Frank is 5

How can I forget! Frank turned 5 and he wanted a Space Party.  So a lot of thought and preparation went into it and on Sunday the 25th of March we held the party on the beach. I had built a Rocket Ship out of 3 large card board boxes and created a puppet theatre. We played space games like astronaut training, a Galaxy Slime Relay and Jamie created a beautiful planet cake. 22 little aliens had a lot of fun!

Soon after his 5th birthday he lost his first tooth!

And after 2 weeks of trying and lots of accidents  (read sleepless nights) we gave up the night time potty training. Frank was obviously not ready. He's is such a deep sleep! I once changed him, put a new nappy on him, changed his bed etc and he didn't even wake up!
But then something strange happened. We went on a camping holiday (more about that later) and he was dry every single night (in his nappy in his sleeping bag) and now we're home he's going to sleep without a nappy and has been dry since! Yippie!!

Music, Music and more music

Summer is a great time here in Perth as there are lots of outdoor concerts. Recently I have been to two indoor ones too! John Butler played (solo) in the Astor Theatre, an old theatre in Mt Hawthorn. He lives in Fremantle and is a fantastic guitarist. He told a few stories of his life and only started playing when he was 16! Great music. Was very impressed.

The other concert was the West Coast Blues n Roots Festival in Fremantle. A whole day out! Loved it. Went with Evelien and Remco.
Highlights were Buddy Guy, The Pogues and last but not least John Fogerty. What an impressive list of songs he has on his name. He's 66 now but still showed plenty passion and energy.

But the best one was a guy I'd never heard of before. Neil, a friend from Oman told me he was worth seeing. Show was sold out but managed to find 2 tickets on Gumtree (sort of Aussie ebay but then local) and Katja and I went to the Fly By Night in Fremantle. Fantastic venue, bit like the Lemon Tree in Aberdeen. Standing only and very intimate. The guy we went to see is called Xavier Rudd, a guitarist, singer song writer, drummer, didgeredoo-ist and surfer. Very down to Earth. Totally loved him.

Fabulous how he played the drums and could beat box through 2 didgeredoos!

At the moment I have no more concerts in the diary. Unfortunately Bruce Springsteen and Prince won't come to Perth...

What's happening!

Sorry guys, it's taken me too long again. What's been going on. Well, lots. A school fair, boys swimming lessons, Easter egg hunt with Willem's class, Lunches with friends, gym, work, outdoor cinema, bootcamp and all the other normal, regular things.

More importantly: Jamie's Mum Jill and her friend Alan came to see us again which was lovely. Jill is 80 years old now so it's quite amazing she can still make it across and not just tp Perth but to Sydney and the Gold Coast too! We went a weekend to Yallingup and went to some of the great beaches but also visited a great place called the Bootleg Brewery and the Cullen Winery, where I tasted the best Chardonnay of 2010 worth $105 a bottle (which isn't really that expensive) and it was yummy!

It was really nice to see them again. This was during  a nice BBQ on our veranda.

Have I mentioned our reading club yet? Started it a couple of months ago with some Dutch girlfriends. We've been reading mostly Australian books. Really good ones like "A fortunate Life" from A.B. Facey. You get a real good idea what life was like here in WA when the first settlers came. We also read "My Place" by Sally Morgan, a book about what it's like to be aboriginal. Jasper Jones, written by Craig Silvey was fabulous. Also a WA author. Totally relived my Tom Sawyer/Mark Twain experience. Just finished "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak. Also really recommended! Narrated by death and set in Nazi Germany. Cried my eyes out...

Anje, Marjolijn, Tamar, Corinne, Sylvana, Katja (and me)

OOOOOOH and how can I forget! I got filmed for a program Zeeuwen Down Under and I was on TV on the 27th of March!

http://www.omroepzeeland.nl/video/2012-03-27/116077/zeeuwen-down-under-dinsdag-27-maart-2012#.T40EYnjeXN4

and here's a bonus film too:

http://www.omroepzeeland.nl/video/2012-03-27/116104/bonus-zeeuwen-down-under-27-maart#.T40ElHjeXN4

It was really fun to do and the film crew (Remie and Mieke) were lovely!

https://picasaweb.google.com/118153332706348543500/WeekendAwayToLeeuwinNaturalisteNP

Camping again...

Hi, it's been a while. Life's been good and busy here. Summer has ended but autumn has started hot. 38 degrees today! Work is good. I am so enjoying being a teacher again. I teach three small groups (3/4 year olds) and we've been working on "the very hungry caterpillar" and now we've just started a project about traffic. I just love summer in Perth. Outdoor cinema, concerts etc. We've been to see Icehouse in Kingspark, Ross Noble the comedian in an old theatre in Subiaco. I've got a Blues 'n Roots festival soon with John Forgerty headlining, tickets for John Butler. We've had a couple of parties recently. Also a  farewell one. Always a big negative of our life abroad. Lovely friends have moved to Kazachstan.
The 17th of February was an exciting day as a small (2) film crew came to film me. There's this programme about Zeeuwen Down Under. I am a Zeeuw (some one from my region back home) and they found me on facebook. Very nice people, the crew, and they filmed me at work and at home, on the beach etc. It will be on the telly the end of this month!!! Frank is loving school. What a difference with Kindy last year. He feels a big Pre-Primary boy now and tells us a lot of what he's been doing at school. Singing all the songs. Willem is also happy in his split year1/2 class. He just finds everything too easy. Maybe it's time to have a chat about it. The teacher has already said he's clever and sometimes get's the answer faster than the year 2 students. Last weekend we went camping in the bush near Margaret river. It was great! Possums on my shoulder, stingrays at our feet. Great 4wheel driving and stunning beaches

https://picasaweb.google.com/118153332706348543500/WeekendAwayToLeeuwinNaturalisteNP

Tasmania

The summer holiday is coming to an end and I have lots to write. We just got back from the most fabulous holiday in Tasmania. First we visited Jamie's sister in Sydney and we flew on to Tassie, an island I totally fell in love with. So wild, so beautiful: mountains, beaches, full of wild life (wallibies, wombats, echidnas, possums).. we were very lucky with the weather. Mostly sunny and we missed the massive heat wave here in Perth (3 days of 40+ degrees!) Tasmania has lovely wee towns and nice pubs. And everyone is so friendly. The boys were (again) amazing little walkers and we tackled quite a few mountains. Jamie more than us, but even so. Will post some photos soon.
Now watching the tennis. Exciting match.. Hope Nadal wins..

Long time

Happy 2012!

Busy but fantastic month with my parents and Maarten and Shonda. Had a lovely time in Albany. What a beautiful coastline! Here are some photos...

https://picasaweb.google.com/118153332706348543500/Christmas2011

Still 3 weeks holiday left. Am looking forward to catching up with friends next week and then we are going to Sydney and on to Tasmania!

XXX