Outback Australia

I have been doing a bit of travel for work lately.  I consider myself fortunate that I get to see and experience the things that go with visiting mine sites in remote parts of Australia.

The picture below was taken while Doug (my travelling companion) and I were driving to a site in Western Australia.  The picture does not do justice to the colours.  The red of the earth and the blue of the sky were truely stunning.  And the colours constantly changed.  The sunsets were beautiful.

While in Western Australia Doug decided it would be a good idea to take a couple of photos of me to show the kids.  You can just make me out in my site uniform standing next to the historical display of mining equipment (no thanks to Doug's thumb obscuring the photo).

Another trip saw Doug and I travelling to the Northern Territory.  For those of you that have never stayed at a mine's camp (accomodation) the rooms are normally large enough to house a single bed, wardrobe and a desk.  So imagine our surprise when we were given the visitor's lodge.  It was a 3 bedroom house with its own kitchen (not that we used it as a bonus of staying in camp is the canteen with all you can eat food), lounge room, dining area and bathroom.  In the evening we would gaze out the window and admire the wallabies feasting on the mangoes that had fallen to the ground.

The only draw back of the house was that it didn't keep the frogs out.

The other Lars

Here is a photo of the other Lars.  I shall leave it at that.

I love your umbrella

I have been meaning to post some happy snaps from the holiday that son number 2 and I took to Coolangatta.

Here he is having a hot chocolate while we are waiting for our room to be ready.

In the morning we were visited by a kookaburra.

We visited the Crystal Castle where son number 2 had no problem working his way to the centre of the labyrinth.

Here I am in front of Buddha.

The views were stunning.

 As were all the gardens.

Son number 2 is placing a 'I love you mummy' offering to the Hindu deity.

After having a good look around the Crystal Gardens we enjoyed a cup a tea and son number 2 took the opportunity to do some colouring in.

A walk on the beach in the evening.

And an ice cream afterwards (although after this picture was taken he didn't want anymore so I ate it, shame).

One of son number 2's favourite activities was sitting in the spa.

And the hotel had water slides to which we devoted 2 hours.

On the way back to Brisbane we stopped in at the pirate park.

We also went for a walk in a rainforest.

Of all the wonderful things we did and saw on our 3 day holiday son number 2's favourite activity of all was playing with my umbrella.  He took every opportunity to use it (and there were many even though the photos don't show it).  He would even sneak into the bedroom, shut the door and secretly play with the umbrella.  Who can understand how a four year old's brain works.

Spring has sprung

This is the view from my window at work.  You know it is spring in Brisbane when the Jacaranda's are in bloom.

Son number 2 and I had a long weekend away.  Just the two of us spending some one on one time together.  We went to Coolangatta and while we weren't blessed with lovely spring weather we had a great time.

Getting married

After his initial disbelief, son number 2 has accepted that he can't marry me (nor any other relative).  So he drew a picture of Mr Man and I getting married on the new chalkboard.  Love the pink wedding dress!

Day Trippin'

On the weekend just gone I thought that I would do the right thing by my husband and take the kids out for the day.  That way he was able to watch the AFL grand final in peace (as it turned out Collingwood and St Kilda drew).  First stop was the Big Pineapple. 

The kids had a great time feeding the animals, patting native animals and taking the train ride.

As our visit to the Big Pineapple drew to a close I found myself constantly pulling them up and telling them off.  I know that it is getting really bad when I get sick of hearing my voice constantly barking out instructions.  I ask you, how hard is it for 3 children to stand still so that I can take a photo of them in front of an iconic Queensland tourist attraction?

So I launch into my well practiced routine.  I have performed it many times.  I explain how it is meant to be a fun day for all of us.  That I have made the effort to take them out and about.  Why is it so hard for you to make an effort I implore.  Is this really fair on me?  (you get the idea)  Bellow is the photo that I took after they promised that they would be on their best behaviour.

Next stop, Bellingham maze.  It is a hedge maze and the trick is to find your way to the middle.

I had been here before with son number 1, as daughter number 1 pointed out.  She didn't want him to give away any surprises.  She wanted to lead the way.  Son number 2 wanted to go his own separate way.  I wanted everyone to stick together.  I explained how difficult it was to find the centre, let alone a lost child.  Everything was going relatively smoothly until we sat down at the cafe.  Daughter number 1 stood over son number 1 until he moved so that she could play with the puzzle he had chosen.  Son number 1 then went over to son number 2 and took from him the puzzle he had been working on.  I stood up and walked away.  Needless to say I launched into another monolog full of retorical questions designed to elicit guilt.

In a last ditched effort to find something to do to keep them out of the house longer I drove to Caloundra.  By luck we found a section of beach that had a sheltered spot for swimming.  Everyone had a lovely time and I was reminded of the reasons why I love spending time with my children.

My beautiful girls

My intention is to write about my day to day experiences and things that take my fancy.  Saying that, every now and then I come across some old stuff.  Below are a couple of of my favourite photos of my girls.