Are we there yet? Holiday wrap up - days 1 & 2

We have been talking about having a family holiday for years.  Literally years, but something would always get in the way or the funds to do it were not quite there.  We had promised the kids (and ourselves) a Gold Coast holiday for the ultimate family get away of fun, sunshine and theme parks.  We planned it as part of a present for Henry's and Milly's birthdays.  As well as taking advantage of the low season prices, which meant taking the kids out of school for a week (which as it turned out thanks to the storm, not a big deal at all).

Because we were driving not flying, we broke the trip up with our first stop Coffs Harbour.  Grandad Bryan and Nana Tracey put us up and spoilt us rotten with their generous hospitality.  Nana Tracey even made the kids an amazing Slug Terra birthday cake.

Miss Milly turned eight years old and had a morning of opening presents before it was time to hit the road again - destination Sea World Nara Resort, Gold Coast.

Considering the amount of time spent in the car travelling, the kids did well to entertain themselves.  We decided not to bother taking the car DVD player.  Instead, Henry and and Milly had their tablets, Buster played on a mobile phone, or they just read or chatted amongst themselves.  We stopped at my favourite pie shop, The Humble Pie, at Billinudgel for lunch and before we knew it we were in Queensland.

As it was Milly's big day her birthday wishes were to swim in the resort pool, have fish and chips for dinner, and then play at the water light show in the evening.  Happy Birthday Poppet!

The storm

As I type this I'm knocking on wood because finally some luck has come our way and we are grateful.  Last week our region was hit by a small cyclone causing damage and flooding.  Many people have lost their homes and most were without power for between 2-7 days.  Our suburb is a very leafy one with lots of gum trees on sloping blocks.  It was only through Facebook did we realise a terrible storm had struck and we were vulnerable.  As luck would have it, we were not home.  We weren't even in the state.  We were in Queensland having our first family holiday and enjoying the glorious sunshine and warm weather (more of that in blog posts to come).  Our house is surrounded by tall gum trees and we became worried as to what we would return to.

My mum and neighbours kept an eye on our house and despite all the odds (and many homes in our suburbs having trees fall on them) the house survived the cyclone.

When we returned from our holiday our yards were a mess.  Lots of fallen branches of all sizes scattered about but somehow none managed to land on our house or outside belongings.  Hooray for luck!  We managed to avoid the storm, power outage, and damage.  Also, any guilt we had taking the kids out of school for a week was lost, as the school was closed the entire time we were away due to the storm.

A small tree by the driveway collapsed.

Just some of the branch debris.

More debris in the courtyard.
Miraculously any branches that fell missed our outdoor table setting.

Stacking up the many branches that fell.

More branches.

Nice and neat, awaiting council clean up.

Part of the roof of our pergola missing. 

Barrow boy

I've mentioned before how much Buster loves going to Bunnings.  One of his Christmas presents was a Bunnings voucher and he couldn't have been more thrilled.  The hardest part for him was choosing what to spend it on.

He is a great little helper.  Unlike Henry Milly who just skulk about when asked to contribute, Buster doesn't need to be asked.  If we are out in the garden toiling away, he finds his little gardening kit and is ready for action.  Yes, sometimes what he considers helping isn't always what we might consider helping, but his willingness is always appreciated.

Easter

Buster's first Easter hat parade and Milly's last before she joins the junior primary next year.  The hat parade was followed by the Easter raffle where all the kids came home with a prize.  Big thank you to Grandad Bryan and Nanna Tracey for purchasing lots of tickets.

There were some tears when Buster thought he wouldn't win anything in the raffle because he left his tickets at home.

Then there were more tears because he thought his prize was smaller than Henrys and Millys.

All smiles once more.

Welcoming in the football season

Another autumn commences and with it the renewed hope for a more successful football season than the last.  Henry has hung up his boots this year to focus on his karate and possibly try a new sport.  Milly still wants to join a soccer team and we still won't let her.  (Before you say "poor Milly", it should be said our decision is purely based on her lack of commitment to seeing out her season of Little Athletics).  So the third pair of boots and shin pads to be aired out belong to Buster.

He has joined an Under 6 team made up of some kids from his school, some kids he went to preschool with, and some new faces.  Training has started and he loves it.  His coach is very patient and lots of fun and Buster is having a ball.

His first official game isn't until 18 April; however, he has played two trial matches in the past two weeks and both times his team won.  Buster is yet to score a goal but (just like his father) he is left footed and can boot the ball when he wants to.

His team shirt looks more like a dress on him and he doesn't like to wear his shin pads under his socks.  He says he doesn't like the feel of his shin pads against his skin.  Bless.

In less exciting news, I've played four trial games and lost them all.  Whilst Michael's team is yet to play.