North Eastern Family Adventure

Mum and Dad blessed us with their presence for the last couple of weeks. It was so nice to have them around. We ended up going on a family weekend away with all of our new family members. I am so lucky to have a partner with such gorgeous children and to have a matching pair myself. We are living the dream!!

Nitro Circus

Finally, an activity that the whole family was really super excited about. We took a tag-along who is likely to become a permanent fixture to the family. We are very happy about that too.

Cape Portland

While the kids were on their annual Queensland Adventure, to catch up with their Dad and extended family I decided to take a little adventure of my own. Well mine and the dog's adventure. I packed up some camping equipment and jumped in the car. We drove up the north east corner of Tassie. Up through Scottsdale, out to Pyegana to get some cheese and then back up to Gladstone and through to Cape Portland. I had read that there was a campsite that was dog friendly so I thought we'd go check it out. We stayed at Petal Point (Lemon Beach) and what an amazing spot it is. There was only 2 other campers there and the dog and I had the beach to ourselves. We walked the length and I sat and read while he explored. He was very well behaved. Although, he wasn't really exceptional at settling in the tent.

Dinner doesn't have to be boring just because you're camping :)

Little Musselroe Bay was spectacular too!

Much of my early years I was terrified of standing on one of these and yet this is the first one I have ever seen.

No Mum! I will not go for another walk with you. Let me get back to the tent, the sea air has me exhausted. xx

Hanging with the neighbour

So, I used to have a fantastic next door neighbour; I moved, so i now I have a fantastic friend. We have spent a bit of time together in the last few weeks. It has been so fun. Hiking in Mole Creek. We trekked all the way out to Devil's Gullet - what an amazing view and the wind blowing up the cliff at us was very cool. From echidnas to single travellers at Aluminum Cliffs we had a ball. Mmmmm Pizza Capers Calzone 2 for $6.95 really put a smile on the dial! We threw in a movie 'The Water Diviner'it was really an exceptional movie. We went dancing at the casino, we even went blueberry picking. It is great to have great friends!

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 :(