What can I say, this year is looking good. Another perfect day on my favorite beach. This is Juniper enjoying the crystal clear waters.

Officially it’s summer time again Down Under. Here’s a beach daisy tat could make a nice wallpaper if you have a hankering for something warm.

It’s getting warm enough to spend time on the beach again. The girls and I wandered down on Sunday and spent some time running in and out of the water. It’s still a little cold for me but they had a great time.

EXIF Data

Camera: Canon EOS 400D Digital
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/2000)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 130 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire

Well, I’m on the home stretch now. My Mr Mum stint is almost over. One more day to go and my better half returns from New Zealand. The kids are excited and I will be very relieved.

I had lots of good intentions but, as I reflect over the past week I realised that I have not done a lick of housework, the laundry is starting to evolve into a higher life form and the kiddos have had instant noodles too many times.

On Sunday I took them to Frankston Beach. They both luv going to the beach no matter even when it is very cold (by Australian standards) and very very windy. I captured a few shots that I liked from the trip. The first is the one above of Juniper and Willow. I don’t know why but I really like this image, the composition and color.

The one below of Willow … well, I just thought the heading on the sign behind her summed her up quiet well.

In yesterday’s post, I mentioned my daughter and her room. About a year ago I offered to paint her room for her. Being the very creative and ecofriendly kiddo she is, she asked me to paint a forest on her walls. I had no idea how one would go about painting a forest on walls. I decided to try something mural style and painted a simple forest scene on one of her walls as a feature. A few weeks ago, she came to me and said “Ah Dad, do you think my room looks ‘beachy’?” This came after she had spent quiet a long time redecorating and using her pocket money to buy pretty ‘beach’ things for it. “Of course it looks beachy!” I enthusiastically replied. She then pointed out that her room was mostly green and that it had a big forest on one wall. Not very beachy.

In a flash of brilliance (yes, self adulations here) I said “Well, you know that Australia is one of the only places in the world where the rainforest meets the reef” meaning that in North Australia, the tropical Daintree Rainforest meets the Great Barrier Reef. “Your mural really depicts this very unique and special trait”. No matter the brilliance, she didn’t buy it.

“Dad, it just doesn’t look beachy. Can you paint me a beach scene?”

So, I offered to extend her mural and really make it look like rainforest meets the reef. I extended her mural over to the next wall and added the sand and starfish. Looks like I don’t have to completely repaint the walls but now she’s asking for a couple of potted palm trees to accompany the extension.

Of course, when I paint for one of the kiddos, I have to paint for them both. So after my mural extension, the little own asked for her own mural.

Will it ever end?

My daughter Juniper believs she’s a surfie chick. She’s had me redecorate her room with a beach theme. I’ve even had to add to her wall mural so that it looks more ‘beachy’. I decided to do a series of macro shots on some of her ocean critter collection. Here’s a brief slideshow of what I’ve photographed so far.

My daughter Juniper had a birthday this week. As luck would have it, her birthday fell on a teacher inservice day so she did not have to go to school. I took the day off and we went to the beach. We played in the massive surf on Port Sea Ocean Beach (Melbourne, Australia) then wandered over to the bay side and enjoyed a more calm swim on the smooth as glass bay.

The water on the bay side was crystal clear. Here we spotted the captain of this well used boat perching on the outboard motor. All in all it was a great day even if the water was a tad on the icy cold side .

When does a dog become more than just a pet? I dunno but Mojo has been apart of our family for over 5 years – since she was 8 weeks old. She’s part shitzhu and part cocker spaniel. I guess that makes her a cocka-shit. She a very cheeky gal who loves to dig in the garbage if we accidentally leave the cupboard door open during the day, bury half eaten pizza crust in our bed covers and manages to bring in half the dirt and debris of the outside into the house each day. But, she’s as much a part of the family as anyone else. Last weekend we took her to the beach. There’s nothing she likes more than balls and water. She had a ball!

Check out the action photos from the day in the gallery.