Carmen Matthews

Christmas Day

2010-01-12T21:52:00.003+10:00

Only 2.5 weeks late but here is the famliy on Christmas day.

Poppy under the tree:

Poppy and her cousins Thomas and Amy:
Leading up to Christmas there was many an occassion where Poppy tried to take the decorations off the tree:

SHE IS WALKING!!

2009-12-29T15:02:00.003+10:00

Well I know I haven't event uploaded any photos from Christmas yet . . . but I promise that they are on their way. But 3 days after Christmas Penelope decided to officially start walking.

Prior to today she has taken a few sporadic steps, and no more than 2 at a time, but yesterday she decided to take 8 in a row, followed a minute or two later by another 8 steps! Since then she is more than happy to walk if its an option, although crawling is definitely a much more efficient and quicker method at the moment.

Needless to say . . . we are proud of her.

Dancing to Hairy Maclary

2009-12-20T15:01:00.004+10:00

I have been meaning to upload this one for a week or two now . . . but I finally got around to trying out the CD that came with the Hairy Maclary book.

Too cute!!

Friends come to play

2009-12-08T16:25:00.004+10:00

Poppy had a couple of friends come to play this week. We thought it would be a good idea to get a photo of the three of them together . . .turns out it was much harder that anticipated.

From left to right: Penelope, Cassidy and Charlotte

Standing & Playing

2009-11-25T11:10:00.007+10:00

First and formost . . . our girl is now standing!! She decided to start yesterday with no warning, and managed to do it about 8 times in a row whilst Great-Nana was watching on Skype . . . what a show off. And just to reinforce she can do it, Nonna and Dad got to see it last night and she is still doing it today. We are so proud of her!

And while I am at it, here are some photos of the two of us playing this morning:

Hanging in the air:

Playing peek-a-boo in the tunnel:

"Where did it go?"

Blowing bubbles with Mummy:

She loves crawling through her tunnel, turning around and crawling back through it again:

"Hhhmmmm . . . I think my ball is under here somewhere":

Motorbikes

2009-10-30T20:27:00.004+10:00

The other day Rob was cleaning his bike in order to sell it (any buyers out there . . . give us a call!). Poppy decided that she would do some tinkering on her bike as well just to be the same as Daddy.
Later they posed together so that Poppy has something to aspire to . . .

And because she was such a good girl and budding mechanic she got to have a ride on the big bike . . . YIPPPEE

Please excuse the blue clothing . . . she is still a girl underneath it all . . . although it looks a little deceiving!

Eating versus Drinking

2009-09-22T14:47:00.003+10:00

Poppy had a play date today with her friend Sam. These guys are just three days apart. It was too cute watching them hang out.

Turns out though that it is apparently easier to drink dessert of banana and pear than it is to eat it.

Poppys' Dedication + more

2009-09-12T11:46:00.004+10:00

Well I guess the big news of the last few weeks has been that Poppy is now dedicated. We had a lovely weekend, where she got to meet her Uncle Nick (aka Nuck) for the first time as he was in transit between Canada and Hayman Island, her Poppa came over from NZ for 24 hours and her Nonna stayed with us for just over a week.

The dress she wore at her dedication was made in Switzerland in about 1912 and comes down from Merilyn's Great Grandmother (I think I have that right!). Many of the Matthews clan have been dedicated in it over the years, including Rob. It is a beautiful dress and Poppy just looked adorable in it (as you can tell by the photos).

Despite a last minute venue change on the day everyone managed to arrive on time and witness the beautiful event. Ps Col Usher dedicated her, which was a really nice touch since he was also the one to marry Rob and I, 2.5 years ago. And then it was followed up by lunch and hanging out at our house. It was an ultra hot winter day, where the temperature got up to about 31°C I think.

It was also seemed to make sense that we made the dedication our last service at Brisbane City Church. So with everyone around us we sadly farewelled a church that we have called home for the past 14 years combined to move to a more local Baptist church. We are really looking forward to the times ahead, meeting new people and getting connected into our local area.

In developmental news, Poppy loves standing up, including watching the bath fill up with water each evening, is slowly taking her first steps and loves walking behind her bike I am currently hiring from the Toy Library for a month (photos to come), and the other morning I found her splashing in the left over shower water! Now every time I leave her unattended in the bathroom, she makes a beeline for the puddles.

Its' not going to be long till she is walking I don't think, but I have decided that she should first learn to clap and maybe crawl on her knees. We will see how that goes for me!

In Work news, there has been a whole lot happenning. To cut quite a long story short, (if you want the whole story ring us, we would love to hear from you!) Rob is now working 4 days a week and I have taken on a promotion at work, where I work 16hrs a week from home and 8 of those hours are on Friday when Rob and Poppy have Daddy Daughter day. Its been two weeks officially so far and its a three month trial (part of the long story that you don't know) but I'm really enjoying the mental challenge of it all.

I am learning (very quickly) how to be a Sales and Marketing Assitant for a company called Sitecore who sells Content Management Software for websites. There are only 5 of us in Australia and we all work from home, so very flexible hours which is exactly what I need.

That's all for now folks!

CRAWLING

2009-07-30T19:59:00.007+10:00

Yup you heard it here first. Our 6.5 month old little girl is officially on the move . . . forwards!! For about 6 weeks she has been quite happily working her way backwards around the room as she so desires, finding it far simpler than rolling everywhere.

But as of two days ago the temptation to reach her spoon was far too great, that what would normally warrant heading in the opposite direction and twisting and turning until by some fluke she would end up where she wanted (if at all) she suddenly decided she wanted to take the most direct option. Good on her I say!

And here is the video to prove it . . .

That's all!

Here are my excuses . . .

2009-07-30T08:28:00.010+10:00

For not updating you earlier on our antics:

Since we left you last Rob and Poppy had just had their first swimming lesson together. That was 2 months ago. We haven't had a swimming lesson again until Saturday just been. But none the less it was like she had never left the water. She loved it.

NEW ZEALAND

Mum decided that she missed her and hadn't seen her for a few weeks / months so Poppy and I flew to NZ for 5 days so that they could hang out together and have some quality time. It was lovely, because Mum got to babysit, we had a great lunch with Dad and checked out his renovations, saw a few friends and all in all just chilled out. Literally that is, considering the mornings were 2°C, but thankfully the beautiful blue skies through the day helped defrost us:

Poppy got to play with her friend Madeline:

We played at the park down in St Heliers:

Most mornings Nonna got to give Poppy a bottle in bed whilst watching TV:

Poppy made a new best friend:

Poppy and Poppa deep in conversation:

SOLIDS
Unfortunately for me Poppy was ready for solids while we were in NZ, and so she kept waking in the night. That meant they day after we got back to Australia she started on one meal a day. She LOVES them! Now we are on 3 meals a day, including porridge, chicken, avocado, banana, broccoli, apple, pear, pumpkin, kumera to name a few. Porridge is by far the messiest of them all!

The kitchen after my first attempt to puree pumpkin . . . I have got it down to a fine(r) art now!

Poppy loving her food:

HERVEY BAY
At very short notice Rob had to take a week off work to use up some leave he had accruing. We decided that this was our opportunity to head to Hervey Bay, somewhere we had been meaning to go for a long time, but had just never got around to it.

Also being on the cusp of the whale season meant that we were able to head out on a boat to have a go at whale watching. Turns out there weren't any whales and instead we had 80% of the boat vomiting around us. Poppy thought it was hilarious. Thankfully the skipper thought it best that we turned around and spent the next 1.5 hrs motoring back to shore. We were grateful for the free return tickets the company gave us for not seeing whales. I think we will use them during the middle of the season when things warm up, and the sea settles down!!

A family photo on the boat:

Poppy and Rob on her first ever boat trip:

We didn't see any whales but we did see a dingo heading up Fraser Island:

And that's a summary of it all. The next development is the most exciting of all though (so far!)

First Swimming Lesson

2009-05-16T13:31:00.004+10:00

This morning Penelope and Rob had their first swimming lesson together. About a 10 minute from our house (directly opposite Bunnings) the council has just opened up a swimming complex with and indoor and an outdoor pool. The indoor pool is set up predominantly for kids swimming lessons which is very handy. They start the kids at 4 months, so now Poppy is 4 months and 4 days we decided to give a lesson a go and see how she went . . . turns out she LOVED it!!

We went with one of Robs work mates Mat and his daughter Sam, while Alison and I took photos from the sideline, wishing we were in the water with them.

They sang lots of songs, put their ears (not faces) under and tried to learn about blowing bubbles. The main skills they teach at this age is learning to grab the edge of the pool, or your clothing as well as confidence. Their were no tears, a few hand splashes and lots of leg kicking!!

Rob, Poppy, Mat & Sam getting ready to hop in the pool with the instructor:

Having fun whilst posing for the camera:

Learning to reach for the duck at the edge of the pool:

Of course the obligatory movie:

Poppy & Sam getting changed on the change table afterward (these guys are two days apart):

And for something totally unrelated, before we went to swimming this morning Rob and Poppy were reading a 4WD magazine in bed while Mum got up and had breakfast. I think they may even have the same facial expressions!

Too cute!

New Zealand, Flemings Visit & Camping

2009-05-05T21:10:00.008+10:00

Yes I admit that I am about 6 weeks behind schedule so thought I better do a BIG catch up on our activities:

NEW ZEALAND
From 19 - 30 March we went to NZ to show off our little girl. We had a fantastic, yet slightly hectic time catching up with everyone and trying to relax at the same time. Penelope traveled like an angel. She fed on the way up and fed on the way down and chatted to herself and had wee naps the rest of time, on all four flights that we took her on.

She also enjoyed looking out the window as we travelled over the pacific and up and down the islands:

The biggest benefit of us going over was the opportunity for all remaining great-grandparents to meet the newest edition to the family. To do this we had a quick trip to Christchurch for 36 hours and had a lovely stay with Rob's cousin Cath & Eliot and their kids Emily & Darcy:

Poppy with Lois (Mums step-mum):

Poppy with Stan & Audrey (Dad's parents):

In Auckland we stayed with Dad for a weekend and Mum for the second half of the week. We got to take Rob out to Piha to see the wild west coast and its black sand beachs and other than that just has a relaxing time:

FLEMINGS COME AND VISIT
After 10 days back in Australia we had Greg, Sarah & Madeline come to stay with us for 10 days. We had an absolutely fantastic time with them! Rob & Greg got on really well considering they didn't know each other very well to start with (they became very close after bonding underneath a bulldozer for a day), Madeline was a little angel to have around, and Sarah and I had a great time catching up and a bit of reminiscing!

They were after a Aussie experience so we took them out to Rob's Aunt and Uncles house (Mac & Loy) who live 5.5hrs solid drive (no stopping) west of Brisbane on a farm called Tregona.

We did a bit of 4WDing, checked out the farm, the boys reinstalled the bulldozer radiator, shot kangaroos, fox, wild pig and cats.

Poppy also caught her first cold while we were away and being 2.5 hrs drive from the nearest shops made me very grateful to have some experienced Mums who knew exactly what to do to help decongest a whole lot of snot!

All in all it was a fantastic time and we can't wait till the Flemings move over here so we can see them more often. A huge thanks to Mac & Loy for letting us come and stay at such short notice as well.
CAMPING AT BOOREEN POINT
We were feeling brave after such successful other activities that we decided to have a go at camping with Poppy over the weekend just been. We headed up to Booreen Point, just north of Noosa for 3 nights. Well it actually turned into 2 nights because weather and traffic were not in our favour on the way up and so we ended up crashing at Chris & Merilyns at the last minute, however the rest of the weekend was extremely successful.

Out little girl slept through every night, I learnt to drive on 60 odd kilometers of sand when we headed up to Double Island point, included learning to floor the accelerator on the soft sand, we took Poppy for her first 'swim' and all in all reckon we didn't scare our friends off having kids(!)

We are not quite sure how people travel with more than one kid and fit everything in the boot without taking a trailer. This was our car and daughter on the way there:

Poppy and Rob hanging out infront of the tent:

Hiding from the sun in the car at lunch time:

Just before the first swim:

Bed time . . . she was tucked in between our bed and the edge of the tent:

The first swim:

HICCUPS
Today I had the hiccups and Poppy found it quite amusing. Just before this was filmed each time I hiccuped she would do an actual laugh. This video was the best we could capture!

So that's all folks. Sorry if some of it doesn't make sense or if I missed out something important. I'm tired and am just glad I have updated you all with some photos!

Luv to all

Shannon came to visit

2009-03-18T08:39:00.003+10:00

After spending most of the week working in the Gold Coast, Shannon came to visit for a day. It was great to see her and for her to meet Poppy. They had a great time hanging out with each other, doing a bit of shopping, talking to each other and of course, skyping Uncle Nick in Canada:

I almost gave up trying to get good photos of Poppy smiling and laughing and so went for a video instead. I apologise for it being on its side but I haven't yet worked out how to rotate a video in the software that we use. Next time I will just have to remember to have the camera up the right way!

Poppy is having a grand old time smiling when we get her up in the morning, sing to her, play with her and any general interaction (if she is in a good mood). She loves strange noises and her favourite songs are 'Good Morning' and 'Heads Shoulders Knees and Toes'. Its so neat to have her interacting with the world more and more each day.

We are off to NZ tomorrow for 10 days so in the process of trying to borrow and find winter clothes for her (just in case the weather turns) I have come across these two beanies. . .I couldn't resist but to take a photo of her. Soooo cute!!

The cousins come to play

2009-03-09T13:24:00.006+10:00

We have just had a lovely weekend up at Rob's parents place. Luke, Kim & Liam were up from Melbourne and Lizzie, Neil, Thomas & Amy came over for the day as well. It was a houseful of laughter, crying and chaos but most of all heaps of fun giving the cousins a chance to all play together.

The family together (except for Merilyn who took the photo):

Poppy and her two older boy cousins (Thomas & Liam):

Liam trying to drink the ice in the bucket :
Poppy hanging out with Nan:

Thomas walking all by himself:
Amy eating peas (sorry about the focus on this one!):
And in other news, here is some head lifting during tummy time and a part of a smile (the best we have been able to do so far.):

Poppy is due for her 2 month check up this week and therefore her 2 month injections as well.
Hope you are all well!

The 6 week mark

2009-02-25T08:11:00.005+10:00

Hey all,
So we have reached the 6 week mark. Achievements so far have been:

Mummy ignoring me when I cry and taking photos instead (not a usual occurrence):

Having my first night away from home. I stayed at Nan and Grandfathers and even got to have a bath in the bathroom sink (thank goodness I was the right size to fit in it). I also slept for 8hrs straight that night from 7pm to 3am!

Mummy took me on my first train trip to the big city and back. I managed to sleep both ways!
Daddy gave me my first ever bottle. I chugged this one down without even blinking and then had to go to Mum for more milk!!
I got really confused one morning in all my hunger and thought this might try and fill my stomach:
Time was running short so I went on the shower with Dad. It was so much fun and I loved having all the water splash down on me. I even managed to Poo on Daddy to. I love water!
And finally Mummy gave me a rattle to play with that was a present to Dad when he was a baby. I had a great time shaking it (until I realised the camera was on me that is):

Other news that doesn't have photos is that I had my 6 week check up at the Child Health Nurse (the equivalent of Plunket). I have put on 1.3 kg since I left hospital and now I weigh a healthy 4.2kg (9lb5oz). It means I have jumped from the 25 percentile to the 50%. I have also grown 5cm longer.

I have been going to a great playgroup with heaps of friends. I couple of them are almost my age as well which is nice. I will try and get some photos of this soon.

And Mum is forever taking my photo trying to get one that will be good for my new passport. I think she might have one now which is good. I'm so over posing for the camera.

Secretly I have started smiling over the past couple of weeks to, but I'm really good at hiding them as soon as the camera is on me, so it might take Mum and Dad a few more tries to prove it. I look just beautiful when I smile though, I'm melting hearts already.

But the biggest achievement of all that Mum and Dad can't believe is that on Monday night I slept for 10hrs straight! From 7pm to 5am!!! Mum and Dad checked on me at 4am to make sure I was ok, but I was all good.

Till next time, Love Penelope.

Happy Birth-month to you . . .

2009-02-12T08:31:00.003+10:00

Today our little girl is officially a month old. Its been an amazing month watching her grow and change each and every day. She is definitely learning more about her surroundings and her body, as she finds her lungs, and LOVES lying on her change table looking at her curtains.

She also completely surprised us on Monday last week and managed to roll from her front to her back while we were both sitting there watching her!!! Thankfully she hasn't done it again yet, but it was amazing to watch.

Here are some pictures from this week:

Dad has a racing stripe added to his singlet after a feed. I don't know if Penelope was too impressed having her photo taken this time!

The girls were busted having a mid-afternoon nap, and it wasn't even planned us being in the same position:
Swing time is a great way to spend the afternoon before a bath. Dad is teaching her about all the trees in our backyard:
Our first sleep in the big girl bed:

Bath time is the best time of day. Its so calming and relaxing. Penelope loves splashing her feet, and even gave us a huge smile the other day. She could spend hours just sitting there just watching the water and having it dripped all over her face and body.

Weeks 1-3

2009-02-03T12:26:00.004+10:00

Little Penelope is now 3 weeks old and she is growing well. She has put on about 400g I think (in accurate weighing on my behalf) in the last two weeks.

Poppa came to visit (my dad) for three days which was really lovely. Penelope had her first story read to her, Hairy Maclary from Donaldsons Dairy, and we made muffins and went for walks. The two of them had a great time together. Having Dad here also meant that Rob and I could have our first Babyless date. We went for an evening stroll to Bunnings (600m away) to buy a doorbell, very romantic!

Mum has been staying with us as well, but she heads home today. It has been amazing having her here, helping around the house, cooking meals, giving advice etc. Penelope and I are now on our own though through the day to fend for ourselves and get things done! I'm looking forward to the challenges and the fun times ahead.

And of upmost importance here are some more photos for you:

Playing peak a boo

Best place for the hands when hungry!

It was a hot day that day and so most of it was spent lying on Mum . . .
. . . or lying on Dad!!
A family photo:

Penelope Eve

2009-01-25T16:24:00.012+10:00

Does it make me a busy or a bad mother that is has taken 13 days for me to upload photos and video of our new little daughter onto the blog site?? I'll pick the 'busy' option (plus a bit of tiredness and a bit of awestruckness at how cute she is!)

So . . .

Penelope Eve Matthews came into the world on Monday 12 January at 3.23pm. Without giving you all the gory details in the readers digest version, my waters broke Sunday night, they induced us Monday morning coz contractions hadn't started yet, at 2.30pm the doctor was talking of caesering (is that even a word?) us and an hour later she was delivered naturally with the cord around her neck 3 times!

Her stats were:
Weight - 6lb 7oz (2.93kg)
Length - 48cm

She is just a little natural at everything though, thankfully she read all the books before she came out! She latches on and feeds great, sleeps well through the night (only waking once, maybe twice) and is so content and easy to please. We love her and have decided to keep her!

But enough of details, I'm sure you are all looking forward to photos and video so here they are:

Within an hour of being delivered she is already posing for the camera and so alert:
Daddy and Poppy poking tongues out at each other:
Fun time on the tummy:

Hanging out with a very proud Nona:
We think this hat might be a little bit big for her. Reminds us of Dr Seuss though:
The most comfortable burping position:

Nap time with Daddy:
Hanging out with Dominic at church the first Sunday (he was born 10 hours after Poppy and look at the size difference! . . . Poppy is the one on the left):

Bath time:
Mummy and daughter:
She reminds me of a Tiki here with her tounge poking out:
And of course a video of her on her new butterfly mat!

You can see more of her here . . .

DUE DATE . . .TODAY

2009-01-07T11:39:00.004+10:00

So baby Tahi is due today and currently showing no signs of wanting to be on time. Rob is back at work and I'm sitting at home waiting impatiently.

Today I had my friend Bonnie come around and take some photos of the bump before the bump disappears and here are the results of her effort:

On another note, we had a fantastic Christmas up at Robs Aunty and Uncles acerage at Crows Nest. Mum was over from NZ so she got to hang out with us, do a bit of clay bird shooting, crack a whip or two and have a ride on the 4-wheel motorbike. We took her home via Toowoomba and had a lovely lunch up at Picnic point as well.

New Years was a quiet one. We went to Dave and Jo's, had a swim, BBQ and then sat around the brazier chatting until the clock struck midnight. We were in bed by 1am. It was a lovely evening though.

Other than that we are all well. Just waiting for Tahi to turn up. The room is all organised except for the feeding chair which I have almost finished re-upholstering (if you could call it that). It is meant to be this afternoons project that I would really like to get done!

It's beginning to look a bit like Christmas

2008-12-02T21:33:00.004+10:00

Christmas tree went up tonight. Although its still 5 sleeps till Robs birthday new rules this year allowed for the tree to go up before the 7th of December. More to do with the fact that we have 20+ friends coming for breakfast on Saturday morning and I wanted a little bit of Christmas to show, whilst also celebrating Robs last birthday before becoming a Dad!

The tree was a freebie from a lady at work who was cleaning out her garage. I have been slowly buying decorations each fortnight so was really happy with the finished product!

Photos of the tree as follows:

Rob gets to put the star on top . .. since he did a lot of the work putting decorations on and mantling the tree while I sat and tied string onto the decorations

Rob subsequently had to slide the tree across the room into position above the stairs (only one scratch on the floor and it was rather entertaining watching Rob 'swim' like a frog!)
Tree in position with lights on. The photo didn't come out too well, but it looks pretty.

And of course the obligatory photo of the bump . . . 35 weeks tomorrow . . . 5 weeks to go. All is going really well. I'm still catching the bus to work (most days) and have 1.5 weeks full time and an extra week part time to go. Then it's early retirement.

19 week scan pictures

2008-10-19T16:55:00.003+10:00

Wow two blogs in 1 week, how crazy is that!! Thought I would put photos up of Tahi so all could see what he/she may look like.

Robs first thought when he saw it was "Oh no, I think it looks like me!". I had to reassure him by letting him know that 'Honey, that's a good thing!"

These pictures were taken in miod-October, at the 19 week check up. All is growing well.

These are its feet
This is the head and arm reaching up to the face. Umbilical cord is that funny swirly line next to the arm. If you look closely you can see the osephegus and its big muscles
Here it is snuggling up to by uterus (I guess!)
And here it is giving us the thumbs up that all is OK!

Can't wait to meet the little thing!

Liz and I painted

2008-10-16T21:40:00.005+10:00

So as part of having a baby that nobody (expect our sonographer) knows the sex of . . . we have been given lots of white singlets and body suits of various sizes! Very handy but difficult to tell each one apart. So Liz came over and we spent the night painting.

Below are the finished products! Its tempting to make a career out of it.

While I'm at it I better post photos of the bump for those of you who know we are pregnant. For those of you who don't, Rob and I are 6 1/2 months pregnant. Due 7th January 2009, gender unknown and is affectionately being called 'Tahi' (being Maori for one) until the time comes as we can confidently choose a gender specific name.

All is going well. I'm healthy, have lots of energy and eating plenty. Apparently I look like my Mum in this photo to!

This was me at 6 months. Still quite small but it reckon its because of my tight abs (he he he). It also means that I'm more comfortable.

I have a new job

2008-04-02T18:05:00.004+10:00

So back in the day (ie last week) when Rob and I would leave for work at the same time this is how we would get to the bus stop - at which point Rob would drop me off and carry on the next 500m to his work:

Things have changed slightly though in that I left Big Bridge and am now working at Carthills. I am a receptionist but they are going to put me through my Financial Planning degree . . . very exciting (any potential guinea pigs out there?)

The house has been gutted

2008-03-17T20:00:00.003+10:00

So apparently its about time I blogged. I think it has been 4.5 months since I was here. Oopsy . . . I wonder if anyone will remember that this site even exists!!

Well the last you heard was that the house was bought and we were moving in. We did that, have had a great time here. We have however been saving our pennies really quite hard and this is what our pennies have bought us!

As you can see we have a very attractive 1" thick layer of concrete under the tiles in the bathroom (any suggestions on how to get rid of it?)
All the nails and carpet tracks have been removed from the lovely pre-polished floor boards and so now (as I type) Rob is upstairs removing some of the tiles left on the kitchen floor. This week will be electrics and plumbing so that all going to plan we can start putting the walls back up this Easter weekend.

The kitchen arrives next week so that will be a major milestone.
Keep watching this space for more frequent updates!

SETTLMENT

2007-11-01T09:54:00.000+10:00

The house settled today with no dramas at all. It was a very smooth process.
Got the keys at 2:30, turned up at the house at 5:30 and waited until the tenants had finished moving out at 7:30pm. . . .created a bit of an anti-climax but at least they are gone now!

We had previously prepared a car full of fragile boxes so unloaded them . . . dreamt about all the renovations that we can do and then went home for a feed.

Rob is at the house today cleaning and dusting etc so that it is ready for us to move in on Saturday! What an amazing husband I married. :-)

Marcoola

2007-10-23T12:23:00.000+10:00

Had a lovely weekend away with out good friends Henry and Lieze and their little daughter Jaclyn.

What a relaxing time it was, walks on the beach, working on the tan, sudokus and many a conversation and newspaper reading. We also watched the final of the the World Cup (SA vs England). Of course we had to cheer for South Africa as the majority of people there were Saffers.

All good though. I even have tan lines!!

TV Commercial

2007-10-15T12:13:00.000+10:00

We had a TV commercial finlem at our place on Monday night. Here are a couple of shots that I took .. very blurry, good thing I wasn't the camera man.

It is for a homeless person campaign that will be going in Brisbane over Christmas I think. Crew and talent were there for an hour or so. We get about 3 sec of footage in total!

Ben and Cathys Wedding

2007-09-30T12:40:00.000+10:00

Friends from our life group got married today. It was a lovely ceremony at Victoria Park Golf Course at 9am on a Sunday morning, followed by a brunch reception.

New Nephew

2007-09-22T16:46:00.000+10:00

Liam Christopher Matthews was born at 1:31am, Sunday 21st September in Melbourne.
Check him out on video!!

He is nephew number two.

Mt Tibrogargen

2007-09-15T12:34:00.000+10:00

We took some of our life group people up to the Glass House Mountains to climb Mt Tibrogargen (the smallest of the three big mountains). Its not really the kinda of climb that one would call a leisurely walk. More of a rock scramble for 100m with no ropes. Maybe some of these photos will give you an indication of what its like!

8 out of the 9 summited which is always a great achievement .. . and no we didn't lose the other person off the edge. They got 1/10th of the way and then decided to go no further.

A great day!

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!

2007-09-13T18:45:00.000+10:00

Here is the house we chose in Mansfield. . . see who can find the original brown buttoned vinyl (do you think it should stay or should it go?).

So it needs a bit of work but huge amount of potential, and it will be all really easy stuff to do. Except maybe for the fact that there MIGHT be a maximum of 3 power plugs in the whole house!!

There is even spare room for you to come and stay!

Rant

2007-09-12T13:29:00.000+10:00

Apparently I have to have a rant. . .I have been meaning to do this for a while and my husband got in before I could but that's OK. . .

What is with ALL these sites that people join to connect everyone up and put photos on and communicate with people. To name a few I list:
Bebo
My Space
Blog
Facebook
Ringo
Old Friends

Now I know I am just as guilty as everyone else for joining up to SOME of these sites as people send me invitations, and I have no problem that they exist. In fact I think that they are a great way to catch up with people from many a year ago, check out their photos to see what they have been doing, where they have been and who has married / kids etc. . . but seriously can we all just chose ONE site and stick with it. PLEASE!

House Hunting

2007-09-12T13:24:00.000+10:00

Rob and I have commenced the official house hunting mission.

Criteria: - 3 bed house with a back yard, garden shed(s), close to Robs work and a separate toilet to bathroom. Well that's in a nutshell anyway. The good news about it is that we are in no rush. We have no urgency to move out of our current place other than before the Uni season starts next year so that we can rent it out.

We were really keen on one property . . . it had lightening bolts on the garage doors (a big selling point!) however another couple put an offer on it before we could. That's OK though.

We have found another place 4 blocks east of there and is 700m from Robs desk as the crow flies. Original 70s conditions but clean tidy and livable. We are currently negotiating a price which is taking forever. The seller has made no contact for 44 hrs now so we don't know what he is thinking. Just gotta be patient.

Its fun though. I'm looking forward to renovating and ripping out kitchens and bathrooms etc.

Jon and Barbs

2007-09-11T13:14:00.000+10:00

Jon and Barbs were over for a week in Brisbane coz Jon had a Psychology conference to go to. We decided since the weather was warming up that we should have a picnic at Kangaroo Point which turned out to be a great idea!

Its was so nice just chatting and catching up with everything that has been going on in our lives.

And we even introduced them to Cold Rock, the ice cream shop here where you choose an ice cream and a filling (chocolate or lollies) and then they are all mixed in together on a marble slab.

Noosa Floods

2007-09-10T13:18:00.000+10:00

Had a great long weekend in Noosa with Mum about 3 weeks ago. Mum actually came to Bribie on the Friday to help celebrate Merilyns birthday (and so Rob could finish the trailer). It was the same weekend that ended the week of rain on the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane region so there were lots of floods.

We weren't sure if Mums little Hyundai Getz would get us to Noosa through the puddles at 10pm that night with half of the roads closed from flooding anyway, so the the three of us camped out at Bribie for the evening. Finally made it to Noosa on the Saturday afternoon having to drive through one big puddle where Rob drove over a fish crossing the road. Very entertaining.

The weekend was lovely. Went for a kayak around the canals checking out all the mansions that had their yachts in their back yards and submerged pontoons due to the excess water.

Played lots of Elevens (my favourite card game!)

No photos sorry. . . All the good ones are all on Mums camera.

Bush Dance

2007-08-04T18:53:00.000+10:00

We are off to a bush dance at church now. We are dressed in matching jeans and and green gingham outfits (just like last year). I will try and find the photo from last year too, to see if you can recognise Billy Bob and his girlfriend / sister.

(3 hrs later)

Got a photo. One from this year and not last year. This is us just before we left the house. . .

Byron Bay

2007-08-01T18:37:00.000+10:00

Went to Byron Bay last weekend for a mini holiday / diving expedition. Schalk, Rob and I left Brisbane at 7:30am Saturday morning for a leisurely 2hr cruise down to the hippy capital of NSW (don't know if that's true or not but why let the truth get in the way of a good story!).

Had a great time and got to the most easterly point of the Australian Mainland.

For the afternoon, we decided to lie on the beach (still winter might I add) and work on our tans. Very relaxing.

Sunday morning Schalk and I went for a dive out at Julian's Rocks. 18m underwater, surrounded by Sharks I found saw a silver glint on the ocean floor of coral. Of course I had to go and pick it up. What did I find you ask .. .well none other than a Tiffany's ring! I took it in to be valued the next day. Turns out after my high hopes of it being coated with platinum, it was only sterling silver and retails for $220.

Also while out in the boat heading to the dive spot, we saw humpback whales breaching out int the ocean. Then when we were underwater and you opened your ears you could hear the whales talking to each other (eeeehh, eeeehh, eeeehh). Pretty amazing.

Lots of (6 in total) Grey nurse and woobygongs (sand sharks) but came back with all my limbs so that was nice. I only did the one dive coz it was too cold for me and I get motion sickness once I get back on the boat the second time. Should do something about that really. Schalk went out for a second dive that afternoon and saw a stingray!

New Axe

2007-07-31T18:26:00.000+10:00

Well, here is old the 'axe' . . . actually in the form of a trailer.

Rob picked it up for free as some guy at work had it in his backyard full of plant matter and no longer wanted it. We took it up to Bribie (might I add that I'm surprised it made it up there in one piece, without leaving anything in the path of other traffic sharing the road with us.)

Two weekends later, this is the almost complete result (all it needs is a paint job):

The reality behind this picture is that all that remains of the original trailer is the axle, the wheels (not the tyres) and the triangle bit at the front that hangs on to the car. EVERYTHING else had to be replaced.

And not only was it previously a 6x4 foot trailer, it is now a slightly-under-7-foot x 4-and-a-bit-foot. It fits the motorbike on the back of it though!!

I was impressed none the less. It was a learning curve for me coz I had never seen Rob take on a project like this. But he passed. Not only was it 'complete' in a suitable amount of time but it also came suitably under budget. Under budget that was if we were planning on buying a brand new trailer in the next 10 years!

Axe Handles

2007-07-17T13:07:00.000+10:00

So have many axe heads and axe handles do you need before you have a new axe?
Watch this space . . .

Visits and Trips

2007-07-05T12:25:00.000+10:00

We dont have internet at home at the moment which is why this updating has been slack. It should be turning up next week.

Dad came for dinner and hang out for the afternoon on Sunday which was nice. After a small mix up as to which train station to pick him up from (South Brisbane vs South Bank!) we went home and had a nap in front of the the rugby. Then off to dinner with Chris and Merilyn at Jamaica Blue . Lovely place. Not quite sure what demographic they were aiming for with the punk/rock music to the $25-$35 mains. I had lamb hokieen noodles stirfry and it was amazing!!

Went 4WDing on the Saturday and as per Robs blog . . .wives are not allowed to go next time. I had enough of my heart jumping into my throat when I saw the truck teetering on two wheels with a drop off only a couple of meters off to the left and watching the truck slide backwards down a hill straight towards a rock. It was a day with a few expletives and tears. The truck looks nice and muddy now though.

Work is great. Heaps of new responsibilities and a pay rise which is nice.

Just need to buy a bigger house now!

What we've been doing

2007-06-20T08:26:00.000+10:00

Although we have been ultra busy I don't feel like any of it has been blog worthy, but here is a few things that we have been up to:

A weekend in Bribie with Robs parents because Robs old worship pastor/leader (who is a missionary in Japan with his family) were over so we went to Rob's old church to listen to Dave and Nat preach. Heaps cool. And their daughter Mia has grown up so much since we saw them a year ago!

Celebrating birthdays in many shapes and forms: phone calls, picnics, dinner parties etc

Going to the movies. First was 'Shrek 3' at the drive in (thank you Tamar for chaperoning us) Much funnier and better that Shrek 2 which was a relief. Also saw 'Romulus, My Father', an Australian movie about depression, child abuse, psychiatric problems etc. I was too distracted by the rat in the cinema that was chewing on a paper bag about 5 seats across from me so didn't get the full concept of the movie!

Signing a new contract at work next week to be put on permanently (as apposed to the 3 month contract I'm technically on now.)

Life is good. . . .really busy, but good!!

Things coming up include;

Lots more dinner parties, visits from family (both Kiwi and Aussie), house hunting and 4wd driving and maybe if we are lucky . . . internet at home.

12 Hours of Rain

2007-06-06T07:56:00.000+10:00

Check it out!!! It has rained for the past 12 hours, nice constant drizzly rain, and even over the dams.

Baking Competition

2007-05-21T12:17:00.000+10:00

In our mail this week, arrived our entry form for the Mt Gravatt Show Baking Competition. We went last year to check it out and were blown away by the entries that the decision was made to compete this year. The show is in July sometime and I'm baking 'Gluten Free Pistachio Fudge Brownies'. They are nothing but a winner!!

Blood Splatter Anaylsis

2007-05-18T20:24:00.001+10:00

Last night I had a uni lecture and practical. For those that haven't caught up, I still haven't finished my Masters in Forensic Science course (don't ask, long expensive story). But the interesting part of it all was that it was on blood splatter analysis. The only subject that I haven't manged to get to a lecture of in 4 years of completing this degree until now!

The best part of it all was the practical afterwards where we got to drop blood from different heights and angles to see what impact it had on the blood droplets. Results below (and yes the picture is upside down):

And the best part of it all was the plastic booties I had to wear over my jandals (thongs for the aussies) because I forgot to bring closed over shoes with me. They were stylish!!

Mothers Day

2007-05-13T20:55:00.000+10:00

Just been checking out my favourite website Post Secret and came across this postcard. I thought it was hilarious!!

Some children get all the luck huh!

The Art of Communication

2007-05-13T20:45:00.000+10:00

Saturday morning there was a young marrieds seminar at church focusing on Communication. As an ice breaker three couples volunteered to go up the front and 'compete' in a communication competition. Each couple had an easel with a picture stuck on the back where only one member of the couple could see. The other member stood in front of the easel with a blank piece of paper and a vivid (marker pen for the Aussies). Without saying what the picture was of, the person at the back of the easel had to tell the the front person what to draw by describing shapes as such. The final result was as follows (the smaller picture was what Rob had to describe, the big picture was what I drew):

Not bad for only being beginners at this whole marriage thing I thought! We got chocolate for participating too.

Dysplastic Nevus

2007-05-11T08:03:00.000+10:00

As part of our honeymoon plan I booked Rob and I in get our mole etc checked at the Skin Cancer Clinic (romantic I know!). Rob got a clear result but the doctor found a suspicious looking 'thing' on me. Decision was made to give me a local anesthetic and take a 3mm hole out of my lower neck using something that resembled a cookie cutter embedded into a pen. The doctor said that if there was anything wrong they would let me know in the next few days.

That was three or more weeks ago and they rang me on Wednesday to ask if I could come in yesterday morning.

Apparently the 'thing' on my neck was in the warning section of the posters they have on the wall. The official term is a dysplastic nevus. Its not a melanoma but could have the potential to turn into one. Good thing we got onto it I say!

Executive decision was to take it out right there and then. Another local anesthetic, this time I have a bigger hole, he used a scalpel and not a cookie cutter, and I have three stitches. Have to get them taken out in a week and half's time.

I'm well though. Its a bit uncomfortable and I get all sorts of comments on my big band aid that I have to wear for the next day or two till I replace it with a smaller one.

Life goes on!

Elanda Point Photos

2007-05-08T16:32:00.000+10:00

So I have just been sent a couple of photos from camping. Our truck is the black one. The sand track was like that for 20km.

This was our lunch break at Teewah Beach

ELANDA POINT

2007-05-08T11:31:00.000+10:00

We were due to get up at 4:15am to meet some of Robs work mates at 6am at Burpengary (equivalent distance to Orewa for the Kiwis) however the alarm didnt work properly so we woke at 5am. . . made it to the meeting point in time though.

Camped for two nights at Elanda Point (just north of Noosa) on Lake Cootharaba which was lovely. Including the 3 foot Goana that was checking out the outskirts our camp site for food, the cane toad that got squashed under a jandal and the red belly black snake that disappeared before I had a chance to see it.

The main reason for the camping trip, other than a long weekend holiday, was to go 4WDing up near Rainbow beach. There was a convey of four of us which was good. After checking out some forestry tracks we hit Rainbow Beach Road which turned us off onto about 15-20 km of sand tracks heading out to Teewah Beach, through Frankis Gulch. I got to drive the last 5 km or so which was awesome, including heading down a steep hill for about 150m, through a creek below and up the other side, wheels spinning, back end sliding and everything. Headed back to camp via the beach which is like a 4WD highway!!

No photos sorry coz both Rob and I forgot our cameras. Am trying to track down some photos online that represents where we were.

MARRIED!!

2007-04-24T11:28:00.000+10:00

So the big day finally came around, we said our vows, exchanged rings, signed a certificate and kissed (twice)! It was a perfect day. With the sun shining and a slight breeze in the air all the Aussies hovered in the shade and all the Kiwis made the most of the weather.

I have attached a link to our professional photographers web page, Focus Films, so you can see about 20 or so photos that he has picked out. We have 860 photos on disc at home so if you have a spare hour or so feel free to pop over and check them out!

It was great spending some quality time with most of the kiwis on Saturday at the 'after match function' and opening our presents. Thanks for hanging around so we could do that everyone.

Sunday morning we woke up at 8am to realise we had 2 hours to pack our bags, drive 1hr20 to the airport, get pulled over for a speeding ticket in our Chrysler 300C, fill up with petrol, return the car, check in (after closing time), ask for an upgrade and get it, get chemical tested through security and hop on the plane. Destination Thredbo in the Snowy Mountains.

On honeymoon we climbed to the top of Australia (Mt Kosciuszko, 2228m), had a day at Jindabyne and went for a 4 hour horse ride on Brumbies, which I would rate as one of my top ten rides ever. It was lovely seeing the autumn colours in the trees even though the country was extremely dry!

Back in Brisbane we had a week to get the house in order for Stu and Christy's wedding (Stu is Robs cousin) as we had 5-6 people staying in our small two bedroom unit and 10 people for breakfast and lunch on the next Friday. Lovely day though. Photos will be coming.

Back to work now though. Throwing myself in the deep end with lots to learn but why take things easy?? Sorry if I have been slack with replying to emails to, I have been getting them but life has been hectic. All of them have been greatly appreciated!

Six days to go

2007-03-30T08:34:00.000+10:00

Final countdown . . . things are looking like they are well on track. I wrote the third "Big list of details" list last night. I think it helps me sleep when I do it!

Life as a whole is quite uneventful at the moment, coz everything is revolving around next week. I cut my toe on my front door, does that warrant as being news?? Its OK, its my little toe and you can't see the cut now, its just still sore. I'm not limping.

Mum arrived on Wednesday so she has been great at organising things through the day for me. How nice it has been to come home from work to a hot meal on the table that isn't eggs on toast (Rob and I's (is that a word?) staple diet when we cant be bothered or are too busy to cook properly!)

Emotionally I think I have been doing OK. Although I am definitely sick of making decisions and am running on adrenalin and will probably crash sometime next week. Its my last day at work today for the next 3 weeks so that will be one less thing to think about.

I guess the next time I post there will be photos to attach from the big day . . .watch this space.

Work and Wedding

2007-03-15T09:24:00.000+10:00

After saying that I would attempt to blog more often, I suddenly realised its been a week and a half since. Maybe its because I feel I have had nothing to write that is exciting or maybe its because I have been working 9 hour days with an hour travel on either side.

I'm currently working at Big Bridge a media communication company at Kangaroo point. Its either a ferry ride which is nice, or when I'm motivated about a 9km bike ride home around the river. Very pleasant. The people are great, friendly and welcoming, which is a fantastic change! I'm literally a receptionist but I don't have a problem with it. I get to welcome people and organise couriers and answer phones. They keep giving me extra responsibilities to which is nice coz I'm only a temp and technically only here for 3 weeks.

Which brings me to the wedding. . .3 WEEKS TO GO today. Just wrote my second "Big list of details" but most things are all under control. We really just have to write a ceremony and that's the biggest thing of all. Its fun, a few anxious emotional moments (on my behalf) but all is on schedule. Mum turns up in a couple of weeks so that will help take the pressure off.

Looking forward to having everyone in the one location at the one time to help celebrate.

And she's back

2007-03-04T15:10:00.000+10:00

So .. I know its been a while since I have been to this site. But I haven't forgotten about it at all. Thought I might give it a second attempt at this "blogging" thing.

The lastest updates (with some photos attached)

First and foremost, its 4.5 weeks till the wedding. 32 sleeps to be exact, not that we are counting or anything! All plans are very much under control. Just sorting out tiny details now and then all that is left to do is write a ceremony. Easy Peasy!

Rob became an Uncle on Friday 16th of February (I hope for my sake that I got that date right) You can see that he looks quite stoked about it. Thomas Callum Wilson was 18 hours old when this photo was taken

Had a month in NZ at Christmas time, my goodness it was hard to get back on the airplane to leave. Caught up with heaps of friends and family, had an engagement breakfast and even scored a really cheap helicopter ride up Frans Josef Glacier. Drove about 2000 km in 4 days around the lower half of the South Island and fell in love with the Crown Range. Also had a near miss with a head on collision on the Arthurs Pass which shook me for a while, but we arrived in ChCh safe and sound which was good!

And finally we went to visit Robs' Aunty and Uncle who live 5 hours directly west of Brisbane on 7000 acres. Highlights were definately shooting my first kangaroo, night hunting in shorts and t-shirt (very different to the minimum 4 layers of clothing needed in NZ) and getting a flat tyre in the 'middle of nowhere' where the first car drove past just as we were getting back in the car. I found great pleasure in eating my second fly, not by choice, and swatting the other flies off my face whilst standing in the middle of the road watching Rob change the tyre for us . . . what a Man!

I hope that gives you a bit of a run down on the latest happenings. Hopefully it wont be long till the next update (and if it is you can hound me till you get it!!)

BRISBANE RAINS

2006-09-27T15:57:00.000+10:00

And some of it even manages to get to the dams by the look of it. At my house we are currently are experiencing rain and thunder. Im waiting for hail and heavy rain. Then it will be exciting!

For all you kiwis this IS exciting news because our dams are at 26% becuase we have had no significant rain out there for about 9 months

Rob and Carmen

2006-09-13T16:11:00.000+10:00

And for those of you who dont even know what Rob looks like, here is a photo of the two of us on Saturday. The day after the night before . . .

ENGAGED!!

2006-09-10T15:01:00.000+10:00

Yes. .. for those of you who havent heard the news, yes its true. Carmen is engaged and very excitied and very happy!!! Rob Matthews is the lucky man (and he is even kiwi, sort of). For all you females and interested males, here are photos of the ring.

And finally there was Scotland

2006-09-08T12:25:00.000+10:00

Another country like NZ but would have been nice to spend more than 3.5 days looking around.

First stop of course was a little town called "Troon". The local pub didn't have any glasses with our name on it so the bar man made one for us.

and then had to have our photo taken at the local golf course. So much for playing a round of golf at $600 per person. And they wouldn't even give us freebies. . how rude!! ;-)

Here is Sally a friend in Glasgow who crashed at my house for a couple on nights in Brisbane as a backpacker.

A gorgeous looking cottage

A HEELUND COO!!

Northern Ireland

2006-09-06T12:52:00.000+10:00

Belfast: What amazed me was how they turned such a bad part of their lives into such a tourist venture! Bus tours will take you to show you the barb wire around houses, murals on walls, flags hanging across the streets and gates separating the Protestants from the Catholics

This is my great-great-great-grandfather Sam McCausland. He was mayor of Belfast in 1868 and now hangs in the town hall.

The Giants Causeway. We drove 8 hours in one day just to see this natural rock formation. It was pretty cool

And then there was the Cerrick-rope-bridge, 80m above the sea between the mainland and the island. The only time we got wet all trip I think

Republic of Ireland

2006-09-06T12:46:00.000+10:00

Very similar to NZ. But there is nothing wrong with that. Difficult to understand the accents sometimes though!! We did LOTS of driving and covered a lot of territory . . . but it was worth it

I found my stone wall so i ran on it and did a handstand on it (among other things!)

This man and his donkeys were standing out in the rain, on a country road, selling bits and pieces

Cute little fishing village in the Ring of Kerry

The coolest stone fort ever!!

The Rowing (thats why we went on holiday!)

2006-09-06T12:34:00.000+10:00

The ladies rowed and the rest of us cycled 206km in 5 days from Toulouse to Beziers. Overall they came 17 out of 40 boats which is a fantastic effort. Very sore bottoms but by day three we were numb to it all. Saw some gorgeous sites along the way and lots of wine at lunch time to drink!

Lots of narrow bridges to make our way through

This was masking taped onto the bow of the boat so that everyone knew where we were from . . .as if they couldn't tell by the accents and lack of french speakers in our group!

The country side

The kiwi team and the time keeper.

Typical French men!

Paris

2006-09-06T12:22:00.000+10:00

Then there was Paris, the city of love, and boy did I fall in love with it. Twice I was busted sleep talking in French. It was too short spending a day and a half here but there is always next time. I think Mum was glad to have an interpreter!

Hong Kong

2006-09-06T12:16:00.000+10:00

A city designed for shopping. Not much fun if you are there as a tourist and have no money to spend. Was good to check out though.

This was a view from our hotel room .. . on the 12th floor!!

Oops

2006-09-06T12:14:00.000+10:00

Well so much for updating a blog site as I traveled through Europe. I was lucky to get to an internet cafe for more that 20mins at a time. So now that I am in the land of the strange accents here are some of my favourite photos from the time away!

Final Countdown

2006-08-08T17:28:00.000+10:00

Bags are packed, lightest i have ever packed before i do believe. Popping pills to 'cure' my cold. Tickets printed off. Not much else to do. Gotta be at the airport at 9:30am tomorrow .. Bon Voyage

My Country Boy

2006-08-02T11:20:00.000+10:00

On Saturday night our Young Adults ministry had a Country dancing night. Its amazing what can come out of the closet on a night like that. So much energy and enthusiasm and new faces. Me and my Billy Bob had a great time, in our matching green gingham. I really believe he is a country boy at heart!

Two weeks to go

2006-07-26T12:31:00.000+10:00

Its the final countdown until Mum and I leave on our trip to Europe. So I thought I better get a blog up and running for you to all see (or read) what it is that we have been up to and to see if I am co-ordinated enough to attach photos, proving where we have gone!

Wish me luck!

Emerald Road Trip

2006-04-19T17:09:00.000+10:00

So we left safely and arrived safely from the mighty 2114 km round road trip to Emerald and back. Here were are as we take off along the Warrego Highway on Thursday morning. Only 1 hour prior had we bought the vehicle. Doesnt the boy on the left have a cute smile!

Massingham Wedding

2006-03-20T20:57:00.000+10:00

The best vows i have ever heard at a wedding before! Just perfect. Gorgeous people, gorgeous day, not too many tan lines!

Horse Riding

2006-03-09T17:20:00.000+10:00

I know it is 4 days late (according to the date on the screen) but this was most of us that went horse riding for my 25th birthday.
What a day to share a passion with some friends!