See, his eyes are big and beautiful!

Maybe I should change the name of my blog to 'The life and times of Sam'... He's just so cute! He seems to have a quiet contentment about him. He is happy to be alone with his dummy and he is happy to be passed around from person to person.

He really likes Rob.... and I think that Rob really likes him.

Monarto Zoo

Yesterday Chris, Mel, Rob and me took Nan to Monarto Zoo. Monarto is a 1 ooo hectare open range sanctuary on the eastern side of the Adelaide Hills. The zoo has a strong conservation role, for both native and exotic animals with many national and international breeding programs for rare and endangered species.

Nan loved the meerkats and the giraffes. They were easy to see and she could get quite close to them. I think the meerkats reminder her much loved Benny, a little Chihuahua/ jack russell who died this year.

It was great to learn about all these animals and gain an appreciation for the role this zoo plays in their survival. Many of these animals have very low numbers or are extinct in their natural habitats. I'm glad we had the opportunity to support Monarto and learn a little more about the human impact on the planet at the same time.

If you get the chance take at drive out there and do the same. You can even get up close to the human reared cheetahs (their mothers milk became infected so they had to be hand reared) or close to the lions.

These tours are booked out for weeks in advance, so we took a short camel ride around the park....

Sam

After missing out on meeting him by hours the last time I visited, Rob and I finally met Sam, who was born on the 14th September.

He is so tiny and his face seems to be all eyes - big, dark and curious.



Mum is gearing up to be a grandma/ nan in anticipation for Scott and Lynda's little one.



I'm sure this is not the last time your cute little face will be splashed all over this blog!

And my other little cute faced friend, Finn, was snuggled up with his mum before I could snap a shot of him. This shot was taken after I was shooshed down by him for my bad nursery rhyme singing..... I can't blame him, Leanne has a beautiful voice.

Leaving Bunbury - the SouWest

On the 15th of October, we packed up our remaining things and prepared to leave Bunbury, our home for the past four years. Rob claims that the reason we finally decided to leave was because the local news reading would call in the SouWest instead of South West.... He has a thing about 'th'. Maybe we are just becoming grumpy oldies....

We had a final farewell breakfast with some friends at the beach before heading off.

Soni, George, Carl and Rob - one last slide

We stopped a couple of times on the way up to check the load, few of the mats were just about to fly off the back of the ute.....

Don't be fooled. The road from Perth to Bunbury is sealed. We just pulled off to a side road for local farmers.

Once we landed in Rockingham, we were greeted with a beautiful sunset. The stunning pink of the sky was an indication that summer was on its way!

Quiff

The coolest hair in town.....Henry gives Finn a quiff.


Aaaaand he has the best collection of toy cars!!!

Nameste II

Last Wednesday, instead of practicing yoga together, our yoga class met for dinner and a final farewell.... A night full of giggles!

I had a great few years practicing yoga with you all, thankyou! I will always remember your laughter, fun, support and love of yoga!

And thankyou for all of these thoughtful and travel friendly gifts! Even a plug for the sink!


On the subject of yoga, I found this hilarious yoga blog, yogabeans!, that uses figurines to demonstrate yoga poses... lol!! ha!

Namaste!

A word I will not doubt be using in the next couple of months, being Hindi/ sanskrit for hello and goodbye, but today I use it in the context of 'goodbye' to my beautiful fellow yoginis! It has been fantastic bathing in your knowledge and love of yoga.

And I'm really gonna miss all the yummy scoff fests post yoga!

Thanks for the funky pj's! I really wish there was more peas on earth... :")


This picture of Mel and Allie is just gorgeous. There is no mistaking your mum/ daughter bond! She is beautiful.

I didn't get any pics of my little friends Sasha and Charlie :"( Rob gave Sash some 'magic beans' (broad beans) which he deposited into his pocket. Apparently, he planted them as soon as he got home and was expecting them to pop up straight away! He is so cute and alert and soaks up all that is going on around him.