Melbourne Cup

We just celebrated Melbourne Cup yesterday and while the day was about racing (Why would you take an ENTIRE day off when the race last for no more than 6 mins??) - it was REALLY about, wining & dining. I didn't win any bets :( but did walk away with 2 Pamper Packs from the Raffle :) Trish scored herself 2 meat-trays (Hey Trish, Give us Other Folks a Chance. We need meat too!) Deb & Katherine won some money with Deb scoring the Big Win with $4 which she generously donated to the GuideDogs Association - Good on ya Deb! That'll buy a guidedog half a yummy scrap of Schmackaroo ;)

Piotr won a "Man At Work" Beer Stubby at his Melbourne Cup Do.

Congratulations to Derby Blue on the Win - don't you just love it when the underdog emerges the winner?

Happy Halloweens!

No, we don't belong to a Theatrical Company but the number of dress-up events we are involve in means we've all got well-stocked WEIRD & WACKY wardrobes!

What better holiday to dress up than Halloween! Not to mention the mountains of candies & lollies that get shoved to you. Hmmm....yummyy..... Here, we've attended Manly's Annual Halloween event where the entire street is closed for the gobblins, ghouls, vampires and zombies can romp around safely.

It was a wonderful warm evening to be an Undead, that's for sure :)

Happy Father's Day

See, its not just the KIDS who have fun ... Even Dad's get celebrated every now and then... to add to the fun they have EVERYDAY ANYWAY ;)

Fancy Dress Ball 2006

Its the Fancy Dress Ball AGAIN (What?? Has a Year Passed already??) at Coolnwynpyn School. And this time, the boys went as a Fireman and a Knight. This is a departure from last year's character but still within the same genre :) (Does this mean that they have their Career Path map out already?) Last year, Mieszko was a Policeman and Gigi went as a Soldier. (See below Blog for last year's photos). The boys all participated fully with each grade doing a little presentation of their own. Mieszko's Grade (Year 1) did "CottonEyeJoe" - Daddy's Favourite and Gigi's Grade (Year 2) performed "Rise Up".
It was fun night for one and all!

The Morning After

Gigi & Mieszko on their 1st Boys Weekend Away...
Here's the Morning After...
After What? I still don't know....BUT they sure look pretty pleased with themselves!!

Bungy Jumping

Gigi's 1st Attempt @ Bungy Jumping - Have No Fear - Gigi didn't! It's over a land trampoline with more safety gear than a NASA space launch. This one was located at South Bank, Brisbane.

4Wdriving @ Straddie

When Godmother, Charlene came to visit, we took her to North Stradbroke Island where we went 4Wdriving, Sightseeing, Mussel-Digging & Beach Fishing.

Look at all the mussels Gigi dug up - and boy were they juicy too!

More Mucking Around

Ice Sk8ting @ Acacia Ridge Olympic Ring

Here are the boys on ice - they love theirice-skating, especially when the play Red Rover.
There's no way anyone can outrun the Hockey Referees but it never stops them from having a go :)

Dress Up Ball

Here's Gigi & Mieszko @ the Local Dress Up Ball for the Under 10s. Can you Spot Mieszko the Policeman & Gigi The Gi-Joe? Gigi is spotted with mate, Gordon who was also in Gigi's Soccer Team @ The Bulldogs Club. Mieszko is photographed with mate, Aaron.

@ The Caboolture Town & Country Fair

Mucking around

Today's Feature Stories:
1. Bowling @ AMF Bowling Club
2. Rollerblading @ Home
3. Breakkie by the Pool
4. With Andrzei & Ania @ Raby Bay Harbour, Cleveland

The Making of a Redneck ;)

I've found my New Calling - well, its more of a * Bang *than the gentle lure of the sirens... BUT, just as captivating!

Madden Shooting Range @ Belmont was the recent Host of a RAW Event where I got a taste of at least 6 different firearms, ranging from pistols, to rifles to shotguns. The instructors were all very generous with their time, advice, weapons and tales of their adventures.

Folks, I can't tell you what a blast (literally! my shoulders are still aching from the Muskat recoil & my ears are still ringing from the Shotgun Blast 2 days on!) it was & I can't wait to have another go!

AFL - Alexandra Hill's F1-11 In Action

The Reason Why I don't go For Friday Drinks? Because I have WAY TOO MUCH FUN @ Gigi & Mieszko's Footy Games on Fridays :)

After practicing hard on their Wednesday's training sessions, (even in a...groan... downpour!!), all that hard work culminates to a game at Friday Night Football where the kids unleash their footy skills on the field either in a Home or Away game. We are fortunate to have Grant and Leesa as our coach and manager respectively- both do an amazing job as volunteers & a lot of credit goes to them for the tremendous developments every player has made in this short time. Mostly, they make Football a Happy Childhood for these children & hopefully, this is what they'll take away with them... the friendships, camaraderie & laughter...

Pictures speak a thousand words as you can tell from the Smiles, Grins & Monkey Faces :)

More Soccer Photos!

This was out last fixture when Gigi & Mieszko played against The Crocodiles. Yes we won again :) 4 - Nil, Not that it matters of course! Gigi had the opportunity to be Goalie for our team and did a terrific job while Mieszko was yet again, a Top-Notch Defender for us!

Live @ The Gabba!!

Are you sitting down?
Good...because this is really going to blow your socks off :)

Gigi & Mieszko were both picked to play Live @ the Half-Time Match between the Brisbane Lions when they met the Melbourne Demons for a Showdown at The Gabba Stadium!
It was their 1st Live game and to get the privilege to play in front of thousands of Home Crowd was both thrilling and memorable for them. The atmosphere was charged, the crowds were all revved up but none more so than the little ones.
Next time you visit Brisbane, make sure you catch a Lions Game at The Gabba - you haven't seen Brisbane at its best till you do :)

Better Still, Bring Us With You!!

Under 8s Day

Every year, Queensland dedicates 1 whole week to school-age children under 8 years of age. During this week, children are exposed to a huge curriculum of programmes, activities and adventures to encourage learning, exploring and fun. The week culminates to a finale where all the children enjoys 1 fun day along with their families, to play, have fun and enjoy what being Under 8 is all about. Here are some pictures of Gigi and Mieszko as they participated in the Treasure Hunt.

Bye Jo!

Another farewell...sniff, sniff... This time to our lovely friend, Jo Blakely as she embarks on what is no doubt another wonderful adventure. We were lucky to have known Jo while she was in Brisbane this past 2 years. Its been fun and I know I'll miss the many laughs and tete-a-tetes we've shared over coffee, wine and breakkie. Brisbane is a much sadder place without you!

Farewell Ania & Andrzei!

The 3 months vacation has come to an end for Ania & Andrzei. The time has really flown for all of us and it was sad to bid Ania and Andrzei Farewell as it came time for them to return home to Poland. We miss you Ania & Andrzeit & hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Here were the final moments at Brisbane International Airport...

Go Phillys!

What's a blog about us without photos of Gigi & Mieszko's other Passion - Baseball! Here's the Boys in action with their team - The Phillys. Fortunately, with the club being large enough, all our games are Home Games at The Redlands Baseball Club. Coaches, Jenelle & Pete are fantastic coaches and ensure that every game is fun-filled, exciting and full of laughs...and Mieszko's favourite --- Lollies!

School Fete 2006

Every year Coolnwynpyn School's Community organises many fund raising activities to raise funds for the school to go towards the children's development as well as raise awareness of many projects relating to the school and the local community. Here's just 1 of example --- The Annual School Fete. Here's Mieszko & Gigi having a go at some of their activities, including ...

** THE GIANT SLIDE **

** ROCK CLIMBING **

Man of The Match

Here's a Home game The Demons played against United. An exciting match, we won 4-1 with Gigi scoring 2 goals in this game. Well Done Gigi! (Our throats were all hoarse from cheering.

Mieszko was invaluable to our team in his role as Defense.

Consequently, Mieszko was awarded with the "Man of the Match" Trophy :)

Tobboganning @ Anaconda

What's Winter without Snow??? Well Anaconda (a Super-Outdoor-Equipment-Supplier)recently arranged a SnowFest and Gigi & Mieszko had their share of snowballing and tobogganing! The snow was melting as fast as the snowballs being pelted but that didn't stop the boys from getting their hands and feet wet & COLD.....brrrrr....

Brisban Lions Call .... Roarrrrrr :)

We were lucky to have 2 of the Brisbane Lion Players (www.lions.com.au) come visit our kids at the "Alexander Hills Bomber's Club" for a special practice run. Unfortunately, due to unexpected bad weather, they had to cut the training session short. (This was after we've all been thoroughly soaked in the downpour!) Not that the kids minded the rain, there's just something about diving into muddy pools of dirt that seems sooo appealing at that age! Here are some photos of Gigi & Mieszko's team - the "F1-11s" getting their Football paraphernilia signed by Robert Copeland & Cameron Wood. By the way, Cameron Wood stands at 2.04m TALL & that point really hits home when you see him in person! Phew.... our necks are still aching from looking up ;)

Go The Mighty Lions :)