jungle park/ key return time

we spent some time at the jungle park this morning, a last hurrah - as we really don't have any more reasons to come back to brabham now the house is empty.

it's nice to see the kids happy and coping okay after losing grandma so recently. they say time heals all wounds, and although i certainly don't expect them to get over it, i know that in time we will all feel peace instead of pain. we know she is no longer in pain and is at peace, reunited again with stephen. it's not those who pass beyond the veil who feel the pain, it is those who remain.

i love seeing them smile

and listen to them giggle.

we met linden (the owner of the house) afterwards to return the keys. he was really happy with the state of the house which i am thrilled about. i had added poinsettias to the front garden bed, as well as mini agapanthus and geraniums to the side, aloe vera in the garden bed below oli's window and moses in the cradle along the back fence. all of the plants except the aggies were freebies from our local pages and i was so proud to see her garden look pretty for her. 

the house was completely empty (other than a few items the new tenants had purchased from us - as we've met them, they are related to friends of ours) and clean ready for handover

and the floors were literally shining in the sun when we came in. winning.

it was worth every cent having it professionally cleaned.

i have to write this down so that everyone can have a laugh in the future when we read back on this. i borrowed an outdoor vac from friends of ours and spent hours vacuuming the fake lawn out back because it was sooooo full of sand. it was bloody infuriating and i was so annoyed about it. but as you can see it looked sooooo good when it was done. worth it! 

it's so sad saying goodbye to this little house that has held so much love and so many memories, but we must go on. i just hope it holds as much love for the next family.

summer fun in winter

the beauty of perth, is that sometimes smack bang in the middle of winter, we get a "summer' day. today was warm enough to be outdoors in the sun and enjoy it, so we headed off to one of the local parks, (the jungle park in brabham - listed on maps as whiteman edge, it's in the middle of gloucester approach, mayfield drive and everglades avenue) alex and i chilled with his aunty niques who is here from the u.s. for a few months and the older kids scooted about and loved it!

look at this sweet babe. i am just obsessed with his face!

we also discovered that the jungle park now has a little free library. yay! another one to go and trade books at in the future. perth we love you... there is nowhere i would rather be. 

jungle park!

we live in one of the suburbs in the ellenbrook area, where housing is plentiful and backyards are small. i was so hesitant to buy our house, because of the teeny backyard... but my husband dutifully pointed out that we had a huge garden, the park directly across the road from us. it's true. backyards are mostly small, but there is a park on almost every block. they are everywhere!

there are of course, some bigger ones with fancy as play equipment... and a few weeks back one of those opened just by dougs parents house. we finally got to go there today with the pinker crew and even though it was freeeeezing outside with an arctic wind and the sun made an appearance for approximately 8.73 seconds the entire time we were there, the kids had a great time. they climbed the jungle tower to the big slide (i must admit my heart was in my mouth watching my little joseph doing it) and once they got to the top (it's very high!) madeline without being asked, quickly sat behind joseph and held onto him as they went down. i was so proud of her, she's such a good big sister!

life in ellenbrook is good. the days and flying by and we are loving every one ♥