Beginnings of Spring

A little bit of sunshine goes a long way, and although we really have only had a little, the garden and it's inhabitants have burst into life - including us! Our fruit trees are blossoming, grass is needing weekly hair cuts, the kids eat morning tea on the deck or in the cubby, and I got whacked in the head three times by a dive-bombing magpie last time I was riding my bike.
After much encouragement from Jess, we have made a scarecrow for the garden. I suspect he is the most famous scarecrow in Warragul, as most people I bump into around town comment on his grand form, and the fact his arms have slipped half way down his body! Jess and Dan both loved helping with the construction. Jess drew his face and I donated one of my favourite old shirts. 'Scary' is now a much loved member of our garden.

The chickens remain the focus of much attention every time we leave the house. It's very convenient having two chooks that lay pretty much every day - one egg for Jess and one egg for Dan. They are fed and chased and patted. Unfortunately for them, we have planted new seedlings in the garden so there will be no more free ranging for some time.

Some other highlights from the past few weeks have been some dress-up dance parties,

and a visit from Nanny for Grandparents' day at Kinder. It was lovely to have Nanny around for a short visit, even though Jess wasn't well enough to say the whole session at kinder. 

Winter Days

It has been a cold, wet, wet winter. Should I mention it has rained a lot? So we haven't been spending as much time outdoors as we'd like. There's always plenty to do indoor though, and here's a little picture summary of how our Winter days have passed by.

'Circus Tricks'. Jess has been perfecting these on here little brown horse, Eric. She stands on his back in a sparkling dress, waves her arms around and jumps off, to the loud applause of the crowd (me). Dan, or The Shadow, as he is sometimes called, is never far away performing his own tricks. This involves standing on Lily's back and holding the handle bars. Both acts are a bit cute.

Craft is always a good rainy day staple. Jess loves a bit of painting when Dan is asleep and play dough and card making are shared by the two of them when he's awake. Sometime Jess isn't interested in doing play dough with Dan, so he enlists the company of other 'friends'.

Baking. It's not just for fun. We bake a lot. And just recently Dan made his debut in the Learning Tower. So now he is officially able to help in the creation of food for the family. Truth be told, I think he thinks it's just a ladder leading to a smorgasbord of snacking delights. He eats dough while Jess and I do the rest... 

Make-believe games fill in most of the time during the wet days though. There is always a little world being created somewhere, be it a picnic in the little kitchen (below), mermaids frolicking in the seas, circus trains or pony fields or farms or puppy school, the combinations are endless. If the day is threatening to be a particularly long one, cubby-creation is a great way to break up the day (below).

In between showers there has been some play in the backyard. We bought two new family members: Speckles and Brownie. They are our third lot of much loved chickens and we're hoping that our latest efforts to fox-proof their home will pay off.

 

And occasionally the Sun does make an appearance. When it does we made the most of it with picnics are the park, bike rides and sand castle building in the sandpit.

We only spent one day on the Island over the holidays but it was a cracker! Days like that make it hard to leave again and we all look forward to the day when we won't have too.

Jess' highlights for the past couple of months would be her two rides on Lily. She loves visiting her big cousins, especially when it involves riding. Dan has not been quite so taken by his sits on a horse but he does enjoy being part of the action.

The Long Road to Moree

For the moment, I'll ignore the fact that it's been a rediculously long time since I've updated this blog and just get on with the task of blogging.

This year, our midyear break was spent road tripping up the East Coast for eight days, before heading heading inland to Moree to see the new abode of the Brown family. It was a trip that sounded exhausting even before I'd packed the car; road trips and toddlers just aren't a combination that naturally go together. But we planned days that involved no more then five hours driving in total, booked accommodation in advance, and had a steady supply of snacks packed at the ready. And it worked surprisingly well.
Our stop-overs included Lakes Entrance, Merimbula, Gerroa, Harrington, Coffs Harbour and Wooli, before heading inland to Inverell, then finally Moree for three nights. All nights bar one were spent in caravan park cabins. This worked really well from both a self-catering and a proximity-to-playgrounds perspective.
Spending time along the coast was fabulous. The kids enjoyed building sand castles and hunting for shells, I enjoyed a steady supply of extremely fresh oysters, and we all loved the weather warming as we journeyed North. We couldn't have asked for better weather. The constant sun made picnic and playground stops an absolute pleasure, even when they were on the side of the highway.
By the time we reached Moree, however, we were glad to be unpacking our bags for a few days, and no-one missed the car.

Our second evening was spent by Short Point in Merimbula. It was coats on and straight down to the beach for us!

By the time we reached Narooma, the sunny weather was in full swing, and so were the kids.

My first dozen oysters were great. Jess asked if she could have one, and to prove how much I love her, I said she could have a taste. After a little lick, I was overjoyed when she said she didn't really like it. I really didn't want to share!

Jess made a number of beautifully decorated sand castles along the way. Dan liked helping stick things on the sides as well.

But Daniel's favourite holiday activities were the many walks with Dad. He grins from ear to ear as Dad strides along. He loves it!

A common sight over the course of the week. A picnic morning tea or lunch with a playground in the background.

Wooli was the only place we spent two nights. And what a perfect place to do so. It was right on the river which flowed into the sea not far from the Park. It was a fisherman's delight, but fun for us too.

Jumping pillows seem to be a mandatory piece of equipment in caravan parks these days. The kids did not complain.

With free canoe hire at Wooli, there was only one thing on Roland's mind during our full day there. Jess, however, took quite a lot of convincing that canoeing (without Mum) was a good idea. Once on the water though, she had a wonderful time looking for birds and taking in the views.

From coats and beanies in Merimbula to swimming in Wooli. You've got to love this great big country!

We were all very happy to finally reach Moree. Though travel-fatigued, Jess was so happy to finally see Ethan again. The two little cousins are best friends, and although the following few days were riddled with periods of complete exhaustion, they played beautifully together, had little 'adult' conversion over meals, and would sometimes just stand around holding hands for no apparent reason. They were really too cute.
Isaac, of course, did his best to keep up with them, and had a lot of fun with his cousins too. His laugh was a constant sound around the vast verandah of the house!
Daniel, having only been walking for a month prior to arriving really could not keep up with the big kids, or Isaac, but he was happy doing his own thing while the others played.

 

After a fabulous first night of catching up with Lisa and Phil around their open fire, we were woken at 5am by Lisa asking Roland if he could have a look at something in the living room. It turns out that during the night, some of the fire had spread beyond the confines of the chimney and had been smoldering away under the house. The long and short of the story is that the fire brigade arrived about one minute after Lisa called, due to the whole crew already being in the truck for a drill at the time of the call. And just as well too. We were told that had the problem gone unnoticed for another 20 minutes, it could have all ended very differently. We praise God that despite the floor being ripped up, a hole put in one wall, and the marble fire place facade taking a beating, there was very little damage. And do I need to add that the boys in particular loved having two real life fire truck, complete with flashing lights, at their house?!

 

 

With the arrival of day four in Moree, it was once again time to pack the car, and make the long drive home. We took three days to get home, and it was good to be back!

We had planned to 'do' Dubbo Zoo, but we arrived too late in the day for it to be anything other than a complete rush. So we instead had a picnic and played in the park. The kids had a lovely afternoon, and it leaves us something to do on the way home after our next visit to the Browns.