We took a trip at Easter to visit Phillip, Kathleen and the boys in Kalgoorlie. We started out by going to Joondallup and letting me have a game of golf, which as usual was very enjoyable. I played a reasonable game but not spectacular. At least I didn't lose the money in the bet, much to my partners surprise, I started to score on holes. We were 2 up with 2 to go but I managed to three put the 17th to lose this hole. I then went straight down the middle of the par 5 18th to again be in a position to win the game only this time I wasn't stupid and played in regulation. Straight after the game we jumped in the car and headed off to Kalgoorlie.

We thought we would get to Cundedin and then stop, but Liam was travelling pretty well and we decided to keep going. As soon as we made this decision, Liam woke up and Rosie had to entertain him for the last 3 hours but overall the trip wasn't too bad.

Kalgoorlie was interesting and it was great for Liam to get to play with his cousins and for everyone to get to know each other.

The trip home wasn't that enjoyable but at least we made it, and hopefully Karen won her bet with Phillip.

As usual we went to the annual Darby Day picnic at Dwellingup on Mother's Day. The first part of the day is always spent at the cemetery where Liam's Great Grandmother and Grandfather are buried. The whole family meets here before going to the picnic place. The two photos show how much Liam has grown in the past twelve months.

We had a great day talking to all the aunties and cousins and this was topped off with watching the Hotham Valley steam train go past.

We have enrolled Liam in playgroup and are very pleased with the group that he is in. There are about 6 little boys all his age with blonde hair and blue eyes. The other children are also about his age.

It is very interesting to watch the toddlers playing. They all play by themselves but watch to see what the others are doing. If it looks like fun then they copy it, still usually by themselves.

The mums and dad (me) sit around and talk and drink coffee and eat cakes while the kids run amuck. It is really quite good fun and a bit of a social occasion for everyone.

Liam is becoming very coordinated and enjoys tipping things into containers. He is very good with the water buckets at home and I was very impressed when he picked up the shovel at play group and filled the bucket with sand all by himself. He has a good concentration span for this and usually achieves success.

He has an interesting routine when he wants his bottle these days. He goes to the fridge and get the milk out when you open it. He then pours the milk into his bottle and invariably spills some, with the appropriate "ooh" noises. You then give him a cloth and he cleans up the mess.

He enjoys cleaning, he will clean the toilets with the toilet brush, wash the walls of the shower with the sponge, mop the floors and vacuum. He then puts the rubbish in the bins. It is pretty obvious what he must spend his days doing when we are busy in the chalet and studio.

I have also started to take Liam to the park and he has learnt to climb up onto the slide and go down all by himself. He picked up this skill at play group and then transferred it to the park. He gets enormous joy out of going up and down the slide which is great to see.

Liam's other great joy is to take Rio for a walk, he puts her on the lead and off he goes down the driveway and off down the path. It doesn't seem to worry him if we are not following, I think he would just go off without us.

Well the problems with Daen's arm seem to have finally settled down and we are now just waiting for the arm to get strong enough for him to resume his normal lifestyle. He has just completed his exams and filled us with confidence in his complete lack of awareness of his progress. We are waiting with baited breathe for the results.

In a couple of weeks we are going up to Geraldton to visit Rosie's family and also to see some friends. Hopefully I will get in a couple of games of golf and do a bit of fishing. When we get back from this trip Bruce is going skiing at Falls Creek for a week which should be great given the start to the ski season that they have had.

Bruce's golf is not going any where great but he did manage to come runner up in the 4BBB championship with Merv. This is the second time we have come runner-up and hopefully we will do one better next year.

Well this is enough for now. Everything is going well with us and we hope that everyone who reads this is also having an enjoyable time.