Holiday fun times

 

West Head lookout

A very Good Friday!

They came, they saw, they rode...

It was a warm, sunny day that dawned for the first riding lesson for Finn & Isla.  Very different to the conditions that I often rode in as a child living in England!  The excitement was palpable.  We had 1/2 an hour booked with an aptly named Shetland pony - Cutie.

It is fair to say that they were happiest the fastest they were riding. 

 Waiting for their mount.

 It's a little mini me!

All smiles

She's a pre-schooler now!

The day arrived with much trepidation from the grown-ups and littlest member of our family but it's like Isla steeled herself in preparation and then she was off!  We have found a lovely little pre-school and off she went with no tears just much excitement about painting, drawing, sticking and playing.  Finn and I went off for a swim and then lunch with a friend who's littlest was also off at pre-school, our usual collection of 5 was just 3 today but progress has been made.  At collection she was engrossed and needed encouragement to leave but hers were tired little eyes.... You can't ask for much more for a 1st day and it's such a relief that she had such a good time.  I did miss her terribly today though.....

Today

Smile. :)

A snorkeling and beach weekend

Manly - Shelly beach, a haven for fish and sea life in general.  This weekend we are hitting up the beaches and getting stuck into the marine life viewing!

We cut our teeth with the snorkels last weekend at long reef lagoon and we were ready for the sea!

 Daniel Craig - eat your heart out!

 BBQ'ing from the boot - we received lots of compliments about this one!

Finished off with a helicopter rescue - up close and personal!  All looked fine with the 'victim' thankfully and we got to see the rescue service doing what they do best!

Holiday road trip to Queensland

The Tamborine Mountains were the camping destination for our Summer holidays, 900kms over 2 days on the way up with welcome pit stop in Coffs Harbour.  8 days camping booked (until the rain came with no end in sight!) and tickets to the theme parks purchased.  

Our tent is like a home away from home when it's all set up.  4 rooms with flooring, storage, bunk beds for Finn & Isla, table & chairs and cooking facilities.  Hey, power too!  Laptop, hair dryer, straighteners and iPad......we camp in style people!

We had such fun and Finn took on the challenge of the water slide solo and had a blast.  What a brave boy - it was huge!

It was all cut short due to the extreme weather that descended on us and we decided to drive back home in 1 day due to road closures and land slides.  Glad we did although 12 hours in the car was pretty epic!

 Packed and all set to go, with the new roof rack at full capacity.

 Banana's growing on a plantation at Coffs Harbour

Oh yes - it's The Big Banana!

 Coffs Harbour at the golden hour

 My Aussie hero

 There really is something special about dolphins

 So many rides....

 The stunt car show was pretty spectacular

 Blue sky, sunshine and a plane advertising beer  :)

 This is what a slushie does to your children!

 Up on the mountains

 Lamington National Park - Great Dividing Range in the background

 Seconds later a leach was flicked from my leg....glamorous....

 This really is the rainforest

 What a happy little outback girl!

 And then the rain really came....this little stream became a raging mountain river.  Really reminded me of Scotland up on the Mountain when the weather turned which was lovely.

The roads flooded in no time at all really after a night of constant heavy rain, roads were closed and a landslide was reported.  It was time for our little family to pack up (and get very wet doing it!) and head on home in one go.  Finn and Isla were so good in the car, and it was after 9 hours in the car that little Isla piped up with "Where are we going?"...like it hadn't occurred to her until then!  Happy holiday days.....