He's growing up so fast

My little brother Ethan is the last of the 5 of us to finish high school. Being the youngest he has always said that he is forgotten, but thats the furtherest from the truth. After coming back home from Sydney I can now see how easy he actually has it with mum and dad.. he has them wound around his little finger, and that goes for me as well. From an early age I've always mothered him.. Mum tells me stories of when we were younger and Ethan was just a baby, i would get jealous when others held him, i would time their cuddles and take back "my baby" when they had exceeded the limit. I never let him out of my site. 16 years on and not much has changed. I still look out for him. Decipher his grunts (his way of communicating) to know what he wants and pull him up when his isn't doing the right thing... Thats what  big sisters are for? Right?

His year 12 formal was last saturday and he only informed us a few weeks before.. he hadn't even organised a date.. long story short he got there. He invited an old friend (Teenie) from primary school, fortunately for him she was able to round up a dress last minute...she really is amazing inside and out. I offered to do her make-up and my mum and I made his dates corsage and his buttonhole.. it took a few tries but it definitely paid off. The flower corsages you get from our local florist are beautiful i just thought we could make it awesomerer.. I'm glad we did, it was little the cherry on top...the only thing i regret is.. i didn't take any close up shots of it, i was so pushed for time this week, it didn't even cross my mind.

the best part of all of this is, going down and watching all of them walk in.. check out the other dresses and suits but most of all..the flash cars come out for the night and they are all in the one convenient location (which is how i persuaded Mick to join me). People get pretty creative, in their mode of transportation. This year a couple came on the back of a John Deere Tractor.

As well as doing Teenie's make-up i was able to do my beautiful cousin Natalie as well. 

I felt like a proud mother seeing him walk down the red carpet. ALSO just to top it off..he won Beau of the Ball..equivalent to "King of Prom" which just makes his last year of high school that more special.  

cuts, bruises and fake blood.

When i completed my Make-up Artistry Diploma in 2007 i can honestly say out of the whole course my favourite part was the SPFX module. I loved the blood and gore. Still do. Last week i was able to bring out my kit and brush up on my skills. My friend was going to a party and wondered if i could rough up her arm. I practiced a few days before. Just to reassure myself i hadn't lost my groove. The smell of the liquid latex and the feel of the spirit gum got my creative juices flowing, it really is the most awesome thing i learnt all those years ago. Still a work in progress but I'm glad i started up again.

The picture on the right is my friend Mikayla. Before her party. it was meant to be a shark bite but because i mixed a little too much blue food colouring in with the red and glucose syrup it turned more purple then expected..resembling a burn more then anything. She was still pretty happy with it. I made it pretty much out of liquid latex, little bit of black acrylic paint and fake blood.

Mikayla cut a slit into her shirt and slid her arm into it to make her look like an amputee. She told me later on that it looked so legit some people were embarrassed to bring it up..thinking she was a recent amputee :s. All in all it was awesome.

6 day weekend.

With Mick's new job starting so does a new shift schedule. It just worked in his favour that he has 6 days off before his first shift. We haven't been up to much, especially with Cyclone Lua bringing us a bit of wind and rain.. which is pretty much the only bonus of having a cyclone swing past.

I'm a little ashamed to admit that i get a little excited about cyclone season, We haven't had a direct hit from a cyclone before (touch wood) but it is lovely to get the wet weather and the temperature drop.. even if it is for a few days. Just a mention of a cyclone near by, the town goes into a frenzy.. everyone stocks up on the essentials (in mums case that means tim tams and ginger beer). Woolworths and Coles are cleared out, all the petrol stations are packed to the brim with cars waiting for their turn at the bowser but most of all everyone is stocking up on there alcohol.. on any other given week the Woolworths liquor store trumps the grocery store in sales but in the event of a cyclone there is no comparison... police are sometimes called in and they are there to monitor how many cartons each customer is taking with them.. with so many liquor stores in Karratha its hard to keep track. People have cyclone parties.. which is ridiculous. In the event of an emergency, majority of the town with be incoherent. In all the craziness..I'm glad we don't drink.

With a cyclone comes rain. With rain comes puddles. I love puddles. We went out for a drive most days to admire the new green tinge the town temporarily has before it starts heating up again. We found some new tracks, got some sweet shots. All in all it was an awesome extra long weekend.

Snippets of our week...

the only time the beach has waves.

draw something.

Can you tell what i get up to.. Still loving Draw Something. 

Mothers Day Comp Photos

A sample of some of the photos from the mothers day shoot. The ladies look lovely. 

mid week update.

With mothers day coming up our local shopping centre ran a competition aimed at mothers of Karratha and surrounding areas to have a day or two of pampering. All you needed to do was write in 25 words or less what it means to you to me a mother. With a possibility of 10 winners the odds would likely be in your favour. The prize is awesome as well, a $150 voucher at the hair salon plus an addition $500 to spend in the centre.. on top of that there is a photoshoot with hair and make-up provided. Thats where i came into it.. i was able to put my skills to use. I loved it. The ladies i met were amazing. Just everyday women so grateful to have someone dote over them. They were all very inspiring and i think Centro picked a really great bunch of deserving mummies for the prize. I met a very strong lady who, last year lost her eldest daughter to suicide.. she was only 15, as she told us the details of her being the one that found her.. there wasn't a dry cheek in the room. We also met Kelly who battled cancer.. and WON! As well as Tangiora who is a mother of 8.. her eldest being just 15, who is also very busy taking part in a lot of community based events. Each one of them admitted to not spending enough time on themselves and devoting a lot of there efforts to their children, which made it that much more satisfying to be apart of our little team ( Hayley from Lucky Star Photo Booths and Photography and Renae from Hairdressing by Renae) in our makeshift studio to make them feel just a little special, even if it was just for a day. I can't wait to see the the end result. They are going to be featured in one of the local newspapers. I'll definitely post them up when we get them.

Our week so far, kindly bought to you by my iPhone. 

Ze brushes getting a workout.

Kit.

It was such a small room. But Hayley (photographer) made it work. 

Our newest addiction/procrastination tool is Draw Something. Ill admit the first night i played it i was up until early hours of the morning versing randoms, brushing up on my sketching skills. The best part is playing with people you know.. especially family and close friends. Mick and I are on a pretty sick winning streak..thats because we have so many inside jokes, if we were to draw it for someone else they would think we were crazy. Im enjoying playing against my mother-in-law..she is very good...as well as Ardeth, she gets my crazy doodles. I always try and take pictures of really cool ones but as I'm admiring them the moments gone. here are a few for you to stare at in wonderment and awe....

Mick is so handsome. that is all. 

Mick is currently reading The Hunger Games Series, because my books are all being lent to other people  he is forced to read it on his iPhone. it's so good though. 

Ethan finally keeping up his end of the bargain. 

fresh start.

Mick got his new uniform for his new position at Rio Tinto. it's pretty bias but i think he looks awesome.

he looks like juanita here..