Kai's Birthday

We celebrated Kai's birthday on Wednesday last week, and then her party at the weekend.

We decided to have her party at home with lots of games and activities for the 12 girls.
It was a really wonderful morning and the girls were well behaved and they all played together nice. We kept them busy with musical hearts (instead of musical chairs), pass the parcel, decorating wand biscuits, making masks with glitter and other decorations, a treasure hunt, and a couple of other games.

To go with the 'pink' theme, Kai's cake (which she chose from a cake book) was a pink Cadillac. Phillip and I had great fun decorating it, and Kai really enjoyed the surprise of finding it in the kitchen when she woke up on the day of her party.

 I also had fun the day before the party makes lots of pink food, including these cute tea cups and strawberry tarts.

My Superstar

We had a celebration dinner this evening and Slade got to chose the menu. He was the recipient today of a 'Well Done' award in the school assembly.
The certificate states that he received the award for:
"Oozing interest for every lesson. I love that you take so much time to always complete work to such a high standard. You are a great learner!"
Slade's teacher sent us an email earlier in the week to tell us that he'd be getting the award. This is what she said in her email:
"Slade is always so genuinely interested in everything that we do. He always approaches new concepts with a 'can do' attitude and he thinks so carefully about offering considered comments to our discussions. He truly is a delightful boy to have in our class and he is such an enthusiastic learner. What a superstar!"
Mom and Dad are very, very proud of you, Slade!

Singing Star

Phillip and I were very proud to watch Kai performing on stage during the school assembly this morning. She was with the Year 1 choir called Melodic Minors. They sang the National Anthem (I must say it's still somewhat strange for me to listen to that, and even more so watch my daughter sing it on stage), and also a song called Gary Galah. 

I'm rather glad that she learned this song at school, and shared it with us as I have now learned the correct pronunciation of galah. Having thought it was the same as gala, I now know that it's ga-lah with the emphasis on the lah!

The galah or rose-breasted cockatoo is commonly see throughout Australia.

I found this info and photograph on a website dedicated to galahs!  
Galahs are one of the few native birds that have thrived since white settlement of Australia, as they are particularly fond of agricultural crops and are often found in massive flocks in these rural areas (unfortunately thus deemed as a pest by many farmers).
There is no mistaking the Galah in flight. It’s pink and grey colour and unmistakable deep wingbeats, combined with acrobatic erratic displays and familiar chirps and harsh screeches make it a joy to watch in the air.
Galahs enjoy feeding on the ground and will often be found on lawns and in parks searching for grass seeds.
These birds are particularly fond of the rain, and can often be seen clowning about on power lines during a downpour. It is not uncommon to see them hanging upside down or doing ’360s’ on the power lines!