"Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one." - Dr. Seuss

Andrew and I have been babysitting for the past day while Tim and Kathryn take a well deserved break with an overnighter to Fremantle. The girls are typical 5 and 3 year olds and have their squabbles but tend to resolve the issue on their own. Katie takes a little longer to convince but as someone once said about a couple of our strong willed daughters - "she will make a strong leader someday" - not really helpful in the heat of the moment when you are debating whether you will ever get through this stage of life. But we managed to get through it with our five, by God's grace, and are now enjoying the empty nest and experiencing life beyond children. I am excited at the prospect of the adventures that Andrew and I will be able to share, health permitting, over the next few years.
I have been very impressed with the green space that is evident everywhere here. They make the most of it with parks for the children, footy fields and bird sanctuaries. As you can see in the pictures, they install shade sails for the spring/summer months over the playgrounds, so they are accessible all year round. The sun is brilliant here and you need sunglasses whenever you are outside and a hat for protection. I've found that I drink a lot more water here - the body just seems to be parched all the time.

 After a slip on the floor and a little cuddle, and knowing Mummy wasn't around, Grammie was able to soothe Katie - didn't really want her sleeping, but it was nice to have a sweet cuddle.

 Andrew picking his first lemon. Haven't cracked it open yet, but the skin even smells lemony. So fresh!

 First playground of the day - note the shade sails covering most of the play area.

 The equipment is quite elaborate and we were the only ones there on a perfect spring day. The girls spent an hour in the fresh air. This is within walking distance of their home.

 A fun spinny piece of equipment. Grampie had it going quite fast and Katie got too dizzy and fell off - it was a soft landing though and she only got a bit of sand in her mouth!

 Katie in the eucalyptus tree.

 ...... and Eden.

 If you enlarge this picture you can see the sign on the truck is 'Affordable Pest Control'. At least it's affordable. Undoubtedly spraying for red-backs. "Yikes on bikes!!"

 And an hour before supper in another playground - also within walking distance of home. Eden is up pretty high - not sure what the safety regulations are here but I don't think you would find this in Canada.

And if all else fails, turn on the telly and bring out a snack. They were great girls and maybe Tim and Kathryn can get out again for another date while we are here.

Another thing I like about this country is the tax is included in the all the prices. What you see on a product is the price you pay, unlike NS where you have to add another 15% to whatever you buy. This would be awesome if Canada would adopt this method, especially for tourists.