Go kart time!

So. When I was a kid we had a go kart, which very occasionally we would ride down Connor Road at breakneck speeds while someone waited at the bottom to make sure that no cars would hit the riders. I have very fond memories of being held tightly between Jared's knees on multiple occasions as we flew down the road. It was the absolute best. You'd use the rope to steer from the cross bar and eventually pull to go one way at the bottom of the hill. Fun times.

I feel like my kids miss out on a lot of that by being city kids, but to my absolute delight, a few months back, I found a wooden crashed and abandoned at the bottom of Peppa Pig Hill (the top end of Thomby Avenue, the street between the new house and our current house.) with one wheel broken and one missing. We drove past it for at least two weeks (I said it was to make sure no one claimed it, but let's be honest, it was cause I kept forgetting to go back when it was dark so no one could see me!) before I actually stopped and loaded it into the back of my car (grateful once again for the Outlander!) and handed it off to Grandad Neil for repairs. 

My dad is the flipping best. Next time we were up in Clackline, it was set and ready to roll. Fully repaired and then some... Maddie was out and doing runs before I could properly explain to her how to do it. Oh for a life in the country! It's not my turn as an adult yet, but one day!

And this dude? Ladybug boots stolen from Nannas laundry, new (to him, from the opshop, but still actually brand new!) lunchbag (that we are calling "my lunchbox!") in hand, filled with plastic fruit and vegetables, also from the opshop.

What a life.

 

alex's farm party

sometimes things just work out and we had the stars align perfectly to be able to give alexander the best third birthday. our house is currently a mess with the ensuite reno in full swing (which extended out to the theatre due to the water damage) so a party at our house was out of the question. but somehow we made it work.

mum and dad have been building a bonfire at their house for quite some time - and i had this great idea to light it up for alex's birthday, we could invite a few friends out to clackline... but then the fire restrictions got in the way, because the date we wanted was outside of the free burning period. the amount of boxes that had to be ticked before we could make it happen was ridiculous so we put that idea to bed.

until jen got a message from the shire of northam saying that the unrestricted burn period had been extended by 2 weeks because of how wet this season has been. wheeeeeeeee. game on! with just a few days notice, we called everyone and got it organised.

everyone turned up, and it was seriously the best party. mums only condition was that people bring something to share for dinner, which worked perfectly. we provided the fun party food and everyone else shared dinner.

alex was thrilled with the cute gifts he git. he was spoiled and loved and loved every minute of it.

my brother isaac brought his quad bike and took the kids for train rides in the hand made carriages and they loved every minute. best party entertainment out!

i even got to have a turn driving (then stalled it in the paddock but shhhh)

fun times fun times.

i even managed to pull off another decent cake which we drove up there. this time i did banana and it was so yum. it worked perfectly to be made into a stack cake.

and as you can see, once the minions were on, alex was so so so happy. he couldn't stop looking at it and smiling.

cutest almost 3 year old i know!

banana cake

ingredients:

125g butter

1 cup white sugar

3 ripe bananas

1 tsp vanilla essence

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp milk

1 1/2 cup self raising flour

2 eggs

directions:

preheat oven to 180 deg celcius

cream butter and sugar

add eggs and mix well

add mashed bananas and vanilla essence

mix baking soda and milk, then add to main mixture

add sifted flour

pour into lined cake tin and bake for 45 minutes

ice with cream cheese icing

icing: 

2 tbls softened butter

55g softened cream cheese 

dash vanilla essence

1 cup icing sugar

by the time we had finished dinner and then cake, it was time to light the fire and in true goodlet style up she went! i love a good bonfire and this one was no exception. there's something so magical about watching the flames.

we even had special cookies from aunty jenny, shaped like minions for all our guests to enjoy.

so cute. i have the best best friend.

so lucky that things worked out the way they did. we had the best time and most importantly, alex loved it. farm parties for the win!

farm day in bakers

 

growing up in the wheatbelt, i had plenty of time around the farms - the wheat and the sheep and all of the dust. but... my kids have never had those same experiences, so i am trying to make sure they end up with them all one by one. today we spent the day with uncle mat out on the farm he works on, watching the shearers with the sheep and seeing the fleece get sorted. 

it was hot out there but it was a lovely day and we let alex have a snooze in the car in the air con while we waited to go and have some fun.

i really love being out on the farm and it was such a good experience for them.

i am always amazed that shearers can just handle the sheep as they wiggle and kick and do their best to get out of there. they are incredible!

we have been to caversham wildlife park and watched the farm show where the sheep is shorn, the fleece seperated, everything taken care of... but now they've seen it in real life!

afterwards we drove home through clackline, past the old railway carriage they use for their post office

for a quick play on the tractor

i have always loved this place and sharing it with my children makes it even more special.

i love being home for the holidays 

❤

a visit to the farm

yay! today was made complete by a trip to the farm to see uncle mat & aunty jen. after watching the sunday morning session of general conference this morning, we loaded the kids up and drove to clackline. oh how i love clackline. it's always like coming home, because it is! joseph  took a ride on his daddy's shoulders, the safest place in the world to be as we walked around the place and looked at everything around us.

i am so in love with this shot of baby j. sometimes when i put him down he gets upset and starts to cry because he is such a mummycuddles boy, but not this time... he looked up at me and grinned away, while i snapped a shot of him.

maddie followed uncle mat about in her boots like a little shadow... which he doesn't mind thankfully. it turned out to be worth it though - he picked her up and gave her a ride on his tractor around the paddock, while she gleefully honked the horn over and over. what a fabulous uncle to have!

what can i say? we love the farm. thank goodness we have wonderful people to visit, to keep clackline in our blood until mum and dad return.

afternoon at the farm

maddie and i went up to northam a few weeks ago with my gorgeous niece laura for the northam branch conference of our church. upon speaking to my mate alex a few weeks ago and finding out she was going, i decided to make an appearance... we had a good laugh about being one of the "founding families" of northam branch - being that we were there when greenmount ward first kicked us out haha. we have so many fond memories of the place as children and love to visit - together when we can!

after church we popped in to visit my bestie jennifer in clackline and maddie had the time of her life. being the ocd mum that i am - i of course, had a change of clothes for little miss, but she was so excited when we arrived that i simply let her throw on her boots and run.

mum was a bit slow with the camera, but we visited the sheep, the chickens and the emu (yes - they really have an emu...) before discovering the ramp out the front of jen's house. she then proceeded to run up and slide down it for the good part of an hour. oh well - as long as she was entertaining herself.

she has such a personality these days, running back and forward between the house and the shed where uncle mat was working and yelling mum! mum! come! she also found a mandarin under a tree in the backyard which she brought me to peel for her. who knows how long it had been sitting here, but she ate it!

the afternoon made me remember how nice it was back in the day to be able to run amuck on the farm. being able to go wherever we wanted, play with whatever and never be in any danger. it really is wonderful for children and so much fun.

i have to admit though, i did get a little paranoid when i couldn't see her so i shut the glass door which is too heavy for her to open on her own only to catch her a few minutes later, exiting the house via the doggy door. what a champion. can't tell her what to do - that's for sure.

nature and madeline are proving to be very good friends, and i honestly don't care in the slightest if i have to soak her clothes for a week to get the dirt out from her sliding. it was worth every minute to see her having so much fun. we will definitely have to book more trips to aunty jen's house for miss madeline.

look mama!

come mama! look! look!

i'd follow you to the ends of the earth little one.

♥