Jetsetting

With our overseas travels inching closer each day and Andy having a conference in Melbourne, we decided to take the opportunity to travel down together to visit Andy's Nana who is fast approaching 96! It was also a perfect time for the girls to test out their carry on luggage bags.

Saturday saw us travel in a car, plane, taxi, tram and train! Flying down on Saturday morning, we made it to our accommodation before having a quick bite to eat for lunch then catching the train to Mitcham. It turned out that not only did we see Andy's Nana but also 2 aunties and 1 uncle! We enjoyed chatting with everyone over afternoon tea. The girls played with Nana's christmas singing toys before helping pick oranges.

Leaving Nana's place, we caught a train and then tram to St Kilda to enjoy fish and chips on the beach. Apart from getting off the tram at the wrong end of the street (only 100+ numbers from the chip shop!) it was an enjoyable evening.

Sunday with only a few hours spare, we decided to venture to Queen Victoria Markets where we managed to pick up some lovely (and cheap) dresses for the girls that are perfect for a wedding we are going to in March down the coast. Lunch and play in the park opposite the markets before another tram ride back to our accommodation.

The girls and I left Andy at 1pm. As our flights were on frequent flyer points we had to fly to Sydney then on to Canberra scheduled to arrive at 6.35pm. Unfortunately bad weather delayed our flight from Sydney. It also resulted in a bumpy ride with the two girls clinging each other at one point (we were on a little plane with 2 x 2 seats, so I was across the aisle) and us arriving home at 8pm!

New Routines

Kindy is not the only thing to change this year. Katy has begun gymnastics on Tuesday mornings with her best mate and next door neighbour Sofia. They have a brilliant time together completing the two gymnastics circuits each week although not always in the correct sequence!

We have also changed swimming lesson venues from CSIAC to the AIS. Ella is in the penguins while Katy is a blue starfish! Although it is a bit rushed to get from school to the 3.30 time slot, it's fantastic to have a heap of time after to get home, play and cook dinner. The actual lessons are going well. Ella is finding it tough, as she can't touch the bottom and the instructor works the children much harder. Katy is still quite reserved with her teacher with tears during both lessons. However more importantly she has recovered without getting out of the pool which is great.

Traumatic Tuesday

The excitement of school was overtaken by the need for sleep this morning by a certain young lady! I thought after numerous meltdowns over various random things like eating breakfast and getting dress we weren't actually going to make it there.

However off we went Ella on her bike, me on my bike pulling Katy in the trailer. Our departure was slightly later than ideal and we only managed to get about 100m from home when Ella swerved her bike into mine and ended up coming off second best. I did wonder whether we should have driven. We wiped away the tears, had a big cuddle, placed a band aid over the graze on the knee and we were off again. Thankfully no more incidents on the way to school arriving just on time.

Ella happily lead Katy and myself through her school. She showed us her bag hook, her desk before sitting down to complete the first task of picking corn kernels out of a tub of rice with tweezers!! With Ella engrossed with this activity, Katy and I headed off to gymnastics!

Katy and good buddy Sofia have decided to participate in Kinder gym this year. Today's first session at the Canberra City Gymnastic Club was a beach theme. The girls enjoyed the circuits as well as each others company!

On the way home, we had decided to do our fruit and vegie shop at the markets although the carpark was very empty when we arrived before I realised the markets aren't open on Tuesdays!! Off to coles we went, loading up the trailer and slogging the groceries and Katy back home.

A few hours to unpack the food, vacuum and mop then hang out the clothes, quick visit to officeworks before picking up Ella. Nana met us at school. She was doing a reconnaissance as we have gratefully accepted her offer to pick Ella up on Thursday afternoons. We placed Lucy (Ella's bike) on the roof of the car for the drive home.

I was busily chatting to the girls about the potential afternoon activities, opened the garage door, drove in with a large bang! I'd forgotten about Lucy! There was lots of cursing from me and wailing from Ella in the back! On closer inspection, Lucy was fine with the car coming off second best. The front section of the roof rack had come completely off the car and done the most damage to the inside of the doors as well as making a bigger dent in the roof at the back. The garage door was bent and crumpled but we managed to bend it back enough to be able to open and close it again.

Once we had all recovered from that incident, the rest of the afternoon was spent in the back garden painting and playing thankfully without any further disruptions (I'd certainly had enough for one day!)

Ella's First Day at Kindy!

Andy and Ella set off this morning for Kindy! It's amazing what excitement starting school brings - no need to ask (or nag) to do any of the normal morning routine (eat breakfast, brush hair or get dressed). That probably won't last long either....

However, Ella happily rode Lucy to school, found a place to lock her up and headed off to discover which was her classroom. Her teacher is Miss Williams and her class is also known as KZW.

There were smiles all round when she saw that a small cluster of desks had her name along with the names of several of her preschool friends - Max, Rohan and Emma. Apparently as the class filled with new students accompanied by their parents, the noise level rose and Ella became a little anxious with a few tears appearing. Thankfully this was short live though once she became occupied with drawing and showing Miss Williams her results! Andy then took this opportunity to leave, joining the some of the other parents and principal for a cuppa and chat before heading off to work.

Returning to school at 3pm, Andy was greeted by a happy (and very tired) girl. Apart from her new school shoes rubbing a little, Ella had no complaints and is looking forward to school tomorrow!

Final Christmas Present

Ella and Katy received their final christmas present yesterday - only a month overdue!! After dithering about christmas presents, we finally decided just prior to christmas on redecorating their yellow baby bedroom with new doona covers and a big wall sticker turning it into a room perfect for two little girls.

When the new wall sticker arrived early in the new year (doesn't help when you order it 10 days before christmas), we got started with a fresh coat of paint. Then had an agonising delay of 2 weeks while we waited for the paint to dry....finally the sticker went up on Friday night and furniture back in on Saturday.  And the finished results...well you can see for yourself!

Beach, at last

We have a rule in our house that we attempt to get to the beach at least twice per summer, but so far we haven't even managed one. So we took the plunge, packed the tent and headed down to Lake Tabourie caravan park for the Australia Day long weekend,  joining Susie, Patrick, Josh & Mia for the last couple of days of their week-long holiday.

We arrived late on Friday night, so the first order of business on Saturday morning was to head to the beach. The main feature of this beach is an island, connected by a sandbar to the main beach, meaning one can find a beach facing almost any direction. We started on the most sheltered option, but soon graduated to the medium-sized waves.

Ella joined Josh in the surf to reacquaint herself with her boogie board, while Katy (no longer scared by waves) swam in the shallows and played in the sand. The highlight of the morning was finding waves that suited both parents and kids, meaning that we could catch waves side-by-side (see photo of Ella racing Nat to the shore).

This caravan park was pretty well-endowed with kids facilities. (It was, by the way, crammed full of family campers -- many of whom had tents larger than our house; some included microwaves, fridges or TVs in their repertoire of furnishings.) But on the plus side we discovered a BMX track (again, mainly an Ella+ aged activity):

 

There were multiple playgrounds, tennis, art & crafts and not one but two jumping pillows -- fun for the whole family:

 

Both families were pretty exhausted by the end of Saturday but, undeterred, we headed out for more of the same on Sunday. This time, the waves had picked up enough that boogie boarding wasn't an option, but we still spent a good few hours at the beach before Susie & family headed home.

We stayed an extra night, giving us the chance for a proper fish'n'chips at Ulladulla, give our tent a thorough rain-test in some fairly solid storms on Sunday night and a final Monday morning swim at Merry Beach (surf even higher this time) on the way home.

Rock Climbing

Ever since she could crawl Ella has demonstrated a capacity and inclination to climb (much to our consternation). For some time I've been promising that Auntie Susie, the legendary adventuress, would teach her some proper rock climbing, and that promise has finally come home to roost.

Last weekend, on a scorching hot summers afternoon, we all headed out to an oversized tin shed in Mitchell to try climbing. Mia and Josh came to climb as well; Katy sat on a couch with Mum reading books and documenting the activity with photos. Turns out Josh is somewhat of an expert, and he made it to the top several times. Mia also has some experience and could get about halfway up the wall, while Ella, spurred on by her cousin, managed something similar.

So, climbing was fun. Just as fun is swinging on the rope while pushing off the wall and abseiling back down again. I think it could become a regular activity ...