Double Digits

Maya turned 10 this year. As always, it was a much awaited birthday.

A Fur Real cat from grandma. The only kind of cat we are likely to have in this house!

 Ginny Weasley's wand.

 Her own camera! One of the things Maya says she wants to be when she is older is a photographer but I don't like her using my camera. Now she can take all the pictures she wants.

We stayed at Corinne's house the the night before Maya's birthday so she got to wear the birthday hat and have the birthday sign up.

But the most exciting part of Maya's day was getting her ears pierced. She has been begging to get her ears pierced for a few years. She was nervous about the actual process but said afterwards that it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be.

I love this smile. I love this girl.

Australia Day 2011

When celebrating Australia Day in Utah when the weather is cold and snowy, our main way of showing our love for Australia is all about the food. We loved that we could share the day with family and friends.

Corinne made these honey joys and chocolate crackles (one of my favourite party foods as a kid!).

We had Australian-themed tattoos for all who were interested. We didn't think about the fact that it was Sunday the next day and they wouldn't wash off the children's faces in time! Annabelle sure did look cute though. Her expression captures my feelings about the food perfectly.

Josh's sausage roles. I ate one of these this year - it was the first meat I had eaten since December 31, 2009.

 Sara made the pavlova.

 Jeni made the caramel slice.

 We shared a bag of banana lollies.

Aussie-style burgers with beet root and pineapple. I love beet root!

Lamingtons with cream in the middle - the only way to have them.

Mrs. P and the Psychlettes

Liesa and her family came for a quick visit in January. We wish they could have stayed longer but we were glad for the time that we had with them. The boys have all grown so much since we saw them two years ago. They are all wonderful boys and we love them to bits.

Maya loved having time with Bailey again.