Friday Favourites

Happy Friday friends! I’m excited to be back today to share a recap of the first week of the summer holidays. Today officially wrapped up the preschool year. But I took this week off thanks to some accumulated long service leave. The best part is that I’m also on leave for the first few weeks of term 1 and I won’t be back until the 19th of February. So that’s a total of nine weeks and two days off–no complaints here!

So, how did I spend my first week off? Cleaning and organising, of course! Haha! Honestly, it felt amazing to finally have the time and energy to tackle so many things around the house. I sorted out the cabinet under the sink in the ensuite, organised the medicine cabinet, dusted the blinds, rearranged the office/garage, and even cleaned the oven.

Look—one sparkly oven! (No before picture, though, because, it was really bad!)

And finally, the Christmas tree is up—hallelujah!

I even put on a cozy Christmas scene on the TV, complete with a crackling fireplace. It looked beautiful, but looking at that fireplace in this heat made me feel even hotter. Summer has hit with a vengeance, and we’ve been sweltering through some super high temps and crazy humidity. But I’m not complaining—I love summer!!!

Steve and I bumped into my aunt at the supermarket on Wednesday, and just like that, we were invited over for dinner that evening. She quickly threw together a Christmas meal since her daughter won’t be celebrating with us this year—she’s off on a fun overseas trip.

My aunt has a knack for putting together an amazing spread. This would have taken me days of planning!

And when it comes to decorating, my Christmas-loving aunt is a champ. She definitely makes up for my lack of Christmas spirit this year!

When all the little houses are lit up and the music is playing it looks so beautiful!

Every day now our big trip is getting closer and closer! We really are on the countdown now with only days to go. I’m so excited, nervous, and a little bit terrified at times too. This is not just a total dream come true but also a trip where I will be conquering many fears (gulp).

As I have mentioned so many times there’s the flying part (so many flights-yikes!!). We also have a few adventurous hikes planned when we get to Zion National Park including walking through the narrows. In Hawaii, we are also going to be doing some water-related activities. Then there are the rides in Disneyland.

Sam, my youngest does not like rollercoasters, and neither do I! But if I can get on a plane I can get on a rollercoaster, right? He and I were chatting the other day about the trip and I was explaining to him how Disneyland is the happiest place on earth and how excited I am.

When we got to the topic of the rides he said “Mum I don’t think it sounds like the happiest place on earth, it sounds more like the most terrifying place on earth”. Haha, no, it’s for sure the happiest place and I can’t wait for him and my husband who also has never visited to feel that magic!

So for someone like me, a real homebody who loves to stay dry with both feet firmly on the ground, this trip is definitely pushing me out of my comfort zone. But still, I’m so excited that I can hardly wait!!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Can you believe it’s only four sleeps until Christmas Eve?

Linking up with Andrea and Erika