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Maggie: has been keen to visit a strawberry farm near Richmond after I described it to her, when we finally had the day off and the weather was actually nice, we zipped over there to pick three kilograms of huge strawberries and for the girls to enjoy their strawberry ice creams. The first day in a while that actually felt like spring!
Elisabeth: Was an excellent picker, carefully selecting the reddest and ripest fruit.

Hooray I have caught up with the 52 portrait project!

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Maggie: The weather has not be cooperative with my planned early Christmas card photo shoot, but finally the sun shone and I managed to get a couple. I started creating photo cards  in 2014, and I love the design, receiving the box full of our cards printed on gorgeous paper, with matching envelopes and then writing them and of course finally sending them on their way around Australia and further afield.
Elisabeth: Is fully on board with excessive "Chrimas" celebrations! She loves it and is so excited for it this year.

Two week's ago 52 project portraits.

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Maggie: Perfect light under the hazel trees, or the Dinosaur Zeppelin, as the girls think of it! Love listening to their imaginary games.
Elisabeth: I can't quite remember what was happening, maybe an unusual bird or the neighbour's dog barking?

Nearly there, two more weeks to catch up for the 52 portrait project.

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Maggie: my strong girls!
Elisabeth: Perhaps the weight difference is noticeable here. 

Playing catch up with the 52 portrait project.

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Maggie: We visited a garden the weekend Rob took these photos- despite having 9 acres to run about on, they are much more excited about other gardens, in fact they both demanded a visit to a garden last weekend!
Elisabeth: They even rolled down a grassy slope, which isn't possible at home thanks to the wallaby poop!

Playing major catch up with the 52 portrait project.

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Maggie: October has started off in true style with gale force winds and so much rain. Our tank is overflowing and we lost power for 18 hours last week. Outside time has been sadly curtailed to rushing out in-between squalls. So on Monday when the weather was actually nice, we headed off to a little beach just out of Cygnet. Both the dogs and the girls were so happy, amusing themselves with collecting rocks and making mud (wet sand) pies. Maggie told me last week when she grows up she would like to be a shop keeper. I asked what sort of shop, she replied a cake and bread shop! Sounds perfect to me.
Elisabeth: Probably watching the cheeky dogs who were wrestling and swimming the whole time. I was starting to think about Christmas and I asked Lizzie what she thought Rob might like for Christmas. She replied "baubles", hmmm perhaps not.

Joining in with Jodi's 52 portrait project.

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Maggie: My pippi long stocking has decided to smile that unbelievably fake cheesy smily now when the camera is out! So this was the most natural expression I could manage. A circus has been in town, with giant inflatable (scary to me) clowns popping up in the front yards of various properties on our ride into town. Maggie keenly points them out. Apparently when they visited the library last week she spied the circus tent from the window and exclaimed excitedly "there's a new building".
Elisabeth: Continues to take an interest in the photos I take, happily posing then rushing around to see the back of the camera! She is also keen on the concept of Rob and I going on a "date night" so she can be babysat by my parents! We might do it soon, as a treat in the rush up to their birthday and Christmas, and to celebrate some big deadlines we both have at work.

Joining in with Jodi's 52 portrait project.

Something new for us: our veggie box subscription

I will shock you now, and post about something that isn't about the girls. A couple of months ago I started to rethink the way we do veggies. When I say do, I mean buy them. Of course in a perfect world we would be growing all that we need. But our world is not perfect. Far from it in fact. We both work, look after the girls, throw in looking after the household chores etc I admit we don't have lot of time to spend in our veggie garden. Not as much as Rob would like. Also Rob would be the first to admit that his garden is for more ornamental pleasure than sustaining our family of four per se.

Last summer was so dry and hot. We had to stop watering everything but the most precious plants as we still haven't set up a pump from the dam. Buying in tankfuls of water just seemed a bit extravagant. We did have a few great crops; the cherries and raspberries, a lone eggplant that was surprisingly prolific and basil. But we have to supplement our home grown produce with shop bought vegetables and fruit.

I was starting to feel a little guilty about the provenance of the vegetables I was buying. Our weekends are precious, and whilst I would love to head to a produce market every weekend, the time and effort with the two girls was just not an option. That's when I remembered a local co-op Channel Living. They have a weekly veggie box subscription. In mid-June we joined up and now I can't imagine our sourcing our veggies in any other way. We pick up our box on Friday at the co-op (they do offer delivery to a few places in the Channel) and it has fast become our favourite day of the week. Looking forward to the fresh produce in the box and working out how we are going to cook and eat them.

We have tried new vegetables that we would never have bought if they hadn't been in the box. The food is fresh, locally grown and either certified organic or grown by those with organic methods. I feel so much better knowing we are supporting local producers and that our veggies haven't travelled a long way to us. Whilst I admit we still buy the occasional veggie from elsewhere if we feel we really need something that wasn't in the box, I don't really like to do it. It has to be a very specific and needed ingredient or craving!

Rob and I have been taking photos of our weekly boxes and sharing them on the Channel Living Facebook and my Instagram feed. In doing so I have come across a hashtag community supported agriculture, or CSA for short. What a fantastic concept of sourcing local vegetables from reputable growers.

I will try to share our photos more often, but here are our favourites so far.

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Maggie: Rob took these portraits. Early morning sunshine creating light and shade during our morning. Mags always has a collection of treasures she jealously guards. That is a plastic lid on her chin!
Elisabeth: Focused on the iPad probably. Last week was a pig-tail week. It helps keep their hair under control! Oh my goodness the knots and the crying whilst I try to untangle them!

Joining in with Jodi's 52 portrait project.

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Maggie: Spring is most definitely in the air. Early morning walks on dewy grass and late afternoon outside play is possible again without rugging up! Love this look of triumph they were keen to be "the winner," the competitive edge might run deeply in these two. Today poor Mags was running around inside (not something I encourage obviously) and learnt the hard way why I always ask them to stop it. I was in the kitchen when I heard the wail, she had slipped over and whacked her nose on the concrete floor. Blood everywhere (we both ended up liberally covered in blood whilst - as Elisabeth described it -Mama played doctor) and then a very swollen nose despite ice. So off to the doctor and then an x-ray. Luckily no fracture but just a sore nose.
Elisabeth: I love this photo of her. She keeps astounding us with her observations and conversations.

Joining in with the 52 portrait project.

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Maggie: Rob took these photos in the late afternoon light alongside the flowering pears that line our driveway. The girls helped me pick some new spring dresses online. People often ask me if I always dress them the same, or let them choose. Mostly I have chosen clothes, and if I am buying new ones I will buy two of the same clothes. Because in my experience they do want to wear the same outfit. But it was interesting to see what they picked when given the chance, and they still have a fair bit of say in what they wear on any particular day (I don't need to add extra tantrums to my day!)
Elisabeth: The girls were happy to have their elder sister stay for a night over the weekend. The three of them played most of the time, or she would patiently read as many books as they could find. 

Hoorah- up to date on the portraits and blogging!

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Maggie: I took these photos early last week to prove I could do braids! Pippy long stocking eat your heart out!
Elisabeth: She actually took a keen interest in these photos, wanting to know why I wanted them to sit up on the window seat (to get the last of the natural light), and looking into the lens. 

Joining in a week late for week 37 of the 52 portrait project.

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Maggie: Simple things make them so happy- like a pile of wood chips destined for the garden. Instead the pile becomes a mountain to scale in the late afternoon sun.
Elisabeth: A mixture of toddler and little girl. 

Posting very late for the 52 portraits project.

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Maggie: After five days away from my family on a research vessel adventure we had a great weekend together. Heading up north to Launceston to visit family, eat delicious food, visit the museum (girls weren't quite ready for the Permian monsters display, apparently moving, roaring robotic dinosaurs are scary!) and attend a cousin's 1st birthday party. The girls had a blast, wearing party hats, blowing on party blowers, chasing bubbles, jumping on a trampoline, drinking strawberry milk, and eating rainbow jelly and birthday cake!
Elisabeth: bubble chasing is serious stuff. She has basically toilet trained herself in a week. Hooray! She came up to me at the museum and told me she needed to go to the toilet, and we managed our first public toilet with ease. So proud.

Need to take one more set of portraits to catch up with Jodi's 52 portrait series.

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Maggie: I took these two weeks ago, always playing catch up this year. A favourite spot for make believe games- in their nest of old grass/hay!
Elisabeth: Thoughtful here. Yesterday we had pancakes for breakfast to celebrate Father's day. They happily sat at the table to chat to us, and Elisabeth declared "this is my favourite part of the day".

Joining in very late with the 34th week of the 52 portraits!

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Maggie: Perfectly seasonal background, the fluffy flowers of our wattle trees. The girls had their best blue steel looks on especially with the neighbour's dog barking at us incessantly!
Elisabeth: Even though they still look a bit tired, they have been shocking us with sleeping through the night! Maggie has done it 7 nights out of the last 10 or so. We went and visited what will hopefully be their school on Friday morning. A gorgeous little school of only 75 students across 4 years. We really hope we get in, as we are out of area we have a little wait to find out if it's possible.

Hooray caught up with the portraits, and scarily it is week 33!

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Maggie: Whilst they might not be the most amazing photos I've ever taken - these photos capture their cheeky grins perfectly I think. The girls have a great time in this tree that has bent over in the westerly winds that whip through our place. Perfect for climbing and imaginary play.
Elisabeth: She pushes me to the edge sometimes, but then she also has the ability to melt me in a second with a funny or observant comment. 

Playing catch up with the 52 portrait project.

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Maggie: Weeks seem to be flying by at the moment. We are both busy at work, and our weekends are a mix of adventures, shopping together, regular home chores (washing!) and trying to get the garden organised before spring. I might try to document some of these changes in the garden on the blog because it is always fun to go back and see how the garden has come. A few weekends ago now we went to a friend's place for his annual birthday bonfire party. Girls had a blast, splashing around in the muddy paddock (so did the dogs), eating, hanging out with the big girls and finally watching the bonfire. Two very tired poppets by the end of the night, but they had a memorable evening.
Elisabeth: Rob took these portraits whilst I tried to keep track of two girls and two crazy dogs around the bonfire!

Playing catch up with Jodi's 52 portrait project.

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Maggie: Such a gorgeous smile.
Elisabeth: Watching a yacht come into the cove.

Rob took both these photos.

Joining in with the 52 portrait project.

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Maggie: Finally- we are back on track again. Yesterday the light was right, the girls were in a good mood and we ran outside together. The girls have rediscovered a harmonica which they have been playing ever since!
Elisabeth: The swings are fun to play with but not particularly well used as a swing yet!

Glad to finally be back on track with the 52 portrait project.

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Maggie: I took these photos over a week ago- but didn't get a chance to download the images due to a three-day (and night) long power outage. We actually stayed with my parents (who only live 15 minutes drive away) as I couldn't face a cold hut with no cooking facilities or running water! Maggie has been a bit out of sorts all week, not sure if she has been fighting a slight virus or if the upheaval of her routine is the cause.
Elisabeth: Whereas Elisabeth revelled in the excitement of staying with Gramps and Grandma, declaring after the first night spent on mattresses on their lounge room floor- "that was the best night".

Joining in a week late with Jodi's 52 portrait project.

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Maggie: I've been in a bit of a rut with the photos, Rob took these of the girls on his regular day at home with them.  They ate apples and then ice creams on the verandah of the laundry hut.
Elisabeth: Cheeky girl. Ice cream is one of her favourite things!

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Maggie: Such a serious portrait with her dog, Nigella. Rob too these portraits.

Elisabeth: Not quite so serious!

Joining in with Jodi's 52 portrait project. And eek we are half-way through the year!

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Maggie: Yikes- lost a week there- anyway here are some portraits to catch up. Maggie in a pensive mood.
Elisabeth: Is changing all the time, such a grown up little girl.