Bye Bye Omi

My Mum has just left and is currently making the trek back from Augusta to Devonport. Four flights and over 24 hours later she will finally make it back home again. We have sure enjoyed having her with us. She has been such a big help with the kids and around the house. I'm really not looking forward to having to do most of it on my own again!

What I am most impressed with is that she has helped Owen put on 2-3lbs in just the five weeks that she has been here. Mum would sit with him every meal time and patiently feed him. Before that he wouldn't let us feed him at all. Now he just can't wait for that food to be shoveled in and then gives a big .. Mmmmmm. It's just so fun to watch and so good to see his little body plumping up a bit. He's now not such a skinny boy anymore.

I'm quite jealous of my Mum going back to Tasmania. I sure do miss it and wish we weren't half a world away so we could visit more often.

Here are a few pictures from the last few days from my Mum's visit.


Ella all dressed for church being a ballarina


At the airport today...
Sam and Ella were fighting over who would wheel Omi's suitcase for her. So they did it together

Owen with his Omi.

Playing with Omi

This week we enjoyed a quiet week at home. The local pool has closed for the season and so we created our own water play at home. I have no clue who decided summer was over when it's still 32oC / 90oF everyday! We'd love it if someone could send some cool, fresh weather our way. Or re-open the pool for us!


Omi watching over the pool and trying to keep cool.

A shot of our backyard 3 weeks after we laid sod. We are so happy with our green oasis!

Omi cooking potato loaf with Sam and Ella. Ella's loaf had raisins and Sam's had chocolate chips. Ella does not like chocolate!

Hilton Head Island

Last week we went to Hilton Head Island. It's a popular beach spot for families about 3 hours away in South Carolina. We booked it at the last minute and got a great deal on a condo just steps from the beach and swimming pool. It was such a welcome break for all of us.

Chris came for just the first 3 days and then Mum, the kids and I stayed for the rest of the week. We quickly got into a very pleasant routine going to the beach in the morning and then site seeing or shopping in the afternoon.

Sam was born to be a surfer. He just loved the water and is already trying to body surf. He would put his goggles on and duck under the waves and then let the current toss him to and fro. He would then jump up laughing.

Ella gets frequent ear infections. Unfortunately she got one on the first day and was not the happiest for the next 3 days. Thankfully she recovered and was in a great mood for the rest of the trip.

Owen loved the sand and water. When we put him down the first time in the sand he just seemed to be in heaven.

Here's a selection of pictures from the trip.



Ella feeling blue with an ear infection.

And here she is feeling much better later in the week.




Every day we would come back from the beach and throw the kids in the bath.


Taking a break from the beach at the mall play ground.





On our way back home we stopped in Savannah. The day before a tropical storm was threatening the area. Fortunately it passed through without incident and we were lucky to find Savannah very quiet and sunny.



The highlight of Savannah was the Candy Store!

Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens

I'm way behind on my blogging and so I thought I'd take a couple of days to catch-up. We were away for a week at the beach (more on that tomorrow), but the week before that we went for a day trip to the Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens in Columbia, South Carolina. Columbia is about 90 minutes away from Augusta. In Calgary the zoo was only 15 minutes away and we went every few weeks or so. We sure do miss it and Sam is already asking for us to go back to the zoo in Columbia. It's a shame that it's so far away.

We had a really great day, but by 1pm we were all hot and tired and ready to come home. A local told us that Columbia is in a basin and so the humidity just sits. It sure felt like it was doing that the day we went!

Sam and Ella got to go for a ride on the carousel.

Ella with the Llama.

Sam took one look at the map when we arrived, saw train tracks, and would not let up until he was allowed to go for a ride..
Our favorite animal of the day were the penguins. It was nice and cool inside and we all took a break from the heat.

Here's Owen getting up close to the fish in one of the aquariums.

And I just found this random pic on the camera. Owen watches everyone so closely. Ella is always dressing up and so he had a go at it too!!