From brown to green

When we moved to our new place in February, we were excited to have a yard. The largest challenge was how absolutely bare it was. Here is a view of the brown dirt with a bit of grass taken from our water tank looking towards the grapes out the back.

Cam and I would work hard to dig up this part of the lawn in 3 sections. Here I'm raking the first one. In the bottom you can see Cam started watering it and the soil wasn't bad once it got turned over. We spread about 4 boxes of seeds and had many evenings of digging, raking, sowing, and watering.

Now check it out! This was such a great shot and took us a few tries before getting Nevlin to actually walk on Sunday afternoon. We are very proud of the new lawn and have really used it a bunch. FYI sewing grass from seed isn't the easiest thing to do, but the end result of watching the little guy run across the lawn as you hang up laundry is priceless.

Nature at Easter

MaryEd and I woke up Easter morning and went to a dawn service. We were able to watch the sun rise over the water while a cruise ship was pulling into the town. Smaller fishing boats were buzzing around. 

We had a short drive to Oyster Bay and ate at a very child-friendly restaurant. There was a whole room for coloring, playing with toys, and just having space to be around and not stuck at a table.

Here's the 4 of us at one of the two national parks we visited with full tummies.

Being part of nature and walking along the shoreline was very calming. Windy, but calm.

It was so picturesque, absolutely beautiful. Here are 3 of us pausing with the view behind.

Unlike the other shorelines we've seen in SA, this one was quite hilly and jagged. These are some of the highest cliffs around these parts.

Port Lincoln at Easter

One of the most amazing parts of our trip was visiting with Ken Martin, the artist of this statue. The muscle tension on this animal was so real.

As a port town, there were lots of boats. Here's a shot of the harbor. You have to get up at the crack of dawn to see any action. Fish bite early.

We frequented this restaurant as it had an outdoor eatery area, was right on the waterfront, and across the street from a park with a Nev-sized playground.

Here's Nev in the park. He tried to walk all the way back to the car, but got tired and plopped down.

Nevlin gives a few looks that I used to give, well still give. The squint is a favorite, as well as the "I probably shouldn't really be doing this, but what the heck, maybe I won't get caught & it isn't too bad.

Easter Break with Meme & Gpa

 Nev got to spend his second Easter with lots of eggs, baskets, and family. Here he is with his cheeky grin, hanging with the chicks and cracking some guts and eggs.

We road tripped to Port Lincoln, on the Eyre Peninsula. This is the world's 3rd deepest port!

As per our hotel egg dying trends from year's past, we boiled these babies in the microwave. Everyone had a go with one of the 3 spoons.

The came out pretty good considering what we had to work with. Here they are in all their glory.

Nevlin didn't have a bathtub so we put him in a plastic tub. Sometimes you just make things work. He still enjoyed his cups.

We took an evening off and sat at the waterside. All of the pubs / bars that were in close proximity to our hotel were closed. We sipped a beer and mug of wine watching a bird flap in the surf.

Fit for a Nevvie

Tubes!

Perfect fit for a Nevvie.

Book 'em Danno

Out in the city, when the town had turned dark, people had gone home and the streets turned silent.

Out came the burglars. Perhaps two or three. They robbed three places on Hutt Street before breaking into my business' window, the one just by me.

 
Anyways, Cameron's business was robbed the other day. Cameron was the first onto the scene. They tore open a historic window from 1839 (poor thing) and broke into locked cabinets, taking computers a plenty.

Cameron called the Police who arrived within minutes. When does that ever happen when there's no emergency? They fingerprinted all over and got a few good ones. Who knows what will happen but I think they really want these guys.

Needless to say, really disruptive at work.

Around Adelaide

I have a few left-over photos from March that I need to catch up with. I went out with the mother's in our group & rode in with Bec on her bike. It was fun, and I was glad all I had to do was hold on.

Cam's work is going pretty well. He's been applying for other contracts, so we will wait to hear on those. He wrapped up work on the 1860s Adelaide observatory and the Adelaide Hospital 1850s with major rebuilding a hundred years later. Here's a shot of him in the office. 

During the Adelaide Fringe, there were lots of festival-like things happening in the city and around. They even set up croquet on the lawn in the middle of Victoria Square (dead center of Adelaide). This was the entrance, and we met up with a few folks after work one Friday.

Nevlin was happy to come along and watch. He played with the grass (our's was still growing in the back yard) and watched people playing croquet.

Overall, Nev is a pretty good eater. He enjoys lots of fruit, veg and meat. Of course being a mid-westerner at heart, he loves his corn.

We frequently go into town on the tram and depending on how many people are in it, we sometimes get to wander around a bit. Nevlin's favorite spot is by the doors where he can look out & then run back and forth between that, Cam & I.

Often, we spend time outside as it tends to calm down the little man. Here he was with Cam at the botanical gardens. He has woken from his nap, so I will sign off.