While I had a quiet day at home, Kevin and the girls went off into the bush to some rock climbing (for Kevin), repelling (for Christy) and photo taking (for Amy). It was Christy’s first time and Kevin said she did great.
Kevin’s strange shadow with his go-pro camera attached to his helmet
Christy has been madly in love with horses for some time and has been wanting to have lessons (like her friend Shantel). She got a taste in Fiji when she was lead on a horse along the beach. With Amy having to attend a school dance rehearsal yesterday I thought it the perfect opportunity to take her for her first proper ride. She was so excited when I told her she wouldn’t be led this time.
She had a wonderful time and is very keen to go again. Shame it’s so expensive. Afterwards we stopped at Stanwell tops to enjoy the view over Wollongong.
I really do live in a gorgeous part of the world. This is about 30mins north of where we live. Kiama, where we are holidaying, is 30mins south.
Of course, you can’t stop here without getting a choc-top ice-cream. A treat with a view. Yum.
We then picked up Amy and headed back to Kiama.
I can’t believe that I’m now the mother of a teenager. Wow! As you know we decorated Amy’s bedroom for her 13th Birthday, so the actual event was pretty low key. All she wanted was to have a few friends from school for a sleepover. The plan had also been to watch movies in the pool but it was too wet, and cool, for that.
It was the certainly the easiest birthday party I have ever hosted. We just got takeaway pizza and left the girls to hang out. Other than the noise (!!!!!) they were no trouble at all.
There was a pillow pet fight ….
and pillow pet fun…
They all slept in the loungeroom after watching half of Ink Heart…
which they finished watching in the morning…
Amy made vegan cupcakes instead of a traditional birthday cake …
and there were, of course, presents to open… she got PJs from Christy and a special necklace and some nail polish from us….
One of her friends stayed later and they worked on a school project (yes, on her birthday). I felt guilty not having done much for her on the actual day so we let her choose dinner – Thai takeaway.
I think she had a great time and a fun start to her teenage years.
Amy turns 13 in just under a month and we figured it was time to update her little girl room. It became a great project for Kevin and Amy to work on together, with decorating input from me.
Step 1 – Get new furniture from IKEA….
Step 2 – somehow fit it all into a prius….
Luckily we didn’t have Christy with us :-)….
Step 3… choose a paint colour….
and start painting….
Step 4…. cart furniture upstairs and start assembling….
modifying current equipment where appropriate….
Step 5…. put up shelves…..
Step 6….. decorate….
This cute black couch is actually a sofa bed for when friends sleep over.
I LOVE it all, but this desk is just a dream…..
And her new bedding (which was the first thing we bought) is fabulous. It’s double sided with stripes on the back, which I think will make a nice change for Winter. It’s a silver colour with purple and pink flowers…
So what do you think? Here’s before…
and after…
I might be a long way from being a teenager but I could be totally happy in this room. It’s also got the best view in the house!