20 September 2013

Do You Know What’s at the End of Our Road?

“Shoes on!’ I shout. “Grab a jumper. Do we need sunscreen?”

Soon we’re ready. The girls and I are off on an outing.

“I’m going to record some video,” I say, holding my camera aloft. “Nancy wants to see where we live. We’re going to show her what’s at the end of our road.”

I’m going to make my second movie. The Elvis girls are going to star again.

“Everyone ready?” I ask. I press the start button on the camera. “Let’s go!”

Imogen holds open the front door, and her sisters jostle past her and into the garden. The door starts to close. “Hey! Wait for me and the camera.”  Imogen turns her head and grins. I catch it all on my SD card.

I follow the girls along the road, stopping and starting the camera as I go. A minute later, the road ends. We have arrived at a clearing in the bushland. It’s our park.

Most mornings, when the weather is good, we head down the road for a before-breakfast-run. We run along the tracks and fire trails that wind up and down through the beautiful Australian bush which is so close to home. Or if we feel like running in rectangles (which isn’t very often), we make our way to the playing fields.

But we’re not running today. My daughters are going to visit all our favourite places in a more leisurely manner. And I’m going to follow in their wake and record it all.

The girls walk and run and clamber and sit and jump and do silly walks… and I capture it all with my camera.

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Eventually, I say, “Time for home! “Anyone hungry? “ It’s coffee time.

A few minutes later, as I sip my coffee, I think about the movie I’m going to make. It’s going to record forever this fun afternoon I spent with my daughters. It’s also going to show everyone what’s at the end of our road.

We don’t have to go far for an outing. We don’t even have to get into the car. All we have to do is open the front door, walk up the driveway, turn right and stroll up the road. Aren’t we lucky?

Do you know what’s at the end of our road? Come with us and find out…

I hope you enjoy our movie. There’s a couple of funny moments. One scene makes me laugh so much, I almost fall off my seat.

Sue Elvis

I'm an Australian blogger, podcaster, and Youtuber. I write and speak about unschooling, parenting and family life. I'm also the author of the unschooling books 'Curious Unschoolers', 'Radical Unschool Love' and ‘The Unschool Challenge’. You'll find them on Amazon!

39 Comments

  1. Love it!
    My 4 year old Anna watched it with me and said "it looks like they really love each other".
    Then at the end I asked her if she liked the video and she said "No, because I really wanted to see inside their house". She thought she could follow the girls into the house.
    Well done Sue 🙂

    • Kelly,

      Thank you!

      It's very interesting watching a family video. I noticed all kinds of things that usually slip past my attention. I was aware that Imogen and Charlotte are very close. Sophie and Gemma-Rose used to be a pair too, but from the video I noticed Sophie has grown up so much. She yearns to be accepted as one of the older girls. On the way home from the park, they included her in their conversation and she was so thrilled.

      I'm sorry we didn't show Anna the inside of our house. I will have to tidy up and then get out the camera and make an inside movie. On second thoughts, perhaps I should just show you our home in its natural state!

  2. Loved it! I, also, wanted to follow the girls into the house. Are Australian homes very different from American homes? Do they have as many bookcases as we do? Do they have a "learning space" or do they spread out all over? What's an Australian Tea like? Nice to see how very fond of each other the girls are!

    • Karla,

      I'm glad you liked my movie!

      Are our homes different to yours? I don't really know as I've never visited the US! Maybe I can make a movie of the inside and outside of our house and then you can tell me if there are many differences to your home.

      We do have lots of bookcases. Everyone available bit of wall is covered with books. We don't have an official learning space, but do tend to spend a lot of time in our family room. Some Australian families have special school rooms but we've never wanted one. We like to use the whole house.

      An Australian tea… We use the terms 'morning tea' and 'afternoon tea' to describe certain times in our day when we stop and have a drink and perhaps something to eat. We have ours at 10 am and 3 pm, or thereabouts. The girls put the kettle on and make tea or coffee. Gemma-Rose pours milk for herself and Sophie. Usually we have something to eat that has been home baked, or we have fruit. Morning tea and afternoon tea are good times for visiting friends: "Come over about 10 and we'll have morning tea together" or "We'll get the work out of the way, and then we'll join you for afternoon tea. We'll bring a cake." I shall have to film a morning tea!

      The girls do get on very well together. As we don't see other families very often I am grateful for this.

      It's been so nice chatting with you Karla. Thank you for stopping by!

  3. Loved it! How totally adorable!

    Love that you are linking to FTF! Great idea……. The Australian bush is almost mythical to us. My kids LOVED watching this and getting a close up view!

    Thanks for sharing the adventure!

    • Chris,

      Thank you for viewing my movie! And your boys too! I appreciate you doing that very much. I enjoy sharing my life with you. Yes, a close up view!

      FTF… I saw your comment over on Lisa's blog! I stumbled upon the link up quite by accident. We never seem to go anywhere very exciting but I have managed to come up with a post for the last 3 weeks. The link up encourages us to get out of the house so I have something to write about!

      Thank you so much for stopping by! Love seeing you on my blog!

  4. Nancy happy now! Smile.

    You live in a BEAUTIFUL area!!!! It's a lot like the neighborhood in Australia I visited some years ago. Such wonderful bush with graceful, gorgeous trees. I actually gulped when you came back home, because your house looks so much like the one of our friends.. even the door located in the same spot, and the same kind of brick, and the same kind of roof.

    And if I may be allowed to comment to Karla (is that okay, Karla? Hi!), if you didn't happen to see Sue's first video, a few days ago… that shows the inside of the house and I think you'll love it! I want to fly over just to send hours browsing through all the books!!

    • Nancy,

      I'm so pleased you are happy, as I made this movie with you in mind.

      The neighbourhood you visited… was that in Western Australia? I've never been there but my daughter Felicity lives in Perth on the west coast. Australia is a country of contrasts, but the bush is beautiful everywhere! You might have noticed the puddles. We've had some rain recently. We needed it. It can get very dry and dusty here, and then the bushfire danger rises. A couple of years ago, some of the bush I filmed was back-burnt to reduce the fuel and potential risk. It doesn't take long for the bush to become green again.

      I do love your description of the trees… graceful. Yes! That is so perfect. I love gum trees. There are so many species, all with different barks and flowers. Have you seen the books by May Gibbs… Snugglepot and Cuddlepie and the Gumnut Babies? They are set in the bush and feature little fairyland creatures… including little babies who sleep on gum leaves. Your granddaughter would love them! The illustrations are gorgeous.

      We live in a fairly typical modern house. There are a lot of new homes built every year.. lots of land to fill! Actually, our village is build out. There are only tiny plots of building land left. The village is surrounded by national parks and recreation areas which can't be built on so it can't keep expanding. I like that. We know we'll never grow to the size of a town.

      And when you do fly over to visit me Nancy, you are welcome to read my books but I think we'll be far too busy chatting. There'll be no time left over for reading!

    • Hope you see this late reply :)! Yes, the neighborhood was in WA, 3 hours south of Perth, right by (or on) Cape Naturaliste. A seaside town, and 5 minutes in the car could get us to the quiet little beach. We flew into Perth, of course, and our friends met us there and we all stayed a few days to see the sights and meet some of their Perth friends. They had lived in Perth when Kathleen first contacted me in 1993.

      Did I tell you how we met in the first place? Kathleen wrote me a letter to express appreciation for a magazine article I'd done on "The Cloistered Heart." So even before the Internet was what it is today, God was connecting people up in amazing ways! We shared so many things back and forth, which wasn't as easy in THOSE days (smile) when people had to wait for LETTERS. If there was e-mail then, neither of us knew about it!!! (my goodness, that was 20 years ago now. My trip to Australia was in 1995).

      The Gumnut Babies!!!! Ah yes, I loved them right off, and my 7 year old granddaughter does now as well. Kathleen sent us a Snugglepot and Cuddlepie book, and my granddaughter has sometimes gone to sleep holding it.

      How wonderful that your village cannot grow to town size! Sounds heavenly; very protected.

      Thanks for reading a Very Late Comment :)!

    • Nancy,

      I always see comments though I have been a bit slow replying to yours. Sorry! I've been away from the computer. Andy and I went to the Blue Mountains for the day.

      I have never been to WA, but as you know Felicity lives there. I shall ask her if she knows Cape Naturaliste. It sounds like a beautiful place. Felicity lives just a short walk from the beach, but she is slightly north of Perth, not south.

      "God was connecting people up in amazing ways!" God is always doing that! It seems He uses whatever means are available so that we can help one another. Real letters!!! I love receiving those but email is very convenient! I wonder if you ever thought you'd meet Kathleen when you both first started writing to each other. Now I know your travelling days are over, but one day I might get on a plane. I could end up in your part of the world. I'd love that!

      Thank you for writing a Very Late Comment. You were very patient waiting for a Very Late Reply!

      God bless!

    • Gemma,

      Thank you for watching my movie! Yes, it is very beautiful here. I'm sure you have your own areas of beauty too like the beaches. You'll have to make a beach movie so we can share it.

      You are the first person to show concern for Imogen. We all laughed. You are much more caring than us! She didn't mind suffering for the sake of the movie!. Actually she didn't get hurt falling off the bench, but she did bang her knee on the picnic table as she was running to get into the shot. It was great fun making the movie.

      God bless!

  5. Okay, I had a smile on my face through the entire video…loved it!! Your little neck of the woods is lovely! When can we watch a video of your girls talking? I love Australian accents.

    • Elizabeth,

      I'm glad we made you smile!

      Videos with speech are so much harder to make. We know. We tried it! I guess we will eventually do a speaking movie but you might be disappointed with the Aussie accents. I have a mixed accent having lived in England, Wales and Australia. Andy has an English accent, and the kids like me, are a bit mixed up, some stronger Aussie than others.

      Thanks for watching!

    • Eva,

      I read out your Little Women comment to the girls and they debated which one they wanted to be. No one wanted to be Amy! It was a fun conversation. The girls were happy. They enjoyed being part of my movie. They really are very accommodating. They never complain about me filming them or writing about them. True blogger's children!

    • Eva,

      Oh I like your suggestions very much. Thank you for your ideas! Thoughts at both the beginning and end of the year would be very interesting. Sometimes things work out a lot differently to how we imagine!

      I am going to try a talking video soon. I have Imogen all lined up to talk about homeschooling and university. We'll see if that goes well!

    • That|s funny, that they debated about who they would like to be or not to be! Maybe they are just kindred spirits, like Anne of Green Gable's friends. You know, you could have them talk about each school year, once at the beginning of a new year and once at the end. Just what they think they will learn, what they are looking forward to, what they don't care so much about, etc. At the end you could talk about accomplishments and failures. I don't know if they would go for that, but that would give you something to focus on.

  6. Yes where I live it is very pretty and we a few lovely beaches. I will have to make a beach movie soon, it sounds like a wonderful thing to share.

    Oh, i assure you that you are not alone. My family (including me) always laughs when one of us have have a little accident. So I am probably not as caring as you think.
    I am glad you had fun making the movie.

    God Bless,
    -Gemma

    • Gemma,

      We don't go to the beach very often as we don't live on the coast. We'd love to see a movie of your beaches. I know there are lots of very beautiful spots along your part of the coast.

      God bless!

  7. I forgot to say that I noticed that Imogen and Charlotte seem VERY close.
    And it looks like Sophie enjoys being with them too… *Sigh* Reminds me of myself.
    I am always tagging along with my my older siblings wanting to one of them.
    Maybe one day…

    -Gemma

    • Gemma,

      You are quite right. Sophie loves tagging along with her older sisters! Maybe older siblings don't realise how much they are admired by their younger brothers and sisters. I know that Sophie is always so thrilled when Imogen and Charlotte take the time to include her in their activities. She thinks they are wonderful!

  8. This film is so adorable and playful! Your "little women" are beautiful and I loved their closeness and interactions and sense of humor. How great that they don't mind being filmed. What blessings they are!! Thank you for sharing this charming video and showing us a bit of your life and wonderful landscape and trees! You made my morning!! god Bless…

    • Cynthia,

      You made my morning too when I saw your kind comment! Thank you!

      I know many children, especially teenagers, are very private people. They don't feel comfortable sharing their lives in a public way. Yes, I am so blessed my children don't mind me writing about them or filming them. They have a great sense of fun, and don't even mind looking silly. I wouldn't be able to make my movies without them.

      Thank you so much for taking the time to watch my video. I appreciate it.

      God bless you too!

  9. You are so blessed to have girls who love spending time being together, and who love just being kids! Thanks for linking up with Field Trip Friday!

    • Misty,

      "girls who love spending time being together, and who love just being kids!" You have described my girls perfectly!

      Imogen is 18 and I would say she is very mature, but she still enjoys playing around with her sisters and being silly. Actually I think she takes after me. I am also very silly a lot of the time! It's nothing to do with age.

      I have enjoyed linking up again with Field Trip Friday. Thank you for visiting my blog and sharing our outing!

  10. Sue, this is so much fun! My husband caught me laughing out loud at the second one…so cute how they kept popping in and out of the frame one at a time 🙂 Hey, I'm with Elizabeth….let's have a "talkie" 😉 You know we are all dying to hear those accents. We love Australian accents over here! How about a movie featuring the girls making Andy's potato salad? It's the only way we'd ever get the recipe..LOL!

    Why am I not surprised that none of your girls wanted to be Amy? I know YOU didn't want to be Amy either..ho ho.

    I thought of you at Mass Sunday. A family with four beautiful blonde girls, each corresponding pretty closely to your girls' ages, sat right in front of us. They looked like a happy group who really enjoyed being sisters too. Thanks for sharing the Elvis gifls with us. More…more…..more! HUGS!

    • Patricia,

      I have discovered that movie making is a bit like story telling. I have to keep pruning, not words, but video until I have a story that moves quickly and isn't too boring. I have come to the conclusion though that it is easier to write a story! Much quicker.

      A talkie… Imogen has promised to talk to me while I film her. That's my next movie project after I finish editing the beach trip. Did I tell you about that? On Monday we went to the coast, the first time in two years! I mustn't forget the potato salad recipe. Yes, that would be another great movie project. I can see I will just have to give up housework and other mundane duties. I have too many movies to make and the world is waiting!

      Poor Amy. Actually Beth wasn't too popular either. "If you're Beth, you have to die young." No one liked the thought of that. They all agreed dying young might be okay but not just yet. I guess they've been having too much fun starring in movies and want to stick around for a few more!

      Thank you for thinking of my girls at Mass and for the hugs. Wish I could give you a real one!!

  11. We loved the movie! And yes, we laughed out loud at the bench part! Are those graceful trees gum trees? It must be early spring for you, but it looks like your trees have leaves. Do your trees keep their leaves in winter? Our leaves are just starting to turn here.

    It is so interesting to see your forest! The forests where I grew up are a bit different than the ones where I live now, but your forest is amazing! We just visited the Australian mammals part of our Natural History Museum and we thought of you! Do you see many animals when you go on your walks and runs?

    Thanks so much for sharing!

    • Wendy,

      Most of the trees you can see in the movie are gum trees. Our native bushland or 'bush' is green all year round. I think there are a few deciduous native trees in the north of Australia but they are few in number, and not typical of where we live. We do however have many deciduous trees here but they are exotic species, brought mainly from Europe, and not part of the bush. The area where we live is especially known for its exotic trees which have beautiful colours in autumn. The leaves on these trees have just appeared now that it's spring.

      We've seen kangaroos and wallabies while we've been out running but only early in the morning. Of course we see many birds including kookaburras who also like to be out and about early, greeting the day with their distinctive laughter. There are other animals like wombats, snakes, lizards, foxes and rabbits (both of these are exotic species), echidnas and possums. They aren't easy to spot though. Often we just see them as road kill, which is rather sad. Other parts of Australia have other animals like koalas, emus, dingoes.

      Australian mammals are fascinating, aren't they? The platypus is very interesting, such a strange animal! Then there's the pouched marsupials. We saw a Tasmanian tiger exhibit last time we visited the museum. We saw photos of these animals but now they are thought to be extinct.

      Thank you so much for watching our movie. I'm glad you laughed at the funny bit. I laugh every time I watch it!

    • Wendy,

      I said, "The area where we live is especially known for its exotic trees which have beautiful colours in autumn." I meant the towns nearby are known for their deciduous trees. They have been planted along the streets and in gardens. Our village is dominated by native bush as it's surrounded by national park. The only deciduous trees are those found in gardens.

  12. I just LOVED your movie! I had a smile from ear to ear the entire time. Your girls obviously enjoy each other's company so much and that is a joy to see! Your neighborhood looks absolutely lovely. Thanks so much for linking up with Field Trip Friday. I hope you will be able to join us again this week! God bless, Lisa

    • Lisa,

      We are very fortunate to live in a peaceful and beautiful place. We have to travel into town for music lessons, shopping and other events but we think the drive is worth it.

      Thank you so much for sharing my video. Thank you for following my blog too! That was a lovely surprise.

      I have linked this week's outing. We went to the beach! Thank you for the opportunity to be part of FTF!

    • Adam,

      Thank you for watching my video. I'm sure its not really worthy of your beautiful music but I did have fun putting it together. Now when I go down to the bush tracks, I have your music running through my head! I have had people stop by here and on FB to tell me how much they like the music. Thank you for allowing me to use lilbumble bee.

      I have been listening to your other tracks that are available on FMA. I love them all and would like to use a couple of them in future videos. Your music is so uplifting and happy.

      Thank you for taking the time to stop by!

    • Adam,

      Thank you for your kind words! My girls were so excited to hear you'd stopped by. Lilbumble is now tied up with our happy memories of an afternoon at one of our special places.

      I can understand you having fun composing with your brother. Most of my family are musicians too but of a different genre to you… classical voice and piano… and they love working and performing together. Yes, it's a lot of fun sharing a passion for music.

      I've been reading reviews of your work online and finding links to free albums. You are very generous sharing your music. Thank you!

    • Dear Sue, you're welcome. It's beautiful and I cannot imagine a more worthy video as it simply is an honor that lilbumble found a home in another's warmhearted
      production! I had fun composing this song on my computer and taking it to my brother's studio for him to sing on. Thank you for listening to my songs on FMA and your feedback.
      Sincerely,
      Adam

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