Merry Christmas for 2009

Just want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas for 2009. This is the Nativity scene we have at home and the kids love to play with it. Its the Fisher Price little people brand and kid safe.

Hope your Christmas Day is a happy and healthy one.

Also remember Jesus is the Reason for the Season.

Stay safe on the road.

What a week

Sorry have not kept up to date with the blog, but many excuses here for not doing so. Wish it was to say we have been busy planning and enjoying the period leading up to Christmas but that is not the case. More like Renee and Nige has been very busy looking after sick children. More Tahlia then Nathan, it is her 4th day that she is still not well. Nathan got off easy and had a morning where he was sick.

Tahlia has had 2 trips to emergency, first being on Monday late at night after being sick (throwing up) since Sunday noon and she was not drinking enough. Dr there said it was an ear infection and gave her some antibotics and she picked up there. Was good for most of Tuesday till afternoon where she went downhill again. Still was not good by Wed morning so Nige was back to ER, as she was not still keeping fluids down and wouldn't drink and had become very restless and moody, just wanted to be left alone. Dr's said the ear infection had cleared up and it was most likley the medication that was making her feel ill. She picked up a bit by the afternoon after a sleep and now slowly eating and slowly drinking, is still throwing small amounts up but think that is more because she was running around the house (ops chasing mummy).

So everything has taken a back seat, blogs, Christmas, but have managed to keep up with the housework (shame there) as the kids slept most of the day so they could not make a mess in the house.. just made more washing for Renee.

We are hoping Tahlia is a lot more her cheeky self tomorow, and that Nige and Renee do not get it and so we can enjoy Christmas day. Our plans are on hold for now and after today l do not think we will do much for Christmas.

Annoying as we were the same last year and missed out on seeing the family (Renee's side) and would love to see them this year, as we do not see them as often nowdays.

So there you go, if you were wondering where we had been hiding.

All l want for Christmas is for Tahlia to be TT

Yep! We are in training here. Toilet training that is. The challenge was to begin the day after Christmas but decided to start today. Was feeling very brave... and that was an hour or so ago... not so sure now...

Two accidents already (both wees and poos)..... So two to undies.... none to toilet.

Not even sure if the toilet will get any as she has yet to doo a wee in the toilet... At least she is over the fear of the toilet now the next step is to do something on the toilet.

photo a day

Miss T at her last day (for the year) at the ELC.

photo a day.

Out in the garden and in the veggie patch and we came across a caterpillar. Tahlia's new best friend which they named "superman".

photo a day

photo a day challenge

Day 10

A lovely surprise l recieved on Thursday. Just what l needed after a bad week.

best of 2009 The best place.

Day 11.

The best place.... another hard one.

I guess what does the meaning 'best place' mean to me? I think it would have to be somewhere out of the rat race of life. Somewhere that makes you take a breath and breathe in the fresh air and take a moment to relax and enjoy life.

A place where you can forget all your worries, fears and forget about your t0-do list, housework or whats for dinner.

A Sanctuary. ' a sacred place, a consecreted spot'.

A safe haven. 'a place of refuge'

A place a of refuge. ' a place of protection, safety or shelter'.

My Sanctuary would be my relationship with God. As a christian we believe God is our refuge and our safeplace. He is everywhere we go, whatever we may do. All we have to do is call on him.

I feel closest to my God when l am out in nature. Somewhere where l can admire God's handiwork. It can be a rainbow shining in the sky after a summer storm, a butterfly quietly fluttering by in the rat race of life, a beautiful waterflow cascading down a mountain or a lovely sunrise to begin another day.

It can be a favourite song playing on the radio, that just happens to play at the right time right when l needed to hear it, it can be a simple message from a friend saying they care or even hello.

i feel happy in my best place. I just need to go there more often.

My refuge, my strength, my God.

best of 2009... Best Album

Day 10.

I love my music but l rarely go out and by something new. Well not since having the kids. Just never any spare money. But the only album l just had to get this year was the Newboys " the way we roll".

Both the kids love the song "the way we roll" and the first thing they ask when they get into the car is "can we listen to the newsboys mum".... Once on they are both bopping along and singing.

Don't you just love it when your kids share your taste of music. Beats having to listen to the Wiggles all the time. Now l love the wiggles but their songs are just so catchey and you end up with them stuck in your head all day or singing them.

So def the Newsboys is the best and the first song (the way we roll) has to be on loud (requested by the kids as that is when it sounds the best).

Photo a day. day 9

Day 9

I think the photo speaks for itself.

photo a day Day 8

Day 8

Graduation night at the ELC/kindy.

Our son is not graduating till next year but as they called them the undergraduates were involved in the evening singing up the front and also recieved a book and certificate from the teacher from completing 3 Year old Kindy.

Sorry not a very good photo, but lots of people there and you can just see Nathan to the far right (look for the red hair).

Can't wait to see him in his cap and gown next year.

photo a day. Day 7

Day 7

At the D.A.T.A Christmas party. Santa had just been and l heard someone singing on the microphone, looked up and saw my son singing away to Twinkle Twinkle little star. A proud parent moment.

best of 2009.... Moment of Peace

Day 8

Thats rather amusing. As a mother of 2 very active children there are very rare times where l have a moment of peace.

And if it is a moment of peace or me time it is not usually quiet (unless they are asleep), they are either squealing and yelling at each other, tearing around the house, playing cat and dog ( a game they love where they pretend they are dogs or cats), jumping on the beds (another favourite) or fighting. And if it is quiet that means they are usually asleep and my mind has gone into shut down so l have no strength or wisdom in order to do anything strutural.

So in my very rare moments of peace you can find me either

* sitting down with my wonderful husband watching a movie and l will be doing some x-stitch.

* in bed (esp on a cold rainy night) where it is warm with a good book.

* sometimes l can be shopping but that is not something l really enjoy. Wandering from shop to shop looking at things.... usually in and out in an hour.

* Or l can be online, chatting to someone, playing scrabble on facebook or shopping on ebay.

And funny as l get Thursday to myself and by the end of the day l keep wondering where the kids are and why the house is so strangely silent and shock horror even missing the kids.

Best of 2009 : workshop or conference.

hmmmm Don't think you could call it a conference or workshop really. But it was back in May where the ladies from church spent a weekend together on a camp. Call it luxery. No dishes, no cleaning up, no cooking, no having to deal with kids or hubby.. Bliss l hear you all say.

Was lovely just to spend it with the other ladies getting to know them, the late nights up talking, caring and sharing... and best of all no interuptions from kids, no snotty noses to wipe, no nappies to change, no butts to clean, no squabbling to listen to, no fights to break up.

Had an inspirational speaker who was more then happy to share with us, we laughed till we cried, we sang, we cried, we hugged, we ate, we watching old Shirley Temple movies, we relaxed, we read, we did games (board games), we stayed up late talking, we walked on the beach, we went into town for afternoon tea, we went swimming in the indoor heated pool, some did kick boxing (the brave), some went into the sauna.... and just not enough time.

We were spoilt ( so we should be) and had our meals cooked (beautiful meals) and always plenty for 2nds, beautiful morning, afternoon and supper snacks.

Only bad thing about the camp, it was not long enough and we need more of them.

photo a day challenge Day 6

Day 6

Heard on the grapevine that a steam train was down at our local station. So grabbed the camera and put the kids in the car to go and check it out. Had travelled here on a day trip from the city, and the passengers were having dinner here and then leaving to head back home. Was about 8:30pm when we got there and hung around to watch it leave about an hour later.

Some yummy recipes to share.

Thought would be a great idea to post up recipes l have been making or planning to make... I get a lot of comments and a lot of people ask where l got the recipe from. The answer usually on the WWW. So thought l would share some with you.

Saw this recipe in my menu planning group and my mouth was watering at the sight of it. http://http://www.exclusivelyfood.com.au/2006/07/chicken-crepe-recipe.html Will post up a pic and tell you about it after l have made it.... Won't though if it does not turn out.

photo a day challenge day 5

Day 5

Had a family fun day which our church held in the main town. It was all FREE. Yes Free pony rides, free rides, free animal farm, free activies.... It was a hit.

And my 2 had their first pony rides.... They had a ball.

Had to add the photo of my son as my daughter's ones did not turn out as well.

challenge Best night out....

Day 5 Best night out.

This is the one that stands out the most. Most likely because it was the best night out ever. With having kids, espically young children you do not get many chances to have a night kid free. And in any relationship espcially a marriage it is very important to spend time together with your husband/partner.

The best thing about this night out was my wonderful husband arranged it all for me. I think that means the most to any stay-at-home parent ( ok there are a few dads out there who stay at home and look after the children), that their partner (in my case husband) goes out of their way to organise a babysitter for the kids and then plans a night out for their loved one.

Funny as we have had this discussion at play group one morning and out of all the mums there, there was only 2 husbands who have done this. Of course mine was one of them. So with all the other mum's complaining that their husband never plans a night out, let alone a babysitter, l can say l am very glad l have a thoughtful and romantic husband.

So the evening came and my folks were to come over to our place and look after the kids, and even stay the night. Now i was sure in luck to have my folks over here. It was a first for the kids and also for my folks.... but l thought they would survive the night.... as we were here... but how wrong was l.... will explain later... l am getting there.

I knew we were heading to Gold Class movies which included a meal with the movie. So it was all about sitting back with a meal, glass of wine and just enjoying the peace and quiet (except for the movie), and watching a movie without kids interrupting us.

Afterwards seeing it was a lovely evening we headed down to the beach (about 1/2 hour away from the cinemas) and enjoyed a walk along the beach.

Then it got confusing.... Nige was rather sure we should go and see something else... I was happy to thinking we were off for a drive and maybe an ice-cream.

But he had me wondering where in the world we were heading, we kept getting closer to home. " i don't want to go home" i was thinking.... The further we went the more confused and puzzled l was getting and l knew Nige was loving this, as it is very hard to keep things from me as l am very good at guessing.

But where we ended up l would have never guessed it ever.... We had eneded up in a hotel.. Of course Nige told me we were there for dessert. I was thinking 11pm is a little late for dessert isn't it.

But no my sneaky and wonderful husband had organised a room for the night for us. And not just any room, but a room with a spa which also came with wine and chocolates.

What a sneaky bloke he is. He had even sneaked out during the day (his excuse was a trip to Bunnings) but in fact he really was heading to the hotel with our bags already packed. He had managed not only to pack my bags without me knowing but also some music, our CD player and even some clothes for the next day. How did l not even notice some things were missing. Oh and l can't forget to mention the amazing bunch of flowers too he left (see above pic).

And a thought quickly came to mind "how were ,mum and dad to cope with 2 kids on their own for a night"....

But don't worry those thoughts soon quickly passed and l planned to enjoy an evening with my husband and a 'do not disturb sign on the door.

Photo a day challenge Peace and quiet

Finally some peace and quiet from my DS. All day he has been talking non stop, arguing with myself or his sister, yelling at the neighbours as he peers over the fence (standing on the trailer), throwing things over the garden fence (to same neighbours), pee'ing in the garden, fighting with his sister, hitting his sister, and the list could go on and on....

Its these kind of photos after a hard challenging day that reminds us that we REALLY do love our children (when they are like this) and this is the time when they look like angels.... the rest of the time they are just cheeky monkeys (in my family anyhow).

Both have colds at the moment with runny noses and cough... but no that does not slow them down at all.

Phew l am worn out today, doesn't help that Nige is not home tonight (working).

Day 4 Book

Ok so l missed day 2 and 3 and won't even go there and try and do them as l do not think l will even find time to catch up. So today's blog is about a book l have read this year that has touched me. Gosh another hard one.

If you know me l am a book worm BIG time so l read a lot of books. I make the time, l love to read. Nothing better then curling up in bed on a cold day under the doona and catch up on a book. I also love to go to bed early with a good book if there is nothing but rubbish on tv. We also do a lot of reading on holidays and our recent trip to the Prom, we spent a lot of time reading at our campsite while the kids played around us.

I can't say any book l read stood out to me, as they are all good. I like to read a lot of books romance set in the 1940s in the UK during the war. I really enjoy them.

Photo a day challenge Day 2.

Day 2

Bit of a story behind this magpie. I have be-friended her and her 2 babies. Well mostly her. I am even able to handfeed her scraps of meat and bread. Now if l go outside and she is there she will come right up to me looking for some food or just to say hello.

Was funny, did try and get a photo of her this morning. She was on the patio digging into the cats dry food (with her 2 babies) and the cat just sat there watching them in his basket. he was a few feet away from them and neither was bothered about the other. Wished l grabbed that on camera but the kids made too much noise and they flew away. (the maggies that is not the cat).

Was a bit worried about them the other day too. Drove down the st and noticed 2 squished magpies on the road. And had remembered seeing mum at our place in the morning without the babies. I thought they may have been hit my a car and it was sad.

But l got a surprise that afternoon as there they were in the backyard squawking away and mum was there singing.

Its been great to watch them, i too have a fear of maggies as l have often been swooped so this little family who has enjoyed our back yard has changed my view of these amazing birds. Watching the mother tend to her young is amazing, how she looks out for them and teaches them the ways of the world... as a magpie.

Photo a day Challenge Day 1.

Day 1. After a lateish dinner, we went for a walk as a family, down the Warby Trail at thought we would have a look at a new housing estate, where they had just dug the road out. Had the camera with me and was taking photos of the kids, when l turned aroudn and saw the sun setting. This is what the result was.

best09 Trip December 1

December 1. Trip what was your best trip?



Gosh, thats a hard one.... We had one big trip over June up to Merimbula for a week. But l think some of our 4x4 trips beat that. Nothing better then getting into a car heading off into the bush, waving goodbye to traffic jams, pollutions and crowds (as well as take away, supermarkets and convience oh and toilets and showers)...



The best trip we did was over the Australia Day weekend. Our Wonnangatta Valley trek. Headed off as it was rather warm, that was going to be a challenge stuck in a car for a 3-4 hours trip with 2 kids who wanted to know "where are nanny and poppy", "are we there yet", "is this where we will put our tents up for the night?", "is it time to set camp up yet?" and l could go on and on.

We spent the 4 days 4x4 around, up and down mountains, across rivers and having a ball and the poor car getting very dirty. But then thats what 4x4 is all about. Had all sorts of weather (no rain thankfully), but did get the one thunderstorm the first night, and talk about an lighting show. You never experience these kinds of lighting shows when in the "big smoke". It was amazing to watch and just went for hours and hours.

Wonnangatta Valley was amazing and is this little valley amongst all these mountains and just rich in history. I love history. It used to be a cattle station and the only way in was via foot or horse. Their is a grave site and the house still stands today (well rebuilt).

Was just amazing to get out for the 4 days and just be with the bush. The best thing about having a 4x4 is getting out where 2 wheel car's cant' and just enjoying the peace and quiet and of course the boys love their BIG toys and love to see what their cars can do.

We also did a lot of 4x4 around Mansfield and the High country at other times of the summer and Easter.

Prob not a good entry, and a lot harder then l thought. Trying to remember that far back is hard... or maybe its just the time of night and l am tired.... well we shall see what tomorow's entry's brings.

Till then.

The best of... December challenge.....

Found this challenge and thought this would be a fun challenge....

http://www.gwenbell.com/blog/2009/11/30/the-best-of-2009-challenge.html

Another wet weekend......

And we are starting to wonder if this cubby house will ever be finished. Nige is either too busy with other events on the weekends of when we are home it has just poured all day. The past 2 Sundays have been like this and we just can't get out there to finish. Only 4 weeks till Christmas and it does not look like it will be finished.... too many things on the next few weekends.

Have not been able to get photos (too wet) and Nige has half the roof on, and thats pretty much it since l last reported in. A very slow progress.

But soemthing exciting is the kids are doing a Christmas Concert on at church, as part of kids church. They started pracitising this week and have another practice next week. It shall be very cute to see them up there singing. And rather amusing, kids can just do the funniest things most of the time. Will def have to have my camera with me that day.

Also love this time of year as it means the local farms have fresh cherries and strawberries on offer. And they are so good, beat the supermarket fruit anytime. So fresh and juicy. I think if we eat anymore we will start to look like a cherry or strawberry.

Also the boys have been cooking up a storm in the kitchen this afternoon. Yorkshire pud's to go with our roast beef and now Nige's famous Mince Pies.... oh l can smell them a cooking now. So everyone out of the kitchen when the boys are in there cooking.

The December Photo Challenge

A few other bloggers (esp from EB) are doing a challenge in December where taking a photo a day. I thought l would join the challenge as l love photography and tho l do not think l am that good at it l can always learn from the photos l take.

So December will get a lot of posts and photos. Not sure if that is a good thing or not. But stay tuned.

Happy 3rd birthday Baby Bear

Dear Baby bear

From this to

I can't really call you a baby no more. You are a little girl, well more like a tom boy. You love trucks, snails and bugs, dirt, cars, and being loud and running around. But l would not have you any other way. well Maybe a little less on the squealing and yelling. My ears are not the same.

Where have the last 3 years gone. I still remember the day were a nervous mummy and daddy, dropped your brother off at grandmas and then headed to the hosptial for the c/section. We could not wait to meet you. You were a surprise, as we did not find out the gender, we liked the surprise.

I still think it funny as daddy was the first to see you and thought you were a boy, but they soon proved him wrong. We had our little girl.

It's been a delight watching you grow up over the past 3 years. Watching you do your firsts, walk, talk, run. You are a def mum's girl and love to be with mum and help mum. You are shy and hate crowded rooms, prefering to stay close to mum. But within 5mins you have gotten over that fear and are running around and playing with other kids.

You are like you brother and never stop, l am not sure where you both get all that energy from. The only time you stop and sit still is to watch the wiggles or playschool. You are often known to be talking like Dorothy and giggling like her, you do love Dorothy.

You are very cheeky and always up to something. You love to draw but no, not on paper but walls, your bed esp after daddy had just finished building and painting it. I am always cleaning something up from you.

You love animals and always have a cuddle for Oliver, even tho he may not be keen you are not happy till you have given him a cuddle. I even remember one day, all had gone quiet and that means trouble. I find you outside next to the cat with his bowl and sharing out his biscuits with him.... I am not sure why you like the taste of cat biscuits.

I feel you may have a future as a runner. You seem to run everywhere, the more space the further you run. Very hard when you are in a shopping centre and you are dodging your way around people and trollies.

Or maybe you will have a future with animals, and bugs... You have no fear as you sit out in the garden picking up bees buzzing around, or worms out of the garden, even the odd snail. we can often find your pockets full of all sorts of interesting things.

One thing l love about you is your cuddles. You give the BEST cuddles ever! Don't ever stop.

Well my little baby bear, l just wanted to wish you a very happy birthday, we all love you so much and adore your cheeky smile.

Happy 3rd birthday

To this...

Love Mummy and Daddy.

Christmas Card Shoot Time

Its that time of the year again. Where we go out and try to get some decent photos of the kids for our Christmas cards/postcards. Don't they say not to work with animals or kids. We were in for a warm day, about 35 or so. Thought it would be best to head out nice and early, if you call 9am early on a Saturday morning.

Headed down the road (or is that up) to Silvan dam to start off with the first shoot. They have a lovely area at the dam that has a walkway and stairs made out of stone paving heading up to a covered walkway surrounded by vines. A lot of wedding photos are taken from this area.

Trying to get the kids to stand still or even to do as you ask is hard. You have to be quick with taking the photos before they move or are bored and want to move onto the next thing. I am sure they have ants in their pants most of the time (when they are awake anyhow.


Anyhow enjoy some of our favourite photos we got from this morning.

The beautiful Tahlia.



Cheeky Nathan.

Headed to our next spot in the Dandenongs called Alfred Nicolas Gardens. Got there and had a little detour. As we got out of the car 2 beautiful dogs came running across the main road and towards us. They were a King Charles Puppy (about 4 months old) and an older Lab.

There was no owner around, and since we were in the National Park and by a main road and no homes around (also a very hot day) we thought it was best to take them to the nearest vet who would be able to find who they belonged to. Both had collars on but that was all. Renee was very very tempted to take both home, as we have always wanted to KCC pup. But doing the right thing was the best and off we went to the local vet.

Got back to the gardens and off for the 2nd round of the photo shoot.

Renee and the kids at one of the ponds.

Came to the main pond and their was a family of ducks there. Mother and Father duck and 10 little babies. They were so cute to watch, swimming around and was amazing to watch the mother look out for them all, even swimming back to collect the one who had wandered away.

Mother and Baby.

The family.

Summer is here

Well the weather has been warming up in Melbourne (about time). It felt like winter was slow and would never end. Tho we do need plenty more rain.

But to us it means, BBQs, ice-ream, picnics at the lake/beach, evening walks (more to get the kids outdoors as it is too hot during the day for them to play outside), Christmas - but before that Tahlia's birthday, Day outings, 4x4 driving and camping, oh and how could we forget swimming. Tahlia has been asking more and more to wear her "beach clothes". (bathers)

Tahlia enjoying her ice-cream.

Nathan walking along Lilydale Lake as the sun sets.

Tahlia walking at the lake.

On Saturday down at the lake they were holding a Safety Expo and had fire engines, police, SES, and other rescue crews down there. The kid had a ball climbing into fire engines, plice cars and bikes, they even got to hold a fire hoses and shoot water into the lake, they got to watch the "jaws of life' at work.

Jaws of life at work.

St Tahlia on her way to work.

Jnr fire fighter Nate.

Jnr fire fighter Tahlia.

Cup Weekend down to the Prom.

Finally! Some time away, camping at our favourite place Wilson's Promontory.

Wilson's Prom is both a marine and national park, in Victoria 49,000 ha in size. It is also known as the "Prom" to us and other Victorians. It is 234km southeast of Melbourne (about a 3 hour drive). It's a magnificent park, with granite mountains,rocky coastline, beautiful untouched sandy beaches (nice to see a beach without the pollution and rubbish), and the water is so clear and blue on a sunny day. The park is teeming with wildlife of all sorts, and plenty of things to do such as walks, swimming, canoing down Tidal River, scuba diving or just relaxing.

We were able to spend 5 wonderful days relaxing and exploring this beautiful park. Left Friday morning after a stop in Leongatha for some lunch and so the kids could play in the park. It had been threatening rain most of the morning, and in the distance the sky was very dark, and you could hear thunder rumbling in the distance. We just hoped it was not raining down at the Prom. Nothing worse then having to set up/pack up camp in the rain, espically when you have young children (learnt from experience).

Tahlia finally fell asleep after leaving Leongatha, and Nate was full of questions such as "whats the name of this place" (every 5mins), "whats the smell?" as we passed a farm with cows on it, "whats that tractor doing?", and the most known and asked question "are we there yet". Once we got to the main gate (which is about 40km from Tidal river where the camping ground is), Nate was excited and began to tell us what all the icons on the gate meant, camping allowed (well thats good for us then), picnic tables allowed (he then asked if we had our picnic table) and people were allowed in there (reading the icon to say their are toilets there). It got funnier when he looked at the icons of items that were not allowed in the park such as the one for no pets he said they were "no kangaroos or wobblies (wallabies)" (bit hard when they are already living in the park). And he was not sure what the shotgun icon meant.

Got our pass and headed into the park. Was a rather nosiy drive as the termites had just come out and were flying into the car, was amazing at the number of them. Nate thought it was amusing at the "thumping" noises they made when they hit the windscreen.

Once over Dargo Saddle Nate was excited as he finally was able to see the ocean. At this time Tahlia woke up and was all groggy and Nate got too excited and kept showing Tahlia the ocean.

It was overcast when we got down there but rather muggy. So at least it was not cold nor raining. We got a very short shower once the tent was up, but it was over even before it really started.

Now our "camp" is set up, the place we call home for the next few days. The kids had a ball helping set up (more like telling us where everything was to go). We soon discovered a family of skinks sitting on a log just behind our tent catching termites that were landing on the log. The termites were still flying around, dozens of them and as they landed on the tent it sounded like raindrops. Tahlia was soon watching the skinks and trying to 'help' them catch their food, but catching the termites and placing them on the log for the skinks, however she could not understand why the skinks kept running off everytime she got close to them.

Once camp was set-up the kids wanted to go and explore (both young and old), Tahlia was only about 4 months old last time we were here so would not remember it. Nate did remember the place, espically when we got down to Tidal River and Whale Rock. So after a quick look around, it was close to tea time so headed back to camp and ate dinner. The park was getting busier as more and more people were arriving. Was not too impressed with the people next to us who started to come around midnight to set up, the last of their group arrived at 2am and banged pegs and talked as they set up camp. Just as well the kids slept thru it all.



Whale Rock.


How could we forget our rude little visitor who came to visit sometime in the early evening. We think it must have been when Renee was showering the kids and Nige went for a short ride after washing the dishes. They certainly left a mess and left their presence known. Not that we discovered it till it was time to go to bed. Now there are signs all over warning you to keep your food in your car/trailer and not in your tent as you may get a wombat coming into your tent for a free feed. Our food was in the trailer, but yet one cheeky wombat came into our tent (lucklily it was our room and not the kids), but ripped a HUGE hole in the tent, left dirt all over our bed (and a lovely wombat smell) and then even thought it would try a bite on the flyscreen door in our room. But must have decided to head back out the way it came in when he found there was no food to eat.

Is this the wombat who made a mess of our tent?

Did not get much sleep, thanks to the late comers next door. But woke to a wonderfully sunny morning and went to watch the sun rise. Nothing better then rising early when camping and watching the sun rise, with a walk on the beach. It seems we were in for a lovely day with not a cloud in the sky.

Views of Norman Bay at Sunrise.

Reflections on Tidal River.



Sunrise on Whale Rock.


After a morning stroll it was time to go back and have pancakes for breakfast and then get ready to head down to the beach before it got too hot. Spent most of the morning at the beach and then headed back just before lunch as the kids had, had enough and it was getting too warm.

As it was hot it was a good excuse for a relaxing afternoon around the campsite. Nige caught up on some reading, while Nate played outside and road his bike around the camp. Tahlia went for 'quiet time' in the tent (her idea of pulling all her clothes out of her bag and spreading them around her room), and Renee caught up on some sleep after only 3 hours the night before.

We went for another short walk for some ice cream and headed back to camp, as it was just too hot in the sun. It wasn't really that warm but after having so many cold days it does take some time getting used to the heat again once it begins. And typcial Melbourne where it can be 28 one day and then 15 the next and cold.

A much better sleep that night, even for the kids. Woke up to a cooler and overcast day. Hang around the campsite that morning after a yummy breakfast of bacon, eggs and tomatoes... Yum. Nathan and Tahlia wanted to play with some bubbles, so while they did that Nige and Renee got stuck into some books (the bookworms that we are).

We thought we would head down into Foster to their market which is very popular and also to pick up some chicken (as Renee had forgotten to bring it down) and it was Tahlia's favourite meal (chicken and rice).

Australia Grass Trees. This area was all burnt out on the fires that started on Black Saturday in Feb this year.



Regrowth.


After a picnic in Foster we headed back to the Prom and stopped at Squeaky Beach. The kids thought it was funny that when you walked on the beach the sand made a squeaky noise. We spent our time there exploring the rocks and climbing over them and thru them (if we could fit).

Granite Boulders at Squeaky Beach.

Tahlia walking on the beach.

Decided for a short hike (1-2hours) the next morning as it was overcast and perfect for hiking. Headed to Pillar Point and Squeaky beach. Nate was a little trooper and walked all the way and talked for most of it. Tahlia was in the backpack for the start as it was mostly uphill. She likes to slowly walk along and stop to look at ants, bugs or even worms and is always filling her pockets with goodies ( i thought that was a boy thing).

Came across a beautiful Gang Gang pair.

Family Shot.

Walked down to Pillar Point and admired the view. Was able to see people on the beach at Norman Bay and even 2 scuba divers who were using canoe's to dive off. Had a quick snack and then headed down to Squeaky beach (tahlia walking at this stage). she was funny and was walking along and singing songs from Kids church, her favourite is "king of kings"....

He is the king of kings

he is the Lord of Lords

His name is Jesus, Jesus Jesus

ohhhhhhhhhh he is the king.

She was even singing it during shower time one evening. I am sure she was entertaining everyone in the shower block.

had some lunch at Squeaky beach and then headed back to camp to relax and read some books. Turned out to be a warm evening. Kids were finally tired so off to bed for them (after an afternoon at the river).

The Beach Block Bandit.

We were in for a lightning show around midnight, and Neither Nige or Renee were tired so we stayed up to watch the show. It was amazing. Nige wipped out the camera and managed to get this shot.