Our Little Tumbleweed

Tara's been totally gorgeous the last few weeks (well she always is) - but she's just doing the cutest thing - she's discovered tumble turns (something she could never do before) - and so now she 'tumbles' everywhere - up the corridor to her bedroom and across beds, floors, lawns and the beach. She's like the happiest tumbleweed you've ever seen.

Sometimes you forget she's even had an amputation - and you think she's forgotten too - and then she'll say something...like we were reading her notes about the Olympics last year and she saw again how the torch was lit on the 25th of March - and she immediately said "oh, wow - that's the same day I had my operation". So it's there - imprinted on her mind. And the other day she found the tape recorder with the conversation the whole family had before her op - and she cuddled up on the daybed outside and listened to the whole thing again.

Last week also - the girls had a swimming carnival and 2 days before she said "to be honest, I'm worried I'm going to be left behind after the races when I'm putting my leg back on - and the other girls will go back to the tents without me". Of course it turned out the school had everything beautifully organised with someone to accompany Tara at all times and hold her leg while she swam etc. But it was sweet that she was concerned coz sometimes she just gets on with it so well that you forget to ask if she's doing okay. (She did fab in the swimming races btw - and came first in her freestyle race! That's her with the blue cap waving at the camera before the race. )

We keep needing replacement parts for her leg because she plays like any other 8-year-old (LOVES the bars on the school playground) - but instead of getting cuts and bruises that can heal - she kinda damages her leg - and then it stops working so well and it falls off when she's running! Not a great situation!

Cas and Jadie are gorgeous too. Jadie's been invited to possibly represent the school in breaststroke - so she's off to a carnival on Saturday. And Cas is LOVING all the new stuff she's learning at school. Did you know there's a type of fly (gall midge fly) that's born inside it's mother's body? Well - when the babies are born, they eat Mum's insides...and within 2 days they've devoured her whole body?! Thanks Cas for that info!

Jadie was voted Class Student Representative for the year which is a big responsibility and fantastic for her. She was very nervous to try out for the position - and almost didn't - but at the last second she thought "I have to do this to help my confidence" - and hey presto, she made a speech along with some other brave girls, and Jadie won the job. She's loving it - having to help organise events like selling ice-lollies to help raise money for the fire victims. (All the girls at school also had a Free Dress Day and were asked to donate $1 or $2 for the fire victims - Tara donated $10 of her own saved-up pocket money - which was just so, so sweet and she totally inspired Cas who also then donated $10 - Jadie managed $5 - and they said they didn't just want the money to go to the children, but to the grown-ups too "because grown-ups are also people and they also lost a lot in the fires".)

Tara was voted Form Captain & is taking her role very seriously and giving stars to girls who behave well (even Jadie got one yesterday). Cas tried out for the same positions in her class and didn't get in - but she's got such a great attitude about how the girls who were voted in deserve it just as much and what a great contribution they'll make.

Tone's doing well - tryna lose a little of that weight he gained with his mum's fab cooking over the past 2 months - so he's out power-walking, and surfing when it's dark and the sharks are hungry. Argh!

And Granny Paula's just officially become an Australian Permanent Resident! Very exciting!

Other than that - the usual parties, beach, tennis etc... Happy Weekend everyone! Happy Belated Birthday Filipa, and HUGE thoughts and hugs Kim!