Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Granny's Arriving Today!

There's great excitement in our household today as Granny's arriving from South Africa this evening. We're going straight from school, after the kids finish swimming, to fetch her from the airport.
It's a really busy day for Kai especially as she also has an outing to go tenpin bowling today. Slade has sport at school, and both have a swimming lesson after school. Well, at least the holiday's start on Friday!
Granny is here for just over two weeks, and will be attending Grandparents' and Special Friends' Day at Sheldon on Friday.
Should be lots of fun!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Inside Our New House

We are really starting to feel settled in our new home -- although there are still some bits and pieces to do (aren't there always?).
It is wonderful to have some extra space. I've unpacked some boxes for the first time since we moved to Australia -- that's just over 2 years. It was wonderful yesterday to have friends around for lunch and use serving dishes (including some that belonged to my Gran) and plates that had been packed away for years.
The kids now have their own rooms, after choosing in our previous house to share a bedroom and have a separate room as a playroom. It's great to see how much pride they're taking in their new rooms and Kai especially is so keen to keep it tidy and orderly...in her own way, of course (long may it last!).
Kai's Bedroom

Slade's Bedroom

Phillip and Cheryl's Bedroom
Downstairs there is lots of space, which is especially great as Phillip's now working more from home. It means that he avoids the extra travelling time and it's a little easier for us to communicate about work with me doing some of us admin.


Lounge

Diningroom area
Front Door and Diningroom Area
Extension of the Kitchen and Phillip's Desk
Kitchen and Door to Patio

Garden from Slade's Bedroom Window
The estate that we're living in has a communal pool, gym, BBQ area and picnic area, the entrance to which is just across the road from us (you can see the gate in the picture above).
We're also very glad to have a separate laundry -- our appreciation is especially after having an ironing board/ironing pile etc in the open plan lounge/diningroom etc and the washing machine in the garage in our previous house. It's great to have a separate room with a door that leads outside to the washing line.  
Laundry
We are still renting so it's not our own home, but we do feel like we're quite settled here.