Just to balance the 'Terrified Zaida' picture here are a couple more, one shows a happy Zaida and the other an equally happy Emmy.

This weekend we plan on taking Z and Em for a bicycle ride and overnight camp to Urunga. Where we shall sample the towns' extensive range of fish'n'chips.

I took Em along for a try out with the Surf Gromits yesterday. He had lots of fun surfing at Diggers beach. He also got to meet some bloke called Occy which is apparently very cool or something. What would I know - until Tom Selleck makes a come back, I'm the uncool manly hairy man in the photo.

Check it out, Emrys is in the local paper.

Em and I pedaled over to Toormina to get some coffee this morning. On the way we did a circuit of the velodrome.

I simply could not resist. Alistair from Ventoux cycles offered me the KMX Kart for such a low price. Then Em offered to pay almost half of it out of his own savings. It is too big for Em and too small for me but I had to buy it. Perhaps I can cut my legs of at the knees or maybe I can feed Em some super-protein-grow-powder.

Em manages to ride it despite the size and he loves it. Cheri is away studying for the next few days so hopefully we won't be in too much trouble when she gets back.

Last Friday Em, Jim and I went exploring we ate ant eggs, sharpened pocket knives on stones and found a subterranean tunnel which was making odd sounds. Jimmy declared that it was probably lava. I think that is exactly what it was.

Jim filled his water bottle from a spring. We boiled it up over a fire and made some bush tea. I hope Jim did not have any tummy upsets when I sent him home with Nicole.

This morning we all had a beautiful swim down the Jetty. Well Cheri, Jay and I, the varmints had other plans. It were fine. Afterwards we visited the markets. I was after some secondhand shoes because I left my favourite shoes on the roof of the car whilst driving home from kickboxing in Bellingen last week. It's embarrassing being me sometimes.

Emmy, Pippy and I took a walk down the beach . Here's a few snaps from the 'Pandanus Spaceship'.

In other news we are juggling our lives in the usual chaotic way. Like a toddler running or a butterfly flying, life feels as if it should fall ruinously apart. Yet we still have food on the table and money in the bank, it is all good.

Ev is just about to complete his very first term of school, Em just is. Cheri is working at the Uni and studying a Buddhism subject, Jay, much like Em, is. I am working three days a week building drupal websites and the rest of the week I'm holding the fort at home. Keeping my nose to the grindstone so that hopefully in a year or so we can head off for a little adventure.

Whilst I was away at the Drupal Downunder Conference in Brisbane they snuck out and bought a dog.
Introducing: Pippy the Poopy Puppy ...

Sadly Jess and Ally had to go back to Brisbane. We could not arrange for any more flooding and the roads opened so we had to let them go home to Rachel and Heath. I took a last snap of them by the back of Jay's ute before they left. Em posed with them dressed stylishly in skin tight lycra and a sombrero. Hope you like the picture. They'll be famous ones day.

It was my mate Matthew's 40th Birthday party on Saturday, come to think of it it was his actual birthday on Tuesday. Well it was a fun party and we all ate and drank more than was strictly necessary. The next day I visited my friend Greg and helped him fibreglass up the joins on young Jimmy's fabulous pirate ship. There is still a bit more work to go. Hopefully we'll knock it off next week.

I've been attempting to work on my new website but am still stuck at the basics (What's it for!?). It's a long and dull story I'll share with you another day, when you have something better to do. Evan very kindly dragged me away from the computer this afternoon and we went paddling around Sawtell island. Is there a name for the Sawtell islands do you think? We went round the far one, what ever that is called. I attempted a self portrait with Ev in the background. All I got was my stonking nose and a blurred Evan. Oh well.

Whilst Brisbane flooded we got a tail end of the cyclone. Which meant rain. Jessica and Allie, our climate refugees, along with Jason, Cheri and my boys decided it was a once in a lifetime opportunity for a Jelly Fight. As Jay said, 'these things only come along once so you should make the most of them'. So he took the kids shopping and came back with about 30 packs of Jelly crystals. I think he cleared out woolies' supply.

That made about four buckets. Meanwhile over at Jimmy's they had been making Jelly, too, so that was the venue. Anyhow so they had a Jelly fight at Jimmy's place. Here are some snaps Cheri took with the underwater camera. Apparently it was all over in about 4 minutes. Looks like fun though.

Jessie, Allie and Emrys have been having a ball with Uncle Wonka. Here they are after having been running around in a muddy rain-drenched yard. Playing a bunch of table games. We are so olde wolde down here in Soggy Sawtell.