Congratulations!

Do you know what this is?

It is an Australian Army Cadet Lance Corporal badge. Congratulations to BOTH The Extrovert and The Thinker who were promoted tonight! Needless to say they are very excited!!!

Congrats boys! I am very proud of you and the extra work you have done to earn this promotion. 

Chipper

Cadets

I started this post two weeks ago before all of the unexpected events took place, and as I see it is still here in my drafts, I thought I had better get to posting it!!  Both boys sat their test about a month ago now and were promoted to 'Cadet'!!!!! They have been 'Recruits' since they joined Army Cadets last November and they are very happy to finally have their KFF (hat!).  There were each presented with a certificate, KFF and a Rising Sun. They are both very excited and there has been much 'bashing' of hats to get them the right shape.  They even sprayed them with sugar water and ironed the rim!!!!  Who would have thought they would need to do that ... the poor iron needed a clean after that.

My two cadets!

Rising Sun

Chipper

Is this what a weekend feels like?

I'm not really sure as I haven't had a whole weekend off in years (except for Christmas). Since January when we decided to close the shop on Sundays we haven't really been able to enjoy them as there have been so many demands on our time. But today we haven't gone anywhere ... And it has been bliss! I love that Good Friday is a holiday here :-)

So this afternoon I scrapped!! I finished my half done page from the other day with the lacing AND I did two more. I am really, really loving the Simple Stories papers. So quick and easy to use. More photos of the boys as new cadets. These were all taken on the night they were issued with their kit. I called one page "Anatomy of a Cadet" as there may come a time when they don't remember the strange names their uniforms have. The Extrovert says it looks like he has been shot in the heart LOL

So it is back to work tomorrow and then two more days off as holidays. I won't know myself come Tuesday!!! I hope to be back Sunday with an Easter post so until then ...
Chipper

Sorry about the long shadows but it is getting late :-)

First Cadet Camp - Shimelle's Sketch of the Week

If you have been reading my blog you will remember that a few Sunday's ago I managed to have some time crafting with friends.  I mentioned it in the post with the deviled egg chicks ... the ones with the 'evil' eyes!  I was so unorganised for that afternoon with friends (except for the food!) that I just grabbed random things and threw them into my craft tote.  I had the new Simple Stories collection 'Awesome' and thought that it would go well with some cadet photos.  As I had watched Shimelle's sketch of the week video only the day before, her sketch was fresh in my mind and so I used it for these two photos of the boys getting ready to leave on their first cadet camp.  I went outside to take this photo this morning in the sunlight and everything was WET!  Beautiful! It was our first rain in 32 days, so I propped it on the windowsill as I was not expecting water everywhere :-)

In some ways I feel like I cheated a little bit as so many of the Simple Stories papers are already collaged.  The right side of the layout was almost all pre-done!  But I think that is why I was drawn to this range.  Time is very short at the moment and this page was quite quick to complete.  In my mad rush to pack I grabbed a container that was labeled 'alphas' and threw it into my bag.  It was not the one I had thought it was and it was full of the old 12x12 sheets of cut out letters.  However, these were perfect for my page and another great example of using up my old stash.  I pulled these out of one of those HOTP 12x12 books when I reorganised all my papers a while back.  Remember when I filled half the house with papers and re-sorted them by colour?  These ended up in that plastic container then and then I promptly forgot about them!

A bit of stamping and stitching and I was done.  I only got another half a page finished in the 5 hours we were crafting together.  I think I did too much laughing and talking!!!!  But a great sketch and some easy to use papers and this layout at least didn't take me too long.  Maybe it was the hand stitching on the next one that took the time????

Chipper

Remembrance Day

Today the boys are selling poppies with the local RSL. I am so glad they are happy to help out in this way. They even read through all the info on Remembrance Day that cadets emailed them.

I am proud of my boys.
Chipper

The Thinker

The Extrovert

Army Cadets

Both my boys have joined army cadets in the last few weeks. This weekend is their first camping trip and they are so excited. They used to be in scouts when we lived in Ireland so camping isn't new to them, however this time they are not using a traditional tent. The army here uses a hoochie. What is that you may ask? It is basically a tarp, some string, and a few pegs!

They had to pack their own food for this trip and each of them carries a small stove to cook on. Just in case they can't get it working all of their essential food can be eaten cold!

I wonder if they have settled in ok tonight as it was dark when they would have arrived.