Wow, it is so tiring with littlies in the house. And it has had to be in the house as we have had a very wet three days. But there is plenty to do here, Granma and Pa are really very kid friendly so we have had a great family time.

Trev generously decided to give us all his attention this weekend and the kids have loved the interaction. Wisely he has decided that if anything happens to him ( and we pray it doesn't) then the nieces and nephews will hopefully have happy memories of him. Of course that would apply to the older ones but the little ones are too young to be building memories.I think this stems from Ray's Mum dying when Trev was only two so all his memories of her are the shared memories the rest of the family have all imparted to him rather than things he himself remembers. We all have those regrets from our childhood I guess, of folks we wished we had got to know better but missed the opportunity.

Trev loves to play games with them on the computer. Tori and Christopher are the right age and just learning to be competative, Naomi at three can push some buttons with some help. She was happiest dancing to the songs Uncle plays on his computer. He has some of the little ones favourite songs pre-recorded and puts them on to watch them dance. I crept out and looked at them a few times and it makes my heart really glad to see them all have so much fun together.As a migrant child I missed out on the family interaction once we came to Australia when I was seven and so it is an important part of my life now.

We have had three different BBQ meals, one on Friday night with all the family, last night with just Shirley, Craig and family and Trev and tonight again with all the family. We have such a variety of summer foods that it is easy to have different meats and salads at each meal. The boys, bless them, barbecued and helped with the clean-up or I would never have coped. Ray has picked up an appetite since the kids have been here and eaten quite heartily for him so I am really pleased about that. I have been providing a choice of desserts or fresh fruit so naturally Ray has opted for the sugary desserts but I can hardly blame him for that.

Of course it has been very noisy with five little ones in the house ranging from eight years old to four months old. The cousins love to shriek and yell and run and chase and scatter toys and clothing all around the house. It is like living in the centre of a whirlwind. But it is so much fun for them all. Ray has escaped by reading or doing his find-a-words in his favourite chair on the verandah but today when the wind was too strong and the rain threatened to wet him he moved back into the house. He hasn't interacted a lot but I don't think the little ones have minded that much. Tori and Christopher are aware of Ray's short-comings but to them he is just "Pa".

Tori expressed tonight what we all feel, that it is so unfair that Aunty Shirley and family live so far away so we do not get to see them on weekends like we used to. She is so right. It was good when any of us could just ring and invite ourselves over for afternoon tea or lunch, when we all got together for every birthday, when a phone call would bring them over here. But life is never that simple is it? I can understand her frustration as with two other little ones her mum and dad are unable to promise to take her to visit the northern cousins anytime soon, too expesive for them all to fly and four days by car with little ones is not practical.

It will be so sad waving them goodbye tomorrow as we don't know when they will be down here again, possibly this time next year. I am planning a trip up to Cairns again in a couple of months time for me and then another trip later in the year maybe June or July when the northern weather cools down and it is a good time for Ray to fly. But then we have to hope that everyone's health, particularly Ray's, holds good for that period so we do get to put the plans into practice. And we all know all the things that can and do go wrong as we age eh?