Smiles on Thursdays

Dear Great Gran,

This is the routine that Ruth, Maurice and I have on Thursday mornings.
First, R&M tell me its time to get out of the house and go down to the park.
Then we all check our bears and helmets before heading off...
At the wetland we admire the king parrots, cockatoos, wattle birds but - most of all - the Big Ducks and the Baby Ducks. There are also long necked tortoises who live on the log in the middle of the water - but they're a bit harder for little eyes to see...
We then have a drink and diligently suck the sugary icing off our "healthy" muesli bars...
before heading over to the playground...
...

...pausing only to watch the little Digger working on a new footpath...
...before doing some more playing...


and then back in home for a bit more playing
before a well earned lunch and siesta!
much love
Brendan

South of the Border

Dear Great Gran,

Ruth has almost recovered from her great adventure down South. In the city, Ruth enjoyed playing with her "twin" Claire...
...as well as story time with Annabel and Tullio...and she really loved drawing with Vinnie (who's now one years old!)Later, in dank, dark Gippsland, Ruth was obviously more astonished by Polar Teddy wearing Nana's jewellery than she was by all the other characters who came to visit. Finally, at Gran and Pa's place, she was so taken with Jed that she didn't even notice that a local magpie had singled her out as Enemy Number One.
We enjoyed camping at Corowa on the way back but its probably about time we got a bigger tent.
much love
Brendan

Flowers, Friends and Memorials

Dear Great Gran,
here is the stripey nanna sue outfit I mentioned last time. It has become hard for Julie and I to take Ruth's photo when she's smiling, as she is only happy when she is holding our camera. A lot of the blossoms have gone in the wind and rain - not much rain, but enough to strip the blossoms.
Here is Ruth last weekend enjoying Floriade with her cousins and Gran and Pa - the little windmills were a present from Gran. Ruth liked the baby animal farmyard more than the tulips.
And here is Ruth at home with some of her little friends.
Ruth and Maurice, two peas in a pod.
We visited the SIEV X memorial last weekend, which is very moving. It honours the lives of the 353 people who drowned when a 20 m long refugee boat headed for Australia from Indonesia sank in 2001. Each pole represents one of the people who died - a tall pole for an adult and a short one for a child - and they were mostly children. Most of the people on board were fleeing Iraq and many already had some family in Australia, usually the father or husband. The poles were beautifully decorated by survivors, individuals, schools, churches and community groups from all over Australia. More info at
www.sievxmemorial.com

Much love,
Brendan