Athena’s Birthday Celebration

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This week Athena turned 15 and celebrated her 1st birthday :-). This year she wanted a “proper” party with music, disco lights and lots of friends, from both her new and old school. I think we had 26 kids all together.

We cleared out the loungeroom which gave them plenty of space to dance and chat and do whatever you do a “proper” party.

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It was loud and noisy, but I guess that means everyone was having a good time.IMG_1262.JPG

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And both groups of friends seemed to mix really well. The biggest thing I noticed is that the number of boys has increased dramatically (from just 2).

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There was pizza for dinner.

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and ice cream cake for desert.

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Kevin & I spent the night in the kitchen playing on our laptops :-).

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She got some lovely presents but her favourite would be the signed Dan & Phil (Youtubers) poster that she got from a friend. They were only available in the UK but the friend got it shipped to her uncle and then over her.

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On the actual big day, Athena made cupcakes to take in to school. They will provide a cake there but you have the option of bringing in your own.

 

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Then in the evening we went out for dinner. Athena’s choice – Indian.

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It was a lovely evening and we were able to enjoy dinner outside, which was a lovely change for us.

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Nan & Pop had just arrived back from a caravan trip the day before.

 

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The food was lovely, the company great and I hope it made a lovely end to Athena’s birthday.

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Girls night out with The Boss

Even though I’ve been unwell for over a month now, I was lucky enough to be feeling good on the night of the Bruce Springsteen concert. It had looked like I might not even going this time around (scalpers bought LOTS of the good tickets) but just 3 weeks ago I was able to pick up some newly released rear view seats. It was with much excitement that I picked up the girls – Mel and Jodi – and we headed up to Sydney.

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It was so much better sharing this experience with friends, instead of alone like last year.

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We had some dinner and took our rear facing seats, which we were really happy with. Look how close we were?

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Pretty soon after we arrived, Bruce and the E Street Band took to the stage and we were treated to the most awesome night.

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We were also treated to some visit from Bruce and the band.

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There was a mixture of old and new music, and my current fav, Ghost of Tom Joad with Tom Morello.

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Such an amazing and special night. It’s the 5th time I’ve seen him in concert and every time I’ve been in awe. I honestly don’t know how it does it! I just hope we get another concert next year…he’s already mentioned next time :-).

You can also see my vlog of the day, including concert footage here…

http://youtu.be/SNbbzV2h8lk

Document Your Life – January ’14

I have to apologise yet again, for not being around much on this blog. If you watch my youtube channel you’ll have realized I’m doing almost daily vlogging over there. I’m enjoying the filming and editing and find I’ve built myself a nice little community of friends. However, I don’t want to abandon my blog or my friends here. I’ve been pretty sick the last few weeks since coming back from Nelson Bay but am starting to return to “my normal”. So hopefully, with feeling better and the girls settling into their new school, I’ll be able go into a better routine here. So please bear with me.

In the meantime I came across a great idea called document your life, with just captures in video format, what you’ve been up to each month. So even if you don’t like the longer video you might like to check this one out.

New year, new school

It was off to High School for Christy this year and year 10 for Athena, at a new school for them both. They are loving it and have already made really good friends. Can’t believe I’m the mother of 2 High School students and our primary school day are all behind us. No school uniforms to deal with now…which I’m rather enjoying :-).

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No back to school photo for Amy but I was allowed to share her selfie.

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We’ve settled into a routine with Kevin dropping the girls off in the morning. They leave here at 7.30am, even though school doesn’t start until 8.45am, and I pick them up in the afternoon (most days anyway).