Run for the kids!

Hi everyone...well, its just a few more sleeps until the 'run for the kids' - a great fun run/walk to support the Royal Childrens Hospital Good Friday Appeal.

Myself, Pete and petes brother (and eli's uncle) phil are doing the run, along with a few of phil's 'fit' mates from bacchus marsh. We are entering as team 'melonhead' (of course)...and are hoping to run 5.7km without hurting too much...will see how we pull up! We think if eli can do what he did, running will be nothing...he is and will always continue to be our inspiration.

We have made further progress on melon's cottage. We are just waiting for a tree branch to be removed from the front (c'mon rory!) so we can plant it out, and pete is hopefully getting some timber tomorrow to start putting the paths for melon's garden in out the back. At least we have a 'plan' now which we are a bit excited about...just need some time to do it!

the other thing we are making slow steps towards is setting up a foundation. If ANY of you have ANY skills that might be able to help us, we would soooo happy. We think we are pretty clever with lots of things, but this has got me pretty bamboozeld to be honest! If you can get in touch through eli's hotmail address eli-simpson@hotmail.com

We have spoken to a number of people about what we 'should' do, its just a matter of having someone watch over our paperwork while we put it all through...if you think you can help, we would love to hear from you!

We are also gearing up for the 'angel ball' which we are holding to raise a bit of money for angel flight...a non-govt organisation who helped us heaps early on. They flew us to melbourne around 6 times and allowed us to get to melb and home in one day!

our ball will be held at the Bairnsdale RSL on Saturday 2nd May to start at 8pm. There will be a lucky door prize and a prize for best 'angel wings'...

we have some great local bands donating their time to play and provide us with some entertainment. You can get tickets from the Bairnsdale RSL from 8 APRIL onwards...there will also be a small presentation by Tom Courtney (our first angel flight pilot) and the night will be mc'ed by Duncan Malcolm.

Tickets are $15.00 and you can either go for a group (tables of 10) or be daring and meet new people on the night..
it should be heaps of fun and there will be nearly $2,000 in gifts and vouchers kindly donated by local bairnsdale businesses up for grabs throughout the night...

so get your 'best' wings on and come along!


anyways...best fly
look after yourselves, and we will chat again soon

hugs
the simpsons
xox

Nude nuts

hi there everyone...

its taken a bit to get used to this new 'do' but its kinda nice in a weird way...no going through oodles of shampoo and conditioner, no brushing (not that i did it too much anyways!)..and no getting rain frizz!

Thankfully the weather hasnt been too cold so the need for beanies has not been great (although for you knitters out there, i could do with a couple!)

our total for worlds greatest shave has slipped up over $26,500 which is phenomenal...far exceeded our expectations so thanks to everyone who chucked in some $$

Now, to melon's cottage...we have almost come to the time where the back garden is being seriously discussed...we spruced up the side a bit more - added a few rocks, and some solar lights..it looks very very pretty at night. We have pretty much got the front sorted - we are going to put in a little path that runs across the front. Im personally looking forward to using the whacker machine to compact it all...now thats FUN!

the garden out the back is slowly coming to life - well actually, pete sprayed a whole heap of the grass so its dying, but the concept is coming...we are getting excited looking at plants, and where to put paths...its hard really, but i think it will come together ok...i think it will be a bit of a trial and error really!

we are looking at starting the plans for the 'big' house down the bottom just after easter i think...so we can hopefully start building soon. I dont think we are that far off finalising the subdivision, so everything is pretty much running to plan...

speaking of running, pete and i have been training - just a wee bit for the 'run for the kids' day in melbourne to raise money for the royal childrens hospital. Our legs are a little sore, but i must admit it has been nice to get back into running after having almost 2 and a half years off with eli...not that im a super runner, i just like doing it coz it clears the mind...its really nice to 'train' for something too, so it will be run for the kids (5th April) and then Mothers Day Classic in Bairnsdale (but they are doing a big one in Melbourne)...that will be about the 10th May i think...its kinda nice to keep things ticking over and training for 'something' to keep motivated...
anyways...
i would like to send a cheerio to nan olive who has had some surgery recently. I hope your recovery is nice and speedy..
congratulations also to Stef 'canary' and leonard who were married on saturday at williamstown. It was a brilliant day and a real honour to share it with your family and friends.
love to all
the simpsons
xox

All Gone!!

hi there everyone!

well, the big night happened with a bang...it was madly chaotic and i think the number of people actually putting their heads on the line in addition to those that had already committed was mindblowing.

Thanks a million to all our sponsors, all of those businesses who put donation boxes in their shops, those that sold raffle tickets and especially the Lakes Entertainment Centre who held the public event on our behalf...

A huge thanks to Marnie and Jenny who put in a huge effort to get it where it was, to the BLA for their continuing support and Bella for stepping in to sell tickets for us...

Also, a bloody big THANKS to all our family and friends who travelled to have a giggle and for some, walk out with a new do!

A million THANKS reserved for all of those who joined TEAM MELONHEAD and for those of you who supported us with your $$...all efforts raised around $1400 on the night, and we are hoping for a final tally of around $24,000 when all the $ is banked!

No words can describe the feeling of knowing we have all contributed so much...so THANKS!

enjoy the pics to follow...

luv and hugs
the simpsons
xox

One more sleep!

hi everyone...
well...the big night is almost here! One more sleep to go, and we couldnt get much more excitement than what we have had since getting home at 6.30pm! (been in melb with work!)
poor pete went to the farm to dish out some hay, and found that ALL the cows were together again (we weaned the 5 babies on monday) and a few gates and fences were in disarray! He was quite ok about loading them all onto a truck headed for the saleyards, but we have managed to see what the next few days bring. A quick phone call to farmer rob (great and fabulous man about 10mins away), and hopefully have the bubbas moved to his farm as of tonite for the next few weeks while things settle. We reckon melon might have had a bit of a giggle at the situation!
So, lesson learned (the hard way!)...babies to go to another farm for weaning!
It appears that the memory tree has survived its first 4 days at the farm..we have high expectations that it will (and alot of electric fencing!).
So, back to the shave...

last look (about 30mins ago) was that the total was a whopping $19,500 which is bloody AMAZING...thanks to each and every one of you who have contributed in some way to this fantastic cause. Many people to thank, but i will leave it to our little speech tomorrow night. (will post it over the weekend, along with some pics)...

To all of you who have helped, held morning and arvo teas, sold tickets etc to make this awesome total THANKS from all of us at team melonhead...you have no idea what this truly means...and i dont think i can do it justice...so take it as our massive THANX.
we look forward to seeing you tomorrow night for the shave, make sure your pockets are full of coin...lots will happen.
all the very best
the simpsons
xox
In loving memory of our beautiful son.

Four more sleeps (and some photos!)...

Hi guys

4 more sleeps, then pete and i will lose our locks (mine on the top of my head, Petes chest hair is up for a wax - OUCHIE!)

Our team 'melonhead' is doing an AMAZING job, with some cash still to be banked. I think we tried for $30,000 but i think we would be stoked with anything around $20,000. We will see how we go...

We have just spent a pretty awesome couple of days out at buchan with the cows...with a little push, (thanks rob!) we decided to wean the girls off the mums so they can get some rest before the new 'babies' arrive...

We left with the five little heifers crying for their mums, and a massive hope that our fences will help keep them apart! We are also hoping a few bits of hay will also come in handy!

We thoroughly enjoyed our time up at buchan...we planted eli's memory tree (the beautiful tree our friends and colleagues at fisheries victoria gave us)...and we just took it easy...we went for a drive to timbarra and up to Gillengal which was nice. Most importantly, we spent some time just having a nice relax after a few massive weeks...so sorry we have not been so 'social...' its been really busy, and we are hoping things settle for a bit after our head shave...

Thanks once again to all those who have donated money to such a wonderful cause. I hope the rest of the team surpass their goals and look forward to seeing everyone with their heads shaved/coloured or body areas WAXED...we also hope to see some of you at the Lakes Entertainment Centre for a night of giggles and nude nuts, but most importantly, a chance to remember Eli and the other loved ones who have succumbed to this disease...

anyways...i will hopefully post some more goss again this coming weekend...
hope you all enjoyed a nice 'monday' off and we will talk again soon.

lots of love
the simpsons
xox


Our beautiful angels and inspiration - eli charlie and nan

our little 'superman' - 1st birthday. gone but NEVER forgotten

side of melons cottage all planted, just need some rain for the plants to grow!

front of melons cottage, paper daisies front and centre of course!

marnie and me selling raffle tickets...yep...both heads of hair are GONE as of friday 13th March!!!

noice new paint on the balcony of melons cottage

colour colour everywhere!...slowly slowly coming together

an 'improved' side of 'melons cottage'

melons tree at buchan

melons tree with the hills in the background

Sorry for the delay!

Hi there everyone...

sorry about the MASSIVE delay in touching base...we have been extremely busy getting our stuff organised for the WORLDS GREATEST SHAVE...

as of today (4 March 09) we have reached a massive total of $14,000. Absolutely UNBELIEVABLE...and every little bit helps.

We are gearing up for the shave (most of us have reached our total, so its off with the locks!)...just a gentle reminder, we are looking to kick off the 'shave' on Friday 13 March at 8pm...At the Lakes Entertainment Centre. Just give us a buzz if you have any questions. Its NEVER too late to sponsor us...go online to "www.worldsgreatestshave.com.au' and search for either Jodie Simpson - or you can sponsor our team - MELONHEAD. We are getting a great amount of publicity, and are hugely excited about the night. We have great raffles, 'auctions' of 'heads' and a bit of fun. Most importantly though, and the main motivation for getting involved is to highlight the great job the leukaemia foundation do for families like ours...but most importantly - to remember our beautiful son, Eli Charlie. We must pause to thank EVERYONE who has joined team Melonhead, and for those local businesses around Lakes Entrance who have donated a shop window for our fliers or to donate for the raffle...we absolutely appreciated. Every little bit raised on the night will go to team melonhead's total. We are currently sitting 5th nationally and are hoping to keep within the top 10 in the country once all the events have happened. so thank YOU for helping US!

We have had a fairly hard go of it recently, it feels to us that time doesnt make things easier...we still miss Eli EVERY day and i must admit, i have certainly cried a million tears in the past few weeks. Just a bit harder than normal for some reason...and Eli is certainly never far from our thoughts. When we walk through the door at night, its always a 'hello melon'...we feel he is always with us and we are comforted by that.

We have also been flat out with 'melon's cottage' and i am hoping to get piccies up over the next week to show you how busy we have been. We are massively excited and are hoping to get the paperwork organised for 'eli's foundation' really soon. That way we can start getting melon's cottage more formalised, and once our house down the bottom is finished...

Today also marks the arrival of our newest little cousin - Harry Thomas Bartlett...we wish our cousins Daniel and Hayley all the very very best! And the newest grandparents in town, nana michelle and pa 'alf'...congratulations guys..we are so thrilled for you and cannot wait to meet the little man.

Well, i will leave it at that, and i will hopefully get some piccies up really really soon.

all our love
the simpsons
xox