Car trouble...again....

No pictures sorry, I mean, who wants to see pictures of our old car anyway... :) Last night after work I climbed into my car (with a co-worker, mind you, who was hitching a ride home), started the ignition, and then there was a popping sound under the hood and then it was dead. So I'm sure if you're a mechanic you're probably cringing at my spectacular description...my husband was when I called him at 10:45pm to try and "explain" what I heard. "What kind of a pop was it, like a small explosion or thud or....and was it under the car or in the engine....and was it metalic or plastic sounding..." I mean, who knows??? I didn't really want to turn the car on again to find out. Anyway, after I decided that the car wasn't going to blow up on me, I found the courage to open the hood. What we eventually found after much humming and hawing was that the battery had completely fried itself and there was a build up of hydrogen in the battery which was ignited when I turned the car on, blowing one of the caps off the battery which hit the hood causing the popping sound. So....our car spent the night in the parking lot and a large part of me was hoping someone would steal it! :) (Guess they wouldn't get very far...) This morning one of Eldon's work mates came around to get the keys and put a new battery in it for me. Thank you!

Oh, but the story isn't over yet! Happy to have a car, I decided to go see my friend Danielle. I jump in the car and realise that Eldon's mate has put the hand brake on...which normally wouldn't be a problem except in our lovely car...the hand brake sticks on! So I try to release it a few times and it seems to be working, but when I go to reverse out, it's very sluggish which tells me the brake is still on. So, I call Eldon again. (Did I forget to mention that he is away for two nights?...just my luck) He tells me how to check to see if it's still on blah blah blah....I'm still fairly ignorant when it comes to mechanical things. So...I think it's fixed so I start down the road to Danielle's...only to feel it being sluggish again. I can't do the speed limit and I'm starting to smell burning brakes...yikes! So I creep the rest of the way to Danielle's and when I get out, the tires are smoking! Another call to Eldon who then calls his mate who then comes round the fix it again! Luckily the brakes release for him and I'm free to drive it again. Danielle and I have a cuppa and discuss how we are going to drive the car into the lake or use it for a bonfire...we haven't decided yet...guess we'll have to have another cuppa.

Fun at the Park...etc....

The weather has been wonderful here...lovely and sunny but not too warm...so we have had a few outings to the park by Lake Moondarra. Rhys and Eva love playing together as you can see by their big smiles!

A kookaburra who came to visit....wish I could have got a clearer shot!

Making as much noise as possible is the name of the game...
...and always egging each other on!

The peacocks and hens are quite used to being fed...one stole the lunch right out of Rhys's hand!

Beautiful birds, though...

Rhys's 2nd Birthday Party!

Well, it happened almost two weeks ago...time I go the pictures up! I made Rhys a farmyard cake...which was supposed to have a barn as well but things didn't go to plan with that one. He was very surprised when he realized we were singing to him!

Daddy giving Rhys a horsey ride
Thomas pop-up tent which he loves!
Eva wanted to help Rhys...and he needed it too...didn't have a clue what to do
Mommy finally had to coax him into opening his presents

Rhys and friends....

Well, I am officially behind and need to get my act together! Rhys has turned 2 (on Monday) and I haven't posted a single thing for ages! We are having his party on the weekend so pictures will come then. We've been having beautiful winter weather here...clear, blue, sunny skies and cool. I wouldn't mind it if it was a few degrees warmer as I have a sum total of three long-sleeved shirts, but I'll survive. Won't be long and I'll be wishing it was cooler...

A couple weekends ago we had the Morrisons over for lunch and Rhys sure enjoyed himself when the boys got out their scooters. They have four boys, youngest is 4, so Rhys loves following them around. And they are all really good about playing with him. They even let him use a scooter...a bit big for him, but he had fun!

Rhys with Harry, Zach and Darcy
Harry is 4 and is "definitely bigger than Rhys"....his brother give him heaps because he's the youngest.

Sam, the oldest, trying to teach Rhys how to ride the scooter

Zach giving Rhys a ride

Rhys's other special playmate, Eva! They sure are enjoying each other now. I think Rhys was teaching her how to bang on the mirror....such a good influence he is...

Rhys is so grown up...sitting on his little couch eating a whole apple, seeds, stem and all...but every time I asked him to look at me, he leaped up and ran for it....

one of the better ones...

On the slide I got from the toy library for his birthday. He gets a zap every time he goes down, so now he's decided that sending his toy trucks down is much more fun!

Stay tuned for two-year-old birthday pics!

Ireland #6: Wedding Part 2

Oh sweet! I love this one! It's only one step from holding the flowers to holding the purse, Daz!

All the pretty girls...doing the can-can??

All the boys in a scrum...

Daz and Justin showing a bit of New Zealand culture

Mike and Roz in the carriage...see I'm the only one who thinks its romantic!

The happy couple ready to eat...dinner

The very elegant cake

Denise and her sister and matron of honour, Olwyn

Listening to speeches

Eldon...emcee-ing

Mike after too much sherbet