From 11th June

I’m nearly up to date, it’s now Tuesday and I’m only a couple of days behind not a week like last week and what a week it was. I even have pictures to show off.

We still had Rhys had with us, but the start of the week wasn’t very exciting. We all went back to the usual, school and work. Our work schedule has changed as Paula’s whole day in the office is now Monday so we start the week off with staff meetings and just setting up what needs to be done for the week. The boys weeks are slowing down now that all the testing is done and it’s time for excursions and all that end of year stuff. Bruce did the usual riding the computer all day. Rhys had a chilling out day.

Tuesday we go the kids off to school and took Rhys down to the market to have a look around. He didn’t really get a lot of stuff but we got some plants and other bits and pieces, the usual market stuff. We made a couple of stops on the way home and I decided to that seeing as how it was lunchtime I would take the rest of the day off and Rhys and I would spend the afternoon together doing some more shopping. I had to start birthday shopping for Conner’s birthday so it was a perfect time.

We spent the afternoon together and were back not long after the kids got home from school. Everyone chilled out and played while I did some washing and tidying before Game 3 started. I caught up on a few things on the computer and watched the end of the game. The series ended up being a bust. Rhys packed for his flight to Denver and we chilled out and chatted before going off to bed.

Everyone was up nice and early and out the door around 8.00, as per usual. We said our goodbyes and Bruce and Rhys made their way to the airport. I got a phone call around 11.00 saying he had missed the plane and had to wait a couple of hours for the next one. It was nice I think, they got to have some lunch before he got on the plane. I was at work for the day, but Ross called to say that Rhys arrived ok and they were getting on their flight to Vancouver. We had a quiet night, I packed away all the visitor stuff and did some washing. It’s been hot and not getting any cooler, high 90’s and staying. The one good thing about that is that the clothes all dry quickly.

Thursday was the same except; we ended up going around to the Rivera’s for dinner and a catch up. The kids all ran around in the EXTREME heat running around having water fights in the blow up pool, it was SOOOO hot, even when we left at around 9.00pm. (It was a school night) They are just a great family; Bruce is going to be spending the afternoon with them in Sydney before his flight to Melbourne on the weekend. They are just fun to hang out with and are always saying that we need to come over and play more often, they need some friends to play with. It’s all great fun.

Our Friday was another HOT one, I was all over the place at work, which is becoming normal, and I’m fine-tuning a way to deal with it without anything falling through the cracks. It was a long day and I was ok until I went from upstairs to downstairs in the heat. WE spent a hot night in at home; the boys went off to bed excited about Conner’s birthday the next day.

We were all up at the usual time and Conner opened all his birthday presents from us and some that Ross bought from home. He loved them all and the great thing was that he said how lucky he was to get so much. Bruce and Conner went out to garage sales and I started tidying up and doing cake and dinner prep for that night. They came home with lots of bargains; Conner scored a bigger desk for his new computer.

I went out in the afternoon and did some stuff for Sunday (Father’s day). I went out and got that stuff and some stuff for Conner’s birthday dinner. I got home and cooked dinner, which turned out really yummy. We had a nice diner and I think Conner had a really nice quiet day.

Our Sunday, (Fathers Day) the boys were up and waiting while watching TV. Bruce slept in until around 9.00. He opened all his presents and loved them all, made ones and bought ones. We made him breakfast in bed and he got up late morning. Later in the afternoon we went out and got some fish to go in his fish tank that he got for Fathers’ day. We came home and watched a movie then off to bed. It was an eventful weekend but a not too busy one, which was nice.

I hope you are all staying warm, I hear that it’s getting VERY chilly, ok, down right COLD!!

SO stay warm and look after my husband when he gets home.

Ross & Rhy's visit

Block Party

Santa Cruz Boardwalk

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CONNER

Happy Fathers Day

From June 4th

Wow!! It’s now Thursday and I haven’t even finished the blog from last week, let alone starting this weeks. Oh well, here goes. As most of you know we were preparing for Ross and Rhys to arrive on Wednesday. The days were the usual; I worked a little longer to get some stuff done. The boys are preparing for the end of the year at school; they have finished most of the testing which is good. Everyone is just fried and had enough. Tuesday was the big one for me. As we all know the house has to be cleaned before visitors arrive so that was the boys and I as well on Tuesday afternoon evening. I got home from work and started cleaning, Bruce and the boys did some vacuuming etc and I did the bathrooms and kitchen then started on the baking and dinner prep for the week. I did dinner in the middle of it and the boys went off to bed and Bruce went off to Paula’s for some business coaching. I continued on my baking way and chatted with Elise on the web cam while I was running around the kitchen. I’m sure it gave her a headache. Wednesday we got up and out of the house as per usual, Bruce picked up Ross and Rhys at the airport around lunchtime; they dropped into work on the way through and went home for some lunch and to pick up the kids. Then of course, naps, they were both stuffed, to say the least. Rhys didn’t sleep at all, like his auntie, no sleeping in a chair. I got home and put the lasagna together and we sat down to a nice meal and caught up on what’s been going on at home. The boys stayed up and played and they were all in bed at an early hour, not for too long for the travelers. Ross was up in the night. Thursday morning hit and we were out of the house letting the boys sleep. Bruce bought me some lunch to work and informed me that Rhys had had a nice 15 hours sleep and had just risen. Pretty impressive!! I got home from work at little later and the boys were running around the house without their heads, they were so excited. W e jumped into the car and went up for the usual Costco bulk-buying visit and got back for Game One of the NBA Finals to start. So, there are a couple of hours of peace for me. I got some washing & tidying done, (no one said I got to relax, just doing stuff at the other end of the house, in the peace) After dinner and the kids went off to bed I took the boys down to Walmart to get some of the bits and pieces they wanted, candy etc. I’d forgotten how cheap all that stuff is here, they were both very happy at how cheap all their stuff was. It’s really warming up and it’s only getting hotter as the days go on. Warmer days are coming….yeay!!!! The only bummer is that we have no pool, so my skin is probably saying a big thank you. Friday came and went and was pretty uneventful, sort of. I finished up work early and we picked the kids up from school around 1.00pm and we all jumped into the Van and headed for the outlet mall. We spent the afternoon at the outlet mall, and the boys got through their shopping list I think got most of it done, and of course some stuff they didn’t plan on getting. Its bargain time here, what am I saying, it’s like that all the time. We made a couple of other stops on the way back home and yes again, we all bought stuff we didn’t plan on, that’s what happens. Then we went out for dinner to Logan’s. ALL the boys very much enjoyed throwing the peanut shells on the floor. We got a couple of photos, Rhys took a little footage and we went to Baskin & Robbins (Rhys’ request) for some ice cream. We arrived home at a reasonable hour, the boys played the birthday present that Ross had bought Conner for a little bit then off to bed for everyone. Ross and Bruce had to be at the airport early. We were all up to say goodbye to Uncle Ross and then I did a big Saturday breakfast, which the kids love, pancakes, toast, eggs, we even had some strawberries left so they had them on the pancakes and realized how nice it was. Saturday turned out to be a chilling day, the garage saleing was supposed to have happened but they all got lazy and ended up lounging around instead. I baked in the afternoon for the block party at the Rivera’s. We arrived and most of the neighbors were already there. We had some food, met some nice people and the kids all played. Rhys got into a game with Conner and another couple of the older kids, it got very competitive (other boys) Rhys was just laughing and his shots were going in, so I’m sure it’ll make for good stories when he gets home. We sat and the other adults drank, I got some good photo’s and the kids just played and played out in the street there was at least 20 of them at one stage. We packed our things and left around 10.30, it was a very fun night and I’m sure we will be doing all again very soon. Sunday – WOW what a day. We were packed up with snacks etc and out of the house cruising to Santa Cruz by 9.00am. It was along drive (3 hours) but the kids did really well, and Jamieson didn’t get sick Yeay!! We drove through the mountains, and forests, through fruit countryside; there were berries of every description everywhere, then we finally arrived at lunchtime. We stopped to stretch our legs at a dinky little stop with a fruit stand, I can’t think of the name at the moment. It was one of those funny American Names. We arrived at the boardwalk, which was nice, not as nice as I was expecting but it’s been there for 100 years, not sure what I was expecting. We walked around and checked things out, the boys all went on a couple of rides, and there were people on the beach, which was nice to see. Lots of different types of people, it was definitely a people watching experience. We jumped into the car around 3.00 and made our way home, a different way. Although we did make a wrong turn north not south and ended up passing Stanford U and towards San Fran before going over a VERY LONG bridge (which Rhys has footage of) and heading back. We arrived at home just in time (for the boys) to see the start of game 2. We threw together some dinner and watched the game. San Antonio won again, not that I really watched it but there was a lot of noise coming from the lounge room. The boys were off to bed and Rhys chatted on the computer and Bruce and I went off to bed around 10.30, I think.

From May 27th....

What a week we had, it culminated in a huge weekend for me. Girls weekend for me and boys weekend for Bruce and the boys. The week itself was fairly quiet. Bruce spent most of the week doing angels to get an order out, which was tiring for everyone. I worked long hours again this week. A couple of full days along with parent helping 2 mornings then more angels at night, it turned into a really busy week for all of us. Nothing out of the ordinary happened this week. It was truly a workweek for all of us. Even the kids got into the act, which was nice, we all had a little production line going a couple of nights. All of us working and chatting, it was fun in a sweatshop sort of way. The weather has been gorgeous, as you would expect, a couple of overcast days, which are still at least warm there is just no sun. It’s definitely hotting up. Our fun stuff started on Friday. I had a deadline on Friday and Paula was out not well and I sent Andrea home at lunchtime sick. I finished up around 3.00pm, came home and chatted with Mum, Raels and Melissa on the web. We were out of the house to the ice cream social at school. It was at lot cooler that last years 100F+ temp. We didn’t win the basket like last year but it was a good time. Jamieson played on the bounce castles and Conner tried to sink his new principal on the dunking machine. He hit the target just not hard enough. We got home at about 8.30 and I got online to start putting pics on the new Korostin blog, which took a little longer to download than I thought, as you can imagine the mood wasn’t that great. It finally worked and I started the blog around 11.30 gggrrr. 3.45am I fell into bed. Bruce woke me up at 8.00 and Paula arrived around 8.45 with the convertible. I finally packed and we hit the road around 9.30, then decided to head to Reno (to the sun) the coast was going to be cloudy and cooler so that wasn’t going to work for us. Off we went up the freeway, with ALL the wind blowing in and around our hair, it’s not good for long hair, in the end my hair was completely pulled back and out of the way not like the movies at all. We made a stop at a place called Donna Lake there is a whole story about them, which I won’t tell you all about now, it’s interesting but that’s for another time. I called home to tell Bruce where we were actually going and found that they had some real run garage saleing and got some really good stuff including Jamieson’s purchase of a 3 ft stuffed Donkey Kong. Paula laughed over that one. Conner found a second hand iMac that he decided he wanted for his birthday so that’ s that done. Bruce said it was a great machine and has all the arty stuff on it for Conner’s projects and all that stuff he’s doing now. We decided to take the scenic route and drove up and stopped for lunch at Lake Tahoe, which I haven’t seen yet for some lunch. We sat by the marina and had a nice meal, it was very relaxing, as you could imagine we were. As Bruce said, Thelma and Louise without the breaking the law stuff. VERY FUN!!! We arrived in Reno around mid-afternoon we went from the tree filled mountains straight down to the desert, and I mean desert. There was white gravel and houses, no grass at all. Then booked into The Sienna Hotel and Casino and went straight up to the Spa and booked in for our massage. We looked around the hotel and killed a little time; Paula played a little roulette while I went back to the room and washed the face and chilled for a little while. That massage was the best thing EVER!!!! It was an hour of heaven, then Paula and I sat in Sanctuary Room for I think about an hour, chatting, drinking water with the neck hot packs on. It was very soothing and we didn’t want to leave. We got back to the room and had the showers and got ready to go out for the night. I was doing really well considering, I was on 4 hours sleep and Paula was drugged up for her sickness and headache. I started watching “John Tucker must die” and then we both got into it, so we had to watch the end of it, which for the record the end was SHOCKING!!! What a let down. We walked out of the hotel to walk down the road to find somewhere to eat at and ended up at the Eldorado for dinner. We finished up there had a quick walk around and then went back to the Siena at around 11.00pm. We went into the casino and decided to watch the craps table to try and figure out how to play. A nice man who worked there explained how it all went and finally after a little bit Paula put a bet on and won, so we stayed for a little longer. We looked at the clock and it was 1.30, we were having a lot of fun, doing the happy dance when we won and making the guys at our end of the table do the happy dance too. Which they thought was funny, but they did it, we even had the guys working the table doing the happy dance (when we asked). We hit the room just after 2.00am. I was awake again at 8.00, Paula was still asleep so I layed in bed until 9.00 and then got up and dressed and went outside and called Bruce. We had a chat and I got back to the room around 10.00, when Paula woke up. We got ready to check out and grabbed a locker at the spa before checking out. We spent the next couple of hours by the pool and then hit the stores to find a hat, (yes, I was burnt to a crisp) then hit the road. We took the short way home; it’s only 2 hours. We hit Elk Grove at 4.45 and picked up Paula’s boys, and then home for me for a minute, packed the bags and all went over to Paula’s for a swim. We had a quick dinner and dragged out butts back to home and to bed. We all had a big weekend, the boys had a good weekend with Dad, as you can imagine, did whatever. Which is good for them. So that was our week, the week itself was pretty normal but the weekend was good fun, I think the boys had nearly as much fun as I did on our girls weekend. One for the memory book. I hope you are all staying warm, I saw mum on the webcam the other day in a skivvy and remembered that it’s getting cold down there. So, stay warm!!! GO SUPERCATS!!!! Congrats to Mark on his 300th game & congrats to the boys for being undefeated.

Our Weekend pics....

STONELAKE ICECREAM SOCIAL

GOING ON A ROAD TRIP

THE GIRLS AT DONNA LAKE

LAKE TAHOE

ABOVE

THE NEVADA, CALIDRONIA STATE LINE

RENO - DER!!!!