Ella girl is 12 now, and one of the ways she celebrated was hosting brunch for the Canberra family last Monday (a public holiday), our first cold bleak day of the season.
Present giving takes a lot of thought for teens and pre-teens. Angus took a lot of care to choose this one......
Lego was on Ella's wish list - and this set .......
ticked all the boxes .............
These sweet kids put in a few hours building this most amazing ship in a bottle Lego - from scratch! Just as well it held their interest as it was not much fun playing party games outside on this cold grey morning.
It was a serious business, involving great teamwork..........
Abi didn't feel as much part of the Lego team - which was nice for us as she put in a lot of time with Maxie and me instead telling us all about whale sharks (and other creatures).
Ella makes all the cakes in the family now - although she's a bit over it at the moment after making 72 birthday cupcakes for her school friends.
I tried to get a good group shot of these gorgeous kids - but only two of them are friends of the camera... I take what I can get!!
This might be my best shot!
Happy birthday dear sweet Ella girl!
It's been a pretty special week for us …….. starting off with a brilliant super moon sighting early in the week ……...
and then Abi's 7th birthday celebrations.... starting with the long desired ear piercing event …..
… presents from distant aunties …...
birthday afternoon tea treats (not another photo Granny!!) …..
and celebrating a new skill (after much practice) - perfect cartwheels at last.
Davey from London has been here for the week too - a very precious time for Maxie and Rod - but special for our whole family too. We loved our time with him this week.
Josh and Jody hosted a beautiful breakfast for the family yesterday morning to celebrate Abi's birthday - such a happy and precious time together - the only cloud being Davey's imminent departure for the airport at 11.00am!!!
A picture of four of my favourite men ………. I only wish I had asked them to move to a more even lighting situation ……. but still a beautiful pic (to me)
There was a feast of beautiful food (as usual) …..
.. and Abie managed to convince some of the guests to play her current fave card game with her .....
The "puny Uni" present especially chosen by London Ivy was a big hit....
…. and the science behind this gift was a source of wonder!
Abi was determined to cut the cake ALL BY HERSELF this year!
We all found the farewells to Davey very hard …. so we were lucky that Abi asked us to accompany her on a "nature walk" after the party......
to her favourite rocky outcrop on Fadden Ridge ……. a great space to settle the emotions ……..
……
and off for a bit of kangaroo, dragonfly and bird spotting (and catching crickets). The puny Uni had to come on this nature walk too - quite a shock after all its time in grey London winter I'd say.
There were lots of crickets to catch in this grassy patch.....
A special week indeed!
Lego was on Ella's wish list - and this set .......
ticked all the boxes .............
These sweet kids put in a few hours building this most amazing ship in a bottle Lego - from scratch! Just as well it held their interest as it was not much fun playing party games outside on this cold grey morning.
It was a serious business, involving great teamwork..........
Abi didn't feel as much part of the Lego team - which was nice for us as she put in a lot of time with Maxie and me instead telling us all about whale sharks (and other creatures).
Ella makes all the cakes in the family now - although she's a bit over it at the moment after making 72 birthday cupcakes for her school friends. 
I tried to get a good group shot of these gorgeous kids - but only two of them are friends of the camera... I take what I can get!!
This might be my best shot!
Happy birthday dear sweet Ella girl!
