Thank you 2018

 Camping at Hat Head.

Adopting this ex-race horse. Free to a good home after finishing his last race (and getting dumped at his agistment). We renamed him, to celebrate his second life: Chester, after the guy the dug our dam a couple of years ago. It was the most beautiful thing, this massive chestnut coloured horse, looking like a kid in a candy store. Splashing and rolling around in the water, such delight.

 Picking blueberries at a local farm.

 Alex turning 5 and starting school

 Our annual camping at Woody Head.

 Iluka

 Pizza

A massive make over for the bathroom, toilet and ensuite.

Catching up with Erik, a friend that dates all the way back to the sandpit.
Every couple of years they get together to go rockclimbing.

And deep water soloing.

 Horses at a friends place.

 Saying goodbye to our little friend, Moon Dancer.

 Flowers in the Dragon Fruit!

2018 was a soccer year. Taking on a committee position as shared registrar and treasurer became a massive job. Learning so much.

Meeting up with my youngest sister Lisa in New Zealand. Tim gets to come along, 

to celebrate him turning 10 this year.

 Snuggling up at Lake Tapoe.

 Mountain biking in Rotorua with Lisa. One of Tim’s highlight of our trip to New Zealand.

 Crazy hikes and loving it.

Tim loved having some time off from his siblings.

New Zealand is such a beautiful country, I think I’ll have to go back again. With Sander and the other kids...

Dry, dry, dry. The Valley all smoggy from all the bush fires surrounding us. We had one starting at the end of the street, it circled back all the way to our back fence. A frightening day, but it all ended well.

 The kids tree house, still going strong.

Spring time. The fruit trees all decided to flower this year, for many their first year.

Enjoying the fire pit and the many Full Moon gathering it hosted this year,

all it needs is a picnic table...

Starting the new orchard.

 Winter in the gully. All the hundreds of wattles are in flower, turning it everything yellow.

 Salsa night out.

 Winter mornings.

 David turning 4

 Baking brioche.

 Taking some time out together, for walks on the beach

 Home amongst the gum trees

Picking up a rundown picnic table, our birthday present.
Sander enjoyed the challenge in returning this blood wood to it’s former glory.

School holidays are fantastic for making lots of different things with the kids.
Making butter, cookies, tomato soup. Learning all the basics.

 He has worked so hard for this. Blue belt in aikido.

Loving our weekly library visits.
Some books make you laugh, think, discover or cry.
This one did it all... “My mum is a foreigner, but not to me"

 Playgroup

 Enjoying the quiet

 Birthday kisses

 The pool, it’s a wonder the kids haven’t grown webs between their toes...

 Lots of cooking with the kids, for David the native bush tucker workshop was a highlight.

 Frost in Glen Innes

 Team Monkey

 Going for bike rides, finding new tracks on the old stock routes that surround us.

 That stubborn tree

 Selfies...

 Learning to ride a bike

 Cold Saturday morning soccer games

 Fire pit master

 Going on walks around the dam

 My babies

Finishing the cabin exterior.

 Trying to get a new quilt together, this was not my year...

Enjoying the pretty sunsets at the soccer training, every Thursday afternoon.

 A busy year, weekends are for taking a break.

 Going Nuts!

 Salsa lessons

Expanding my business with taking on new shops to stock my products.
And getting help with the packaging from my friend Nerissa.

 The garden decided on a growth spurt this year, after many years of trying to make roots in the heavy clay soil.

 School holidays are the time for board games

 Clarence Valley Food Inc. started this year, promoting local growers and producers. This was at their first get together. It’s mind blowing how much and how diverse our valley produces.

 Experimenting with a new line of nut butters

 Team curly whirly.

 The winter was harsh. The coldest and driest in a long time.

 Into the mountains for hikes

 The Winter festival in Glen Innes

 Dogs are so good for the heart.

 Hoping for rain.

 New septic system, after the old one turned into a boggy, stinky mess.

 Fathers Day...

 Experimenting with cultured and flavoured honeys

 Talent shows

 Into the bush, we spend so much time in our own forest this year.

 Mulberry mayhem.

 Playing around with marketing and getting to know Instagram.

 The start of the new cabin.

 Family visits.

 Returning back from New Zealand with some very exciting kids (and relieved grandparents).

 A family favourite.

 Overflowing gutters with pelting rain. Who needs a ladder when you have an Alex?

 Jacaranda season

 Taking a breather with weekends away.

 Looking after the wildlife when the temperature hit the 42degrees.

 Friends

 Taste testing my new Australian dukkah. With native spices from all over Australia.

 Trying out your new pocket knife.

Chillies galore in the garden this year, we picked at least a hundred.
Perfect for pickled jalapeños, sweet chilli sauce and curry paste.

 Making it into the newspaper

 Going electric.

 First go at tiling.

Aikido.

 Finding new friends in the garden.

Kids got board games and vouchers from Santa.
Their favourite by far was a voucher for Tree Tops in Coffs Harbour. An obstacle course with zip-lines in the trees. An exciting challenge that all of them relished,

Going trail riding with Sophie, a beautiful morning in the bush.

What an awesome year it was. It certainly flew past!