Seaworld

Drivin' my Daddy
The Big Bird ride...again and again and again
Ellen and Daddy racing to the top
The final day of our short break was spent at Seaworld, to finally use the vouchers that we had redeemed months ago with our Fly Buy points. Not sure whether it was the impact of the financial crisis, or if Wednesdays are the day to go, but whichever, the park was very quiet, we didn't have to queue for anything really and the girls had as many turns on their favourite rides as they liked - including three times in a row on the Big Bird Big Drop (the kids version of the giant drop).

The girls love the rides - Olivia is a keen adventure junky, although interestingly wasn't impressed to be splashed in the log ride. She wasn't at all bothered by the steep slide or sudden stop, just indignant that she had been wet without being advised. This was the same in the Bermuda Triangle ride - I thought she might be a bit scared of the dark, the robots and strange lights etc., but no - it was the half a dozen drops of water that annoyed her - I was informed afterwards:
'Mummy, I just like the fast and bumpy rollercoaster bits, NOT the splashy bits'.

A highlight was first thing in the morning when we walked past the dolphin nursery pools and some of the junior dolphins came over and spent a lot of time with us, rubbing up against our hands for a pat and showing off for us - our own private session with the dolphins. The girls were entranced - as was I! A most enjoyable day with some very tired girls by the time we finally made it home again.

Short break cont.

Some more pics of the girls in one of their favourite playgrounds at the resort - it had it's own tree house, with a 'mouth slide' as it became known.
Hard to say what was their favourite thing of the whole holiday - usually, it was something to do with whatever we had done most recently.

Short Break - Day 1 & 2

Balloons made by the pirate who surprised us at dinner on our first night

 

Resting up in our room before kids club

 

The lizard slide - they must have gone down this about 50 times each (each day!)

 

My crazy family - how I love them (not the green ones!)

 

We decided that we should try to fit in a family holiday before Greg starts his new role, as we won't get a holiday for nearly a year once he's underway, so after a bit of ferreting around, I discovered the Paradise Resort on the Gold Coast which has a great special on at the moment - kids stay and play free and the room cost was $99 a night for all of us.
The girls went to the Kids Club each morning for nearly 3 hours, giving Greg and I some time to ourselves - we had to drag them away, they had such a good time down there - who wouldn't with pedal go carts in one area, a pirate ship, space ship with slides etc. and a number of other rooms full of things to do and explore - they came back with faces painted and clutching their treasures of multiple pieces of artwork and huge grins.
They also looooved the pools, the slides and playing with Daddy in all of them - I was still recovering from an illness, so left it to them to make good use of the wet facilities. We explored the local area, checked out the beaches still closed from last weeks crazy conditions, found heaps of great playgrounds and parks and enjoyed being together chillin' out.

Gettin' there

 

 

 

With a mere few days until our family moves, it's been very busy trying to get the house finished. Here's a couple of shots from when we put down the rocks the other day, where there used to be muddy holes in the concrete - a vast improvement and something that the girls could finally actually help with. Olivia started out very enthusiastic with her shovel and did a great job, until she discovered a bucket of water from the rain last week and decided to wash her feet (and legs) in it!
Little by little it's getting there...

Spelling Bee

Ellen is a keen learner - what four year old isn't - so life is a constant stream of what's that Mummy? what does that word say? what's the name of this street? what do they do at the Crematorium? (I get this one every time we drive past, so I'm obviously not getting the answer right to her satisfaction!) etc. etc. Some are easy to answer, and some not so easy - the usual story of parenting pre-schoolers I'm sure...
We were at the local shops again the other day, and she was keenly observing words and spelling them out:

"H A I R - what does that spell Mummy?"

"Hair, poppet - HAIR spells hair."

This went on for a while, with her seeking out words on the packaging of everything we passed - yes, it was a slow old stroll through the aisles, but we were in no hurry. We finally reached an aisle with display stacks of the new Uncle Toby's products, she raced over to them and calls out loudly and triumphantly:

"Mummy, O A T S - spells Porridge!!"

A keen eye on the picture on the front of the packet apparently gave it away. There were smiles from all those who heard in the aisle, and a few chuckles too.
Can't fault the enthusiasm anyway!

Horseplay

 

 

 

This morning we went out to my friend and co-worker's home to visit, play with her lovely daughter and go for a ride on one of her horses. I told the girls yesterday - perhaps a mistake, as they were soooo excited about it, and talked of nothing else, to anybody they came into contact with - there are a number of strangers in the local shops wondering why they were blessed with this information this morning!
Anyway, we had a great morning, shared some yummy watermelon, and after we had finished had our turns at riding (3 each for the girls due to the excitement of the moment) with Miss Fiona encouraging our mount to trot while we were in the saddle, which was even more fun. The girls were completely won over - if they hadn't been before, I'm sure Greg views this as a secret ploy for us to have a horse when we move to our new town...I'm not saying!
I've always loved horseriding, so I'm glad that the girls are getting a taste early...guess what they'll be asking for for Christmas now...the small model one that Miss Fiona gave them will have to suffice for now!
We had a great time Fiona - thanks for having us out again, and for the opportunity to escape in your little oasis out there - it's gorgeous.

The little one

100% or nothing is our Olivia.
A little while ago when she first got the hang of peddling and some stamina, we started to ride down our road to the pathways and then along to the parks, the bridges and the creeks to look for ducks, turtles and whatever else we could find. It was her first real solo outing on the bike, and she'd been happily riding along behind me when I hear - 'Hey Mum', and when I turn she proudly calls out 'Look, I can ride no hands' - and sure enough, there she is with two hands off the handlebars and a cheeky grin that makes me think that she's the one I'm going to be sitting in the Emergency Room of the hospital with in a few years time (if not sooner!).
Then just a few nights ago we found her and her beloved 'Ivy' in the doorway to her room fast asleep. Obviously partway through a recon mission to get something (most likely a drink of water from the bathroom) she's passed out - she can be in bed belting out a tune (and I do mean belting) and then without warning she'll stop mid-song and fall asleep. It's all or nothing for our Livvy-Lou.

Labour Day

 

 

 

 

Well it was for Greg - the rest of us enjoyed a day of breakfast picnicing, soccer, playgrounds and then eating ice-cream. Love breakfast picnics - less people, best part of the day and still enough time to get the girls home for their daytime sleeps...I'm going to miss those when they finally phase them out!
Believe it or not - Greg will actually get a paid long weekend this year, where he isn't (hopefully!) committed to painting, digging, building, scraping or whatever else has filled his time since we sold the store last year. The week after he starts his new role we get a long weekend to spend together - I'm full of ideas for how we can spend it exploring our new 'home town', but I have a feeling he'd probably just like to have a quiet one at home with the family - can't blame him after the hectic pace of the last few weeks/months... Perhaps just a trip out to the chocolate cottage then...hmmm...it has possibilities!

Famous Four

 

Here they are, all peeking through the side of our fort at different times. Cheeky quartet who have a ball playing together at the moment.

Sisters

 

 

 

Sometimes as I watch the girls play together I think back to growing up with my sister - we shared a room for about 17 years, fought, laughed, danced, drove each other crazy, have completely different likes and personalities, and yet after all this time, we're still great friends and can often read each others minds.
My girls are so like that - such different little people, who drive each other batty occasionally, but love each other with a ferocity that can be amazing at times. They challenge and stretch each other, tease and torment at times, but below the surface there's a delightful beauty in just being 'sisters'.