Brett

Brett continues to be a really sick little boy. This week his temperature spikes are reaching 39.8, and he seems to be spending less and less time walking...now his muscles seem to be affected as well. On Wednesday I took him to see our GP who put him on antibiotics again, and in the mean time we're still waiting for the blood test results. It's rather frustrating not knowing what we're dealing with, and seeing Brett in so much pain is nasty; although admittedly he's quite chirpy still when he's sitting still, and keeps us smiling. Tonight he wanted us to take him back to the hospital in Perth so the doctors could fix him. When I told him they don't know what's wrong with him he says "that's okay, I'll tell them what's wrong!!" Wish it was that easy!!

Poor Brett

Last week Sunday Brett became sick; started off complaining of sore knees, and by the evening had a temperature, couldn't walk or hold his drink bottle, his joints were so sore. The next day the doctor said he had a strep infection and put him on antibiotics. Monday to Wednesday the poor kid couldn't walk, go to the toilet or feed himself, he was in so much pain. Wednesday afternoon he picked up just on time for a follow up visit to the doctor who was happy with his progress - he was pretty perky when we were there, could even walk, sort of!! The rest of the week, he would be okay for a few hours and then his temp would go up again, and everything would hurt again. Every evening around 10 he would start with the shakes, up would go his temperature, and then he'd saturate the bed with sweat. Poor kid's, had a really rough go. Last night he did it again, so today I took him to see a doctor (on Sunday you can't be too choosy with what doctor you see). She assessed him and told me to take him to PMH (the children's hospital) to have some bloodwork done. So Dave and I spent the rest of the day at the hospital... the doctors were concerned he might have rheumatic fever, or Ross River Virus or.... anyway, they took his blood to run a number of tests, and checked his urine. Thankfully the initial results have all come back normal, although one test does show that he has (or had) an infection. The tests for the nasty diseases take a few days for the results, so they sent us home again, telling us to keep doping him up with panadol and nurofen while we wait for the results. They have also given us a referral to the rheumatology department for a check next week Tuesday, just to check out his sore, inflamed joints. We hope and pray that by then he will be better again!
To add to the excitement, on Thursday afternoon Travis decided to try and cut his finger off with a steak knife (he was cutting a cardboard box into some wonderful creation when the knife slipped!). Fortunately, it wasn't too bad, and took just a quick trip to the emergency department where they said it could do with just a steristrip and bandaid. It's healing nicely now!

Enjoying the School Holidays!!

Well, 2 weeks have already passed, and we're left with 3 more days of holidays before it's back to the rush-rush of regular life. We've had a relatively quiet holiday, but thoroughly relaxing. Last week Tuesday we invited 9 girls over and spent 3 and a half hours making 2 cards and a lolly carton. They turned out really well, and we all enjoyed ourselves. (Thanks Michelle, for demonstrating, organising and helping!!) On Wednesday I took the kids to Perth; a stop at Ikea, Koorong and Stanbridges before we took the train in to Perth. The kids all had fun (except Cody, who finds shopping very boring and did a great job expressing this in his body language!!) and we had a relatively successful day: new Sunday clothes for Brett ("I look like a gentleman now, mum!"), a set of shelves to help tidy up Brooke's bedroom, model paint, some books for the girls and a new pullout rubbish bin. Yeah!!
On Friday, after cleaning the house we went to the AquaJetty for a couple of hours of swimming. The slide was closed (sad) but they had a blowup thing in the water which nearly covered 20 meters, where you had to try to run and climb and slide along without falling into the pool. The kids had a great time. And Travis made huge inroads into his swimming. He wore his vest and two arm floaties and was kicking and swimming around in the pool....HE TOOK HIS FEET OFF THE GROUND!!!! Way to go Travis!!! When Dave came home he was hoping to jump into our pool to show off to dad. He doesn't quite understand our pool is freezing in the winter!!
For the rest there have been a fair share of sleepovers and sleep aways, with some more still happening this week. I must say, it's been a great holiday for us so far!!

Saturday, July 12

Today, since there was no soccer, we decided to go down to Capel and visit Dren and JB. We had a really enjoyable day. It's great watching the cousins get along with eachother, and keep busy all day long. Dren and I had lots of time for chatting while Dave, JB and Cody went kayaking down the Capel river. Apparently they had a great time, although we had to pick them up before they reached their destination (the beach) and by that time they were wet and freezing cold! But we had more plans. At 5 o'clock we all went bowling in Bunbury...(hey, Dirk and Amanda, I was even getting spares!!) we had booked out 3 lanes and all 15 of us had a hoot trying to knock those silly pins down with those silly oversized balls! Dren only just beat me, and JB beat Dave, and Travis was thrilled to have the second highest score of all the kids!!
After our game of bowling we had an enjoyable dinner of fish and chips at Aristos' before we headed back home again. Thanks Dren and JB for another great day!!

Party Bridge

Friday night we were invited to Annette's birthday party. She had decided to do something different and had a 'Party Bridge' party. Wow we had such a ball. There were 8 couples and we swapped partners all evening long....your success depended on what cards you and your partner had (there was some skill involved but anyone can learn to play!!)... there was lots of laughter and groans, ribbing and pesting and more laughter. We all did our fair share of eating lots of nibbles and drinking lots of wine, Bailey's, scotch and punch. We had so much fun that before we knew it, it was past midnight already, and some needed to leave to relieve their babysitters while the rest of us sat around and chatted and laughed some more. It was such an enjoyable evening!! Thank you Annette!!

Cody's back!!

Wednesday night we took the 5 older kids and went to the airport to pick Cody up from his Tassie tour. The band members all arrived safe and sound at 11:15, all looking rather exhausted and complaining of having eaten too many sweet things (they had visited the Cadbury Chocolate Factory that morning!!) Poor Cody was hungry, and all we could offer him was lollies (man did he groan at that offer!!) until we got home. Apparently Hailey also had a lollipop on her pillow when she got home which was also accepted rather unenthusiastically!! Wade was thrilled to have his brother home again; he said he even missed Cody's snoring!! He followed him closely, eager to help out whenever possible - carrying Cody's jacket, waiting for him at the toilet... it was great to see him happy to see his brother! The trip home was filled with questions for Cody, a great welcome home for the oldest brother!!
Thursday morning Helen came to visit us with the 3 kids. Hailey came in looking rather bleary eyed. I told her Cody was still asleep, and she was more than welcome to jump into Wade's bed which she did promptly! The 2 slept, and slept until we woke them up at 12:15!! What a laugh that was.
All in all, they had a really enjoyable concert tour and we're thankful that God kept them safe, gave them the opportunity to use their musical talents, and brought them home again!
(I'm hoping to post some photos of his trip yet!!)...

School Holidays

Well, the kids have holidays for the next 2 and a half weeks. They've started well, with the twins each having a friend sleep over and Brooke went to Amy's for a sleepover last night. Now tonight Wade's gone to Oma's, and the twins have gone to their friends house. The Lewis madhouse, I think. Tonight we only had Brooke, Brett, and Travis for dinner as well as Owen and Madyson who we babysit on Monday nights and Ethan who came to play for a while. It was a little like old times, having all little ones around the table!!

School holidays mean reports have been issued. On the whole the kids have done well and their marks reflect this.
Cody seems to have hit a year 9 glitch, his comments reflect this: "Cody is a capable student if he puts his mind to it. Work on staying focussed and showing a positive attitude in all classes! ....Try to be consistent and resist distractions from your peers." We're happy with his 1 A and 4 B's... and we'll continue to work with him this next semester. Wade continues to do well as well, although his messy handwriting continues to be a bone of contention with the teachers: "Wade is a natural thinker and independant worker. He needs to really develop neatness in his writing and presentation skills..." I think his english teacher enjoyed him this past semester: "I enjoyed hearing his poems (or lengthy ballads) this term." With 2 A's and 3 B's, he's doing well. Jessica and Meagan enjoy school and their comments reflect this: "Jessica is a steady worker and a pleasant member of the class...is a helpful student always willing to lend the teacher a hand." "Meagan works hard in class and is always willing to help out others. She has a positive attitude towards her work and this is fairly evident in what she does."
In primary school Brooke and Brett also did very well. "Brooke is a conscientious student who has a keen desire to do well....She is a co-operative student who gets on well with her peers."
"Brett is a friendly and cheerful member of our class. He demonstrates a conscientious attitude and a willingness to put effort into daily work which shows in the general presentation of his work. He is well liked by his classmates and is a valued member of the class..."
They all deserve their 2 weeks of holidays!!

Farewell Tassie Concert Tour

Checking in at the airport,

Looking over their new books with itinerary and personal profiles

Way to go Band!!

On Monday, June 30, Cody left with the school band on their first ever Tassie Concert tour. The band has practiced many hours to get to this stage, and now are looking forward to being rewarded for all their hard work. I know Cody has callouses on his fingers from all his practices and band performances.


The airport was abuzz with excitement. All the band members had been given special concert jackets (it's so cold in Tassie, they needed a warm jacket!!) which they all wore to airport, giving them a very sophisticated, group look. All together, about 50 people have flown over to Tassie for a 10 day tour which includes a lot of practices and performances but also some sightseeing and relaxing. Hopefully some more photos will follow when Cody returns!

PS: If anyone can tell me how to post music on my blog, I could give you a sample of their good work!!