Life As I Know It

I never knew Mariah as a child. We didn't meet till we were in our late teens/early twenties. I don't really know what she was like as a child.

I've heard stories about her troublesome early teenage years which are almost too hard to believe. Mariah is such a kind and gentle natured person, who very rarely gets frustrated or displays any anger.

It could just be that she is so soft spoken that I don't realise that she is angry? I do know that I love her. I know that she puts 100% in to everything that she does, including our relationship.

Mariah often speaks about going places with her family as a child. She has fond memories of time spent in some of Tasmania's most beautiful places.

Including her grandparent's farm.

Her excitement for birthdays is like no other. I think she has more fun on other people's birthdays because of the mammoth effort that she puts in.... EVERY TIME.

I think Mariah purchased this to decorate our flat for my very first birthday as a married man. We still have it. It comes out more than twice a year these days though!

Tomorrow is Mariah's 31st birthday. So I thought I would write her some notes to let her know how much I love and appreciate her. Then I thought, why don't I share it with everyone.

This is where it all started for Mariah and I.... well kind of. This was my main (most enjoyable) source of transport years ago. I took it just about everywhere. I loved to ride, and I loved to take people for rides. Mariah was one of those people. On our very first ride together we spent more time talking than riding. We hit it off.. We were gone for so long that people were starting to get worried that we may have had an accident.

From there, we spent more and more time together. We cooked for each other ( I think I did most of the cooking). Mariah did make a mean salad sandwich, which we would often share at City Park.

We did the things that couples in love do.

We would wish for our dreams to come true.

We made each other Happy.... We Cuddled a lot.

We liked to visit new places and......

SURPRISE one another.

Then one day.... It all happened... I asked Mariah to marry me... and she said YES!

That bike was the best investment I had ever made. Being married was great... it meant that we would be together for eternity. It meant that we would always wake up next to one another.... It was like a dream come true for me....... until one morning..

Mariah let her hair down,

The gloves came off.....

Then back on....

The feet went up.....

It was about this time that I realised that I was in trouble. ....

BIG TROUBLE!!

And there was nothing I could do about it......

Jokes... aside.. I have to say that being married to Mariah was the best decision I made... I hope she can say the same.

She is always happy.....

Loves to celebrate

Would do anything for our children.....

Loves being outside....

A great example to our children .....

Likes good food.....

CUTE!

Gorgeous.

Puts her family first in everything she does.

She is loved by all of us.

I hope you have a great 31st Birthday Bubby. I know that we will have fun adding more and more photos over the next 30 years. You are appreciated, loved, and adored by all of us. MWA!

I thought it was time to do a blog about the first few months we have been in St Helens.

For those that don't know St Helens or anything about the East Coast of Tasmania, it has been referred to as Paradise or the Gold Coast of Tasmania.

The latter I would disagree with. The East Coast of Tasmania has much more to offer than South East Queensland. As "paradise" would suggest, there is an abundance of natural beauty, entertainment is free, and you can have the most beautiful beach in the world all to yourself.

I would call this place Paradise. We are so fortunate to be living here.

Every second week we don't travel in to Launceston, as the travel takes it's toll on the family and the week after a trip is a long and drawn out week. Instead we like to explore the coast and try to find hidden treasures.

Not long after living here, we decided that we needed a new car. One that would meet the needs of a growing family, that would be safe on the long winter drives in to Launceston, and one that we could use to explore this beautiful country in. In a matter of days we found exactly what we were looking for and something we (i mean I) have been wanting since I purchased my first ever car.

a 4X4.

We purchased this of a guy that had the vehicle set up to tour Australia with his wife. Due to unexpected Ill health his dream to take this vehicle around this great land was shattered. We promised that his dream would live on with our family and we would make sure that it would take us to some truly amazing places.

Here are just a few.

After every trip we make, we will say something like "couldn't do that in a Camry." or "I'm so glad that we got a 4X4, the places we can go are just amazing."

It is so true.. We have been to some great places... What makes it even better, is the fact that we can do it with others. Our kids have a ball playing with all the others that come for visits.

Having friends come along also means that you have an extra pair of hands close by if you find yourself in a "spot of bother."

Dan helped me out of this one.... I have to say ... Geez you don't see that too often.. a Toyota pulling out a Nissan!

I managed to help myself out of this one.... It is a strange feeling when the ground beneath you just falls away.... There are a lot of old mines in this area... I think this may have been the entrance to one of them... or so it seemed. From now on I have a spare pair packed just in case.

See what I mean about having a spare pair of hands close by when mates come with you. good on ya Mick.

Remember what I said about a Toyota... Here is a good example.... That is a Nissan pulling Dan out.....

The long slow tracks can take their toll on a young family...

Sometimes you just have to let them out to walk part of the way....But, who wouldn't want to walk through such an amazing forest.

It is views like this that make it all worth wile... We could see, what we thought was Flinders Island, right down the coast as far as the eye could see....