Snow fun

The snow guardian blessed us with a huge dump this week. With snow as low as 600m we couldn't resist a trip up Ben Lomond today. Fortunately, Anaconda had a 4 day sale on and I was able to replace outgrown snow gear at a hugely discounted cost. Being warm and dry makes such a difference to the amount of time and enjoyment you are going to have in the snow. Without too much ado we were off on the short trip to the mountain.The kids were thrilled to see the snow so far below the ranger's hut, but J suddenly realised we'd have to drive up Jacob's ladder and that might be a bit frightening. M then says Mum slow down I'm feeling terrified. (The things kids say)But once I told them I wasn't concerned about the drive up the ladder they both calmed down a little and then hyped up at the idea of throwing snow at each other.And the powdery snow was just perfect for that! It was great to spend the day with friends; sliding and building and bouncing! Hmmm I think there may be a few bruises coming out tomorrow. All worth it; such a beautiful way to spend a Saturday.

Coasting away from the daily grind

This weekend we headed to the east coast to see John Johnston and the Johnstons perform at the St Marys Pub. They were performing for Richard's 40th birthday. (Richard - the father of Skyela and Eden) Megan organised our accommodation at the magnificent Piccaninny - the most peaceful and beautiful place to contemplate, relax and where the kids can be the kind of kids we were growing up (well to some degree). They ride bikes, play on the flying fox, walk the beach, play board games, draw, read and just hang out. I have been trying to find a copy of Robert M Pirsig's Zen and Motor Cycle Maintenance, and there it was sitting on the shelf in Lily Cottage. Thus my days were filed with drinking in the serenity and chewing through his metaphysics. Wow - what an awesome read. i only made it through part 1 but have decided that I will organise another trip down and set at part 2 in a couple of months. Miss M brought her lovely friend Miss T who was wonder struck at everything and had the most amazing time. I feel for her the second youngest of 6 children and whose mother recently left to live in the UK after reckoning a new life journey. Miss M has clearly been emotionally affected by the separation of her parents, but is still a beautiful sweet little girl. Megan had previously suggested that after we conclude our weekend on the coast we ought to head to Hobart with her, but I was not keen. However, she again broached the subject while we were away and I agreed. I have been feeling so underwhelmed with the world that nothing seems to bring me joy, so I have to really push myself and hope that I can continue to provide experiences that my children can enjoy and not get sucked down with me.Additionally, I want them to see that despite the fact that you may not be overly happy with your lot you can still get out, do things and have fun.

Helping

So my kids are my official clerical staff and on my payroll. I wonder if I can claim tax benefits. . Sometimes they are happy. Sometimes they just want to get the job over with. Although Mr J quickly realised he was onto a good thing at 15c per laminating sheet. We had to do a renegotiation when I realised I was up to my 3rd pack of 100 sheets :(

Winter promise

I had promised to take the kids to Grindewald's jumping pillow in winter. So, off we went After much jumping and racing and laughter we played a very competitive game of minigolf where Miss M promptly spat the dummy and the boys and I went neck and neck. Who knows now who won in the end it didn't matter as long as everyone got their choice of milkshake and my fireplace wound stopped throbbing. It is so nice to have the time, means and facilities to enjoy the sunshine on a cool winters day.

The Bay of Fires - finally!

After nearly five years of saying I want to go to the Bay of Fires. I stamped my foot and changed my vocab. "March long weekend we are going to the Bay of Fires". It is amazing what a difference a couple of words can make. Friday afternoon I loaded up the ute and the kids and we headed for the East coast behind my camping buddy Megan and her tribe. We stopped at St Helens for dinner at the little boat fish and chip cafe where I had delicious seafood chowder, so thick and yummy but oh so filling that despite my best efforts I could not fit it all in. Then maybe 15 minutes north and we were pulling into Humbug Point. Tyres bumped over the corrigated gravel road as we descended into the camp ground at Dora's Point. After a couple of rounds of the area we finally found the perfect spot for our group. Tent nestled between native trees, sheltered from the wind and view of other camp goers. B1 got straight to work setting up a jump for his bike. His one request for camp was that I bring his bike, a shovel and a load of dirt. I declined the final item but assured him that there would be plenty of it at the site. And dirt there was, the horrible sticky type that blackens your feet and drives you to have a bowl bath before bed because you know you'll never get the stains out of the sleeping bags if feet go in the way they are. Shovel in hand B1 worked tirelessly for the 3 day adventure modifying and testing his jump and even made a smaller one for his sister. I have to say they really were amazing together over the entire weekend. B1 figured how to dink B2 on his handle bars and despite my visions of doom I refrained from stopping them. They did have one stack which resulted in a grazed bottom and a bruised ego, but otherwise I think the comradeship was worth it. Poor B2 fell victim to the barbaric tentacles of the treacherous blue bottles which washed into the lagoon on a big swell. Poor little possum she saw one coming and was suddenly surrounded with nowhere to go. Fortunately, I remembered that vinegar is no longer the prescribed first aid and we set off back to camp which seemed, at the time, like a very long 10 minute drive. Boiled the kettle and rigged up double soaking baths for each arm. She quickly found relief and within an hour there were no remnants of the once swollen wounds. That was our first visit to Binnalong Bay, it was such a shame it turned out so. However, the four children worked hard collecting copeous amounts of blue bottles and containing them in a small hole. The boys became quite skilled at picking them up with twigs to avoid being stung themselves. The following morning the blue bottles had disappeared as mysteriously as they had arrived. I was in the water at 7am, unheard of for me in these cold southern oceans. However, after 3 days of dust and grime the water felt heavenly and at that early hour I felt a serenity in my solitude. After packing up camp, we all headed back to the beach for a final swim and jumping off the rocks which is a family favourite in our household. A weekend of discoveries, flaming soldier crabs, muscles collected and cooked straight off the beach, experimentations, love, laughter, campfires and pure bliss. We are keen to get back there soon. It is such a shame we can't live like that forever.

My obsession with Minecraft

I think minecraft is fun because you can create anything you want. I have created statues of my favorite minecraft you tubers and some other things.My favorite minecraft videos are from stampylongnose. My favorite minecraft food is a cake. There are 2 different modes: creative mode and survival mode. On creative mode you can get every block and you can fly. But on survival mode you can't fly and you have limited resources and you can die. There are different monsters like: creepers, skeletons, Zombies, ender man, slimes and spiders. You can go to two other different world using portals. Like the nether and the end. At the nether you can gather resources so you can get to the end. It also has its own creatures like: blazes, Zombie pigmen and garsts. At the End you Have to defeat the ender dragon! after you defeat it it will give you an egg. Then you come back to your own world and you have basically finished the game. There are also normal animals like: sheep, pigs, cows, wolfs and cats.That is why I think minecraft is fun. These are some of my creations.