Noosa Weekend

We headed off to Noosa on Friday to enjoy a very relaxing weekend by the water.  Noosa is about 2hours north of Brisbane.  It turned out to be a perfect weather weekend.  And I was totally wrong.  We definitely didn't need any warm clothes!!  I'm not sure what happened but it's warmed up again.  The evenings and mornings have been quite warm the last few days so it was really nice camping weather.  Not a cloud in the sky the whole weekend so we were very lucky.  The camp site has everything you need and it's secluded so no need to worry about making too much noise or sharing the beach!

The kids are still more interested in the sand than the water.  They did enjoy getting wet but the waves are too big for them to be on their own.

I noticed a few cuddle moments during the weekend and got some cute pics.  :)

The water were pretty aggressive on Saturday.  Clo and Darryl both had some very sore bones/muscles by Sunday!  

Kate and Morgan  going for a dip.

 

The sandbars were perfect for the kids.

Mariana joined us for the day on Saturday...while poor Nick was home doing school work!  Hang in there Nick.  It will be well worth it!

Saturday night...getting the fire going.  The kids "helped" Darryl and Rej prepare the wood.

There's nothing better than relaxing by the campfire.  Especially when you're not freezing your butt off!  

Hmmmm, another cuddle moment.  I'm not sure what was in the water. :)

Purdy deciding to go for round 2.  He hurt his collar bone on Saturday and is still recovering.  But, he went back for more on Sunday so I guess it isn't too bad!!

Kate strutin' her stuff!

I love the waves behind Dan in this pic.  This is why the kids don't venture too far in the water.  They'd never survive!!

Oh yeah, I was there too.  There was a lot of water duty during the weekend.  Filling up buckets can take up a lot of a persons day!

One of the last cuddle moments of the day.  Breagha has gotten very attached to Dad while he was off from work.  Very cute.

We had a really wonderful weekend and I think we have to go back again soon guys!!

The only thing missing was the Dickinsons!  Our first camping trip without Steve and Cari.  Everyone missed you guys too!

And just want to wish Moma Rosie a safe trip.  She is heading to Vegas this week with my Aunt Marie.  Be safe and have fun!!  Don't lose all your money!  

The Last Summer Camping Trip

Well, we are heading to Noosa this weekend to enjoy our last summer camping trip.  (Well, it's actually autumn now but you can't tell!!)  Thanks to Kate for letting us use her friends campsite.  The spot is right on the beach and has a great set up.  The mornings and evenings are much cooler now so we'll need some warm clothes.  Yes, even in Brisbane!  It's so nice.  I can walk to work and not have to bring 2 set's of clothes.

Looking forward to the weekend as work has been quite busy for me lately.  I'm taking a few Monday's off so I'll be happy to sleep in on Monday.

We'll post some pics when we return!!!

Contemporary Dance

So, I went to see the Sydney Dance Company last night.  I was given free tickets from work and went with some of my coworkers.  I thought it would be a great show because I really enjoy many different styles of dance.  And the Sydney Dance Company is quite famous here.  Weeeeeelllllll, I did not enjoy the show.  

The dancers are amazing and have amazing bodies.  Muscles everywhere!  It's crazy.  And of course they are all very talented.  BUT, I had no idea what was going on and the music was dreadful.  For the first 10 minutes - the only sound was of a train whistle and the "ding ding ding" of a train crossing.  That is what they danced to.   What???????  I don't know.  I'm sure there was some hidden message in the show but I didn't figure it out.  And I wasn't alone.  Thankfully!  There were 5 of us that went and 4 of us felt the same way.  One of the girls used to dance so she thought it was wonderful.  I don't know.  I guess I'll never be able to pull off the artsy-fartsy thing because I couldn't wait for the show to be over.  

Is it me?  Has anyone else gone to watch live performances of contemporary dance?  Hmmmm, the dancers truly are amazing but I definitely will not be going back anytime soon!! 

Any thoughts?

Ice Skating in Brisbane?

Yes, we went ice skating over Easter.  I wanted to do something "Canadian" with the kids over the holidays.  I looked into it and there are 2 Ice World's in the Brisbane area.  One is only about 15 minutes outside the city.  So, we checked into the public skating, packed up the warm coats and mitts, and headed out!!  We all had such a great time.  I'm really glad we went.  It just felt like home!  It's funny because we love all that Australia has to offer - a wonderful way of like, kangaroos, palm trees, amazing beaches, koalas, geckos....all the good stuff, but I have to say, the skating felt good!  And the cold air was great!  Hmmmm, we are definitely going back.  Shamus has asked twice already if we could go again.  It was really great.  But, renting skates is horrible!  The blades are super dull and they are NOT comfortable.  May have to get our skates sent over!

 

Lace'em up Dad!

The only bummer was that you had to be 3 to get to skate so B didn't get to participate.  She was very disappointed at first but got over it quickly.  She cheered Shamus on.  And loved wearing her warm clothes.  She didn't want to take anything off after we left the rink..and it was 25 degrees outside!

Look out Canada, here comes Outback Shamus!

Actually, some of the kids were pretty good skaters.  And there is a Can-Skate for kids and a hockey league.  And curling!  So, we may see about skating for the kids.  Buying equipment is crazy expensive here so I'll have to look into it first.

Shamus was pumped.  He really enjoyed it.  And he did quite well.

The Cheerleader.

Darryl and I had a chance to go off on our own to do some skating and it was really nice.  Again, the skates are crap but it was really enjoyable.

And no day of skating is complete without hot chocolate.

And then we finished the afternoon with some Air Hockey.  Shamus thought it was awesome.  Damn, it is a fun game!!

So, that was one of our Easter highlights.  Of course Darryl's birthday was another.  And we had a big Easter dinner at our place on Sunday.  We had Nick, Mariana, Clo, Rej, and Kate over.  Clo made some amazing appetizers so we all had full bellies before the dinner even came!  Great company and too many deserts!

Darryl's Birthday!!!!!!

Darryl's Birthday!  Purdy's birthday was on Saturday.  The big 3 3.

He didn't want a birthday cake...but that doesn't fly with a 2 and 4 year old.  So, I did cupcakes for the kids.  Yeah, it's not really about YOU and YOUR birthday wishes after you have kids! :)

So, here are the birthday cupcakes for Darrylie.

But, here is what Darryl actually wanted for his birthday...

A lemon desert.  I'm not sure who likes it more, Darryl or Cari.

And thanks to Cathy for mailing us some lemon pudding mixes!!!!

So, Darryl and I enjoyed the lemon desert. 

Ah, but it's not just about the birthday food.  It's about presents too!

The kids are at the fun age of making gifts.  They each made a picture for Darryl.

And a little something from the gang.

Finally....chocolate.  

A nice day with Dad. We're very thankful for having such an amazing Dad and husband.

Happy Birthday Darrylie!! 

We love you!

And Happy Easter to everyone!  Hope you enjoyed the long weekend!

Brisbane Science Center

Darryl took the kids to the Science Center last month and they loved it.  Since then Shamus has been asking to go back.  We went on Sunday and it was really impressive.  There were a lot of things to try out!  The above pic - basically a camera snaps a picture and the flash causes a shadow on the back wall.  So, the kids liked doing silly poses and then seeing the shadow behind them!  Rock on! 

And nothing like a good race to get the heart pumping!  Shamus loves to run so we did this one over and over and over and over....you get the picture.  :)

Too dark....you can't see me kickin' butt!

Yes, that is Darryl and Breagha trying to pick up a 80kg fridge.  Thanks to Breagha, Dad was able to get the fridge off the ground!

This was Breagha's favorite because Shamus would spin her around and around in the chair.  The point is to tuck your legs in to see that you will go faster than if your legs were sticking out.  Of course B is too short so she just enjoyed the ride!

This was cool...there was a skelton on the other side of the mirror.  Once you started to pedal, the skelton would appear and you could see all the bones in your body pedaling the bike!  We liked the skelton but I couldn't name all the bones!  

Love this table set.  Reminded me of Giant McAskill in Cape Breton!

And Shamus checking his heart rate after all the running!!

There was so much to do there so we will have to go back as we didn't get to do it all.  

Hope everyone at home has a wonderful Easter Weekend!!  Wish we were there to enjoy all the yummy meals!  Miss you lots!