Adelaide | Part 3

so we have arrived at the paton's where we are going to spend the next little leg of our journey.

we have an early night because the boys are wrecked from our massive day.

(did i mention the paton's have a big husky,

who the boys fell in love with.

they thought it was the best when he kept sneaking into their room,

trying to join them for bed time.)

so we have a leisurely morning getting ready for the day.

we said we would leave at 9,

9 came and then we said 10,

10 came.

so i don't think we actually left until 12/1,

it was a well needed relaxing morning.

but eventually we got to victor harbor.

my sister in law - jess - had planned to take us here because she thought the boys would love it.

she was so right.

there was an old horse pulled tram going back on forth on the pier,

taking loads of people at a time.

we walked the pier because we had to justify all the crap we had been and would be eating.

the water was the most beautiful aqua you have ever seen,

the only thing that sucked was the wind.

it was like the stage before hurricanes - i swear it.

and jess forgot to tell me (because apparently this is a normal occurrence) 

and i wore a dress *ROOKIE*.

we walked to granite island and back,

once we got back the boys had a pony ride up and down the beach.

their faces were priceless.

after this we got paddle pops and magnums,

because you can't come to the beach without getting ice-cream.

we were too lazy to find an ice-cream parlour for the full beach-icecream experience.

and then we swam all the way until dinner time.

it was a perfect day.

2IC

i've been asked to be the second photographer at 2 weddings now

and i have to say that i LOVE it.

it's so much fun to be the 2IC because there's no real pressure on you.

you can just shoot away and have so much fun.

i've learnt so much though and I'm forever grateful to my friend who asks me.

the first time i felt like i wanted to vomit but i had such a great time.

and because of this the day goes so fast.
this bride was absolutely stunning.
her complexion was ridiculous !
and i really loved that they put their own style into their wedding.

so here's a couple of my photos from the last wedding i got to do with her

Meet The Outzen's

a couple of week's ago i got to photograph this lovely family.

their beautiful boy oscar,

is one of THE most photogenic boys i've ever met.

his infectious smile is so contagious.

you can't help but smile right back at him.

this family is beautiful not only outside but inside to

and i'm so grateful that they asked me to photograph them.

Adelaide | Part 2

we woke up and spend most of the morning on the farm.

the boys enjoyed the never ending grass that they could run around,

they loved all the spiders hanging in the trees 

and chasing the cat around.

christmas leftovers filled our bellies and then we hit the road to adelaide city.

we checked into out hotel in the late afternoon,

perfect timing for dinner.

after we ate we did some adelaide city exploring,

my dad and mum lived here before they moved to sydney so they were our tour guides.

we were walking up rundle mall and this massive storm come out of nowhere.

it was torrential rain.

the closest thing we could find to get out of it was hungry jacks,

we bolted to the lights - the green man wasn't our friend because he stayed red forever,

by the time we got to hungry jacks we were all soaked from head to toe.

this made for one great memory.

the boys got slushies to hold them off as we examined the storm.

after a couple of minutes we realised it wasn't going anywhere.

we decided to hop on a tram back to our hotel.

this is when we called it in for the night.

the next day was perfect.

you would never have been able to believe the crazy rain we got caught in.

our tour guides pretty much showed us all the sights adelaide has to offer.

the city is small but i actually loved that about it.

we went on the popeye on the torrens river,

central markets where my dad got his fizzy drink he gets, 

from the same shop each time he comes here.

the boys really like that one.

they took us in the adelaide train station.

the thing i loved most about adelaide city is all the trams.

they can take you literally wherever you wanted to go.

we hoped on one and went from the city to glenelg and it was not far at all.

we walked the glenelg wharf/pier/whateveryouwanttocallit

- i can't remember what it's called,

we reenacted a photo we took of jevan and the boys back in 2012 at the same spot,

the boys played at the park and had ice-creams.

it was really such a perfect day exploring with my parents.

a memory i will treasure.

we headed back to the city to check out and this is where we leaved my parents

and head to the paton's house to continue of adventure through adelaide.

Adelaide | Part 1

i was going through my posts this morning

and realised i had forgotten to post about our big family holiday trip in the beginning of the year.

well not really the beginning,

boxing day - 2nd january.

this holiday we packed up and headed for "radelaide" 

as i've seen it hash tagged on insta.

it was a 15 hour drive but SO worth it.

this was the first time doing this trip so it took a little more planning than our usual gold coast one.

we decided to go through victoria and stop at bendigo on our way there.

we stopped at an old mine for our first stop 

and walked around there so the boys could stretch their legs.

we would've stayed longer if the rain hadn't bucketed down.

it was pretty sweet.

the boys loved climbing on all the old machinery while their grampy told them all about the mines,

what happened there and what the machines did.

then on to bordertown for our last stop of the day.

i have family that live here so we stayed over the night.

they live on a little farm.

the boys LOVED it.

there was sheep, cats, a big big yard to run around in

and we had the most magical sunset over the beautiful country style house we stayed at.

i LOVE it.

reminded me of a scene straight out of mcleods daughters.

and i am going to break this holiday up into multiple posts because i have a bunch of photos to go along with this awesome trip :).

One In A Million

one of our little boys has got one of my not so great traits.

he compares himself to people.

he is always telling me that this boy at school is better than him.

i try to tell him that 

1. its ok if people are good at things because he is good at other things

2. he is perfect the way he is

3. if he wants to become better at something he needs to practice and practice

this little boy does not even know how amazing he is

and how even more amazing he is going to become.

he is kind, gentle and tender.

he is super creative and has a big imagination.

he is cheeky and full of life.

he is wild and will always give something a go.

and instead of focussing his energy on all these great qualities he has,

he focuses on what everyone else can do or has.

i never wanted to pass this trait onto any of my boys.

it is a trait of mine that i battle with on a consistent basis.

to help this little boy out i invested in a kmart felt board.

and i am putting up quotes about being happy with who you are to try 

and help him remember that who he is is enough.

we say it every morning and i ask him what does that mean.

we go through it together and i tell him how awesome he is.

it may sound super ridiculous but i will try anything that helps him build up his self-esteem.

Platypus Track

zayden is by far the worst sleeper out of all the boys.

i don't really mean he wakes us up every night all night,

i mean his sleeping habits.

he has inherited his fathers sleeping routines.

he loves to nap,

if he can squeeze in a good afternoon school pick up nap

- he will.

they are my least favourite kinda naps.

like kid,

if your gonna nap do it at 12 so i can chill

(and in chill i mean watch tv or even maybe take a nanna nap too.)

don't take one in the afternoon which means you will go to bed late.

even if he gets one of love bliss arvo naps,

he still gets put too bed between 7/7:30.

but it just means a battle between him and i,

he talks to me with his legs dangling over the stair case,

using any any excuse too try to start up a convo.

but he SHOULD know by now is that this mumma gets cranky after 7,

hence the bedtime.

after 7 is my time, 

it's my little space of time that i count down to,

it's the number that gets me through the day.

knowing that 7pm will come each day is somedays the only thing i live for.

so yesterday zayden didn't have one of his naps,

he stayed up ALL day.

i was so excited - i thought he is for sure going to crash out at tv time tonight.

did he,

NO !?

and he still tried to prolong his bedtime by dangling his feet over the stairs 

asking me "is there no ghost, bad guys or skeletons up here mum?"

(can't lie i do love it when he asks me that every night.)

but today i was determined that this little boy would be tired come 7pm tonight.

and after a bush walk, 

(where i refused to hold him) 

and an hour and a half play at the park after school pick up.

I SUCCEEDED !

jevan got home and i told him about my successful day,

i also ended up our convo by saying but now i'm just as exhausted as him.

where do these boys get all their energy from?

on a side note though,

can just mention how much he LOVED this walk.

we spent a good 1 and a half walking this track, 

we sang his favourite songs,

watched out for animals and just talked.

i really really enjoyed this little outing with him.