Op Shop Dinner

So, for a little bit of school holiday fun I decided it would be fun if we all drew each others names out of a hat and dressed each other up using things we found at the op shop. 

It went exactly to plan and after a few tears and two tantrums we looked like complete idiots as we headed up to the Golf Course last night for dinner..

Before getting dressed up

Ready to go!

Justine dressed by Aunty Melissa.. Rocked a cow boy shirt, a magicians cape and sparkly black pants.
Total $6

Justine drew out Hiram and dressed her brother as a grandpa right down to his slippers.
Total: $12

Janai was dressed in a bright yellow dress, black leather-like pants, white platforms, pink hair plus matching accessories by Jeanette.
Total:$21

Janai chose to dress Jie like a 5 year old.
Total: $2.50

Hiram dressed Jeanette in mix-match and a dress and heels which she felt way uncomfortable in.
Total: $17

Jiedyn had the hard task of dressing his fussy sister. She reluctantly wore a Bart Simpson top and green jeans.
Total: $3.50

And then there was Me. My lovely daughter dressed me in a pair of stained black leggings, a bright orange shirt (2 sizes too small for me) and a bright red silk night robe. At one point I was like "what have I gotten myself into?".
Total: $12

Ready to go..

Cheesy garlic bread to set the tone..

cheese!

Dinner was perfect

and so was desert.

And ice cream for the littlies. A luxury.

The night was such a laugh and luckily no-one we actlaully knew was dinning there. Just a lot of really well dressed well mannered peeps and us.. LOL

I recall Jeanette not wanting to take Justine to the toilet because she felt way over dressed and didnt want to leave the table. Janai didn't bring her bright pink hair and Hiram hid half of his outfit under the table and nearly left it there as we were leaving. But it was Nevaeh whom I was really impressed with. She had a melt down not wanting to wear a Bart Simpson top (because his nipples were showing) but she actually rocked her jeans. Maybe we'll be seeing her in more jeans from now on... 

It was a fun and memorable night.

I look forward to looking back at these pics in the years to come.

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Our Melbourne Getaway

This was the view from my window as I lay on my spacious bed after checking into our 3 bedroom apartment I organised for us all for the weekend. 

The Kids were all so excited to check out the hotel and choose which rooms they wanted.

 Our first night there we walked around looking for fun. We went to Fed Square and I challenged the kids to take creative photos of named things. They ran around laughing and having fun as I caught Pokemon. After a while we went to Woolworths Express to buy Uno cards, fruit, snacks and noodles for dinner. After dinner we went back out to buy ice cream before heading back to the hotel to bed.

Saturday morning we had to Up and Go bright and early so it was only appropriate that I buy the kids an Up and Go breakfast drink. 

A bus picked us up from our hotel and took us on a guided tour around the city before taking us to the kids first big surprise. 

I had booked a massive day full of fun for them and they had no idea what the day would bring. 

The hype in the bus was so fun and the tour guide played along.

Our first stop was Grants on Sherbrooke where we had morning tea of scones and bush tea, checked out their gift shop and hand fed native australian birds.

 Jeanette made us all laugh as she walked in with her bowl of bird seed only to throw it onto the ground once the birds flew towards us. I am still smiling every time I think of it. We were all in stitches. 

But it was Jiedyn who surprised me out there. He showed no fear and as all the other kids held back Jie shone bright holding his own, visibly confident and having a lot of fun.

 I have to rate it as one of the best experiences in my life to date. 

Jumping back on the bus, the kids were even more excited to see where we were heading next. And with great reason as none of them had ever been to this place before. 

The kids tried asking me clues on the way but I gave nothing away.

 Hiram read the sign and announced that we were at Puffing Billy.

We were shown to our carriage and before we knew it we were travelling through the picturesque Dandenong Ranges on this beautiful old steam train.

 The kids were happy to sit out the window and even Justine and Nevaeh had a go.

The air was so fresh it was breathtaking.

 The kids were happy to pose for photos and I just love this beautiful shot of them all (below).

After leaving Puffing Billy we went on to Sky High Mt Dandenong but by that time it was raining and wet so we didn't see much. But the kids climbed the wishing tree for a quick photo and we checked out the wishing well before heading out for lunch.

We were recommended this little place in Olinda which had award winning pies. 

Pie in the Sky has been voted as being Victorias #1 and Australia's top 10 pies by the public in 2013 and 2014 and I can tell you from personal experience, they were damn good! 

It was a nice finish to the day and we all fell asleep on the way back to the hotel listening to the radio and talking about our favorite parts of the day.

 By Sunday I was ready to go home. But not without shopping! The kids received their pocket money and after hiring a locker and leaving our luggage behind, we went to the Crown Casino for lunch and a look around.

 The girls spent their money on Starbucks which was an absolute dream come true for them and after finding out about a very important cultural event happening (Standing By Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner Launch) I knew we just had to be there.

Life threw us some really emotional lows last week so this weekend was a great time to all come together for some family fun. I love doing life with all of these young people who look up to me and am glad I could bring some joy back into their lives..

If only for the weekend....

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