Black Light /Glow in the Dark Party

Planning for a party began early with Ella brainstorming many ideas, however a Glow in the Dark party at home trumped the lot thanks to the awesome memories of Ella's 8th birthday party.

Armed this time with a black light and lots of glow sticks we were sure to have a fun time and  we did. First activity was in pairs - face painting. Not that exciting until the lights were turned off and the black light turned on.

The meatballs and pasta was a hit for dinner. Not too many opted for sushi - Ella was happy though as she had sushi for lunch the next day!

Next we wandered down to the oval and threw around glow stick stuffed wiffle balls. Actually we discovered these plastic balls with holes in them, in the cat toys section of our local $2 dollar shop which was a bonus. Challenges included throwing the furtherest as well as landing in the glow stick hoop.... both activities provided interesting results. The furthest throw was won by someone who rolled their ball and it took numerous goes for someone to get a bullseye by landing their ball in the glow stick hoop!

Back at home, we played the next game on the driveway. A variation on the chocolate or holiday game. The girls were required to dress in the costumes, run up to the table and transfer as many lollies as possible into their team box. The catch though was they had to use chopsticks! After a random amount of time, Andy blew a whistle signalling the girls to return to their team undress and pass the costume on to the next person. Lots of laughs were had in this game!

We calmed everyone down with birthday cake - a simple sponge adorned with raspberries and strawberries and even coloured flame candles! The girls then happily retreated by themselves into the lounge to play a murder in the dark game waiting for parents to arrive. Another wonderful birthday party had finished! 

Eleven

Ella turned 11! Those teenage years will be upon us soon! We enjoyed a relaxing day.... Andy headed off to work and we made last minute decision to go see Peter Rabbit at the movies. Post movie Ella was keen to use her voucher to Lovisa from Katy to choose earrings. The voucher for $15 got her 6 pairs and she was pleased as punch. A spot of sushi completed the trip!

Enforced Leave

It was recommended with my facial treatment to take 2 weeks off from work due to the peeling/healing process. However I was lucky that the whole process was over in 10 days but work had already found cover so I got to have the second week of the school holidays off too. That was great except I was at a lost as to what to do having planned nothing!

We started the weekend with Katy wanting to make friendship bracelets....so off to the shops for embroidery thread. We got a little sidetracked there...

Finding a good selection of colours we returned back home to settle into Youtube watching of easy to make friendship bracelets. The frenzy of knotting began! Ella went from the easiest bracelet to more difficult knotting to macrame the next day!

Meanwhile I too started a little project. With the square vase from last year broken, I had to find a new one but ended up with three! Planted tulips this time. Not sure how they will go - only time will tell!

On the Way Home

After packing up, a quick clean of the house and dropping off the keys we headed north taking the coastal road towards Dalmeny in search for a place for our last swim of the summer. From Kianga Point we thought Carters Beach looked ok and decided to swim there.

A small sand bar meant it was a long way out to deeper water. It also meant if you caught a wave you had a long ride back with the added bonus of hitting the reflecting wave and being bounced up into the air. Ella, Mira and Al all spent a long time riding these waves together and it was a great spectacle from the sand too!

Once home, Ella was quick to disappear into the shed, to create her own beach hanging (inspired from ones seen at Tilba Tilba) and will act as a reminder to another great beach holiday!

More Beach Action

With the dads off running up Mt Gulaga, it was a slow morning. So while the kids played I managed to finish reading my second book of the holiday! Soon though it was time to exit the house and back to the beach we wandered. Only a brief visit thanks to the dreary outlook. Seaweed covered the beach and was deep in some parts. At our 'usual' spot, the water was relatively clear of seaweed and the girls were back carving up the waves. Ella decided to ditch the board, instead opting to body surf, catching lots of waves I think thanks to the help of her wetsuit.

And when the energy levels were dropping,  the kids entertained themselves once again in the sand with the seaweed providing an additional bonus! Then when we could no longer get warm we retreated to our home for a warm spa!

A trip to Tilba Tilba in the afternoon with the highlight a stop in the Old Fashion Lollipop rounded off the day.

Blue Skies for Boogie Boarding

The Jones / Walter family joined us for the remainder of our time at Mystery Bay arriving later Thursday night.

Most of the following day was spent at Mystery Bay enjoying the sunny conditions. Boogie boarding was fun as long as you missed the rocks! When the kids weren't surfing they were digging in the sand. We all did wonder at what age does playing in the sand becomes uncool?? Not for another few years?

The low tide conditions meant we also waded a short distance to the rocky island. Not much to see except for lots of bird poop but a fun adventure nevertheless!

New Beaches

The advantage of a new place is the unexplored beaches nearby. Despite the weather looking and feeling more like winter and less like summer, we still ventured out for a splash and play each day.

Pooles Beach, is the next beach south from Mystery Bay. A quiet spot which we had to ourselves. The waves were rather rough so we didn't venture out too deep. To warm up, we walked south around the rocky headland discovering rock pools and shells.

A quick trip into Narooma the following day saw us check out the surf conditions at Surf Beach, the home of the Narooma SLSC. No one on duty today. Who could blame them - it was 3pm, overcast and windy. Thus we had the beach mostly to ourselves - only one other young girl who was also trying to make the most of the beach! The surf was much rougher than yesterday, with a strong transient rip. Thankfully the girls seemed to recognise this and spent most of their time digging in the sand.