This weekend was a lot of fun.
Friday I got an impromptu text from my mum in the afternoon asking if we wanted to come over later for a swim in mum and dad's newly constructed pool! It's not yet landscaped or tiled, but the pool itself is in and safe to swim in. Of course we did! So once Al and O was home we headed over and Al and kids went swimming (I'm a wimp and its not warm enough for me yet), and my parents and I had a drink by the pool followed by pizza. It was a fun evening.
The first of many swims
Saturday Al was home because someone else was working in the shop (hooray!), so after getting up early with plenty of coffee and me working on my side hustle project), we started with some yardwork. Al got up on the roof and cleaned away all the leaves, and it was amazing how many leaves came down! The kids were dancing in the "rain" and having a ball. Ha!
Hard at work.
We also voted in our state election (voting is mandatory in Australia, although we would vote regardless). Later we headed to a local fair and met my parents there. We browsed some market stalls, the kids spent a long time on the jumping castle, we got some hot dogs from lunch, and then the kids got to use two "ride" tickets each. (These tickets were $10 each!! I was imagining they would be $2 or something, but I guess there's been inflation since I was a kid - also entry was only $2 per adult, and its a fundraiser - but STILL!).
E chose the big slide and a pony ride. O chose the spinning teacups (Al took him on it and was feeling ill by the time they got off. So. much. spinning!) and the big slide (we were impressed by this - he went on it by himself!).
Pony ride!
There was also a petting zoo, ice cream and then we headed back to mum and dad's for another swim. After that we went back home for naps and a couple of hours to relax. I baked us chicken drumsticks and roast veggies for dinner, a crowd favourite, and we watched the coverage of our state election. It will be a change of state government after 9 years.
Sunday morning I woke early before the kids and did some more work on my side hustle with coffee, hung out with Al, and then he headed to work. I did some chores and then we headed to a local park with my bestie and her kids. It was good, except E was in a bit of a mood (she'd had screen time that morning and I wonder if that was why). The kids all burned off some energy, my friend and I had a good chat, and then at midday we headed home for some downtime. I napped, the kids watched TV, and then I got up as Al got home and we did a quick tidy up and prep for another friend bringing his kids over for a casual BBQ. They all played well together (luckily E was back into her good mood), the BBQ was simple but yum, we had some good chats, and then they headed home at around 6.30 so we had time for a bit of downtime before bed.
Kids were so tired they fell asleep easily just after 8pm, and at 6.45 am next morning O was STILL asleep. This is rare and I appreciated this chance to write most of this blog post uninterrupted (E was up but she's playing an elaborate game with all her dolls - or her "9 children" as she calls them. Haha.)
How was everyone else's weekend? I hope its been good! Have a great week.
That is awesome that your parents have a pool!! I would be hitting that up all the time if I was you!! So fun!
It’s so interesting that voting is mandatory in Australia. I live in a state with one of the highest levels of voter turnout. But it is quite low in some places which is very sad.
Sorry been MIA from your blog Sophie. I've been utterly overwhelmed! With everything lol job, life, kids, friends, house. Politics! UGHHH.
That's amazing that voting is mandatory in Australia, that's how it should be. We have a nasty election coming up and I cannot wait till it's over. I get so many spam messages "vote for this/vote for that!" Leave me alone lol
Your weekend sounds wonderful. I feel like I may have lost my yearly goals mojo now that we are at the end of the year. My word of 2024 was "connection" - to others and self and I kiiiiiind of lived that word but not strong enough in my opinion. I could have/should have done more.
Your weekend was a lot busier than mine! I work on Saturday mornings, but then relax the rest of the day. But... I only have my daughter at home and she's 15. I definitely miss the little kid days though. It's nice to read and watch football on a Saturday afternoon, but petting zoos and rides with your kids are pretty special.