Darling Marz,

Nothing, not even the drizzly morning rain is the same without you. I can say with full confidence that baby has been frightfully sad and whiny, and as for Alex… well, he’s not any better.

I don’t know what we’ll do without you, but at the very least this void should generate some good creative ____ bashing. heh.

So cut are we that I am on the verge of declaring a ban on all sake and sake games. This shall be in your honor Marz. “Let the name of Nippon be stricken from every post and pylon”, and so on and so forth.

So let it be written. So let it be done.

PS. I do agree that a certain someone needs to hear that Steph’s rendition of the cult classic “Marianne” was better. There must be some payback for all the tears.

…

Last night we braved high winds and terrifying rain to trek up the mountain. We were going like the wise men to see the new baby. Leo – quite the pint sized warrior.

We also brought the “black sheep” of our family – (There’s one in every family sire – two in mine.)

Pri was meant to come along, but couldn’t do so as the weather raged on. She was missed. There was laughter and toasts, a few songs and a general good time all round. I’ll leave you with pics to tell the story.

Thank you Sam and Alina for coming home! And many thanks for the tidy little man you brought back. Trust me, he’s just the ticket.

Tracie, darling you are the best. You epitomize Scorpio fire and intelligence with a large helping of your own crazy humor and love for life that is breathtaking! There isn’t a room in the world that you couldn’t light up.

Of course, I first got to know you as that precious little girl with the huge hair that I just adored. And I showed my adoration by singing you the “Snowflake” song at least a million and one times, till my throat was raw and croaky, but still you deemed it right to go on, and so I did….for three years until you were too big to listen to TA songs.

I dressed you in frilly dresses and we played like crazy in the summer. Then you moved into my room and we had long bathtimes, story times, and more. I think the first time my heart actually stopped beating was when we were in the pool and you were on the other side in your floatie and just suddenly tipped upside down and couldn’t surface! I never swam so hard in my life, and after I pulled you out, we both just held each other crying.

Leaving you in Aus, and the others was so hard for me. It still is, and I wish we could all live together. I know its crazy, right? But I miss you. I miss the Tracie Dance – haha. I miss the scary disaster we used to turn the room into when dressing to go out shopping. I miss you seeing you everyday. I miss your delicious humor – and I wish I had a tenth of it.

You just get better and better sis. Sweet sixteen indeed. Keep those guys guessing and turning tricks. Life is too short to get caught up in the tears and the dramas, ok? You’ll do great, and life is going to LOVE you. But not more than I do. I love you sis, with all my heart! – ‘chelle XXX

From Pri:

Attention: Akiko, Tracie Tragediie, Rhasberry Rhinocerous, Fracie, Tooki, aka – Teresa Ann,

You are sixteen going on seventeen….yes! I finally get to sing that song to you, and for a whole year! How happy am I! Well, what more can I say? I have some wise wise words of wisdom for you now, as you enter into the world of old-ness and here it is: WEAR SUNSCREEN! I know, that’s not really MY advice, but it sounds pretty sound right?

I think I shall share some fond memories now:

This one time in, well Brisbane, we rocked and rolled all day long, and had such fun visiting Alex & Dick, watching old films while they fell asleep, eating food, petting dolphins, babysitting Derek, feeding the crocs, German hottie watching, driving for endless hours, and exploring the Australia we’d never seen before.

Remember, here come the men in black…..aka Cinderella? Gosh, I wish I had that on film! Then there was the Wall…Oh Wall, and the villain page – the glory of your drama days.

Could we forget the singing?….Have a good laugh at yourself, it’ll do you good. The pizza, Alex’s chicken and chips and the long Saturdays out and about Melbourne, getting into pretty much every hotel at happy hour J

How about February 18^th? Dressing up and doing our best to come up with a new costume every year, something that was kool enough to show up in.

Taking walks in the vacant lot which seemed so huge at the time, and so mysterious. It’s amazing what an empty plot of land with overgrown weeds will become to young and imaginative minds.

Bringing it to more recent times – cleaning and preparing for the wedding, and withstanding the creation of horns and other such structures on our heads, all the while repeating the mantra “It’s all about Michelle, it’s all about Michelle.” I’ll always think of you when I see our hideous white shoes (yes I know, I chose them) and our attempts to keep from looking sick whilst trying to enjoy our beautiful sister’s wedding.

Sitting at our laptops, trying to get out the house and never really moving, NERD watching at the library, deliverance prayers against MCR, looking for hoodies, and the never ending struggle to be warm in the beautiful, airy Starling Rd. House.

Do you like cheese? I don’t think I’ll see that film without missing you, though I probably won’t miss squishing on that bunk bed, trying to hear through the shared headphones whilst keeping our laughter down.

Woah, how about Mangal Pandey? How random was that? I don’t think any of us were expecting that!

K, well this is getting long and tedious, and had I the tediousness of a king, I would bestow it all upon your grace J Can’t you see what I’m trying to tell you? I love you – there, you dragged it out of me! I miss you more than you know, and I’m so proud of you for all that you’ve done and are doing. You’re growing into a fine young thing, and I’m honoured to be your sister. I love you heaps, and can’t wait till I see you again. Until then – may you grow sick of MCR, always find the time to write me, continue to write and share your brilliance with the world, keep Ricky sane and waffles!

Kisses & Hugs, Pri xxxx

You wanted me to write you. Consider yourself written.

Kisses – XXX

from Sexy Nigel for a moment. Heh. I’m blogging from a pile of luggage in our erstwhile living room. Our entire Home has moved out, lock, stock and beers, in just three days. Its been wild. Layers of dust, and skeletons of roaches, all just falling out of the woodwork. My personal theory is that the roaches committed hari kari because of the utter rot that lay beneath the tidy decor that used to be.

Baby has been a champion; calmly being passed from one pair of tired hands to another, and looking on with his sublime wisdom, chuckling to himself at the silliness of grownup people who have the audacity to actually dismantle his beloved bed; but not before putting him down for a nap on the sunny balcony because chaos reigned supreme in his room. Here’s the long suffering child.