Life is good!

I have been trying to get back into blogging but just couldn't get my head around it.
With the Christmas holidays here i have found myself with spare time. So here is a catch up on what we have been up to in the last few months.

In early August we headed off to Wagga to surprise my dad for his 70th bday. It was a 15 hr drive from the Gold Coast (one i have done many many times) We leave home at 5am and arrive around 7-8pm. It is a easy drive but a long one.

As dads party was on the Saturday we had a few days up our sleeve to hang out with our friends in Leeton. (1hr from Wagga) The town where my husband grew up and i lived there with him for 10 years before we made the move to the Gold Coast in 2004.

It was dance eisteddfod time so Gaby and i caught up with her old dance teachers.

Palm ave is a street we lived in.

We had plans to knock this down house that we lived in along Palm ave and build a new home, but moved to GC instead

This is the first house we built as a newly engaged couple. Great memories and friendships made in this street. Jason proposed to me on the first night we stayed in the house.

We had a BBQ at my friends Steph's house and our close friends all came along. It was like we had never left.

 Ro and Rach who were my neighbours and now forever friends.

Jason caught up with his life long mates.

Steph.
Love her like family.

We than headed over to stay at my sisters place in Wagga on the day of dads party.

Prue lives on a large block just down the road from mum and dads place. 

Dad goes to the pub on Saturdays so we could go to visit mum and get a few things in place for the surprise party. This is mum with my nephew Henry x

The kids road motor bikes and go-carts at Prue's place. Loving every minute of it.

James: Born a country boy but left for the beach life when he was only 2. James would love us to buy a larger block so he could have both worlds.

Dad was very surprised when he arrived for dinner at the golf club and all his friends where there. Than he spotted my kids and saw me and it was well worth the trip....

Love

On the Sunday, of course we had to go to the local football match to watch our nephew Todd. Fog hadn't lifted and it was around 9-10am. I was FREEZING in my thin jeans and slip on shoes lol....

We all forgot how cold it gets in Wagga. 

Katrina Chambers put on a afternoon tea. I got to meet Mel & Muttsy my instagram friends,  as well as girls i went to school with who are also friends with Katrina.

Here we are in Katrina's gorgeous kitchen.

We headed home after 6 days. Kids had to get back to school and Gaby who is in year 11 started a school based Traineeship with the Gold Coast Titans as soon as we returned.
Every Thursday Gaby has the day off school and goes to Titans HQ where she is doing a Cert' 3 in Media.

Gaby will eventually be behind the camera filming things like Mini's Minutes that Titans have on their website for the fans to see.

She also helps with the community & game development department. A huge opportunity for her.

Here Gaby is with Mat Rogers.

She goes along to player appearances. I think this is awareness for Blood donations.

Gaby takes the photos for the players to use on their social media sites.

At the end of August Gaby turned 16.

We had a party for her with 70 teenagers at our home. I was very organised and had wrist bands and we had parents checking bags for alcohol. We had a DJ with awesome laser lights. The only drama on the night was it rained and the photo booth wouldn't work. The kids all still danced in the rain and had a great time. It was all done and dusted by midnight. No gatecrashers!!!!!!!! as that was my worst fear, Everyone was very well behaved. We had a few that snuck in drinks or that came intoxicated but nothing that was out of control.

THAN

Gaby got her L plates...

September brought a son who now shaves

and a room he keeps clean

I love the bed side tables i picked up for $10

His team also made it through to the under 13s Div1 AFL GF but lost by 10points. They lead all the way and lost it in the last quarter.

Kevin Sheedy addressed them on their last training session as he was on the GC with GWS as they had played the SUNS

Broadbeach vs Labrador

Presentation Day

October was the month of my 40th birthday.

I decided on a Pink theme and we raised money for the Breast Cancer McGrath Foundation.
"Girls Night In"
Guests of course wore Pink.
We raised $342.45 in total and danced the night away while drinking pink champagne and pink vodka slushies.

Deanne, myself, Caroline & Andrea

Fiona, Kylie, myself & Danielle

I made t-shirts for my boys & their friends to wear. They had a pink love heart on the front.

Miss Daisy even joined in wearing her pink ribbons

Our caterers made these yummy cupcakes.

Chocs and Pops made these cakepops

The men even wore pink!

Ballet mums having fun!

Danielle & Steve 

Vodka slushies, jelly shots

The DJ had us dancing all night

Beautiful flowers that were sent from friend Chantelle Thwaite who lives in Perth.

Gifts my mum purchased for me while she was in Dubai in September xx

I was very grateful of all gifts that my friends also brought for me. I received many nice things. I was feeling very loved and are so lucky to have such great positive people in my life.

Than my yummy hubby surprised me with this! He picked it all himself. I had no idea. A row of diamonds for every ten years. 

My mum and dad came up for the party and the night after dad took Jason and i out to a lovely French restaurant La Porte Verte.

& we ate snails - Garlic snails.

Than with a blink it was all about One Direction. Gaby was lucky enough to get front row tickets when they went on sale almost 18 months ago. We have all been hearing the count down ever since.

I took this photo. 

Yes! I got in!

I had been patiently waiting at door 11 with hundreds of other parents. When a lady and small child walked out and passed her tickets to another couple. I saw it all unfold just people watching and was wishing i had been given them. Than within a few minutes the couple came back out and started to walk off so i asked if they were going back in. They replied NO so i asked if i could have them.
In a went with the lady who was sitting next to me. We hadn't missed much. I could see Gaby in the front row and i sung and danced along with all the other screaming teenage girls.
I am a 1D fan now!!!!

This is Gaby with the One Direction's tour manager  and head Security guard Paul. 

The month of November brought dance practise for me. Yep ME! Every 2nd year the mums do a dance in the end of year concert and the dads do it the following. So this year it was us mums turn again.

Every Saturday afternoon from 3-4pm we drank than 4-5pm we danced than from 5-6pm we drank again.

Here we are playing silly buggers with the costumes while the kids had dress rehearsal. 

Strike a pose

Gaby with some flowers from Treeni

There were 25 mums who did the dance.

I will post a blog when i get the video for you all to see how we went.

Than it was December - Christmas was coming but not before my youngest had a birthday.

The easiest cake i have EVER made.

James also wanted a bird for his birthday so we got 4 zebra finches....
OMG they are so cute but soooooo messy! What was i thinking.

Below is the cage i have put them in and it sits where it is in the pic too. Every morning i wake up to a huge mess of seed around the floor area. ARHHHH

With summer definitely here i am in love with pineapples. I picked these up for $21 each from
The Beach Furniture my favourite shop on the coast.

I have also been extremely busy with my nail business Pennys Nail Bar.
I have been doing some beautiful nails. I really do love what i do!
I won a Bio Award for 2013 which acknowledges the exemplary involvement and engagement in Bio Sculptures media platforms. Check out my Facebook and Instagram pages

Chevron and white nails are all the trend

Love the Tiffany & Co nails i did on client Marta for the festive season

And then it was Christmas:

Jacks turn to place the star this year

Love this time of year

This Christmas it was just the 5 of us. The kids didn't wake till around 830am. We cooked our pork roast on the BBQ as Jason put up the basketball ring for the boys. 3 hrs later our lunch turned to a early dinner. We all had a enjoyable day just lazing around eating. We watched a movie and played the new Space Invaders machine & laughed at Jason who got a iphone for the first time and had no idea how to use it. Oh and it hasn't taken him to long as he now has the Sportsbet app...


Boxing Day we had 30 friends over for a BBQ.

We played cricket

and swam in the pool

For now:

Happy New Year
I am looking forward to 2014
BRING IT ON!

Pen x