Rosie's 11th Birthday

Rosie celebrated her 11th birthday by camping in the backyard with a bunch of noisy friends. They weren't too noisy - but boy can they talk! There was no rain of substance (it never rains in Melbourne anymore) so all was well.

Sporting News 2: Gymnastics

Both girls have continued to enjoy their involvement in gymnastics this year. That's Matilda doing her Nadia Comaneci impression. It's not too serious - only an hour or two a week - but good fun and obviously good for the health. There's no way Jude and Dave would be doing most of the things they do.

Sporting News 1: Future Aussie Netballer?

This was the year Rosie discovered netball. She, and a couple of close school friends, have been playing locally all year. And having a ball. It's a great game to watch too, which makes the taxi trips to-and-fro less onerous!

Matilda turns 8

After our trip to America (next post below) it was going to be pretty hard to make June as interesting as May had been. But then a birthday is always handy to bring on the smiles! This was Matilda's 8th. 

Taking the USA by Storm

There was only one highlight in May, but it was a big one! We spent almost the entire month in the U.S.

Dave left early to speak at a conference and launch his new book in Dallas, with friend, colleague and co-author Gary Calwell.

Then Jude and the girls flew over and met Dave back in L.A. From there we hired a car and explored parts of California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona. A highlight for all of us was Disneyland, just before we came back home. We had an absolute ball on the whole trip. You can see a lot more pictures on our separate website dedicated to the trip. 

Easter in Wagga

We spent Easter with Jude's family in Wagga, where the girls were able to get to know their second cousin Tess. Matilda was particularly pleased to find someone who would be shorter than her in a line-up!

Commonwealth Games in Melbourne

There was a real buzz around in Melbourne in the second half of March when the world came to visit (well, some of the world) for the Commonwealth Games. There was a fantastic party atmosphere in the city and while we didn't see a lot of the sport, we took advantage of heaps of free entertainment. 

Cousin Noah arrives

March saw the arrival of another cousin - this time Jude's sister Ruth's first child. Noah entered the world after much anticipation - despite being Rosie and Matilda's 11th cousin!

Solo flight to Brisbane

The girls kicked off the year in an exciting way: with their first aeroplane trip as 'unaccompanied minors'. They took the two hour flight up to Brisbane to see Dave's mum (pictured) and dad, and lots of cousins. They were very cool about the whole experience and - apparently - behaved very well on the planes 

Matilda and the boys

Matilda finished her school year with a violin performance with her mates in the Grade 1 quartet. From no violinists last year our school now has five! Matilda has been coming along really well though we suspect in the long term that fiddling might suit her personality better than orchestral playing.

Dave publishes his first book

A major goal for Dave this year was to get a book out. So, being deadline driven, he managed to do it with a handful of weeks to go. Nevertheless, the book now exists and he is very proud of it. You can find out more about it here. And look out for more to come - this stuff is addictive! 

Palmer Family Bulletin

News of the Palmers? Gwen and Chris had a baby girl called Maggie Joan Olive Teasdale on 8th April. They are now living in Rosebery. Ruth and Leigh were married in May. Rosie and Matilda were flowergirls. (You can see some photos here). They are due to have a baby in March 2006. Frank continues to run "Alabama". Tony is in good health. He went on a 3 week trip to Canada in June, the highlight being the Calgary Stampede".