We walked the bridge

Kidnapped & Chocolate = Love

So last Monday night I was kidnapped by my girls who took me to ......... Max Brenner. It is soooo delicious, the waffles were soooo good...the chocolate was sooo thick, rich & creamy.... we all ended up with chocolate comas, but what a way to go! Can you believe after all that we still had room for some maccas.... LOL... something small to balance out all that sweetness. :)

Thanks girls, for a truly memorable Mothers Day.

Oh, and how exciting was the ride there? Jaime was driving at a standard 110 km per hour on a busy freeway, when the tyre blew out!! We called RACQ, and my darling husband came to the rescue. Once Alvan arrived we swapped cars and left him to wait for help to arrive, isn't he amazing? Tara bought him some very expensive but equally delicious Max Brenner chocolates as a thank you.

Whitney loves Max

He's the bald man who makes chocolate... I love him too!

Tara & Whitney

Elly & I sharing the love (of all things chocolate!)

Yep, she's gonna eat it!!

Waffles

Strawberry & cookies crepe

THE most amazing souffle!

Who doesn't love Fondue??

Women Who Inspire Me

I've been thinking a lot lately about the women who have inspired me throughout my life. Each has a special place in my heart. There are too many to name them all here; I hope each of you know who you are even if you are not mentioned. I have watched and learned so much from them, their actions and words, I think I learned the most from them when they didn't even know I was watching. I feel so blessed to have crossed paths with them in some form or another.

Nevertheless, I'm going to attempt a list:

Evelyn (My Mother), Pat, Jane, Kerrie, Zandra, Lesley, Kim, Jan, Pam, Sarah, Ana, Gina, Kathleen, Colleen, Denise, Sonya, Myra, Frances, Sheri, Marjorie, Gladys, Tiffany, Deeann, Mary, Virginia, Carolyn, Margaret, Jen, Stephanie, Naomi, Avis, Traci, Nadine, Heather, Mary-Ellen, Tara, Elly, Jaime & Whitney.

Most of these women I've been blessed to know personally; some I've only admired from afar. One woman who has inspired me in the last couple of years, I have never met. She does not even know I exist. I have followed her blog for a couple of years now, she reminds me of all that is good in my life, she reminds me to be grateful for my life and everything it involves... good & bad. It really is perspective!

Meet Stephanie, or NieNie as she is known. I wanted to upload this video for you all to watch, but my computer doesn't want to...so please take a moment to follow the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHDvxPjsm8E

Isn't she amazing? I wonder if she knows how many people she must inspire? My daughter Whitney inspires many for the same sort of reason. She really gets it ... she is not defined by her hair, or lack of it. It empowers many to realize we are not our bodies, thanks to all the women who have helped me learn that. You are all different in age, race, size, knowledge, experience, but you are all important! And because I know this about you, I know I am important too!

Bananas.........

Our Bananas have finally ripened!! They are without a doubt the sweetest, yummiest bananas we have ever tasted! This is how they looked on Thursday when they were cut off the tree, this morning (Sunday) they are all completely ripe, they loveliest yellow bananas in the world.

Backyard memories

Here are a few pics from just everyday hanging out times.....more to come later.

Alvan & Tama loved just sitting and cuddling together... I LOVE this pic! Van is reaching out to touch the rain as if drips from the top of the patio

Tama & Aunty Elly

Whitney told me afterwards, that as Alvan & I just sat and talked all the kids were scrambling inside to find a camera "quick" to get this shot. I love the time Alvan & I spend out on our patio.

Noah crashes for an afternoon nap with Jen

Marlee watches on..

This is a funny memory. Our bananas just don't seem to be ripening, so we thought maybe if we put a "fresh" banana in with them they might get the idea! Rick was happy to oblige. :)

New Years Eve at Southbank

The Ormsbys love Southbank, and couldn't wait to take the "Utah" grandkids/nephews & niece/cousins there! We arrived early in the afternoon of New Years Eve, and spent hours playing in the "beach" and rockpools. Karen's sister Kerrie and her family from Melbourne were also there. We staked out our acreage early to have prime position seating for the fireworks display. It was a wonderful afternoon/evening. Thanks to Kerrie & Frank for the glowsticks that kept the kids amused in the dark while waiting for the show to begin.

Jai had a blue slurpee!

Tara read!

Elly played with Noah

Van enjoyed an orange

Noah loved his glowstick

Freyr loved the water

Jenn & Nate enjoyed having another photo taken

Marlee

Elijah

Christmas Day

Everyone arrived bright and early to open presents, lots of surprises, smiles and laughter prevailed.

A quick trip to the beach before lunch, pretty great way to spend time together hey?

Ormsbys Summer begins...

Well, it's gonna take a few posts to get everything up. But the journey begins with the first step right? Nathan, Jenny, Marlee, Noah, Vance & Elijah arrived December 23rd.

Elly & Rick waiting at the airport

Alvan & Karen anxiously waiting

Whitney too!

Freyr (aka spiderman) waits to meet his cousins!

They're here!!!!!

Enjoying some time on the back patio, before bedtime

Van enjoying one of his freddo frogs

Noah playing with Freyr's toolkit