Nicholas Thorpe – Page 4 – Postcards from Tasma

Lyonville – the centre of our universe

The wedding ‘procession’ left the Radio Springs Hotel, accompanied by Paul Jonas on fiddle and ambled down to the Lyonville Community Hall.

Ants climbing up Lucinda's legs — Ants climbing up Lucinda’s legs

We got Hitched!

On the 24th January 2016 in the small community of Lyonville, just outside of Daylesford, Nick and Fi got hitched.

Lucinda turns 11

Let’s face it our family enjoys celebrating birthdays!

The birthday cake request this year was for a Watermelon Cake! To be clear… I love a decorating challenge, but even with a fancy Italian oven I cannot bake a cake! This one called for layers of pink velvet cake with choc chips with insane volumes of butter icing and fondant. Paul, our dear friend, agreed to bake the cake…

Paul not only baked the cake, he stayed up until 3.30am making the icing!

All that was left to do was a little painting of watermelon pattern

... and a lot of eating! — … and a lot of eating!

Along with pretty baked apple rose pastries

and the whipped cream cinnamon doughnuts (for the class at school) — and the whipped cream cinnamon doughnuts (for the grade at school)

... then there's breakfast... with MORE watermelon cake. — … then there’s breakfast… with MORE watermelon cake.

LOVE that Ivy took over the kitchen and with her sous chef Daisy, made pancakes for breakfast — Love that Ivy took over the kitchen and with her sous chef Daisy, made pancakes for breakfast

In addition to an Escape Room experience where 5 girls screamed a lot and one big sister solved the puzzles… the sisters; Lucinda, Audrey and Paige went to the opera!

All dressed up to see The Rabbits starring Kate Miller Heidke

And the girls got to meet their star, Kate Miller Heidke at stage door. Nice matching outfits Lucinda + Kate.

Happy birthday Lucinda xxx

A taste of early summer

Thanks Sal for some time down at Ocean Grove…

Piktochart fireside chat

Right back at you, Audrey

in my backpack today…

School pics 2015

Finding Nemo

Found our little clown fish... too sweet. — Found him.

Ethan about to dive... onto our apparently drowning instructor. — Ethan about to dive… onto our apparently drowning instructor.

A blue spotted stingray we lay down in the sand with.

also found large reef shark basking on the sandy bottom — also found a large reef shark basking on the sandy bottom

While Ethan and Fi scuba dived the girls and Nick snorkelled.

Audrey and Lucinda holding on tight to a starfish and the life buoy - it was a choppy 20 knots. — Audrey and Lucinda holding on tight to a starfish and the life buoy – it was a choppy 20 knots.

Fi (holding it together) and Ethan. — Fi (with octopus hair) and Ethan.

We went out to Upolo Reef on the Great Barrier Reef with Ocean Freedom. Highly recommend them.
http://www.oceanfreedom.com.au/

Queensland we love you

So we recently had another holiday back to Queensland. This one was specifically to take the kids out snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef (more posts on that following). Thanks to our generous friends Deb and Rob we got to stay again in their beautiful home beside the equally beautiful Forrest Beach. How lucky are we?!!!