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Davejack

The Snapper Haul

Dave and E went fishing with Mikey and Gemma today and came home with a bin FULL of big fish.

Ethan reeled in his biggest fish yet, an impressive 8 pound snapper – hooked and brought to the boat all by himself, I think today was the best day of his life!  He caught 3 keepers (all snapper) and one jack mackerel that was used as live bait.

Oddly enough he was most impressed with Daddy’s Kahawai and wouldn’t put the fish down, we were surprised that he actually let Daddy and Grandad fillet it!

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My Guys Rip

We spent Sunday morning at the beach out west and both boys were charging!

Ethan has been riding without training wheels for just three weeks now and he charged the BMX track – HARD!  Louie was always right there to lend Ethan some moral support and add difficulty as a moving obstacle if Ethan was going a little too fast!

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Bike Repair, who can complain though with the beach right there! 180 hippy jump for the kids

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Date Night – Aren’t we cute?

To celebrate Jo’s birthday we enjoyed an awesome Pot Luck dinner with my bestest girl friends and their husbands / partners.  My camera was sitting on the table the whole time and I took not one picture.  I know, very hard to believe.

We did pose for a little self-portrait before we left though;

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Where was I?

You know what I’m talking about.

I was on my way to work.  I had just left the ghetto-assed place where I was staying / nannying in Atlantic Beach, Florida and was heading for my lovely job at video production company Atlantic Video in Jacksonville Beach.  It was one of those weird mornings when you get in your car and you’re not listening to the radio, you just keep flicking stations trying to find some music.  That’s what I was doing.  I was flicking stations but there was no music on any of them.  That’s when I started listening.  It was 8.46am and flight 11 had just hit the north tower of The World Trade Centre.  I don’t remember the drive to work, but it was probably quick.  I do remember calling my boss and telling him to turn on the news now.

I got to work within 5 minutes and flicked ALL of the TV’s on – it was a video production company so there were monitors everywhere.  The networks were going crazy and as we all know there were cameras rolling in New York after the first plane hit.  I saw the second plane hit at 9.03am and like the rest of America I was knocked back in my seat and couldn’t take my eyes of the screen for the rest of the day.

I grabbed the phone and called my parents in New Zealand.  It was the middle of the night and I told them to TURN ON THEIR TVs NOW.  It was awful, it was impossible to convey what had happened to my family on the other side of the world who had been sleeping only moments ago and could in no way comprehend the enormity of what had just happened on US soil.

Thirty minutes later it happened again, this time into the Pentagon.  Thirty minutes after that it happened again, this time in Pennsylvania.

David and I will never forget that most horrific of all days.  Though it was without a doubt the worst day in living memory, I am so glad that I was in America on that day.  It sounds like a strange thing to say, but having lived through it with my American friends and then later marrying a US citizen, I will never forget how the country stopped and we all cried together that day, how everyone hurt so bad for all of the victims, and how the Super Power that so many around the world hate so much, became so human to me.

I love The United States and will never forget September 11th, 2001 and the hideous suffering that occurred that day, and every year since.

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The Most Shi Tzu-ish Cake Ever

Ethan and I didn’t go out looking for an ugly cake to buy Dave for his birthday, but lo and behold we found one anyway. We were picking up some things for the birthday dinner and Ethan spotted Louie in cake form! Although he was missing his requisite orange sweater, the likeness is uncanny, and Ethan knew his daddy would be totally stoked on a chocolate log decorated to look like a chocolate dog (I think one of the bakers at Pak n Save might be one of the 3 readers of my blog!!).

So Dave requested a modest birthday dinner of chicken burgers, fries and ice cream. I aim to please, so instead of chicken patties as he was expecting I splashed out on $20 worth of chicken breast [ouch] and whipped up the following marinade

In a bowl combine hideously expensive chicken with

* the rest of the bottle of Worcestershire sauce

* splash of dark soy sauce

* garlic

* Italian herbs

* frsh ground black pepper

* splash of Mrs. Balls hot Chili Chutney

Ta Da! Cook each breast in a hot iron skillet, and serve as part of a build-your-own-burger buffet line. I had fresh kaiser rolls, homemade beetroot chutney, the standard sauces, avocado mash, bacon, brie, cheddar, tomatoes and lettuce, coleslaw and potato wedges. So good, I could barely waddle around the kitchen to serve the desert dog!

Happy birthday Dave, we love you so much xxxx

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Ethan and his mates

Driving to the playground yesterday Ethan was telling me about his day at kindy;

Ethan: “I put my arm around Sinead and patted her on the back ’cause she is my bestest friend”

Me: “That was so sweet,  I bet you made her very happy”

Ethan: “Yes, but I just can’t wait to grow up, sometimes I just can’t wait!”

Me: “Why?  and what has that got to do with Sinead being your bestest friend?”

Ethan: “Well, when I grow up I want to be just like Daddy and be Daddy’s bestest friend”

Me: “I think you are already Daddy’s bestest friend, why do you need to grow up quickly?”

Ethan: “So we can hang out….and drink beers….as well as go skateboarding, Daddy is REALLY into skateboarding and drinking beers”

The boy speaks the truth, can’t argue with that!

Is that not the sweetest thing ever?  Nothing like beer to bring a father and his 4yo son together.

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Mum & Dad Time

It has been a pretty hectic two weeks since we moved house, Ethan has been on holiday with me as we wait for a place to open up for him at his new kindergarten (hopefully the first week of June) and Dave has been working some long hours at the restaurant. So to mix it up Ethan stayed the night at Mum and Dad’s house, Dave was home early from work and we had a nice sleep in this morning sans our 4yo alarm clock!
There is a driving range and golf course five minutes from our new house so I am pretty keen to start playing again, Dave remembered me saying that and suggested that we pack up some clubs and go and hit a few balls. It was so much fun! After a few duds I had the old wood cracking some beautys right down the middle – loved it.

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After we finished schwacking all of our balls we went to lunch at The Carriages, an awesome cafe made out of old railway carriages that is right on the river.

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It was the best meal out we have had in so long.  We ordered the Platter for two which served pretty much every one of our favourite savoury treats; two loaves of hot, fresh baked bread, chorizo, salami, pastrami, smoked sausages, two different chutneys, brie, blue cheese, swiss, salad, pickles, kalamata olives and peppers.  OMG, so good paired with a crisp local chardonnay.  Image018It was such a lovely morning made even better when we went to pick Ethan up afterward and saw how happy he was and what a lovely time he had had with his grandparents.

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