Ella and Abi, like all the other kids in Canberra, have had a lot to cope with so far in 2020: Fires, smoke, hail, and then the pandemic.... Ella's had 6 weeks away from school (in her first year of high school) and Abi's had 8 weeks away, more or less stuck at home all that time.
The summer holidays were really limited because of the dangerous levels of smoke haze and the April holidays were spent at home in lockdown. Even though they're back at school now things are far from normal and there is a lot of quiet anxiety around now as the pandemic situation in Victoria is looking worse each day.
So its been a bit of restrained start to these holidays. Ella's back at Gym, but fewer sessions, no audience etc etc; Abi's back to her regular horse riding lessons but none of their usual holiday treats (playdates, movies, "Flip Out" etc) are operating as "normal".
We spent some time with them this past week. Abi has done a huge wall size mural painting in her bedroom of her favourite Palomino horse (how did I miss getting a picture of that?). It's hardly surprising she is such a confident horse painter as she draws them non stop!
But I was pretty gobsmacked to see this self portrait she knocked off in a quiet moment this week too - pretty amazing for an 8 year old I think!
Ella is developing a holiday small business enterprise with a line of "Couch Poate" merchandise: ankle socks, T shirts, tote bags etc etc). This girl is a force to be reckoned with - and her finished products are top quality! She has a small team of her Gym friends working with her on this.
She's also designed a piece of furniture for her bedroom that she and Rob are both working on - but more on that later ........
While we're still able to we decided to go out for a fancy lunch today, at Pialligo Estate - to celebrate the fact we've all made it through the year (so far) relatively intact and ready to support each other no matter what gets thrown at us next.
It was a fabulous lunch - and so wonderful to see the girls enjoying beautifully prepared, refined dishes like the mature, confident young women they are.
An added bonus for Abi was the opportunity to get up close to the miniature horses at a nearby property on Beltana Road. This little beast even bit her on the finger - but Abi will forgive a horse anything!
The summer holidays were really limited because of the dangerous levels of smoke haze and the April holidays were spent at home in lockdown. Even though they're back at school now things are far from normal and there is a lot of quiet anxiety around now as the pandemic situation in Victoria is looking worse each day.
So its been a bit of restrained start to these holidays. Ella's back at Gym, but fewer sessions, no audience etc etc; Abi's back to her regular horse riding lessons but none of their usual holiday treats (playdates, movies, "Flip Out" etc) are operating as "normal".
We spent some time with them this past week. Abi has done a huge wall size mural painting in her bedroom of her favourite Palomino horse (how did I miss getting a picture of that?). It's hardly surprising she is such a confident horse painter as she draws them non stop!
She's also designed a piece of furniture for her bedroom that she and Rob are both working on - but more on that later ........
It was a fabulous lunch - and so wonderful to see the girls enjoying beautifully prepared, refined dishes like the mature, confident young women they are.
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