Picnic at Murrindindi

With the first few weeks of work a little stressful we wanted to make he most of a 28 degree Sunday to "head for the hills". Our destination was the Murrindindi Nature Reserve about 100 km north of Melbourne; near Yea. Fabian, Suzie, and Giulia joined us which ensured lunch was more of a feast than a picnic.

The Reserve is a bit of a treasure located along the Murrindindi river. It's a favourite spot for campers although this weekend we were lucky that there weren't too many around. We set up under the eucalyptus canopy next to the rivier. The shade and cool waters provided us relief from the heat. After scouting around the area we got stuck into lunch. Plenty of bread, cold cuts, sardines, olives, fruit... mmmmm.

Fabian turned his attention to whittling. James, Giulia and I headed for the river. It was sooo cold - so we didn't go in beyond our ankles!

After relaxing for the afternoon we set out for some bush track driving across to Narbethong - where we stopped for a long cold drink at the pub. An afternoon in the bush with good friends and food. Now that's the way to spend a Sunday!

Photos are here.

James' 5th Birthday - "my best day ever!"

Today was James' 5th birthday and we were blessed with a glorious warm, sunny day for an afternoon party at our new home. James squealed with delight over his new Hawthorn AFL football from us, and was equally enthusiastic with a soccer goal from Granny and Papa. He was a very lucky boy indeed to receive so many presents from his family and friends. A lot of things are for outdoor use, so roll on summer!

James, and his cousins and friends, had a great time outside finding treats in the garden as well as polishing off bowls full of sweets. In the playroom the helium balloons kept everyone happy (and the bigger kids went straight for the helium!) James had earlier helped me decorate his iced cupcakes with happy faces and couldn't wait to blow his 5 candles out. We are glad to be able to once again share special occasions with our nearest and dearest! We missed our Windsor friends of course! Happy Birthday, 5 year old boy!

Photos are here.