Happy Halloween!

I'm not sure who was more excited this week when our new swing set got delivered. It just about fits in the bottom area of the garden and Tom was the first to try it out. I think the tyre swing is going to be the favourite - the record so far is 4 children sitting on it with a 5th standing and swinging all the others - as long as it doesn't involve me pushing!!

During the week I went to see Julie & Julia which I enjoyed very much. Meryl Streep looks so like my mother it's uncanny (she was constantly told that whilst she was alive) and so I find it almost disconcerting seeing her on the big screen.

Also during the week I was on my way to rock band practice (?!) listening to the radio where they were talking about Cormack McCarthy's The Road - you may remember our friend Kate read it last Sunday morning at our house in one sitting. I was tempted to text Kate to tell her to tune in but I was driving and decided it was probably a bit dangerous. The next minute I heard "and here's our next caller Kate" who proceeded to explain how she'd read the book last weekend, her husband has now read it and however much she likes her neighbours, if it came down to it, she'd eat their kids first!

Jules went up north this weekend to do a sea survival course in preparation for the Sydney-Hobart. It involved some theory and then lots of being thrown into the water and trying to get into the lifecraft with various amounts of clothes on. Jules said it was remarkably hard and he's glad he had a practice and got to try out all his safety gear.

Saturday was Halloween so we dressed up the kids and went trick or treating. We met in a park beforehand with Noah, Charlie, Isabelle and Lucas (and their parents). It was a beautiful afternoon and we tried to persuade the children to eat lots of raw vegies before stuffing their faces with lollies! The streets we went trick or treating in are amazing in terms of the effort the people go to with decorating their houses and the number of lollies they hand out. After 3 houses I was ready to call it quits as the kids had enough lollies to last them a week. We finished back at the same park where the kids played on the swings and ran off all the sugar.

On Sunday Noah and Charlie came to play for the day. The weather was beautiful so the kids spent a lot of time in the pool even though it's still only 22 degrees. The swings got a work out and I put up the totem tennis - Tom has an impressive forehand! I love summer and I love the children's playground we've created in the backyard - it almost makes me want to give up work but then what would happen to the band......?!