and aunt, Robyn, with the number one (and only) grandson.

Willow

Zoe

Darci

Jaimi

Xanthia

my cousin, Laura

Me and Russ... taken by Zoe

Terry, reading out the telegram sent by my mum and dad as they were holidaying in Egypt and couldn't make it.

Congratulations Joel and Marlene!  

We had such a fantastic time at your wedding and in Forbes... thank you so much for inviting us!

 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
  
  
  

the superman photo...

Once again I have been chastised for not posting enough on here... sorry Mazz! Just for you, here is a link to 'the' superman photo I took of Zoe... Super-Zoe

More updates later!!  

it's show time!!...

Along with Darci's birthday, Saturday was also Seymour Show Day!... my brother, Dru, and his kids Jade, Regan and Mikayla came along with us as we checked out just what Seymour had to offer as far as shows go... it wasn't awesome - but it did have the most important things - Dodgem Cars and Show Bags!

... but first there was the jumpy slide... which Willow refused to go down...

... and Jade and Xanthia couldn't get enough of!

Then the Dodgem Car teams were picked! Xan & Willow, Zoe & Jade, Darci & Mikayla, Dru & Regan and Russ & Jaimi... it was hard to pick the most dangerous and scary combination! They were all pretty wild!

... a quick turn on the Clowns before finally finishing off...

SHOW BAGS!! WooHoo!

another birthday down...

Darci turned 14 on Saturday... yep, you heard right - 14!!... it just doesn't seem right, does it? Four more years and she will be able to vote! - to drive! - to DRINK!!

Nope... I'm sorry, but I am just not ready for this... she is just going to have to start counting backwards!... yes... that should do it... count backwards... I feel better already :o)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DARCI!