🎂 Maddie Turns 19 🎂

Yes, it was Maddie's 19th birthday today.

Time flies!

The only 2 girls left at home now,

and still friends :)

 

Beautiful Little Boy

Yes, Grandma went a little crazy with the camera! But we all agree that Reuben is just too cute for words! So, I'll let the photos speak for themselves. 

Also, the little granddaughters are growing into beautiful young ladies already.

Miriam is loving being second 'mummy' and watching over her little siblings. 

Precious little Alyssa is growing quickly too and it's time for me to post some more photos of her as soon as I get time to take some more! 

I just had to take some photos of the girls in the little dresses I made for their mum and Aunties many years ago. They look adorable in them! 

 

Reuben James McKenna

A grandson for us! 

Yes, we now have an adorable little

grandson to join our 3 beautiful 

granddaughters! 

Reuben James McKenna was born on 

Wednesday, the 29th of July.

Mum and bub are well, and the fights between

the Aunties (over holding baby Reuben), have begun. 

Keep watching this space for more photos

of this precious new little life! 

Alyssa💗

Growing Fast and 

Going to Be a BIG Sister! 

Yes, not only is Alyssa growing fast

and changing more and more each day,

but she's also going to become a big 

sister in a few months! 

Our little family is rapidly expanding.

Abbi is due to have her baby very soon,

so stay tuned for pics of that precious little one!

Who knows, we might even get a boy! 

Alyssa loves being outside and can't wait

to be able to go and help Daddy work

at the cattle yards! 

The nest empties so quickly, so don't waste those 

precious moments with your children. 

Cherish every day. 

The days may be long but the years are so short! 

💗

Litchfield National Park, NT

Last weekend, we were finally able (after 7 years

of living in the Territory) to visit Litchfield National Park. 

It was only an overnight camp and travel through

but was well worth it. 

Dry season here in the Territory means a lot of fires 

and burning off. Makes you want to roast marshmallows!

Well, it does for me anyway.

This was the first time for Maddie to get her Cruiser 

off road properly. We travelled down the Reynolds River Track

to Litchfield. This track is apparently challenging when you

do it after the wet, but this being the 2nd time we've done it, we

found it once again not much more than a 'station' type road

with a few water crossings. Still, it's a great change from the 

Stuart Highway and a lot of changing scenery.

Starting out Saturday afternoon after everyone had finished 

work, we headed down the track to make camp somewhere

along the way. 

Being the school holidays and also the weekend, there

were a lot of other local travellers, so we managed to find a 

nice little secluded spot beside a flowing creek to set up camp. 

Well, our little camp set up was lovely. There were no

noisy neighbours with all night parties, no barking dogs,

no police sirens etc........BUT..............

we managed to attract EVERY mosquito in the Territory!

No, we didn't sleep much at all, despite the peaceful

surroundings. It was bite, slap, scratch, bite, slap, scratch

ALL NIGHT! 

But, it was still nice to get away and enjoy a beautiful

full moon, some peace and quiet, billy tea, toasted marshmallows,

campfire cooked toast and no annoying texts or phone calls! 

The next morning, we headed out once again to visit 

the 'touristy' spots in Litchfield. A too friendly dingo,

some buffalo, kangaroos and huge magnetic termite mounds

had me snapping away contentedly. 

Maddie and Chloe both had their fair share of river crossings

to traverse, as Dave let Chloe drive the Ute for a while.

(It's kind of a strange feeling, driving through the bush 

with your 2 youngest daughters behind the wheel. Makes

you feel rather old).

The deepest crossing was on the road into Blythe Homestead.

It was up to the step treads, so not too deep, but nice,

as Dave and I had a mattress tied to the back of the ute 

for our bed (which also happened to be Maddies mattress off 

her bed at home, so I don't think she would have appreciated 

it getting wet). The girls had slept on the roof rack of Maddie's

Cruiser (Maddie's bed) and on the cage top of the ute (Chloe's choice for the night). 

That middle shot is the amazingly clear water far, far below, downstream from Tolmer Falls 

We did some hiking and exploring and found some 

beautiful little spots to maybe revisit another time. 

A nice day and a half away, despite the mozzies.

I can tick that one off my bucket list now and 

Kakadu is next! We haven't really seen a lot

more than a days drive through there, so hopefully 

it'll happen soon!