462 + 358 Weeks

So, another week has passed, and we made it!  Australia is slowly opening up again, but nothing much is changing for us.  Jeffrey is still not working at the club, we aren't seeing Wes, swimming and Peak still aren't on...but the kids did have their first sleep over in two months at their Lolo and Dida's. Jeffrey and I had Tuesday afternoon and evening to ourselves, which was so lovely!  Not that we did anything different, it was just nice not to have the usual bedtime squabbles and the near impossible task of getting Carmie out of bed in the morning.  She loves to lie around and read, and if she does manage to get herself up, she likes to spend half the day in her dressing gown, refusing to actually wear clothes.  It was nice not having to deal with that on Wednesday morning!

This week we had some adventures.  We drove south to Pretty Beach at Kiola.  The name of this beach is so fitting, because it really is just so pretty.  We walked to the end of it, and then continued up on the rocks and had a long walk around the headland.  The kids tired out easily and wanted to stop (even though they are insisting they are ready to hike Pigeon House Mountain!).  We found tons of incredible starfish, as well as a great place to stop for morning tea.  It was such a lovely day.

Another day we drove up north to Vincentia, because we are thinking of looking for house rentals up there.  It will be a 45 minute commute for Jeff to work when it starts up again, but he thinks that is doable until he finds a different job.  It was really lovely up there.  We made a trip to Hyams beach, which boasts the whitest sand in the world.  It really is remarkable, and so unbelievably beautiful. We definitely could handle living up that way.

We also got out for a family game of Finska, as well as some cricket practice.  Arley is still quite anxious when we leave the house, and couple that with his uneasiness when he is losing a game (like Finska), it can make for some trying times.  He was very unsettled and angry, but snapped out of it when he actually won the game for himself and his dad.  He gets so upset when he is faced with a new challenge, when he is losing, or when he thinks he will fail, and being upset for him means getting angry.  He is actually starting to verbalise his feelings though.  Yesterday he told me he likes to be on his iPad so much because it makes him feel safe and he doesn't have to worry about anything.  Today he told me he doesn't like anything challenging (his word!).  I have to push him through the anxiety though, despite the yelling and mistreatment, because once he has succeeded at something, he can move on and incorporate it into his routine.  I just have to have a really thick skin!

So, I signed the paperwork this week for selling the house.  We have had our building and pest inspections, and now we are waiting on the buyers to sign the paperwork.  After that we will have a moving date, but we expect our last day in our lovely house to be somewhere close to the end of July.  I am super sad, but really happy for new adventures.

By the way, you might notice in the photos that Carmie's teeth are looking funny.  It's because she has two incredibly loose teeth on each side, and she absolutely refuses to pull them out, despite the fact that they are dangling!

Pretty Beach 

 Starfish

 Ratty love!

 At Vincentia

 Hyams Beach