all good things must come to an end

on saturday morning this was posted on the wa premier mark mcgowans facebook page. what a huge achievement for our state. massive. something we could all be really, really proud of. i was stoked, it's been incredible here, such a blessing to live life virtually as normal, with barely any restrictions really, other than the hard border in place and any people arriving from an international destination having to quarantine. i had even said to doug just that day how lucky we were, with all the outbreaks and mishaps causing them, we'd still somehow managed to survive without a single one. it's obviously luck i said, because all it takes is one slip up and it's over. maybe i had a premonition, because the very next morning, it all came crashing down. a locally transmitted case of covid-19 was diagnosed, a security worker, working in one of the designated quarantine hotels. cue insanity.

we were sitting in church, our very first two hour session since march last year. our stake president was there and was the final speaker of the meeting, saying how grateful he was for the freedom we have, that we were going back to two hour church, that the temple would be reopening next week... while all of us in the congregation were eyeing off the messages that were flying around the chapel, about the lockdown that would begin at 6pm that evening for 5 days, outlined in the press conference that had taken place during our sacrament meeting.

funniest bit was, our kids were due to go back to school today... they took great delight in watching my friends kids go back in the wheatbelt, while we in the perth, peel and great southern regions have been delayed until next week (we hope!). masks are now mandatory (thankfully we'd had the foresight to buy some for all of us a few weeks ago, to protect dougs mum if the need arose) and we will be wearing those during lockdown if we have any reason to leave the house. 

my favourite part so far has to be when, at 6:07pm sunday night joseph announced to me, ""mum. lockdown sucks! i had no idea how badly 7 minutes could affect someone haahah. kids mate.

a lot of people have a lot to say about all of this... but i have one thing to day. our premier has acted immediately. he has put the welfare of his state above any thing else and i am so happy with his response. the person who has contracted the virus has been so many places that he can't afford not to act. being in lockdown for 5 days to again reach the goal of so many months of freedom is a very small price to pay. i am only too happy to do my part. 

wa. let's do this!

 

out for a ride

i love our primary activity days sessions for our kids, they are so fun and i love the ideas they have been coming up with. at the beginning of the year, they did some brainstorming about some ideas they'd like to work with for some fun and someone suggested they'd like to just go for a bike ride. so today, that's what they did. all the kids met at one of the local parks and learned some street safety when riding, basic bike maintenance and then did some laps. 

i have never regretted buying the outlander and today was a good reminder of why, with madeline in the front, alex behind me and joseph in the back back seat behind alex, i managed to get both the kids bikes in the back, one on top of the other and then squash alex's try bike in there too. it was rough, but i managed it. so proud. 

they had the best time with each other and (hopefully) learned a lot

and this guy loved it the most. he went speeding about the place on his little bike and was so fast. i tried to get him to come back to the car multiple times when it was time to go, but ended up having to carry him and the bike, while he screamed at me, back to the car. what a hard life. clearly he loves his bike though, so at least we are winning there.

fun in the country

i've said it before and i'll say it again, in the country you make your own fun. the kids spent the day at uncle mat and aunty jenny's house today, playing on the home made slip and slide all together with the dogs looking on and occasionally getting in on the action. mat has lived in the same house for as long as i have known him (since i was 4) and he and jen have built themselves a house alongside his childhood home. i can't picture him ever living anywhere other than the country.

the kids all loved getting soaked and sliding around in the bubbles and generally having the time of their lives. honestly, growing up in the country is the best and sometimes i am a little sad that my kids will never have that, but we just need to make sure there are plenty of trips to nannas and aunty jennys to get their country time in.

maddie cracked me up so hard though, when she had had enough of the smaller kids, she climbed up on the top of the monkey bars and sat up there like a dancer, to listen to her ipod. chill out time, girl after my own heart.

 

australia day in clackline

guess who hasn't returned the train yet? this guy. australia day in clackline was a hit with grandad doing runs for the kids again. being a goodlet grandad is legit the best thing ever. i'm jealous of my own kids lol.

i love that my parents get right in on the action and love having the kids about... but i love that my dad will tell us when it's time to go home cause he's had enough. i swear his patience is thinning out the older he gets.

my mum busted out these adorable lamingtons with gumleaf decorations

and a pavlova - of course, cause it wouldn't be australia day without one. how unaustralian would we be if there was no pavlova at our australia day party?

and my contribution, banoffee pie!

and when uncle isaac appeared with his quad bike, these two were loving it. i'm glad to see the next generation of goodlet girls like petrol as much as i did. ❤

 

step up concert 2020: lights, camera, action!

today we went to our first step up concert with a difference, for the first time the dancers got to watch their concert at the same time as everyone else! due to the threats looming of lockdown and restrictions, our studio owners came up with an idea that would alleviate the risk of anything going wrong and our end of year concert being cancelled at the last minute. the entire concert was filmed piece by piece and joined together, and the dancers got to watch it all - on the big screen at ace cinemas in midland. they honestly thought it was the coolest thing ever and to be honest, so did we!

this little champion took home the mckinney family perpetual ballet excellence award and i am so damn proud of her. she always puts in 110% for dance and it's paid off - and look at that smile! all the perpetual trophy winners were notified a few hours before and asked to arrive early to walk the red carpet and have their photo taken with miss kylie and miss jacqui. i didn't tell her and when they greeted her with her trophy she was blown away. it was the best.

the show went well and these two loved it, pointing out their best shots and the dances they liked the best. i really, really loved that they got to see it at the same time as us, it was just so fun for them.

and madison got a class trophy too so of course then we had to have more photos on the red carpet. i love their friendship, it's the best thing ever. lucky madison has a cool mum too, so i scored as well.

well, this concert done differently, was certainly a hit! oh and we won the raffle too. a beauty pack. score! what a night.

this girl is definitely going places... i guess we just have to sit back and watch!

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(edied to add:) the best bit? we booked our seats at the first concert screening of two, and a few days before concert screening two? lockdown. thank goodness we got in when we did, as the second one never went ahead. what a blessing that we got our turn. now we just wait on the dvd so madeline and madison can watch it on repeat. send help.

matching pjs

oh dear. i have become that mum. that mum that bought her kids matching pjs - and i'm not even sad about it cause they love them so much. they've worn them multiple days in a row and keep playing games in them and it's adorable.

see? pretty much the cutest thing ever. let's hope they fit for a while!

 

fun with the cousins

just what we all needed, a day to chill out with the cousins in glen forrest, cause it was freaking hot today! i loooove their backyard, since jared redid the pool fence, it's as though they have an infinity pool and it has the most glorious view of the bush. i could sit out here for hours.

alex loves getting in the water with maddie and emma holding him and it's so cute watching him splash about in the water

maddie had all her mermaid fantasies come true, lounging on emmas blow up tail in the water

and alex loved emmas big ass rubber duck

it was a great afternoon and they all loved it

especially this unexpected water baby who ended up going back in the pool after they'd already had a swim in their bathers - in his undies! i'm at my cousins, it doesn't matter. apparently he's obsessed with the water and stayed in there for hours with aunty donna watching from the kitchen window as she cooked. an afternoon well spent, brings a week of content. ❤