What We've Been up to in the Month of May

While all our Canadian friends and family are enjoying springtime at home, we are enjoying some cooler autumn weather here in Ferntree Gully.

There's just one tree in the neighbourhood that is dropping it's leaves and reminding us of home,

 

and then you look up the mountainside and all you can see is leafy green!

We asked the kids what kind of things they wanted to do on their weekends for term 2. They surprised us with saying they wanted to stay home more and take more day trips since last term they didn't have much time for playdates, sleepovers and birthday parties. 

Cool. We can do that!

On a Friday night a few weeks ago there was a school disco. Given that the word "disco" isn't something our generation uses very often I wasn't sure what to expect! Sure enough it was your normal every day school dance.  But for these kids the real gem was being able to wear "free dress" (translation: no school uniforms!)

So after a quick dinner and some primping (ok maybe a lot of primping), Tyler went with the first group on the early shift from 5:30 to 7:00pm at which point we went and picked him up and dropped Hannah off for the later shift of 7:00 to 9:00.  This may have been the most fun they've had on a Friday night in a long time!

Mother's Day was a real event for me this year. I attended a Mother's Day tea held by Hannah's girl guide troop one night, had morning tea with Tylers preppie class (all devoted to the letter "m"), and had breakfast in bed on Mother's Day. I've loved every minute of being a "mum" so far this year, and it means so much to me to hear straight from the kids how much they appreciate having me close by this year.

Recently on a lovely Sunday afternoon we met up with some friends to go to the Melbourne Zoo. Since the weather was cooler the animals were moving around and there was lots to see. We all agreed that the highlights of the day were the meerkats, and watching the elephants search for the melons hidden around their enclosure. And of course there was the new baby elephant - it's amazing how something that big can be that cute!

One of the wonderful things about the kids school is not only the strong academic focus, but the fantastic arts program. They each get the opportunity to participate in a grade appropriate art class and music class weekly and Hannah also participates in the "Love to Dance"program where she has an hour of dance every week during school hours as part of a collaboration between the phys ed and arts departments.

One evening last week we had the opportunity to attend the Fall Art Show. We were handed a lovely glass of wine on our arrival and took the next hour to wander around the outdoor basketball court that had been transformed into the Ferntree Gully North Art Gallery! We saw the textiles work Tyler had been working on, my Mother's Day portrait, some watercolour scenes that Hannah had done and some line drawings.

After we had taken the opportunity to mingle with the other parents and admire the artwork we were treated to a show by the kids in the school dance program. This was Hannah's first performance and I think for only 5 weeks of practice she did a fantastic job. Here's a little peek (she's in the middle towards the back)

Hannah and her friend Talia were so fired up after their big performance they agreed to pose for a couple of celebrity shots!

June should be another quiet month. We're hoping to get some day trips in, but mostly we're just enjoying spending time with some of the new friends we've made.