ellen stirling ps family fun night!

tonight was our school family fun night! once a year the achool p&c put together an evening with outdoor games, kind of like a carnival feel, along with a bbq to raise funds for the school. we didn't get to go to the last one and maddie was devastated, so we had our forms in well and truly before the due date this time around.

here's the kids showing off the sponsors sign, with the awesome contribution from woolworths (helped by their aunty dom) was proudly displayed.

we played ball in a cup (let's be honest, it was a kids version of beer pong and no one will convince me otherwise.) which the kids absolutely loved. one of the boys was absolutely amazing at it too... his parents will have to keep an eye on him when he is older!

pluck a duck...

which had cute prizes like stamps and pencils and stickers

and spun the chocolate wheel (sorry girls, whoever called it a prize wheel was clearly not from the country, that is a chocolate wheel. if you've ever been to any country show, it is a game run by the local lions club every single year) to win vouchers from the canteen, which joseph did and madeline was furious about.

and then had our bbq dinner, before waiting in the longest line of all time to buy an icecream from the van that had come along. alex was a champ and didn't get upset until it was actually time for bed, so we had an absolutely awesome night out. 

our school and local community is the best. we are truly so lucky to live where we do. ♥

in her shoes: a relief society additional meeting

on sunday night, our ward relief society committee put on an amazing activity for the relief society birthday...

"in her shoes"

the point of the evening was to get to know more about the other sisters in our ward, by taking a walk in their shoes. each of us were asked to wear our favourite shoes and to be prepared to talk about why they were our favourites if asked. one of the girls was actually asked specifically to get up and talk about hers which was really lovely to hear. they had an incredible story behind them that left some of the sisters very emotional.

we also played a game, where we had to find each of the pairs of shoes listed on this paper (some of the ones listed were also placed around the room to make it easier to complete the categories) and find out why people loved them or had chosen to wear them on the night.

i had been asked to prepare a table to represent the first president of the relief society - emma smith, the wife of the prophet joseph. so i gathered up:

an old oil lamp

a sampler stitching

old ladies boots

a locket

pearls

and an old copy of the book of mormon

i also placed a few items that represented the relief society itself along with the quote: "sisters, we are going to do something extraordinary" on a chalkboard. emma said that when the relief society began on march 17th in 1842 and it's often quoted amongst our sisters. i have always felt like emmas shoes would have been the hardest to fill and i am so glad she was recognised on the evening, as our bishops wife also spoke about her briefly at the end of the evening.

the girls has decorated beautifully in purple and gold (for royalty!) and the room looked amazing. they always go above and beyond and i love it!

and each of the tables even had a gorgeous pair of dressy shoes as a centrepiece. ♥

these super cute handouts were made by one of the girls, each a cardboard stiletto with chocolate inside, complete with the quote:

"blessed are those who walk, according to the law of the lord" - psalm 119:1

and these cupcakes each had a hand cut glittery stiletto or star on them!

such a lovely evening. i love to see such hard work and effort pay off to be enjoyed by the sisters in our ward ♥

glazed lemon tea cake

waste not, want not.

it's a long standing joke in our family that i will save anything i can from being thrown away. i'll reuse anything i can, pass things on to friends and my father in laws favourite, create dishes to use food that's on its way out.

the other day, he gave me a few lemons they had leftover from peak lemon season. they were looking a bit sad… so i decided to make them into something that would make me happy. i seriously love anything lemon flavoured! my friend google came up with an excellent recipe from taste.com.au, which i tried. i was very pleased with the results and will absolutely be adding that one to the recipe folder. yay for lemons!

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lemon tea cake

ingredients:

melted butter, to grease

1 1/3 cups plain flour

1 cup self-raising flour

1 1/3 cups caster sugar

150g butter, melted, cooled

3 eggs

100ml milk

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon rind

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1 cup pure icing sugar, sifted

lemon rind, zested, to decorate

1. preheat oven to 180°c. brush pan with melted butter. sift combined flour into a bowl. stir in caster sugar. make a well in the centre. whisk the butter, eggs, milk, lemon rind and 100ml of lemon juice in a bowl until combined.

2. add the lemon mixture to the flour mixture and stir until well combined. spoon into the prepared pan and smooth the surface. bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into cake comes out clean. turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.

3. place cake on a serving platter. combine the icing sugar and remaining lemon juice in a small bowl. spoon icing over the cake and decorate with lemon rind. set aside to set.

grateful in any circumstances

someone i follow on instagram shared this quote and i love it so much. it really made me think about what i can do. how i can get out of a hole and how i can be better. ♥

have a read... and for the full talk, go here.

"Sooner or later, I believe that all of us experience times when the very fabric of our world tears at the seams, leaving us feeling alone, frustrated, and adrift.

It can happen to anyone. No one is immune.

Everyone’s situation is different, and the details of each life are unique. Nevertheless, I have learned that there is something that would take away the bitterness that may come into our lives. There is one thing we can do to make life sweeter, more joyful, even glorious.

We can be grateful!

It might sound contrary to the wisdom of the world to suggest that one who is burdened with sorrow should give thanks to God. But those who set aside the bottle of bitterness and lift instead the goblet of gratitude can find a purifying drink of healing, peace, and understanding."

- Dieter F. Uchtdorf

caversham wildlife park - take two

a photo with my little joey alex ♥

we spent the day at caversham wildlife park on saturday, after receiving a very kind invitation from the senior missionaries in mum and dads branch. they had their daughter and grandson here visiting from florida and seeing as he is just about the same age as madeline, they thought we would be good company. they were indeed right, the entire day was an absolute hoot and we had the best time!

first up was the farm show, (which we missed when sam was here from london) and my goodness did we love it! (sorry sam, you seriously lucked on this one - first stop next time hey!) the kids were captivated as the presenters showed how to round up sheep (on a horse with a sheepdog!), swing a billy (prep your tea in a tin can for drinking), crack a stockwhip (i have decided that this needs to be my hidden talent and absolutely want to learn), feed lambs (which daxton got chosen to do and oh my goodness was he chuffed!)

and shear sheep! i haven't seen it done since i was probably madelines age (maybe even josephs?) and i loved it! in fact i loved all of it! what a super cool show for kids to get to see. i highly recommend it for anyone that's visiting - and people who live here!

maddie and the sheep. (i love them mum!) i made dad laugh so hard, when the lambs came out to be bottle fed, i turned around and said, "oh daddy, please can we get one?" dad: no. there were plenty of baby lambs around at our house and friends house and to be honest, they are as painful as a human baby, needing constant attention. i know why he was unamused by my question, but at least he laughed.

i got to milk a cow too! it was pretty cool to do... but reminded me yet again why i don't actually like to drink milk. awkward... check me out, though... milking a cow!

here's our little squad of kids posing together. this made me laugh so hard, poor alex has no idea what's going on and madeline can barely get her head through the hole.

the kids went into the wombat area (which has all kinds of animals, not just wombats) to check out the kookaburra (i loooove them!) and

the possum, watched closely by an old friend of mine luke who works at caversham wildlife park. 

before we headed over to the koalas. the koalas at caversham are amazing! you can watch them just chilling in the branches around the sides...

or get really up close and personal with them. you can't actually hold them, but you can pat them, stroke their fur...

and take selfies with them, which kirsten and i decided to do. he doesn't look that excited about hanging out with us does he? haha.

after a stop off for lunch, which involved a stack more laughs when this clown got hold of grandads hat and decided to wear it with his...

we went to visit the kangaroos. they are so tame and placid here. you can pet them, they eat out of your hands, they just love being around people. definitely a far cry from the ones at mum and dads that scoot the second they see you coming, unless of course they are trying to jump out in front of your car!

my babies. we really did have a fun day!

joseph with "this biiiig kangaroo!"

doug had a good old yarn with dad too... i'm so lucky that doug and i both like each others parents so much. it's certainly made life much easier over the years. i love seeing them laughing together at each others bad jokes. 

it was clearly a hard day for this little one... i think he spent most of the day asleep in the pram, 

but managed to pose for this photo with his daddy at one stage. aren't they the cutest?!

after we were all wildlife-d out, we moved across the road to the water playground by the cafe and the kids spent some time swimming about and cooling off. we are seriously so lucky with all the amazing parks and playgrounds we have around us. whiteman park itself is free (caversham wildlife park is located inside of whiteman park) to get into and there is so much to see and so many places to play and explore. i just love where we live.

we had the best day today with the adams' and their family. seriously, so blessed! ♥

lure of the thylacine

i have always been fascinated by the thylacine. the tasmanian tiger. although declared extinct in 1936 long before my birth, i along with many others hold hope that the species is still out there.

i bought this book for my dad sometime last year as a gift (i must admit, when i gave it to him, i made him promise once he had read it that he would give it back to me to read.) and he said he really enjoyed it. so did i. i finally got around to reading it and wow. in the opening information in the book, it's suggested that you do not read it unless you have plenty of time on your hands, as you're unlikely to put it down and i can see why.

the book is filled with tales old and new of those who have personally seen the thylacine, or know tales of those who did in their time. it was absolutely fascinating reading these eye witness accounts. a few bogus ones have been thrown in, but they are marked as such - and what good is a book without entertainment? i was definitely educated though, i had no idea the tiger had ever been found on the mainland!

it got me thinking again, why would someone claim to see one if they actually hadn't? what good would it do them? it's not going to bring them fortune or fame without solid proof, in fact, quite the opposite... i can only see people bringing ridicule upon themselves for claiming they've seen an animal declared extinct so many years ago. i am inclined to believe nearly all the accounts and genuinely hope one day they'll be roaming tasmania again. 

i thoroughly recommend this book for anyone who has a love for the tasmanian tiger. an excellent read.

baby alex: five months old

five whole months have gone by of loving this delicious lump. he just loves to be held and cuddled and to laugh, grab anything he can find and to know his mummy or daddy are in the same room.

during this past month he has started to:

-blow raspberries and is giggling when i do it back

-rolled from his tummy to back

-always pulls on his daddy’s beard to get him close for a kiss

-he had a week or two when he was waking up multiple times a night... 
fun times (i was convinced he had an evil twin after he had slept so well for 
so long) 

-he is raising himself into a sitting position when he is left leaning on a 
pillow, still can’t sit up on your own, but you’re raising up to try!

-when weighed on 27/02 he was 7.9kg, what a chunkster!

-he is really laughing with his siblings when they play with him

-we fed him some stewed pears and he loved them!

-he's been drooling like crazy, but no teeth yet

-reaching towards things he can see around him

baby alex, you are so, so loved!​

baby's first food

this little boy has not been sleeping so well lately, so i am trying to rectify the situation. maybe he is hungry? so a couple of days ago, we tried his first solids. i gave him some stewed pears and he seemed fairly pleased after the initial shock of having something other than milk in his mouth. 

i'm just praying he sleeps a bit better now!

♥

ginger slice

i finally tried making ginger slice!

i tried ginger slice at a relief society activity a few years ago and loved it. i love ginger - and a sugary ginger slice? sold! i asked the sister for the recipe but to be honest by this point, i had given up on actually getting it, so i decided to google it and found something that looked pretty much the same. and jackpot, it tasted the same too. yessss. it is absolutely going on the "make on the regular" list and most definitely on the christmas goodie plates. love it. 

recipe from taste.com.au

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ginger slice

ingredients:

330g butter, softened

3/4 cup white sugar

1 cup self-raising flour, sifted

1 cup plain flour, sifted

5 teaspoons Masterfoods Ground Ginger

1/4 cup golden syrup

2 1/4 cups pure icing sugar, sifted

method: 

preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line a slice tin.

using an electric mixer, cream 250g of butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 

stir in flours and 1 teaspoon of ginger. press into pan. prick all over with a fork.

bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until light golden. turn onto a wire rack to cool.

heat syrup, icing sugar, and remaining butter and ginger in a saucepan over low heat for 3 minutes, stirring, or until butter has melted. spread over cooled base. allow to set before cutting into pieces. 

a secret garden gift

i was given this gorgeous candle a little while back by someone who gets me. one of the other girls who volunteers in the school canteen is also a book lover, with an obsession collection of her own - alice in wonderland. the candle is from a company called spark + sparrow who name their candles after classic books, she ordered herself an alice candle and grabbed me a secret garden one. i love it so much, it looks perfect in front of my book collection, but i don't know if i will ever be able to bring myself to burn it! up to 31 copies now and always hunting for the next. ♥