Our three big kids and the little one all spent several happy hours on the weekend industriously hauling logs and rocks into the little river to create a dam.
Inspired by Pepper Paints, Boo and I created our own coloured flowers in this classic science experiment.
Muffin tin breakfasts are fast becoming a staple in our house -- I enjoy making them, and Boo loves to gobble the selection of food down. Today's muffin tin featured slices of banana, apple, weetbix, cheese cubes, a honey crumpet (already missing in the picture above), and a smiley sandwich.
Belle and Rory came down from Gulgong today, and we all caught up at mother's group. It was lovely to see them ... we all first met when our babies were newborn, and have shared the ups and downs of motherhood over the last three years. 
We dined on strawberries and lamingtons and dip, and drank cup after cup of hot tea, while the children played as though they'd never been apart.
Happy Birthday to a very special six year old!
The sharks were almost sculpturally beautiful, and the quality of the light streaming through the water reminded me of being inside a luminous cathedral.
But Cordelia didn't like the sharks one bit, and so we moved on to meet some cuter, less ferocious looking creatures ... 
After a lunch of hot chips and drinks we braved the freezing wind for a quick play in Tumbalong Park, which has a host of daring slides and climbing equipment.
Once we were thoroughly frozen we hurried through the cold to the Powerhouse Museum for tea and biscuits in the Members' lounge (which has a fantastic play area for the kids, while the adults can read papers and relax in comfy chairs upstairs).
Finally a last treat ... a visit to see Uncle Richard perform in the Science Show at the ABC Centre. The kids were delighted to see their uncle as the star of the show ... and rapt when he singled them out and invited them to sit behind the stage. The show was enormously entertaining, and the kids learned a lot, too.
hen home for five sleepy children, and a chance for Mummy and Daddy to have dinner out with friends while Boo stayed with his cousins for the evening. A busy weekend, but a good one!
This was fun!
Today's crafting adventure gave Boo a chance to drive his cars and tractors through paint and onto sheets of paper to create colourful track marks.
We haven't had a muffin tin lunch around here for a while, so today's offering was accepted with enthusiasm. Boo devoured his sausage, seaweed rice crackers, popcorn and chocolate tiny teddies. The rocket sandwiches were only acceptable once the sultana 'windows' had been taken off, and each bit of fruit had to be removed from the lime jelly. (Boo will eat fruit, but only if it's crunchy). But at least most of it went down.
1 c self-raising flour
Although the day was chill, Boo was determined to bathe. Granny filled his little pool to the brim with warm water, and Boo threw in armfuls of flowers, telling her that this would be his 'Lily Pond'.
He made fairy boats, turning the flowers upside down, arranged them into patterns, talked to them and scolded them ...
Last year the jasmine arrived at the end of August, but the recent spate of warm winter has encouraged these fragrant stars to arrive earlier this year. To me jasmine is the epitome of summer scents, and each time I walk through the arch at the front of the cottage I breathe in deeply, enjoying the pretence that summer is here. Because, in truth, the minute the wind picks up an icy chill sweeps straight through even the thickest clothing, then the grey clouds gather above and another shower descends.
We played 'dentist' at home beforehand, as a friend's child had recently been taken to an appointment and refused point-blank to even open her mouth while there. So I became the dentist and Boo was set back in a reclining chair, and asked to open his mouth while I prodded about inside with a popsicle stick.
And wouldn't close it for the next 10 minutes, even when told he could.
Tooth-achingly sweet (but that's never been a problem for me), this slice is both easy and quick to make. One tip, though: if you plan to serve pieces as finger food (rather than in a bowl as a dessert with icecream), add a dash more butter to the topping and really pat it down on top of the apricots before baking. You'll end up with a less fine, more biscuit-like texture, which won't scatter crumbs about as much.
Up, up, up went Boo and Rory -- almost close enough to touch the sky.
Until Boo wanted to come down and couldn't find a foothold. He began to wail, and flung himself into Mummy's arms from quite a height.
I'm a little like that, too: sometimes the exhilaration of getting to the top makes me forget how difficult coming down can be. I am thankful that so often in my life strong arms have been there to catch me when I fell.
Boo and I played this together: I read the card, while he was in charge of finding items on the list. It's perfectly suited to a three-year-old, and he told me it's "the bestest game ever".
These are a variation on Sycamore Stirrings' sandwiches on a stick, but we made ours into starry wands.
(And one more photo, just because I think he's beautiful ... )
I told Boo to watch the toaster and see what popped up -- he was thrilled when he saw the colourful toast pictures. He ate two-and-a-half slices this morning -- and delighted especially in nibbling off the sun's eyes, nose and rays.
Such fun -- this would be a great weekend treat to greet grumpy sleepy heads in the morning.(I can't remember where I first saw this idea -- it was on a crafty kiddie blog -- if it's yours let me know and I'll give you credit and include a link to your site.)
