Bike Ride

We went for our first family bike ride last Sunday. It was a bit of an effort - mainly because I had to figure out how to get 4 bikes on the bike rack; and then how to reach the 'middle' bikes on the rack to inflate their tyres. The setup took about an hour!!!

We made our way to Chipping Norton Lake - mainly because the paths around their are fairly flat but also because the Rebel 10km run was on at Homebush and we thought it would be a bit crowded.

The kids had fun. We all did. My knee was kind of ok with the ride; but even the very modest hills were enough to sort me out. LGR kept racing off in front of us and HJ kept dropping behind so it was all a bit disjointed; but still fun.

After the ride we had a lovely little picnic by the water and then spent the afternoon at home eating cheese & fruit and drinking some refreshing beverages (which were very well needed after mowing the lawns).

Update

I've missed a couple of days but it really doesn't matter - not much is going on.

I'm 5 days back into a structured (semi-structured really) exercise routine. I get up at 05:00 and go for a walk. I'm hoping to get permission to run soon but expect it to be another 2-3 weeks. The knee is coming along nicely but just not as fast as I would like. Having said that it's much faster than last time.

Our accountant came to visit us the other night. He managed to get us a refund again; but I suspect part of this is due to depreciation and negative gearing and so much his skill. Which is not to say he is no good - he is; and he has all sorts of interesting contacts.

What else? LGR played Futsal again on Tuesday; and the boys got spanked again. They are playing in what is essentially an U/10 competition and it shows. I don't think they are enjoying it to much right now but there is improvement to be seen each week.

The kids continue with swimming lessons. LGR is looking more and more like a swim with each week that passes. HJ is a bit slack; and perhaps a bit lazy. She won't let go of the teacher or wall and takes far to much comfort in being able to touch the bottom of the pool. But she has fun and is happy in the water - and most importantly she can swim when she is forced to.

Holiday is booked

We are going on two holidays next year (we think) - a short little getaway in January from 12th thru to 16th at Ettalong on the Central Coast. We are staying at the Mantra. I've just booked this. Will be very nice to get away for a bit and get thoroughly sunburnt.

The second trip is a little larger - 10 weeks in the UK and maybe touching on France and Italy. We plan to leave on the 26th or 27th August (26th is our 20 year anniversary) and will be going back to work on the 7th November (or thereabouts).

The definite plan is to go through England, Ireland, Scotland & Wales in a comprehensive manner; and maybe spend some time in France (Paris) and then possibly, somehow, get down to Pisa and Rome for the kiddies.

CJ and I have both put in for leave. CJ's leave is approved and my leave is very close to approved. Apparently my 1 day of accrued annual leave is a bit of an issue :-)

Taronga Zoo

We went to Taronga Zoo yesterday (ie Sunday) and had a great time. I'm pretty sure the kids got a lot out of it - there were lots of oohs and aahs and smiles. HJ loved the seal show (every kid in the crowd loved it) and LGR enjoyed the reptiles and snakes. I personally loved the meerkats, mountain goats and chimps.

It's also a pretty good day of exercise - lots of up and down hill walking to keep the legs moving.

Quiet Times

Today was a very quiet day. We've done very little, and most of it has been done together.

We all got a bit of a sleep in and had a fairly pleasant. Then HJ was off to dancing while the rest of us did a basic grocery shop. Back home to pack away; then LGR and Mrs J walked to the library while I picked up HJ. We all met up at the library, borrowed some books and then completed our more detailed, 'boutique' grocery shop before spending the afternoon at home.

We watched Bran Nue Dae today. I expected a lot better. The kids thought it was ok; and Mrs J liked it. I thought it sucked.

Dinner was a very nice pork stew with a potato topping - almost like a hotpot. Made from scratch and based on the works of Jamie Oliver. It was so good the kids ate their whole serving :-)

Curious

LGR woke up this morning and told me he had a curious dream. He couldn't remember much of it but knew it was very curious.

I love that he used the word curious. It's a terrific word and quite appropriate for dreams.

What else happened today? The kids had a dance at school today - after school. From 16:30 thru to 18:00. It was a fancy dress dance - come dressed as a character from a kids book. HJ was Sleeping Beauty (I think) and LGR was Voldemort of Harry Potter fame. They both had a great time.

I was also back to the physio. Less massage today and more time on the bike, stretching and being subjected to 'the machine' - which is some sort of electro stimulus thing that causes the muscles around my knee (and in particular the vastus medialis) to contract. Pretty happy with the progress being made.

I've just had a craving for the date slice my Mum used to make. She would cook it in a loaf tin; then cut it while still hot and put butter on it. The butter would melt and it was terrifically tasty and gratifying. Miss my Mum.

I Just Remembered I Have a Blog

Yep - I do. Maybe I should update it a bit. Try to do something each night perhaps?

No point going back into the past so for today's update .....

Nothing much happening. Mrs J is away for business - in Melbourne I think; but also pretty sure she was in Brisbane yesterday. Either way she is back home tonight and I am looking forward to this. So are the kids.

Speaking of which ....

Apparently nothing much happened at school today. There is a dance tomorrow which they are both looking forward to but today was all a bit ho-hum to hear them tell it.

Lunch Box

I opened Hayz's lunch box and there was a half eaten sandwich in there. Wrapped in glad-wrap.

I don't know why but it seemed so sweet to me that there was half a sandwich - and that it was wrapped up. I guess a bit of it is relief that she is eating, and a bit of it is knowing that she is growing up and knows enough to re-wrap her food.

Being a parent becomes harder as your kids get older - but for all the right reasons.

LGR went back to school too ....

It wouldn't be fair of me to forget about LGR. He went back yesterday and has become an old hand at it. He seems more or less happy with his teacher ("She's very strict Dad") and is probably most excited about resuming guitar lessons.

He made us very, very proud today. LGR is Miss Hayz's bus buddy - meaning he has to look after in bus lines ie make sure gets on the right bus and help her out. Today Miss Hayz's drink bottle fell out of her bag - and LGR comforted her, found the bottle and then looked after while she stopped crying. I was so proud.

Best of all - I saw it all happen from a secret hiding spot. I reckon he's a pretty good big brother.

Hayz's First Day

Little Miss Hayz started school today. She was so brave and so gorgeous. This pic captures it nicely for me - a bit excited, a bit worried, a bit scared but so completely ready for the challenge.

In the end there was some trepidation but no tears. And that includes myself and Mrs Jones ;-)

In Jail

With The Kids

I Like This Car

Haircuts

The kiddies got their school haircuts tonight. It was an experience.

Hayz sat in the chair like the regal princess she knows she is. She was pleased as punch with the attention she was getting and sucked up every minute of it. In all she had maybe 1.5 inches of length removed but the ends were a bit frazzled from the accumulated sun, sand and suncream of the last 6 weeks. She looks much better.

LGR was a funny one. Initially he was going to shave his head but in the end decided to go for a short back and sides with a bit of length on top. Halfway through the cut the dresser brushed the hair on top of his head to the side. I have never seen a radiant, glowing and thoroughly golden head of hair in my life. The dresser told LGR that women paid a lot of money for hair that thick and with that colour. "So?" was his unimpressed reply.

It's shorter now - and he looks 2-3 years older.

Amazed

It's been almost 3 years since we got our 'big black beast' - which means the lease is nearly up. We've done a bit of research on the replacement vehicle and have come up with a shortlist of 3.5 vehicles - Toyota Kluger, Mazda CX-9 and Ford Territory. The half is a Holden Sportswagon - just in case none of the others measure up. After yesterday it's more like a 3/4 option ....

We drove the Kluger first. When I booked my test I requested an AWD Grande. It's about as close as you can get to a 4WD without being one. Turned up and they didn't have one - despite assuring me during the week they did. Great start ....

Not a bad drive. Quite nice in fact. Responsive motor, good handling dynamics, quiet and quite light feeling. A few bad things about - namely I can't get the options I want in the combination I want. As an example I like the Grande but hate the faux wood finishings and don't want SatNav. If I drop down a level I can't get the sunroof, keyless entry and power tailgate (which is very heavy). Not sure what to do here but quite a nice ride.

Next driven was a Territory Ghia. Soft and comfortable ride - slighly more corner roll than the Kluger and much harder to get moving. Not great but not horrible. We checked a bit closer. The 3rd row of seats are a joke - the floor is literally 2 inches lower than the seat meaning LGR had his knees around his ears. To layout the floor flat is a lot of work. I can't see us getting one of these.

While in the dealership the kids spotted a beautiful black FPV Falcon. I saw it too - but Mrs J has made any notions of getting that one disappear. So much for our democratic voting system (which, if you are interested gives one car vote to each kid and two votes to the adults. Clearly someone was outvoted but it turns out there's some unwritten veto right built into the system).

But the surprise of the day was the Mazda CX-9. You all know where I live so I won't say which dealer it was but during the week I spoke to them and made a booking. Turned up yesterday and was told there was no booking, and they wouldn't have made a booking because they were having a sale. I asked if I could test one anyway and they said no test drive unless I was going to buy on the spot. They were too busy to take people for tests. I looked around and there were at least 3 staff lounging around doing nothing .... I told them that was cool and I'd find another dealer. So we left. They chased us out the door with a bit of 'Come back. We'll see what we can do." - while still denying we'd made previous arrangements.

So, a salesman came over, said he'd be with us in a few minutes and then went to speak to someone else. After 10 minutes we got sick of the whole thing and left. An hour later this dude called and asked if I'd like to arrange a drive.

Not with you guys. Not a chance.

I'm stunned that a car dealership wouldn't find time for me to drive one of their cars - particularly when they are making a push to bring people into the dealership to sell cars.

That's enough about that.

We wandered up the road and had a speccy look at the Sportswagon. Mrs J was impressed - to the extent where we are prolly going back on Tuesday for a drive of an SV6 and an SS .... Always wanted an SS :-)

Still no luck on the HSV though :-(

I Win!!!

Yesterday I moaned about my occasionally negative and self defeating behaviours.

Today I can report I have overcome them - if only for 24 hours :-) Gotta start somewhere.

I'm not sure what the difference is - I'm probably more tired than yesterday thanks to another early start (which caused me to make a mistake at work which could have been quite bad but, luckily, was not). I was in the same mental and physical situation as yesterday but today it seemed easy to make the better decision. Maybe I was prepared better for the decision making process?

Either way I'm celebrating with a lovely pot of Mexican Spiced Chai Tea from my new best mates - The Kenyan Tea Company. My Dad alerted me to them just after Christmas with some of the best tea I have ever had - and now I have my own little stash and am enjoying them. Last night it was some straight Chai and it was delicious.

It may have caused me to have some weird dreams though. I dreamt that I had a pet penguin and he was wearing pyjamas.

Why?

There are certain behaviours I repeat which are not good for me, and I wish I could control myself. Maybe the shame I am currently feeling at my atrocious lunch (which is sitting very heavily in my belly) is a sign that I am becoming more aware and am moving towards a point where my self policing and self talk becomes more effective.

Enough of that though. Early start this morning - but I forgot to set my alarm. I woke up 25 minutes later than I planned and said "Oh gosh darn it." I jumped out of bed, dressed and was only 10 minutes late to work (not that it matters much at 04:00).

The funny part is forgetting my alarm was set for my normal wake up time and not turning it off. Poor Mrs Jones :-(

12 Years

Today was the 12 anniversary of my marriage to Mrs Jones. Seems like a long time, but while looking through the wedding pics (didn't have enough $$ for a video) it seemed so recent. The kids loved it - Hayley picked out the most bizarre and inappropriate things to comment (people's shoes, bulges and ties flying sideways in the wind) and Loch thought it was pretty good of the Opera House to be blue for us!!

It wasn't a bad day. We got a bit of a sleep-in (about 07:15) and got up to go for a run. I decided to check movie times before I left to get a plan for the day - only to discover the only session of 'Fantastic Fox' was on at 09:30. A bit of a hurry but we made into the cinema just as the movie started. Not a bad flick but Lochie has some issues with the representation of the rat and the liberties taken with the plot by the movie guys ....

After the movie we meandered for a bit and had lunch at Panarotti's. Again. It never gets old and I'll keep going back. After lunch it was home for some chores (the grass finally got mown) and a minor Chinese feast - all cooked from scratch - including the sauces. The Mongolian Beef was very impressive.

And then there was dessert. We ate the last bits of our wedding cake with the kids, and flicked through the pics.

Not a bad day at all. Apart from the chores :-)