Gabi was exhausted earlier last week after school. We discovered that her class practiced in PE (sport) for their upcoming athletics carnival. Gabi humbly described how she beat all the girls in her class in the sprint (I think it's 70m, but not sure), followed by tying for first with the fastest boy when the quickest boys and girls had a run-off. She was already nervous about the carnival and in her usual style, not keen to win anything as others may miss out.
On Thursday, Ben lost his 9th tooth. We were to discover on Friday morning that he would miss the last day of term with a badly infected middle-ear. He had been fighting a sinus issue all week, which seemed to have progressed to this.
On Friday Gabi finished term with an afternoon tea that Maria and I attended. We left Ben at home with the house locked and explicit instructions on not answering the door and how to evacuate in the event of an emergency. We were a little on edge while away from him, albeit he was in bed and it was only for about an hour. That night we all watched the first NRL (rugby league) semi final. Ben got through it.
The weather had been horrific and continued to be the same on Saturday. We lazed around the house and I hired a number of DVDs. It is the most TV we have collectively watched "ever" in one day. In between movies we caught up with the AFL Grand Final and the kids went to bed at half-time in the NRL 2nd semi due to a combination of exhaustion and a less enthralling match. Gabi lost her 7th tooth. Fortunately it was naturally and not from any re-enactments of the footy!
On Sunday in the rain we ventured out to an "open day" for The Lodge (our Prime Minister's residence)...
...and Government House (Governor General's residence)...
As you can see some of the photos it was cold and wet. We are not complaining about the massive rainfall we've had as our city needs it desperately! The excursion exhausted Maria. She is requiring more sleep in the afternoons.
Yesterday (Monday) we had another day at home. While it didn't rain, we experienced winter-like temps. The kids have been building fortresses and tunnels in the play room. I got into the action with them during dress-ups. It was lovely to see "creationism" in action. What do I mean by that? Well, although Ben and Gabi play together all the time, Ben naturally always wants to "shoot down the enemy" and "save the day", while Gabi (although starting out as Ben's accomplice) ends up "helping the injured" and "seeking to be rescued". I stick by my view that God clearly made man and woman differently.
These photos are from the "ceremony" where I presented them bravery awards (actually some of my medals from a former vocation).
It's Tuesday evening and Ben is still not 100%. The antibiotics have worked well, but he still experiences some pain from time-to-time. Earlier today we took the kids to the National Library to watch some old cartoons in their Theatre (50-75 years old). Afterwards we had lunch and explored some of the exhibits before heading home mid-afternoon for Maria's mandatory nap.
We visit the Oncologist on Thursday (1st) with a view to Maria commencing her fourth cycle of chemo the following week.
We will be moving to daylight saving in the early hours of Sunday morning, which means an hour's less sleep and we gain an hour on all of you living in the northern hemisphere.
