~ what a difference a year makes ~

    

Last year all he would do was bat (and he'd never admit to being out).

Last year we'd bowl and bowl and bowl and he'd hit 1 in 10 (if that).

He hated fielding, he couldn't catch, he sulked whenever anyone else batted. 

This year he's happy to bat and bowl and field. 

He bowls a mean Terry Chappel underarm. 

He prowls in the field like Viv Richards and he hits like George Bailey. 

He's still learning to catch.

What hasn't changed is that it's all he wants to do all day 

~ more stills from our #summerattheshack ~

Our last week at the shack for this year and the weather was gorgeous.

We had long, lazy days at the beach with icy poles for lunch.  
There was lots of waiting for waves, hours of cricket and fun times with the cousins.


1.  Journalling and eating blackberry jam on toast - 2 of my favourite things.  I'm using the Kikki-K 365 diary and the kids and I are filling in the Q and A for kids (a new question every day).

2.  Beach cricket - we take all comers.  One bounce, one hand catches, no getting out on the first ball and strictly youngest to oldest batting order.

3.  Late evening at the beach as they were still waiting for the perfect wave.

4.  His boardies - all in a row.

5.  My little surfer dude.

6.  The NE coast of Tassie has the best climate for hydrangeas - they're everywhere in every hue and so beautiful.

7.  Flowers for mummy.

8.  The local cafe.

I think real life is going to hit us with some force this week.

♥ 

~ summer stills ~

1.  A walk along the big beach on a gloomy day...sisters deep in conversation.  

2.  Our daily beach set up...we've very luckily had  some golden days this week and spent hours down there. We cart down chairs, umbrella, tent, towels, boogie boards, buckets and spades, the cricket set, food for an army and are set for the day. 

3.  Surf school...the lack of waves is perfect for these beginners. 

4.  We visited the nearby lavender farm and wandered through the (almost ready to harvest) flowers... simply stunning 

5.  The fun fair is in town ...

6.  Sand castle city...many patient hours of work

7.  My little beach bums (well, not mine luckily!)

Summer at the shack...and the living is good 

❤️

~ stills from the shack ~

Technology and I are not friends tonight
I've sat here for ages trying to write a stills post on my ipad (with an admittedly dodgy hotspot connection).
Its not working
I can only add one photo and then once I've done that I can't write/edit any text or make any changes.
I'm not sure if its me, the ipad or the hotspot.
But I'm ready for my bed and some more chapters of my book.

We're on our summer holidays but summer hasn't really come to the party yet.
Its blustery and chilly, there are frequent rainy showers. the water is icy .. its not how I pictured my beach holiday at all.

And yet - the children are not letting my expectations get in the way of us having fun.  
Beach cricket and soccer.  Kite flying.  Sand castle building. Kayaking and boogie boarding.  Reading, coffee-ing, jig-sawing.

I'm enjoying it despite myself
There's a lesson in that


♥