What just happened?

It seems like only yesterday,

I gave birth to the sweetest little cherub of a girl...

My Little Woman of the Fearsome Dimples

And yet today...

Just a day later in my mind, yet almost five years on...

She happily waved me goodbye,
(despite an early wobble of the "I want to be with youuuuu"s)

with her hair in short braids,
blue uniform dress swinging on her knees,

and brown sandals carefully buckled into place,
her pre-prep backpack

(or 'pack-pack' as she would say)

almost dwarfing her.
Her big brother seems suddenly BIGGER.

With a little sister to take care of,

away from Mummy and Daddy...

And I feel a little part of me driving off

in the little white schoolbus.

My kids.

My SCHOOL kids.

...

Can someone please tell me what happened to this pair?

*Sigh*

Happy (Hairy) Holidays!!

On Friday, Dash's school had a 'Crazy Hair Day'

which basically means that kids get to wear casual clothes

and get high on hairspray fumes as they endeavour

to outdo each other in the freaky hair department.

All in the name of charity.

Gold coin donations are required for these kind of fun days,

which I don't really mind at all.

Fun and fundraising, a pretty cool combo.

Dash was all 'kooky cowboy' complete with bandy-legged walk and Texan accent.

Violet was a cross between Thing One and Bam Bam.

It was the last day before our Winter Hols so the mood was one of building excitement

(for the teacher as much as the kids, I suspect!)

...

Happy Holidays one and all!!

Goodwill and the Girl

A quickie tonight...

The Goodwill Games were held at Dash's tiny one-teacher school on Saturday.

The school's P&C were uber busy (hence BB was kinda flat strap!) getting ready to cater and help generally prepare for the event.

The weather was kind (not like this day)

The people came in their dozens (not quite 100s!)

The kids had a blast running, jumping, throwing and generally having a red hot go at the events.

Goodwill abounded in each and every corner.

It was fabulous darlings!

...

And we also made an Incredible Discovery...

Despite the fact that neither Mr Incredible nor I can run out of sight on a dark night

(i.e. we are a tad slow in the sprinting department)

Violet can motor...

The 80 metres "hurdles" (over strategically placed empty beer cartons)

saw the true competitive beast unearthed in our darling four-year-old daughter.

The starters gun erupted, and she dodged the first couple of obstacles and then looked across the field, saw what the other kids were doing, and floored it.

Leap, stride, stride, stride, leap, stride, stride, stride, leap...

My jaw was literally on the ground, as I stood there watching.

Who knew she could run like that?

Mum , who was posted a little closer to the finish line, said she

'just got this look on her face...'

And was wearing an enormous grin as she swung around to see who noticed.

She even took out Age Champion and got a shiny trophy.

She wasn't entirely sure what it was all about...
but I can tell you that trophy is now a treasured bedside ornament.
I knew that gritty determination would come through somewhere good!
...
In other news, I will announce the winner of the Caption Contest tomorrow.
No shiny trophies though.

Just the glow of contentment that comes with being a real smart ... person.

Oh, and a BB print too. Stay tuned...

Cool relief...

It's been pretty hard not to focus on the horrendous toll that bushfires have taken on Australia lately - and I realise my last couple of posts have been (necessarily) a bit hot and heavy... you'd be forgiven for thinking that nothing has been going on around the ridges here.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

...
Last week Dash's tiny school attended a local swimming carnival. We had been looking forward to it, as Dash had taken a few lessons over the school holidays - and while he is no SuperFish (yet) he shows some promise. Of course, he is built like a grasshopper, and practically skims over top of the water which gives him a bit of a natural advantage! I wasn't sure if we would be able to convince him to try his very first race the length of the 25 metre pool.

...

It was hot and humid and a wee bit emotional, as the day also marked the last day that four of his closest schoolmates attended before heading off on new adventures (and to new primary schools). To be honest, I think it hit home with the mums more than the kids (although the older ones certainly 'got it').

...
So with a little lump in my throat, I give you:

The Swimming Carnival...

or more accurately:

The 25 metre Backstroke Race from the Swimming Carnival

Dash's new teacher, Miss P calms his nerves before our little swimmer hops in the water...

Take your marks...

And he's away and going well... with some seriously good support on the sidelines!

He's feeling the pinch a little, and those arms are starting to take a little more effort to lift out of the water...
He's fading... keep those arms going Dash!

Yay!!!!

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Hope this little snippet somehow brightened, lightened or cooled your day.

I know it did mine.

...

On a more serious note, for those looking to do something to help out those tragically touched by the bushfires in southern Australia, I have posted some contact points near the top of the sidebar of this blog. International visitors should go through the Red Cross site provided. All support - from messages to money - is desperately needed. Do what you can. I will be.

School blues...

Last week was back-to-school time for Dash.

It's been a less than ideal lead-up to this annual event, with some big news the previous week that his main buddy, Mada and his family were leaving the district. The full effect of this news is that not only will Dash's bus and playground mate be gone after tomorrow, but also both his year two classmates - one is Mada's sister Emmie, and the other Dash's cousin Rose will no longer attend. (That's right, Dash will be the only Year Two student at his one teacher school!).

...

It's huge news that was just beginning to hit home as we waited for the school bus on Day One of the 2009 school year...

Someone was not a happy camper.

Violet of course, was oblivious to the dark undertones of Dash's Day One, and was all grins and bubbles of anticipation for her first day back at Kindy. She is desperate to go to Proper School with Dash, but Kindy is a pretty good Plan B!

Dimples and poses.
Sunshine and Roses.
Gloom and Doom.
Luckily the rhythm of his school day, and the impact of the delightful new teacher who has replaced Mr C, have helped erase (almost) the scowl from Dash's dial.
...
We tried the 'waiting for the bus' photo again this week...

Thank goodness...
Now that's more like it...
A double rainbow!