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 :(

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.

Final leg of uni

My final assessment for BEd is a five week professional placement. I am in a prep/1. I have an ever so patient colleague teacher and a lovely group of children to work with. They are probably typical: a couple of talkative children, one ESL, one funny little package who can be totally frustrating, lazy and hyper, but extremely funny and really quite intelligent.  One who has a little streak but can be awesome too. I love them all, already (day 6). 

Tomorrow I take my first full day. I have to get more sleep or I am not going to make it successfully to the end. So goodnight. Signing out still a student ;)

I know it, I live it , I love it

We had a stake RS camp last weekend @ camp Banksia @ Port Sorell. Pauline and I drove up together. It was a great event which followed the pattern of a recent conference talk. I'm a Mormon. I know it, I live it, I love it.
On the way home Pauline and I collected apples from roadside trees for their horse Felix. It was quite comical and at one point we got bogged. I loved these hay bail sculptures - part of harvest celebrations.

Harmony Day

After a great game of Basketball (played by Mr J) we headed home for tuna casserole then off to the uni for Harmony Day celebrations. There were a bunch of international foo stalls. We tried crispy rice balls for desert. Me J and I liked them Miss M- not so much. Entertainment included dancers, Malaysian singers, Tassie drum circle and for the kids face painting and circus training. Miss M also rushed to the stage for the Gangnam Style kids rush. She is so cool. Soon after she fell off a handrail and smacked her head and back on the ash felt. She seems to be ok - if not a little sore. Once we got home we put on Mulan just to make sure we kept her up for a while, then Mr J helped me laminate shapes for my year 3 geometry lesson on Tuesday. All in all plenty of harmony happening at our place today :)

Running their socks off

Both B1 and B2 did themselves proud today @ their sports carnivals. B1 came 1st in the 400m after a traumatic start to the day and a late arrival. Then three well in the shot put. While B2 brought home 2 more ribbons to add to yesterday's 3rd for 200m. Today 1st in 100m and a team 3rd for relay. They are both pretty happy with themselves. And if 2 days of sitting in extreme heat and running her socks of wasn't enough B2 went off to swimming lessons and flew up and down the pool.

Blackberry Season

I made my first blackberry pie this week and it was amazing! I found a recipe on the net and then altered it a little. It called for instant tapioca ( I only have traditional which needs soaking so I substituted a packet of jelly crystals cut the sugar in half and added a teaspoon of gelatine. It worked a treat and set just nicely. Mr J loved it and went for seconds which is virtually unheard of. I may have to go pick some more.

yellowstone

yellowstone is a big national park where bears are found. Yellowstone National Park (Arapaho: Henihco'oo' or Héetíhco'oo [4]), established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872,[5][6] is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho. Yellowstone, widely held to be the first national park in the world,[7] is known for its wildlife and its many geothermal features, especially Old Faithful Geyser, one of the most popular features in the park.[8] It has many types of ecosystems, but the subalpine forest is dominant. Native Americans have lived in the Yellowstone region for at least 11,000 years.[9] The region was bypassed during the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the early 19th century. Aside from visits by mountain men during the early-to-mid-19th century, organized exploration did not begin until the late 1860s. The U.S. Army was commissioned to oversee the park just after its establishment. In 1917, administration of the park was transferred to the National Park Service, which had been created the previous year. Hundreds of structures have been built and are protected for their architectural and historical significance, and researchers have examined more than 1,000 archaeological sites. Yellowstone National Park spans an area of 3,468.4 square miles (8,983 km2),[1] comprising lakes, canyons, rivers and mountain ranges.[8] Yellowstone Lake is one of the largest high-altitude lakes in North America and is centered over the Yellowstone Caldera, the largest supervolcano on the continent. The caldera is considered an active volcano. It has erupted with tremendous force several times in the last two million years.[10] Half of the world's geothermal features are in Yellowstone, fueled by this ongoing volcanism.[11] Lava flows and rocks from volcanic eruptions cover most of the land area of Yellowstone. The park is the centerpiece of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the largest remaining, nearly intact ecosystem in the Earth's northern temperate zone.[12] Hundreds of species of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles have been documented, including several that are either endangered or threatened.[8] The vast forests and grasslands also include unique species of plants. Yellowstone Park is the largest and most famous megafauna location in the Continental United States. Grizzly Bears, wolves, and free-ranging herds of bison and elk live in the park. The Yellowstone Park Bison Herd is the oldest and largest public bison herd in the United States. Forest fires occur in the park each year; in the large forest fires of 1988, nearly one third of the park was burnt. Yellowstone has numerous recreational opportunities, including hiking, camping, boating, fishing and sightseeing. Paved roads provide close access to the major geothermal areas as well as some of the lakes and waterfalls. During the winter, visitors often access the park by way of guided tours that use either snow coaches or snowmobile.

Old Faithful is a cone geyser located in Wyoming, in Yellowstone National Park in the United States. Old Faithful was named in 1870 during the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition and was the first geyser in the park to receive a name.[3][4] It is also called the most predictable geographical feature on Earth erupting almost every 91 minutes. The geyser, as well as the nearby Old Faithful Inn, is part of the Old Faithful Historic District. http://www.wikipedia.org/ By Julius