Happy Birthday Lani!

It was Lani’s birthday yesterday. Unfortunately I had to go into work early and came home a little later than usual because I had some deadlines to meet. I was going to buy dinner but Lani insisted on making spaghetti bolognaise which was ready to eat when I got home. I at least bought a cake this year, which Jasmine wanted to finish off in one night. We bought Lani a pendant for a necklace, an iPod Nano and chocolate. You just can’t go wrong with chocolate.

I forgot to phone Dad to wish him a happy birthday. I have been a bit stressed about meeting the deadline at work and just completely forgot to call him.

Good news is that I did meet the deadline at work in the end today. I now just want the tightness in my neck to go away. Working out at the gym this morning probably hasn’t helped. Daylight comes a little too early here and it only gets worse during summer. I woke up a little before 5pm and the birds were singing so loud I just couldn’t get back to sleep, so I got up and went to the gym.

Update on the hail storm damage

We have had an insurance assessor come and check out the damage to our house from the hailstorm. He is arranging some roofing guys to quote on repairing the pergola roof and the roof tiles/capping.

Solarhart have assessed the damage and are recommending virtually a complete replacement as not only are the solar panels completely smashed to pieces but also the covering around the hot water cylinder has split away and is not really repairable.

Shattered!

Today we spent some time with friends of ours from Canberra, Craig, Karena and their kids BJ (9) and Sarah (7). They are in the middle of a holiday on the Gold Coast. Went to a park down by the Broadwater, had some lunch and then the kids had a swim in the resort pool where they were staying. The kids enjoyed themselves. James competed in a putting and hoola-hoop competition, and made it through some elimination rounds before being knocked out with only a handful of kids remaining.

On the way to the resort I drive down a section of the Indy car street circuit being prepared for next weekends race. It is quite narrow and the concrete walls would be daunting at high speed.

When I got home I decided to have a look at our roof tiles for any broken tiles from the hail. Well, within seconds of putting my head above the roof line I realised that the tiles were the least of my worries. The solar panels of the solar hot water system were completely shattered. Hopefully it won't cost too much to repair or replace but I am expecting it to be costly. I replaced a roof tile that was broken into about 4 pieces. There are also a bunch of other tiles that will need some repair due to cracks.

Sea, sun, hail and the Kingdom of Heaven

Went to Sea World and the beach on the weekend. The water temperature at the beach is cooler than the pool at the moment but no bad. The kids played around on the grassy dune at the back of the beach for some of the time but may not do it again for a while because Jasmine spotted a snake in the grass as we were going back to the car. Lani saw it also so Jazz wasn't imagining things.

I have just joined up at a gym near where I work. The same fitness group are also opening another gym in Westfield Helensvale in December, so I can use either. I worked out with a few guys from work yesterday and my upper back and shoulders are really feeling it today!

We had a major hailstorm at Helensvale today with substantial property damage around the area including the new Westfield shopping centre. Hail ranging around golf ball size with some as big as cricket balls. I think we have got through it relatively unscathed. The pergola roof has several holes and a bunch of cracks. I might get up on the house roof on the weekend and check out the tiles for any cracks/damage.

The kids were at school during the hailstorm and it freaked them out a bit. I think all the classrooms have colourbond roofs so it would have been quite loud. James said his class got under their desks and he said he prayed to God about 10 times because he feared for his life. When it was all over he said one last prayer of thanks. Jazz said that she was scared but not crying and going crazy like some other kids.

Lani said that the sky was clear shortly before it hit, but the wind really picked up and she heard a gradually increasing roaring sound as the storm approached.

Lani and I watched the Kingdom of Heaven last night on DVD. It certainly does not get my recommendation. Lame.

Wedding, Fishing and Birthday Party

Christine's wedding went well on Friday. The ceremony was at a nice spot overlooking the water at Norah Head.

Dad and I went fishing on Saturday. Dad caught a very nice flathead around 70-80cm long and I caught a smaller one but still a good size at the same time. I also caught a Long Tom that was over a metre in length. Bit of an exciting fish to catch because it jumps out of the water during the fight.

On Sunday Jasmine had her birthday at McDonalds. She really enjoyed it. The party started about 10 minutes late because somehow McDonalds hadn’t scheduled it, despite Lani confirming the party twice with them including on the day before. Jasmine had 15 friends attend.

It was good to have Matthew and Meredith visit for the weekend. We always enjoy a visit from family and friends. They bought Jasmine the mermaid swim gear for her birthday.