Takin' It Easy

All good things must come to an end...

2010-11-29T17:33:00.003+11:00

It has been over a week now since we arrived back home in Colac. We left Carol and Allen's on Wednesday the 17th November and got to Bordertown early that afternoon. Spent the night there, much to Laura's disgust as she wanted to keep driving and get home that night. She kept asking "are we really going to get home tomorrow?" over, and over, and over again until we said if she asked it again we were going to turn the bus around and go back the other way!! Poor kids, we have dragged them here, there and everywhere for the last 2 years so they don't really think we will ever take them home. But of course we did, slightly earlier than originally planned but perfect to sneak up on the family. Not surprisingly we were all up and ready to go very early on the morning of Friday the 19th of November. Sent a text message to Nanny and Poppy (who were staying in Portland) that we were not stopping in to visit and would be home in Colac that day instead. Took a small detour in Ararat while the navigator was not reading the map (NOT my fault, the driver told me he knew where we were heading!) and took the scenic route home. Parked the bus and after a quick hello to Donk and Sam we headed into town to surprise Shas. Yep, got her a bewdy! Tans and family came in for tea and Gerard cooked a lovely BBQ. Froze my butt off but wonderful to be home and see everyone. Kids have all grown so much and had a ripper of a time running around the back yard like crazy people.

Anyway as the saying goes "all good things must come to an end" and this trip has sure been a good thing. Would not have changed a minute of it and would do it again in a heartbeat (not that we are going anywhere Shas, not for a long while, I promise!!) We went with the main intention of spending some quality family time together and we got to do that whilst also enjoying the beautiful scenery of our amazing country and the wonderful company of the people we met along the way. I can honestly say it has been one of the best experiences of my life and it's all thanks to my darling husband who drove a 40 foot bus (and trailer) all those thousands of kilometers without complaint (except for those couple of times I almost got us stuck, whoops!) and my beautiful children who trusted us to keep them safe and get them back home and who made great friends of each other (because frankly there was noone else most of the time!), I will always treasure this special time we've had together. Love from Deb (Mum) XXX

And a big thanks to all our friends who have followed our adventures and left comments along the way. Cheers to you all xxx

Drinkies with Carol and Allen

2010-11-16T13:56:00.003+11:00

Having a wonderful time here in Edithburgh with our friends we met way back in Mirani last year, Carol and Allen. But, boy oh boy, my "healthy eating plan" has taken a battering since we arrived here! Not only am I drinking every night, I am having nibbles before an enormous meal, then dessert afterwards. So much for the 2.5kg I had gotten rid of. I will wait until we get home and have had a party or two, then start again. No good stressing about it now :-(

The kids are having a lovely time being spoilt terribly with all the attention, good food and lots of movie time. They are also helping to care for some new additions to the Reid family, their 6 new chooks. They have been saved from a chook farm and although they are a little bald in places now, I'm sure they will soon be looking proper flash!

Kids and I have spent a few hours at the local parks over the last few days. Chris and Al have been out in the boat fishing and have brought home a yummy array of goodies for us to try; King George Whiting, garfish, snook (which Chris loves to catch) and some squid. We have had fish plain, crumbed, smoked and even pickled and still have a few bags in the freezer to bring home. Not a bad effort!

But the best time of all is the evening, well more like 4pm when Carol calls out "drinkies" and we all head out to the porch area for a yack and a laugh over a few drinks. It's a very nice way to be ending our holiday. Not long to go now...

We've been everywhere man

2010-11-11T14:00:00.005+11:00

In the last week or so we've been making our way across from the WA coast to visit some friends in Edithburgh SA. No wonder I can't remember half the places we've been, there are so many! It brings back memories of that good old Slim Dusty classic...We've been to Dongara, Dowerin, Merredin, Southern Cross, Coolgardie, Kalgoorlie, Norseman, Balladonia, Caiguna, Mundrabilla, Eucla, Nundroo, Laura Bay, Streaky Bay, Poochera, Kimba, Port Augusta, Port Germein, hell we've been everywhere!! A lot of these places were just for a fuel stop or to stretch our legs but we have been to them all.

The Nullabor was interesting (for want of a better word!). It was fantastic and mind numbingly boring all at the same time...the scenery was very bland...mainly just scrubby salt bush with a small shrub thrown in every few hundred yards and a handful of dead trees, then out of nowhere would be a tree covered in all manner of paraphernalia. For instance we saw a shoe tree, a thong tree, a glove tree, a teddy bear tree, a hat/bag/scarf tree, a few mixed-bits-and-pieces trees, a cap tree, a bra tree, a knicker tree and even a nude tree with nothing on it, just a sign saying "the nude tree". It was brilliant and made us laugh and most importantly keep us awake and alert on an otherwise very painful trip, especially the longest straight stretch of road in Australia which is something like 146.5km long!!! If we had realised there would be so many funny trees we would have stopped and taken some photos but each time we whizzed by we thought it would be the last one and Stevo doesn't like to stop the bus for just anything you know.

One time we probably SHOULD have missed a photo opportunity was when I dragged us into Laura Bay so I could get a shot of our girl and her scenic namesake. Seemed like a good idea at the time, until the road got smaller and smaller and Stevo said "where the hell are you taking us Deb?" Well we got to the end where the little car park was and then had to do a slightly stressful 4 point turn in the bus with the trailer and 4WD on the back. But I got the photo and promised never to make Stevo take me places in the bus again without knowing we can get in and out OK. Naughty girl Deb!
Ooh look, it's the sign to Laura Bay...doesn't look like a tiny dirt track from here, does it?

We stayed in Coolgardie for a couple of nights and drove Jimny to Kalgoorlie for the day to have a look around and learn about the old mining history. It was a highlight for me and we all loved the "Super Pit" where you can stand on the edge of the massive open cut mine and see the way they mine for gold today. The trucks look so tiny but they are enormous and you can hear the constant rumble of their engines as you stand at the veiwing platform. This is the richest area of land for gold deposits in the world and this particular spot was called "the golden mile" because so many gold nuggets were discovered here. Amazing!
We could see the remains of old mine shafts running into the cut edges of the pit in certain places. Imagine how times have changed from then to now!

Stayed a night at Eucla and went to check out the old telegraph station, or what's left of it that hasn't fallen down or been covered in sand. I love looking at old buildings, especially those made of rock and stone, I think the workmanship is brilliant. The kids on the other hand just loved climbing on it and after a few minutes said "Mum, this is boring, can we go to the beach instead?" So off we went to the beach where Will misbehaved and lost his DS and playstation privileges for a week. Ha, that's karma for you, should have stayed at the boring old building!!
Old Telegraph Station, Eucla

Have I mentioned how cold it's been getting, especially of a night? This is the kids all bundled up for an early morning shift of camp. They are fully dressed in long pants and jumpers and have 2 blankets over them and Laura is under the beanie and Will has a towel on his head!!
Will has his mate "porky" on his lap, a fluffy bear he got at the op shop.

Had a couple of days in Streaky Bay which was a nice friendly little place. I found a great walking track going straight past the caravan park and made good use of it. Then on to Port Germein to meet up with Mum and Dad for a few days. Kids were very excited to see Nanny and Poppy and be spoilt for a little while. We all went for a walk (or 3) out on the jetty, which is the longest wooden jetty in Australia.

I was already half way along the jetty when I took this photo. Can you see Chris and Dad almost at the end of it? They were "patiently" waiting for the tide to come back in, alas no water equals no fish. We did however catch a few crabs and ate them on crackers for a snack, yummy!

Here is Nanny with the kids enjoying a nice relaxing beverage :-))

Wonderful Geraldton!

2010-10-28T10:15:00.007+11:00

Before leaving Kalbarri we went for a drive out in the National Park to see the sights. Had a look at the Z-Bend and Nature's Window which showcase the Murchison river. Would have looked even better with some water flowing thru', but still impressive.
The Z-bend (not actually showing showing the "Z" bit)
Nature's Window
Laura and Will having a little rest in the shade. Isn't this rock face beautiful!

Well sadly we had to leave the Gray family in Kalbarri last Friday and move on. The girls exchanged friendship necklaces and although we were a little sad we look forward to meeting them on the road again some day.
This is the "Pink Lake" at Gregory, just south of Kalbarri.

Onto our next stop...Found Geraldton to be a great place with everything you could want in a big town, if somewhat spread out. Staying at Batavia C/Park which is a little out of town but nice and quiet and they say the pool is solar heated (but I have my doubts). Went for a trip out to Oakabella Station yesterday which is said to be a haunted house. The lady taking the tours was a real character and has a gift so can see the spirits. She was very interesting to talk to (as long as you used your manners). God help anyone who said "what?" instead of "pardon me?"...Laura, or parents who interrupted to answer for the kids...Deb! Other than that she was a delight and so knowledgeable about the station and the local area.
The barn at Oakabella. Notice how cold the kids look!
Inside the barn (now the museum). Notice the spot at the top of the picture?
One of the bedrooms where a bloke shot himself while cleaning his gun. Notice the spots in the top of my photo again?!
The lounge room where a baby died. Yep, more spots and blurry things! So whether or not you believe in spirits we were amazed with these photos, considering I've taken hundreds and hundreds of photos on this trip and not one has any spots in them, except these ones, go figure!

And best of all, the hot chocolate and delicious scones Loretta made and the family devoured with lashings of strawberry jam and cream. ALMOST better than Grandma's! I missed out but I have lost 1.5kg in the last fortnight so it's worth it.

FISHING
Hey, check out these rippers...Stevo has caught 12 tailor in the last 2 days (and lost 2 big mulloway, but we won't dwell on that). The freezer is full and we are eating fish at least every second day, yum! Go you great white hunter :-))

HMAS SYDNEY 2 MEMORIAL
This beautiful memorial in Geraldton is dedicated to the 645 people who died at sea in November 1941 on the HMAS Sydney 2, when they were bombed by a German raider (the Kormorant). The dome is made up of metal seagulls, signifying the exact number of people who passed away. The big tall "stele" represents the bow of the ship, and the bronze lady is for all the family waiting patiently for their loved ones to return home. It was well worth a look.

Hamelin Pool, Monkey Mia and on to Kalbarri

2010-10-23T22:51:00.006+11:00

Left Carnarvon and next stop was Hamelin Pool, a nice quiet little caravan park about an hour from Monkey Mia. Met up with the Gray family (Georgie, Brett and kids) and stayed for 3 nights. Had a few day trips to Monkey Mia, Eagle Bluff and Shell beach. Also saw the "stromalites" which apparently are very rare bacteria colonies in the bay at Hamelin Pool (closely related to the first forms of life and which look very much like rocks if you ask me!!) It meant we couldn't swim in the sea at the caravan park because we could destroy the little critters but we didn't mind too much because it was freezing. Yes, you heard right - FREEZING!! The wind was blowing a gale and we had to resort to long pants and jumpers and extra blankets at night. Boy, I hate this cold stuff!! Really trying to put the brakes on so we don't hit too much of this chilly weather.
Anyway, enough of that, here are the stromalites which I'm sure you will be impressed with...Chris and the kids were so impressed they didn't even go to see them, they said take a photo so we can look at that. Ha ha.
Mmm, stromalites...

SHELL BEACH

Laura, Will and Emma at Shell Beach. It is made entirely from tiny little white shells and up to 10 metres deep in places. The shells stick together after a time and compact into a solid mass which was once used for a building material. Now it is only mined from a quarry at Hamelin Pool and only to maintain the historic buildings already there.
This is where the shell blocks are mined from.

EAGLE BLUFF

My wordy lordy me it was windy from the top of Eagle Bluff. Blow a dog off it's chain!

MONKEY MIA

Laura and Will feeding the dolphins A star fish

We went for a catamaran ride on "Aristocat 2" and loved it. Went over to the pearl farm and got to see how pearls are made and also got to meet "farmer Jamie", from the TV show "farmer wants a wife". Then we went looking for dugongs which I thought would be easier than it actually was. Apparently they are very shy creatures so they came up for a split second to get some air, then disappeared, usually just as I tried to get a photo! Did get to see a couple of them but would save myself the trouble next time.

Chris and the kids relaxing on the net at the front of the "Aristocat 2".

Towards the end of our cruise they put out the boomnet and Laura and Emma jumped on for a quick ride. For everyone else it was way too cold! Stopped at Denham on the way home and had lunch and a play at the playground (the kids that is, not me).

HORSE RIDING

After being so brave getting on the boomnet the day before Laura decided she would like to go horse riding so here we are...

Laura at the back and Emma at the front on their horses Mighty and Ruby

Heading back after a fun 20 minute ride. Look out Jane and Fiona, she's hooked and we told her to see you guys when we get back for some lessons!

So that's the trip so far. Off to do a little day trip tomorrow so I'll be back with some more photos soon. Hope this weather warms up, it reminds me why I've enjoyed being away so much :-)

Cheers to you all xxx

A fun time in Carnarvon

2010-10-19T20:04:00.007+11:00

Right oh, we have had a week and a half in Carnarvon and we leave tomorrow so I'd better get some news and some photos on here...
Had a quiet first week, did a little sight seeing but not a lot to see really. Went around to the fruit and vegie stalls to stock up on some "home grown" goodies, took the kids to the park and the beach. It's a nice quiet little town. Chris went fishing and got a flathead (which I haven't eaten since we left home I don't think, yuummm). He talked us into going with him one day and it was the longest day of my life!! But the kids enjoyed themselves and buried each other in the sand as you can see below...

Chris and the kids swam out to a sandbank to cool off after fishing all day
And we got to see some wildflowers which are still out here and there around the place.

We went to the One Mile Jetty, which as you can see is a mile long, and had to pay for the privilege of walking out there! After the single flathead Chris had caught he decided to give the jetty a whirl and last night ended up with a mackerel and a long tom, and he's back there this arvo trying again. Got to give the man credit - he never gives up!

A few days before we were due to leave we got a call from Georgie (and Brett, Kyle and Emma, who we met at Pardoo) saying they were going to be in Carnarvon the next day, so we stayed a few more days and caught up with them. Kids had a great time climbing trees, swimming and generally having fun and the adults got to relax with happy kids who never complained once about being bored!!

We went to the Quobba Blowholes with them for a drive. I'm sure the blowhole is a lot more ferocious when the weather is rough. There are hooks on the tops of the cliffs for the fishermen to hook themselves to, and a massive sign as you come to the blowholes which says "KING WAVES KILL"!! And the girls are standing in front of the life bouys for anyone who goes over the side, YIKES!

The cliffs are pretty amazing and covered in oyster shells so if you were unlucky enough to go over the edge you would be cut to pieces trying to get back up. I vote for staying well clear of the edge!

Here we all are checking out the view (L-R) Georgie, Kyle, Brett, Will, Emma, Chris and Laura. Saw about 20 or more dolphins swim by, not too far out and it was fantastic to see. First time I have really seen any in the wild that close.

Hello Mr and Mrs Stevenson :-))

The land is like a moonscape, all holey rocks all merged together like they've been melted.

And here is the desperate fisherman who (against wifely advice) decided to have a little go at throwing a lure around...on the edge of the bloomin' cliff and nowhere near the life bouys! No wonder I have to keep dying these grey hairs. And not a single fish did he catch!
But all that stress wasn't in vain, Brett came up with a lovely trevally which he didn't want and gave to us, yummy.

Before we went home we all went snorkelling. This photo shows Chris and Will at the water getting their flippers on. We saw lots of exciting things - fish, sea slugs, clams, sea urchins, beautifully coloured coral. Amazing to see.

So tomorrow we leave for a little place called Hamlin Pool, just below Monkey Mia. Brett and Co. left today but Emma stayed with us and we will meet them again tomorrow and have a few days together.

Had a call from Betty today. She got some of our mail and apparently the kids both did really well on their NAPLAN tests so I guess that is proof enough that we haven't done any damage by bringing them on this wonderful adventure. We knew it was a good idea but it's nice to see it down on paper too. Well time for tea so I'd better go round up the mob and feed them, chow for now and cheers to you all xxx

Go back, go back!

2010-10-15T11:43:00.006+11:00

Oopsie, I forgot to put some photos on from our stay in Exmouth.

This is the shipwreck of the SS Mildura, a cattle ship that went down a long time ago (don't ask me when, I can't remember!)

The Vlamingh Head Lighthouse

Laura and Deb up at the Vlamingh Head Lighthouse

This is the Charle's Knife Canyon (although Stevo tells me we don't have canyons, it must be a gorge) Anyway whatever it was actually called, it was amazing! You can see the road at the bottom where you can drive thru', but the poor kids had seen enough "rocks" by the time we got to the top that we didn't go down there. The view was beautiful.

As soon as we got close to Exmouth we had to keep our eyes peeled for emus, there were stacks and they wandered across the main road all the time.
As far as wildlife goes we also saw lots of wild goats and squillions of turtles and the occasional splash of a whale out at sea.

So then we moved on to Carnarvon...

Exmouth

2010-10-12T17:41:00.006+11:00

Had 4 nights at Exmouth but didn't like it all that much to be honest, compared to some of the other places we've seen. Very remote and expensive, although Chris did a try-dive at the navy pier which he enjoyed. Also threw in a line but alas no luck with the fish, so we went swimming instead, much more fun! Stayed on the west side of the point at a place called Yardie Station Caravan Park where we were charged full price for a powered site but were only allowed to use certain electrical things like lights and fans basically. No air con or toaster etc. because their generator wouldn't handle it, and we were not allowed to use our own generator either...go figure?!! If we had stayed in town we would have been charged the $34 or $36 for a site, plus the usual extra $10/child/night, plus an extra $10/night because we were a big rig!! NOT IMPRESSED! Anyway we decided to cut our losses and leave although we were still waiting for mail to arrive. Had a night at Nanutarra Roadhouse to break the drive and although it was very, very basic we were happy to pay the $25 for the night.
Poor Will can only last about 10 minutes swimming in the sea, don't know how he'll survive when we get our first winter down home. Our very own little frog boy, just like his mother!
Laura and Daddy enjoying the water at the beach in Exmouth
Laura, aged 8.
Racing the waves and burning off some energy!
Gave the kids the camera at Nanutarra to take a few shots and these are some of the ones they came back with...
Will in front of a memorial at Nanutarra Roadhouse
Mum relaxing with a cool beverage
A self portrait by Laura Mae Stevenson (not bad I thought!)
Have I made mention yet of Caz and Craig's new addition and Nate's new baby brother? Gorgeous little Jamie John Baxter was born on Monday the 4th of October, much to everyone's relief but mostly Caz's I think! Have seen a few photos and can't wait to meet him in person in January.
Oh, other news just by the way...I am officially overweight and planning on losing 6 - 10 kgs. (All this wonderful relaxing lifestyle has caught up with me...Waaaahh!) Tonight I am joining the "Weighitup" website so I can get some good meal ideas and I've started walking in the mornings. Today I brought myself a new pair of sneakers and a set of bathroom scales so look out, no turning back. I put this on here to make sure I don't chicken out or give up, keep reminding me to try hard won't you. Chow for now :-))

Point Samson

2010-10-03T22:44:00.004+11:00

Leaving Point Samson tomorrow "EARLY" Chris tells us because the weather has been a bit warmish/hottish. Have been up every morning to get photos of the sunrise for a little project I'm doing and feeling the effects I can tell you. Not even 8pm and I'm about to hit the sack, before the kids even!!
Some of the shots I've taken of the gorgeous sunrises.

Stevo did a little fishing here but no luck. The freezer is still well stocked tho' so that's great. Have been swimming at Honeymoon Cove and the kids have been collecting rocks. Won't be able to move this bus it will be so weighted down! The rocks are amazing to see, all layered and different colours in each layer. The wet suits that Kerrie gave the kids before we left finally fit them so they are wearing them in the sea which is a little cold.

OK, I'm hopeful of hearing baby news tonight so I'm off to catch a little sleep. Poor Caz is 15 (I think) days overdue and has been labouring on and off for at least the last couple, she must be exhausted! I haven't been able to sit still or concentrate all day knowing she went back into hospital today and I just can't wait to hear that she and baby are safe and well. Got a call from Craig to fill me in on how she's going and as expected...very slowly. Will let them give any more baby info when they get a chance. Well going to bed now and will be sending all my positive thoughts to Caz and Craig...boy this waiting game is no fun at all XXX

80 Mile Beach, Pardoo Station, Point Samson

2010-09-29T12:44:00.007+10:00

Our little adventure since leaving Broome has taken us to 80 mile beach where we spent one night, to Pardoo Station where we spent a wonderful 10 days and now to Point Samson where we will spend a week or so. Have had some ups and some downs of late but really can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be right now (except of course at home with you Shas :-] ). The friends we've met we will keep in touch with, and hopefully they will come to Colac for a visit or we might meet them on the road again some day. Recently we've met Justin, Katherine and little Jed at Mary Pool (home is in Albury) and at Pardoo Station we met Dumpy and Robin (Albany, WA), Peter and Lorraine, Ron, and the Gray family (from Altona) - Brett, Georgie, Kyle and Emma and because of these wonderful people we stretched our stay from a few days to 10, only leaving in the end because we had no phone reception and I'm still waiting for Caz to have this baby!!

On the down side Chris lost his wallet at Pardoo with all his cards in it, so we had to sort all that out, then when we got to Point Samson we realised the hot water service was leaking and had to find someone to weld that for us. All fixed now, except it won't work on the power, only the gas for some reason. Stevo says "don't stress about it", so I'm trying not to, but you know me, I can't help but worry!

Cable beach (Broome)

80 mile beach, lots of beach but no fish for us!

Pardoo Station, loads of great shells, and the occasional dead tree!
At Pardoo Creek the kids went for a little walk and Laura got bogged in the mud...UP TO HER THIGHS! Would not have gotten out without Dad's help. Her brother was very supportive, as you can see.

Hey, check this out...a giant thredfin salmon from Pardoo!
Laura was a great fisher woman, she pulled in quite a few bream on this particular day. We also got a few whiting.

The locals at Pardoo were very friendly, especially this Jabiru who was there almost every day. Chris and I are fishing in the background.
A whale had washed up on the beach at Pardoo a few months ago and this was part of the skull we took the kids to see. They drew a big body in the sand behind it to imagine how big it would have been.
Emma and Laura collecting shells, they were inseparable and had a great time together. Even when Emma accidentally kicked Laura in the face and gave her a blood nose they were buddies!
Believe it or not this is Will (10) and his mate Kyle (13) looking to catch some live bait...the tall and the short of it you could say!

Because we decided to stay longer at Pardoo I had to nip into Port Hedland for some supplies. On the way I passed these "miners", about 20 or 30 spread out across the side of the road, some with faces and all wearing their hard hats!

So thanks to the Great White Hunter (Stevo) we now have a freezer full of fish - bream, whiting and salmon, oh and some shark too. Sure is nice to open it and see the results of Chris' hard work have FINALLY paid off!

The Kimberley Region

2010-09-08T21:58:00.009+10:00

First stop after Katherine was Timber Creek for one night. Only went a few hundred Km's and I like to think I was easing my way into the whole leaving Darwin business, incase I wanted to go back! Caravan Park was basic but OK and although the pool was freezing we got in twice because the temperature has been in the high 30's. It was Father's Day and the kids gave their dad a t-shirt with a fish on the front.

Next day we moved on to Kununurra and W.A., where we spent 3 nights so we could take in all the sights. Spent a day going to Wyndham (and sorry that we did!), it was a total dive. Our first clue should have been the write-ups about it being an HISTORIC town, the second should have been the lack of traffic heading the same direction as us, and the third should have been the 2 second drive down the main street. But alas, we wanted to give it a chance so we went to all the recommended places...the port (which is a group of old meat works sheds and a locked area that is still in use), the Afghan cemetary (which was 3 piles of rocks without a thing written on them), the big croc in the main street (which was a ghastly shade of yellow and green), the largest boab tree in captivity (which was at the back of a tiny run down caravan park and was BIG if nothing else), and then on the way home we went to see the Prison Tree (a hollow boab tree where prisoners were once kept out in the bush and which took us over 22km each way down a rough 4WD track to find "the tree" and nothing else) and the Grotto (which would have been more impressive in the wet with more than a splash of green water in the bottom of it). The saving grace of the whole day was the little cafe where we had morning tea/lunch. Without that we would have given up and come back to the caravan park early I think. Chris and I had a laugh about it but the kids were less than impressed and said they never wanted to go to Wyndham again!!

Next day was a better day. We went to Lake Argyle for a quick look around the lake.

Unfortunately you can only see a tiny piece at the end where the water outlet is and we would have had to pay $200 to go on a boat ride to see a tiny bit more, but still nowhere near the entire thing, so we came back to Lake Kununurra and hired some canoes for a little paddle there instead. Laura and I were in one canoe and Chris and Will in the other. Will was terrified and held onto the sides for most of the ride, until we told him we were heading back, then he wanted to paddle and even got game enough to give me a splash with his paddle!!

Mary Pool was our next stop and it was a really sweet little camping area with lots of shade, right beside the river. Met a lovely couple from Albury/Wodonga (Justin and Katherine) who are travelling with their little boy Jed and had a great night chatting and trading stories.

Had to cross this bridge which was covered with water and could be a little scarey in the wet season I'm sure!

Willare was our next stop, just at the crossroad before you turn off to Derby. We stayed there two nights for a little R&R but couldn't swim because council had closed the pool. Spent one day checking out Derby and after our misadventures in Wyndham we were a little dubious about another small town but it was actually quite nice. Went to the pier but the tide was out so there was hardly a drop in the entire bay area, as far as the eye could see was mud. The tides can have a 7 metre shift, pretty impressive!

Found a prison tree in Derby too, but this one was right near the road and much easier to get to than the one in Wyndham (wish we'd known that at the time!). Apparently the prisoners were walked from here to Fitzroy Crossing which is hundreds of km's. My god, it's a wonder any of them survived!

Look what else we found...BP Colac (named after a ship wreck in the King Sound they tell me).

What next? Well then we got to Broome where we are presently relaxing. Staying 3 nights. Caravan Park is very tidy and the pool is glorious...check it out...

It even has a 25m lap pool so the kids can jump around and have fun and the serious swimmers won't get annoyed. Gotta love that!

Went for a drive yesterday and had a look at the local beach. Tomorrow we are off to Cable Beach and up the coast.

Laura at the beach in Broome.

Chris went fishing today but alas, NO fish! I stayed home with the kids and believe it or not, it was raining and I had to put on my long pants and a jumper. It got down to 22 degrees in the day, but it's even lower now so I will be cuddling up to the doona tonight. Brrr!

My mate Caz

2010-09-08T21:38:00.003+10:00

Saturday saw Chris and Will leave on the bus and head for Katherine. Laura and I stayed to help Caz pack a few things and do some filing (boy, my secretarial skills are dodgy, I even ended up with a cut hand!). Then we headed off ourselves with all the animals: Wicket, a pregnant Suzie (who is due any day now!), Mumma cat and the 3 chickens (Stardust, Sparkles and the only hen - Pepper). We had a non-eventful trip, just the way we like it and went straight to Janelles to drop off Laura for a play with Micaelia. Will was already there so they could say a last "seeya" to the kids. We stayed at Meryl and John's and had a delicious tea with Caz, Craig, Janelle, John, Darren and Kelly and it was all going fine until I had to say the first goodbye...then I lost it a little. But what else did everyone expect? Those who know me expect me to cry at farewells, weddings, funerals, get togethers, hell any old time at all really!

Well it had to be done, and on Sunday morning at about 9am we piled onto the big blue bus and drove away from my mate Caz, to continue our adventure around Australia. It was dreadful to leave her so close to having her little bubba (only a few weeks to go), but I know Craig and all the family will look after her. I am so glad to have had the opportunity to spend lots of time with her and to catch up on life and news in general, which you just can't do over the phone. Until the New Year...chow for now Caz and thanks for everything :-)) xxx

Final days in Darwin...

2010-09-08T20:34:00.006+10:00

Caz took some lovely photos of the family so I stuck one in here for you all to see, we don't have many good ones of the four of us. Here we are all swished up to go out for tea with Matthew and Shelly, and of course Caz. We went to The Jetty which is an all-you-can-eat place and the food was lovely.

This is another night we went out for tea to Outback Jacks. There is a massive croc on the roof which kept the kids entertained and as a bonus kids ate free on the night we went, super!

Unfortunately it was the last night I got to see Shelly and it was very sad to say goodbye to her (hence the red eyes all round!) I wish I had made more of an effort to catch up with Shelly while we were there, but she knows I love her anyway :-)

Gaz, Jen and the kids got up to Darwin in the week or so before we left. Would have loved another couple of weeks to catch up but had to make the most of the time we had. Took the kids to the waterpark and Will's friend Martin came along too. Kids had a great time as you can see.

Martin, Will and Hughie, in descending order!

Nikki and Laura ready and rearing to go!

Will and Martin, best mates.

Then our time in Darwin drew to a close and it was time for my last night in the most beautiful city I know. Went to the Beachfront for tea and drinks with the girls from 3A (the ward I worked in at the hospital) and had a really wonderful night. Lots of laughs and good memories to take with me, thanks a million girls, you are a super group!

Me, Lauren and Jess

Running out of time!

2010-08-15T11:58:00.009+10:00

We are half way thru' August already, only 3 weeks left in Darwin! Where did the last 8 months go? Madly trying to jam everything into these last few days so life is a little hectic, but with Caz - what's new?!! Ha ha. Feeling a little sad, but also very excited to be hitting the road again. Love waking up in our beautiful big blue bus with Chris and the kids, wondering where we will go and what will we see that day. It really is a fantastic life on the road, you should all try it.

So what's news?

Had Caz's "baby shower/girl's get together" in the Casino at the Sandbar. We got our own little secluded area to enjoy our high tea and cocktails, it was very swish.
Our cocktails came in these little tea pots, they were sooo cute!

Here are the boozers: Janelle, Deb, Shelly, Caz, Krystal and Surrinder. Missing are Caz's mum Meryl and her friend Cathy who nipped off to the markets for a stroll.
Janelle and I sharing our pot of "tea". Check out the lovely orchid in my hair!

Kids have both had sleepovers this month for birthday parties. Both came home with their eyes hanging out of their heads but had lots of fun! They have made some wonderful friends, we have been really happy with their time here at Wanguri school.

Another day the family went and had a look at the Darwin Beer Can Regatta, held on Mindil Beach. As you can see the boats really are made from beer cans and some were much more sea worthy than others.

The Bunning's boat was one of the more professional looking fit-outs, but didn't get to see it actually in the water.
The race is on...

Last night we went to the rodeo. It was the first time for Chris and the kids and they really enjoyed it...except for the cattle roping part where they threw the calves on the ground to rope their legs and Laura called out that it was awful and they were hurting them! Oh my special girl, what a greenie she will be!!! There was barrel racing, cattle roping, bull riding and the bucking broncos. Unfortunately we didn't get the camera going until the bulls had finished but we did get some of the bucking broncos. Forgive the shaky camera work,that's Stevo and he hasn't even had a drink...

Yeeeee har, ride 'em cowboy!

Tonight we are off for tea with Shelly and Craig at the seafood place on the wharf, should be lovely. Then tomorrow I start a run of 12 shifts in 14 days, including 4 nightshifts...couldn't get much yuckier than that! Luckily I will have 3 months off afterwards to recover, so I might just survive...

July - here one minute, gone the next!

2010-07-30T10:09:00.009+10:00

Well Grandma and Grandpa stayed with us for about 3 weeks. It was cosy here at Caz's but we all managed and it was a wonderful relief for Chris and I who both had to work at times over the holidays and weren't sure what we were going to do about child care. They were also a great help with minor repairs around the house, which I know Caz really appreciated, and the front tap has never looked so good!! They went with Chris and the kids to the wave pool and up next you can watch the little video of them in the water. They also went to the beach, East Point and the water gardens in Rapid Creek. The kids really loved having someone to play with and Grandma and Grandpa hardly ever turned them down, no matter how exhausted they must have been at times!
We have been here twice now, it's lots of fun and the pattern of waves keeps changing so you don't get bored. Will is in the blue tube and Chris is beside him with the cap on. Laura is on the board with the pink and yellow rashie vest, to the right of the screen.
Here are the kids with Grandpa playing french cricket at the Rapid Creek Water Gardens. It was a lovely relaxing day...well for Grandma and I anyway!
Laura and Will having fun with Grandpa.
Stevo and Don went fishing at East Arm and came home with these lovely Golden Trevally. Made for a delicious tea!
We decided to see a few more of the sights before it's time to pack up and leave beautiful Darwin, so we took the kids to see the Fannie Bay Gaol.

They had a special area put aside for naughty kids, and look who found it!
We sure did work up an appetite looking at the Gaol, so we stopped at the Cool Spot for lunch and a "little" treat!! Mmmmm, yummy!
Couldn't miss the Royal Darwin Show which was on last weekend, well I could have but the kids wouldn't let me! They did jobs over the holidays to earn some pocket money to spend at the show and Grandma and Grandpa also helped them out a little, so they had a great time. As you can see in the photo they really enjoyed the fairy floss and the show bags. They had fun going on a few rides, although the ferris wheel took a little getting used to!

Then of course there were those of us who have to work to make a living...yes, I mean ME! I had a terrible 4 nights working with Susan, Claire and Maggie, terrible because I lost the Masterchef Nightshift Cookoff, boo hoo! Claire won with a stunning mexican dip, lamb and feta meatballs with a yoghurt dipping sauce and chocolate brownies for dessert...impossible to beat really. But we all tried hard and althought the real work was a little constant we made plenty of time for nibbles. THANKS GIRLS for a great time!
Would you let these people look after you? I think NOT!!
From left to right...Mags, Deb, Susan, Mel (the ring-in) and Claire..."The A Team"

Well I have to work again this afternoon soI'd better hop to it and get organised. Kids are back at school and Stevo has been relieved of his job as a builders labourer because they employed an apprentice so he's busily doing jobs around the house here for Caz instead. Cheers xxx

A busy month in June

2010-07-06T09:59:00.006+10:00

This is a brief look at some of the excitement we had in June... Went to Nightcliff jetty to watch the sunset one night with Michelle and her sister. Very relaxing!
Had a weekend away at South Alligator river with a couple of my friends from the hospital, out in Kakadu National Park. Left the kids at home with Grandma and Grandpa (who had just arrived the day before). It was either take the kids or the esky because we couldn't fit both in Jimny...no real thought involved I must say...just had to organise a babysitter. The weather was good, the fishing was great and the company was wonderful. We had Susan and her hubby Marty (who organised the trip) and another friend Lauren (who was on her first camping trip EVER), and of course Stevo and I. Chris got his second barra in as many months and we ate it for tea, yummo! Didn't see one croc which was a bonus as we had to walk across the river a couple of times.
Here are some shots of us relaxing around the camp fire and having a dip in the morning to cool off before heading home.

Towards the end of June we took the bus for a spin and went down to Katherine. I must say, it felt good to be back on the road. We stayed at Janelle's place so we could celebrate "Territory Day" on the 1st of July with Caz's family. We had a big bonfire and got to let off loads of fire crackers and we all had a ball. I will admit I was a little stressed when I saw Will helping Janelle to light a few fuses but of course like any good mother I just tried not to look and had another bourbon! As a result I didn't get one photo of the crackers but they were very impressive, and most importantly noone was injured!
We took all the kids out for a look at Cutta Cutta caves while we were down there. There are some amazing formations and they are really sparkly and pretty.

This next photo is Caz and Wickett trying to catch a barra in the Ferguson river, just out of Katherine. We had a lovely, leisurely day beside the river and all found something to occupy our time...the kids - eating and exploring, Deb - doing a crossword, Caz and Chris - fishing, and Craig - taking photos.

Will relaxing at Janelle's with her dog "Chilli"

Laura having a little "ride" on Janelle's horse.

On the day we got back to Darwin one of Caz's chooks was hatching out the last of the eggs she has been sitting on. Here are the kids with 3 of those 4. They seem to spend more time in the kids hands than they do under their mother but so far they are surviving! Two of them were attacked by ginger ants and have problems with their legs now but we are trying to help them along as best we can. We have warned Laura that only 2 might live and she was very teary last night that the mother chook would be sad if 2 of her babies died. If love can get them thru then Laura will get them there!

Well after 7 days off I am back to work this arvo, and not that keen I must say. Poor Don and Bett have been busy all morning trying to fix a broken pipe in Caz's front yard and have just succeeded so thankfully we have water again. Call me posh but I really have trouble surviving without water on tap! Chris is at work and so is Caz and the kids are at the kitchen table making something with the beados. All in all another lovely day in paradise! Cheers to you all xxx

FINALLY, A FISH!

2010-06-17T10:51:00.011+10:00

This is Shelly and I at the Pine Creek Races, enjoying a cool beverage and waiting for the racing to begin.

Lynne came to stay for 3 weeks in May/June. Here are Laura and Lynne cooling off in the backyard bath.

One night we went to watch the sunset from the Dripstone cliffs with Susan (a friend from work) and her hubby Marty. Here is the beautiful view we were enjoying!

We went for a second try at Douglas Daly Tourist Park while Lynne was up, it was much better with no rain and a lovely time had by all. Craig, Nate and Surrinder all came. Shelly was supposed to be there but wasn't well and couldn't make it. Unfortunately for Shelly we were also celebrating her birthday and had to eat the cake without her, mmmm, yummy! We had a swim both mornings in the hot springs and it was so relaxing you really did not want to get out. The food was scrumptious and after the roast lamb and vegies Caz cooked in the camp oven we will definately be buying one of those when we get home.

What a picture of domestic bliss, food and warmth all in one!

Here are our beautiful girls Laura and Micaelia.
Caz tried her hand at catching a barra, but no luck. I didn't put in the one where Caz is up to her knees in the murky water!
But STEVO GOT ONE!!! Craig brought his boat up and he, Chris and the two boys went out on the Daly river for the day. This was the only one they got to keep but I was impressed. At last! It's in the freezer at the moment, waiting for Don and Bett to come up and help us eat it.

So that has been our exciting life for the last month or so. Only 2 days left until school finishes for a month of holidays, boy I can hardly wait. Good news is Bett and Don are coming up for 2 or 3 weeks and will help out a little while Chris and I have to work, how nice is that!! They just sent a text message to say they are leaving Port Augusta now, so won't be all that far away. Kids are very excited and miss Grandma and Grandpa a lot. Hope they travel safely, and to anyone else out there on the road also, have fun and be safe xxx

Last month's post

2010-05-18T13:55:00.006+10:00

May is here and we thought the wet season had finally finished for this year. We've been enjoying a few cooler days and the dragon flies have been flitting about, a sure sign the dry has arrived, but as I type this blog the rain is belting down on the roof of the bus! What The?!! It is very unseasonal and don't let it fool you, while it rains it will be hot and muggy, no relief like you might think.

So what's news?

Mum and Dad came up for a flying visit a couple of weeks ago...woke me up after a night shift, stayed 2 nights and then hit the road again and haven't been heard from since. They were heading to Kakadu/Jabiru/Katherine way, then over to W.A. and then back down south. Hope they enjoy their travels. It was Mum's 60th on the weekend after she left but unfortunately as I hadn't been expecting to see them I had nothing organised and OK, lets be honest...I forgot! Hope she had a good one.

Went to the Pine Creek Races a couple of weeks ago with my mate Michelle, it was a blast! Stevo decided to stay home with the kiddies and missed a great time, but I'm sure he didn't miss the hangover I was sporting the next day! I took my camera and took one whole photo, so when I get some from Shelly I will post them.

Got back to a message that some fellow travellers were in Darwin so we went to visit with Helen and Barry and caught up on all their news. They have been down the west coast already so we got some tips and had a very relaxing night.

What else is happening? Janelle is up here for a course and staying for 4 nights. Lynne is due to arrive for a 3 week holiday on Saturday and Craig, Nate and Michaelia will also be here for the weekend so the house will be full to bursting! Caz is getting bigger every day and says little "junior" is kicking all the time, she looks great. Chris has been getting 3 or 4 days a week in his new job as a builders labourer and seems to be enjoying it, except maybe the jackhammering! I started an orthopaedic course last week which was lots of fun, still a bit to do so I'm off to the library now to get some books. Kids are due to knock off school and it's still raining so they will get drenched, ha, what a surprise!!

Hope family and friends are all well and can't wait to see you all at Chrissy time! Love and kisses from the Stevos xxx

Photos, as promised.

2010-04-13T09:59:00.012+10:00

Right, first of all here are some photos from the mini golf and archery range where we took Will as part of his 10th birthday present. We had a fun time and please note: Deb was the only one to get A HOLE IN ONE!!
Ready, aim, FIRE!!

Gave the kids a day off school and spent the morning at Crocodylus Park with the Billing family. We have been there before but it was good to go again. Had a BBQ tea with them and enjoyed some yummy croc burgers and snags for tea.

BEWARE: A man eating crocodile Will found at Crocodylus Park.

Next photos are of the lovely day we had at Litchfield Park with Caz and the Billing family. There was lots of walking, a delicious picnic lunch, a swim in this gorgeous water hole to cool off, some interesting sight seeing (like this massive termite mound), and on the way home we stopped for a cool beverage at the Batchelor pub. Couldn't ask for a better day!

Now to present day and the wonderful trip we just had to Douglas Daly Tourist Park. OK "wonderful" may be stretching the truth just a little...let me explain...

Friday was my birthday (happy birthday to me!). Had to work in the morning but Caz and I got an early mark. Chris and the kids had Craig's 4WD packed and pretty much ready to go so we hooked up the trailer and off we went. Got there about 6pm and set up the tents and made the beds...so far so good I bet you're thinking. Got out the party food and poured a drink to start the celebrations. Got the first drink down but now things start going pear shaped! Felt a little rain... then it got a little heavier...started throwing stuff we didn't want to get wet into the car...by the time we were finished we were all drenched thru'. Sat in the car for about half an hour having a laugh until the downpour stopped, then got out to survey the damage. All the tents and bedding were soaked!! Aaarrrgh! What is it with us and camping and getting wet?!! Ended up having a hot cross bun for tea and squeezing into the back of the 4WD to try to get some sleep. Caz decided to brave the wet mattress and try to get some sleep in the tent. I don't think she did much better than us, except she had room to stretch out her legs. Let's just say we were all glad that there were spare cabins to hire at the park for the Saturday night, because we refused to quit and go home. We were told they had 40mm of rain overnight.
This is our camp in the morning with all our bedding hung out to dry.

But don't worry, come the morning we all put on a happy face and got on with enjoying the rest of our trip. I think it helps that some of us cracked a can for breakfast!!
Laura is standing beside a part of the springs that is usually a tiny trickle.
Shelly drove down for the Saturday and spent the night in the cabin with us. We went for a drive to Oolloo Crossing and had a sit by the river relaxing while Stevo tried to catch a fish.
Stevo on the right of this picture having a cast.
Saturday night we had late birthday celebrations and it also happened to be Chris and my 11th wedding anniversary, so it was extra special. We ate, drank and were very merry, especially knowing we all had nice dry beds to curl up in that night! Zzzzzzzzzzz!

Deb and Chris enjoying a romantic moment.

WHERE DO I BEGIN?!!

2010-04-03T12:23:00.003+11:00

Well so much has been going on this last week or so, I don't know where to start. I'll have to add the photos in the next entry because a lot are on Caz's camera and I don't have a copy yet. At the moment she's down in Katherine for the Easter break so I will get them and post them when she gets back, promise! Want the biggest news of the decade first? Well of course you do...Caz is pregnant!!! OMG, it's true...scarey, but true. In truth we have known for 8 weeks or so and I have been keeping it all a big, fat secret until she was far enough along to start telling friends and the general public, so now it's out (the secret that is, not the baby! That's due to come out in September). So much for all the boozing and partying we had planned, now we have to sit home knitting booties every night. Nah just kidding, it's all hugely exciting and I'm thrilled that I can be up here at this time, although my mean old hubby is going to drag me away from Darwin only a few weeks before Caz is due! What is he thinking?

OK, moving on from that thrilling news we have had Mark, Sam, Tom and Biddie Billing up here for a wonderful week of fun and excitement. Went to Litchfield Park for a long walk and a beautiful swim, to the water park in Leanyer, to the wharf for a yummy fish & chip lunch and had a few barbies on the quiet nights in between. All in all it was a great week and went waaay too fast.

Kids are now officially on school holidays for a week. Thursday was their last day and we went to see them compete in their school swimming carnival . They both went really well. Got a few second, third and fourth ribbons which I was most impressed with (although Chris is convinced they were ripped off a place on a couple of races. Remember kids it's all about the FUN!!) Next weekend we have planned a camping trip to the Douglas Daly Tourist Park, weather permitting of course. Caz is coming and Shelly might get there too we hope. Will fill you in on that at a later date.

On Tuesday night Caz gave me an early birthday pressie. We went out for tea, then she took me to see "Rockwiz" performing here in Darwin, you know the ABC music quiz show? They are on a national tour and put on three shows up here. It was fantastic, very funny and lots of fun. Angry Anderson was one of the celebrity guests and another was a girl called "Megan Washington" who is from Geelong and has an amazing voice and another girl is in a band also from Geelong, but I can't remember her name...maybe Anthea, or something like that. Boy we have some great talents in Victoria. Only downer was coming home at 10.30pm when it had finished and both of us yawning all the way home and realising that we are officially getting OLD! Boo hoo.

Between all this fun and frivolity I am squeezing in work now and then and, more importantly we have to keep an eye out for the easter bunny tomorrow so he doesn't miss us! Really looking forward to that.

So that's all my good news, just one more thing before I sign off tho'...unfortunately not good news this time. Beautiful Rory, Caz's cat who she's had for many, many years (maybe 17 or so i think) had to be put to sleep this week. A couple of mongrel dogs roaming the street came into our front yard and roughed him up and he was in a bad way, poor old fella. He should have been able to just die in his sleep from old age. Pet owners need to be more responsible and keep their bloody dogs in their own yards! Can you tell it makes me wild?!! I'm off, see you next time.

It's been a while...

2010-03-23T10:42:00.013+11:00

Feels like ages since I last wrote but I will do my best to catch you all up on the latest news and photos. Firstly, Will had a birthday on the weekend and turned 10! Unfortunatley I had to work nightshift the night before the big day (if you can understand that?!) so I went to bed for the morning. Chris got a few hours work with a friend of Caz's, helping him do some yard work, so off he went for the morning also. That left Caz, Laura and The Birthday Boy to head off to the Noonamah markets and then to Finlay's, the garden and landscaping centre just out of town where they have massive dinosaur replicas. It's a great spot to go just for a look and it will be on our list of places to visit when Mark and Sam come up. Actually they will drive past Finlay's on their way into Darwin so I'm sure Thomas will already have it on the list! Check out the photos:
This beautiful big dragon is all mosaic, amazing. Must have taken a very long time to complete.

Laura is praying for peace, but by the look of the next 2 photos, she's too late to save them!!
This kind of behaviour from the velociraptor doesn't surprise me, but I thought triceratops were herbivors? Yes, I know I will have spelt things wrong and it will drive me nuts at a later date, but for now I just want to get this all finished so pretend it's OK, OK?
So the kids had a great morning and Will was happy with the tackle box he got, the starwars book and legoman CD and a nightlight from Caz that changes colour. He spent his birthday money the next day on 2 playstation games: Ratchet and Clank (just like Luke and Mitch!), and Indiana Jones. He also had lots of phone calls over the day from the family wishing him a lovely birthday. If he seemed a little distracted to any of you who called, they were out getting their photos taken with the dinosaurs at that stage, so no wonder! We had a little party at home and then tea but were too full for the cake, so we saved that for the Sunday night. As you can see it was a caramel chocolate mud cake and Will loved it, so it was worth the wait, mmmmm!

Well, that's 2 birthdays away from home now for Will, so I guess he'll have grown a little by the time we get back to Colac. Well we hope so anyway!

Goodness me, I thought I was nearly finished with the news but I haven't put in the photos of the fishing charter we went on a fortnight ago. It was organised by a couple of the girls I work with on 3A and it was through Equinox Fishing Charters. There were only 5 of us from work, plus Chris and Craig (Caz's fella) and 4 other extras from elsewhere. It was a great day and we had lots of laughs, but other than the couple of good sized ones Chris and Maggie caught, there was nothing to write home about. There were plenty of snapper but no jew fish or threadfin salmon which would have been wonderful! Never mind, it was a whole day out on the water with lovely food and company and a few bourbons too, to make the day really special!
The girls on our "team building exercise", looking a little windswept! Deb, Bronwyn, Ruth, Lynne and Maggie.
Stevo and Deb, excited about the chance to catch a BIG one.
First prize for the girls went to Maggie, for this lovely golden snapper.
And last but not least...what a bloomin' surprise, Stevo got the catch of the day, a GT. Woo Hoo. (No hard feelings from me at all, ha ha!)
So, until next time it's chow for now and cheers, from Deb, Chris, Will and Laura xxx

Monsoonal Rains

2010-02-28T10:05:00.007+11:00

Here are the kids with Caz on Casuarina Beach.

The rain has been coming down fairly constantly for the past three days. Terrible for drying washing but better for the humans! Although the humidity is over 80% most days the temperature is only in the high 20's - low 30's, so much nicer. The thunder and lightening is amazing and we often sit on Caz's front verandah to watch the show.

The kids needed a rest after walking thru' the park at Rapid Creek.

How do you like these beautiful dresses Caz made for us. Laura got one too. Cool and cute, and we look like twins!!

Well kids are coming up to week 6 at school. So far so good. Lots of homework but we are getting thru' it. I'm still doing lots of shifts in the orthopaedic ward, even survived 4 night shifts last week.

Craig is up this weekend (Caz's fella) so we sat up having a yak and a few drinks last night. "Cheers" to our dear friend Sam Simpson who had her 40th birthday yesterday down in Colac. Wish we could have been there, I know it would have been a blast! But good news is she will be up soon with the family and we can have a little celebration then.

Well life has settled into a very comfortable pattern here in Darwin. All going well at Caz's, although Laura had to say goodbye to both "Silly" and "Dotsy" last week which was a little sad. They were the last kitten and last puppy we had to get rid of, but never fear, in true Caz style she has ordered some fertilised eggs from the "chook man" and we might end up with some little chicks in a month or so!

Relaxing Weekend...

2010-02-06T09:18:00.003+11:00

No work for me this weekend, well none that I get paid for anyway!! Have just finished 5 morning shifts and I'm still enjoying work so that's good.

Off to the Parap Markets this morning with Caz, kids are already begging for some spending money. First I need to get Chris out of bed. They have lots of lovely fresh fruit and vegies and heaps of crafty stalls, my favourite. I am definately buying some "Pa Pia" too, I think that's the word. They are little spring roll things with a sweet 'n' sour sauce, mmmm, very yummy.

Then this arvo we are going to spend the day at the house Caz is housesitting for the weekend. We can have a swim in the pool and watch a movie on the big TV screen, very relaxing. Might even take some photos to show you, if I get motivated. Haven't been taking many lately, too slack.

Waiting for a call in a few minutes from Tanya and the crew. Must say I am missing the family a bit lately. Would just like to see them all and give them a big cuddle, then I could go off for a little while again maybe. Had a big chat with Chris the other day and still haven't found "the perfect place" for us to settle down. Will keep looking as we go down the west coast in September, but it's a long way from everyone over there. Have heard lots of great stories about the west coast and the lovely scenery, but would need to be close to an airport at least so people could fly over without too much trouble if they wanted. (Sherbie, I mean YOU and Gerard!) Maybe after all that travelling we might still end up back in Colac...I don't think that would be a bad thing and neither does Chris or the kids, it's just not the way we saw it happening when we left. Still, it's a bit early to decide yet, we will think about it a bit more...

Life in Darwin

2010-01-28T21:35:00.004+11:00

Hello to all our friends, where ever you are! Life here in sunny Darwin is going wonderfully for us all. Work at the hospital has gone from casual to full time on the orthopaedic ward, which I am loving. Great team of nurses to work with, friendly doctors and allied health staff too. Enjoying getting up and going to work, which was a worry for a little while when I was going here, there and everywhere, not knowing the wards or the staff. Now I love it!

Stevo is still busy with Caz's yard, but the wet season is slowing things down a little. There is no such thing as a little drizzle or light rain, it's all or nothing up here. Hard to pour concrete when you could get inches of rain in the next few hours. But between fishing and reading he is stopping the boredom from setting in!!

The kids started back at school this week and I must say - so far so good. Both of them get home and say they did "nothing" when asked, but I'm hoping they are learning all the things that I couldn't teach them...music, art, sporty stuff...you know what I mean. They have made friends already and we have had no tears, so that's a bonus.

Laura has developed a new skill that I'm sure the family at home will be thrilled with...she is the best little tick picker in the NT! Every night she pesters Caz to get the tweezers and the empty wine bottle (into which we humanely put them to sleep!!!!), and let her pull the many ticks off the pup and 2 dogs that they pick up from the dirt in the backyard. Poor Will doesn't like it at all and won't even watch, big sook. Luckily for the cats they don't get them. And although I know they are around we haven't seen any cane toads up here in the backyard at all, so that's good.

Looking forward to seeing the Billing family at the end of March, I've already put in my requests at work for some days off. Looking forward to a little sightseeing with our friends, and hearing all the news from "home". The kids will have a ball I'm sure.

Well bed time here in Glencoe Cresent, better get these kids off to sleep...chow for now, love the Stevenson family.

photos galore...

2010-01-10T15:47:00.015+11:00

Here are the photos from chrissy, the new year and around Caz's place in Darwin, as promised...

First stop was Janelle's place in Katherine where we spent Christmas Eve. She has a massive place so we had lots of room to kick back and relax, and the kids played with the new puppies.

Caz, Janelle and Deb, getting into the christmas spirit, CHEERS!

Christmas morning at Janelle's, Will and Laura were the only kids there and Santa had no trouble finding us. Look, DS's all round!

Christmas day and Boxing day we went to Meryl and Johns and were very spoilt with the great food and company. Had a fantastic day and the kids really enjoyed playing together.

We got a little rain, but not enough to dampen our spirits!

We had a couple of days house sitting at Christian and Surrinders too, while they were in Alice Springs. As you can see we made ourselves at home. Here is Chris relaxing with the kids while playing the playstation...Scotty is giving him a little help!!

Check out the beautiful pool we got to enjoy, VERY NICE.

This is a quick video of Caz and Craig playing the Wii on New Years Eve. We had the greatest time!

Then back to Darwin we came, and for some of us it was back to work also, bummer!

The kids love it when Caz gets out all her candles and we light them and have a "candle night". Here are Chris and the kids helping to get them all going, while Caz pours the beverages! Can you see the new BBQ area taking shape? Looks a little messy now, but almost ready for the paving and then a new roof. Good work Stevo!

Right, I'm off for a swim in our little pool. Cheers for now xxx

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2010-01-02T23:58:00.005+11:00

WOW, it's 2010 and I'm looking forward to another year full of fun and adventures. We had a wonderful time at Katherine with Caz, Meryl, John, Darren, Janelle, Craig and all the kids. Have taken lots of photos but no time to put them on the computer tonight, just got back to Darwin today and need a rest before starting back at work tomorrow. I will get them on soon tho', I promise. The trip home was the usual thrill (well I think that's the word I'm looking for?!)...as well as the 2 dogs, 2 cats and 3 kittens we'd taken down with us the first trip, we also had 3 puppies to bring home this time!! And before you ask - NO, we weren't in a truck or ute or towing a trailer...we were all crammed into a regular camry sedan (with Caz, myself and Laura - the animal lover). Luckily only one of the cats poops every time you put it in the cat cage and the other one gets car sick and throws up!!!!! Some would say Stevo and Will were the smart ones going in Jimny, although it adds an extra hour and a half to an already 3 hour trip, but I think secretly they were jealous to miss all the fun.

My poor old body is still aching from the energetic New Years Eve activities Chris, Caz, Craig and I got up to. For those naughty people who just went "eeeeewww, yuck Deb!", I will explain...Craig brought over his Wii and the four of us spent hours jumping around like crazy people punching each other, swinging golf clubs and baseball bats, throwing 10 pin bowling balls and generally laughing our heads off. I found muscles I didn't know I had and they have been screaming at me for the last two days! It was a great night and I'm glad I got to spend it with Caz (oh, and you too Stevo and Craig). Did anyone make any New Years resolutions? I didn't, but I feel positive about the year ahead. We made some big decisions last year and this year we are going to sit back a little and enjoy the ride (and the fishing I hope, for Chris' sake!). Hope 2010 is a year of wonderful times with lots of love and happiness for you all, my dear friends. Take care, eat, drink and be merry, I know we will be. See you all some time soon,
love Deb xxx

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAURA!

2009-12-19T11:24:00.006+11:00

My little baby turned 8 yesterday! We took her shopping to spend her birthday money and came home with a bag full of stuff - CD's, a lip balm making kit, LEGO 4WD and horse float, and Chris' favourite...some streamers/pom poms for dancing to her CD's with!! We went to Hungry Jacks for lunch and had a cake after tea when we sang Happy Birthday. I think she had fun. She also got to talk to lots of family from home who rang to wish her well.

Boy, it's a busy time of year! Birthdays, christmas shopping, present wrapping and then there's WORK. I am getting lots of shifts at the hospital, mainly mornings so I can be home with the family for the arvo, unless of course they cancel me. Today they cancelled my morning shift but needed someone for the PM shift, so off to work I will be going at 1PM. Oh, my poor aching feet!! Never mind, I get 10 days off over chrissy and New Year so I'm really looking forward to that.
As you can see, Will and Laura are getting into the spirit of Christmas. We will be going to Katherine to stay with Caz's family and are all getting very excited...especially Mum!!!
Well better go see what's happening outside before I organise things for work. Love to you all and hope to catch up some time soon xxx

The Wet Season

2009-12-13T22:28:00.006+11:00

Well it had to happen...we had a few good (?!!) weeks of lovely hot weather before the wet season finally caught up with us yesterday. There is a low pressure system moving slowly across the top of OZ and it is dumping a considerable amount of rain on Darwin and the surrounding districts. By considerable I mean 275mm yesterday, and 125mm today. Chris tells me that is about 11 inches and then another 5 inches. Boy oh boy, sure knocks the socks off the rainfall we get in Victoria!! Caz and I just happened to be driving into Darwin CBD yesterday to do a little chrissy shopping when the downpour really got underway...as you can see from the photo I took, the drains were having a little trouble coping! We are on a 3 lane highway and passed at least 8 cars broken down on the side of the road and 1 front bumper bar which looked like it had been ripped off!

Every day (up until yesterday) we have been racing home from work to jump in the pool and cool off. Now, since the rains have started in earnest it has been a little cool, even for us Victorians!

Here are Deb, Laura and Caz relaxing when the temperature was high after a hard day.
Down in Katherine we stayed at Caz's mum and dad's and spent lots of time cooling off in their pool...lovely!

Well I must say I am getting excited now that Chrissy is just around the corner. We have the little tree set up on the front of the dash and some tinsel and paper streamers strewn around the bus to make it look all festive. We are going to head down to Katherine to spend the Chrissy and New Year with Caz's family and I know it will be lots of fun. Most of the shopping is done and I am grabbing as many casual shifts at the hospital as I can to pay for it all! So far, in 6 shifts I have been on 5 different wards, so I still feel a little lost, but I guess it will only get better. Chris is flat out working on the BBQ area in Caz's backyard, cleaning bricks and taking loads of rubbish to the tip. Anyone who happens to look even slightly bored is roped into helping and is very sorry after the first hour or so! The kids have finished the 2 weeks at their new school and are now on school holidays. Made some friends and got a load of christmas cards (with lollies inside) and even a birthday invitation! They are loving life here at Caz's with the animals getting all the love and attention they could hope for (and a little more besides!!) Only another week or so and the kittens will be sent to new homes...not sure how they will cope then but we will see.

Well another early shift booked for tomorrow so I'd better get some shuteye, love to you all. Cheers, deb and co xxx

Settling in at Caz's

2009-11-26T21:57:00.006+11:00

Hey there everyone, here we are in beautiful Darwin, relaxing and enjoying the mozzie bites! Actually I think they are sandfly bites, but either way they are very itchy and driving me nuts!! Still waiting to see my mate Caz, who is down in Brissy at the moment, but hopefully she won't be too far away. Despite that we have moved into her back yard, with just inches to spare, as you can see from the photo. Stevo had to pull off some pretty impressive driving skills but we are in and poor Caz will have trouble getting us out now!

The weather is as we expected...unbelieveably bloomin' hot and muggy (the humidity is about 70-80%), but so far we are surviving, just! It takes about 2-3 showers a day, a few dips in the backyard bathtub, and at LEAST 3 changes of clothes to maintain some semblance of cleanliness. Thank goodness we aren't on water restrictions! Caz gave the kids a present that will probably save us all...a pool, so tonight we started setting it up and tomorrow we will try it out. Can't wait. Chris and I have been doing a little gardening for Caz to help her out, despite her protests that we would be sorry, and I hate to say it, she was right. Just walking out to the letter box is a job that makes you sweat so piling up dead palm fronds, moving rocks and pulling weeds is almost beyond us. Still, the yard looks better already so it is worth it! Last night we got our first rains of the wet season since we've arrived and it was wonderful to hear heavy rain on the roof for a change and see the flashes of lightening. Unfortunately I was the only one awake to enjoy it (tho' Will says he was awake the whole time too. Yeah, sure!)

Today we went to see one of the 2 local schools we are looking at for the kids next year. It was great and I don't think we'll have too much trouble getting them to start, they may even do a few weeks before the end of the school year. We have not done any serious school work since we left Mackay and the kids are keen to get back into it. What the?!

There are lots of animals here at Caz's and the cute and cuddly kittens are probably getting the most love and attention, closely followed by the dogs, chooks and fish. We are expecting baby chickens in the next day or so, that will be interesting. I've almost forgotten what it's like to be a new mother, the stress is terrible! Hope the family are all still safe and well when Caz returns.

Alright, almost time for bed so I'm out of here. Cheers to you all and take care, love Deb and Co. xxx

The beautiful Northern Territory

2009-11-21T10:49:00.005+11:00

We made it to the border on Wednesday the 18th and I was so excited to get to the NT. As you can see from the photo, Laura was less excited as she had had a small disagreement with her brother and didn't want to be in the photo. We made her anyway!

This is one of the open cut mines at Mt Isa.

We stayed at the Barkly Homestead for our first stop in the Northern Territory. Met a nice couple and his teenage daughter who were on their way to Karanda (Qld). They had found a joey in it's dead mother's pouch on the side of the road that day and were trying to keep it alive. They bought it over to show our kids. Will and Laura enjoyed having another new friend to play with in the pool and we had a few drinks together that night and shared travel stories. It was great. Next morning we were off to Dunmarra.

Major Blow Out!

2009-11-21T10:14:00.007+11:00

We had our first blow out on the bus a couple of days ago. An inside back tyre, couldn't have been a worse one. Meant we had to take off and replace 2 tyres instead of just 1. But the good news is WE DID IT! Had me worried a few times that the heat would beat us, but no, we got thru'. It happened at 12 noon, just half an hour short of our stop for the night. We had just finished all the cold water in the bottle, thinking we would be there soon enough and were looking forward to lunch at a reasonable time, having had a few late lunches over the previous few days. In reality tho' it took us just over 2 hours of struggling in the sun and the dirt to get it all done, and boy we looked a sight when we'd finished. I was sunburnt and our faces were all red and the sweat was just running off us. Chris had dropped the tyre on my foot (accidentally, he says!) so that was aching, and the kids had given up playing nicely after the first hour and were at the point of murdering each other. It was fun all round! Anyway, with the job done and a quick jump thru' the shower (which was too warm, even with just the cold tap on), I unearthed a couple of icypoles from the freezer and we hit the road again. Boy, we were exhausted! Got to our stop at Dunmarra at 3pm and almost fell into the pool. Brought an enormous bottle of cold water and that went in no time flat, phew! Guess that's the price we pay for the otherwise very cruisey time we spend touring around the country. Can't be relaxing all the time. Can it?

Gulf of Carpentaria

2009-11-14T19:12:00.013+11:00

Wow, we sure are making tracks now. I can't keep up with the news at the stops any more! What a dilemma to be in...to type up these posts or to stop and have a bourbon...aw, heck you made me feel bad. OK, I'll have a drink WHILE I type the blog! Now we can all be happy. :)

Here are some photos from our time in the Daintree. We went on a river cruise and saw "Fat Albert", a regular on the river.

Then we headed over to Atherton and spent 3 days at Innot Hot Springs, touring the area to see the many beautiful waterfalls (this is Zillie waterfalls) and this very impressive "Curtain Fig Tree".

Stayed a couple of nights in Normanton, up at the Gulf of Carpentaria. Two days here so we can have a day trip to Karumba. The park itself is very dry, no grass to be seen and notices everywhere to lock up all your belongings so we are super vigilant.

Went to Karumba and it was OK, but that's all I'm saying. Chris says it would have been better to see it when the tide was in. Beaches were layers of compacted shells, that were good to see but lousy to walk on, and covered in mud.

I was a little scared of crocs near the crab pots that were on the beach, but Chris said it was silly to worry. Then back in Normanton (an hour inland) we saw an exact, TO SIZE, replica of an 8.5 metre croc that was shot in the river at Normanton 50 years ago. The jaws of the replica were wide enough for both our kids to climb into for a photo...silly to worry??? I think not!

From there we went to Mt Isa for 2 nights. Went out for tea at the Buffalo Club which was lovely, great kids club. The Argylla caravan park had a BIG pool, which was even lovlier!! Temperature is around 35-40 degrees in the shade I would say. In the bus when our air con. freezes and won't blow any cold air it is even hotter!!!!! But we are hanging in there and using any mean possible to survive...wet tea towels, icy poles, swimming 3 times a day...what ever it takes. Mmmm, loving this warm weather.

Went on an underground mine tour which was very informative, and by that I mean great for Chris and I, but too much info for the kids. (Plus it was very hot in all the safety gear and with the battery pack for the lights etc.) Having said that, they did still enjoy most of it, especially the bit where they got to drive the train and detonate a charge to blow up Kmart Plaza (well that's the story our guide gave us!) Cheers for now.

Movin' on

2009-11-07T21:47:00.010+11:00

Hi friends and family, we are on the move again and at the moment we are near Cairns at a place called Fishery Falls. The caravan park is lovely and the whole area is surrounded by mountains with a cute little stony bottomed river running thru' the back of the property. Ah, the serenity!

The trip up here was pretty cool too, we met some great people and the kids had a ball making friends. We stayed at Bluewater caravan park (just north of Townsville) the first few nights and met Steph and his wife Fi and their 3 kids, all about our kids ages. They are doing the trip around OZ, just like us, but they are going clockwise, so had lots of tips about the places we are yet to go. We chatted for ages and Chris and Steph had lots in common...fishing, shooting, comparing buses, catching crocs...OK, just Steph on the last bit...the photos were fantastic! A lady named Ann who lives at the caravan park came to ask if our kids would like to go around the camp on Halloween with her trick or treating. I think there's a saying about a bear in the woods that would be useful at this point, suffice to say...they went! They got so many lollies I don't know how they will ever get them eaten (I can hear Shas and Tanya saying "just let them eat them", but believe me, it's not worth the stress later in the day!) Our buddies were moving on the next day to a free camp just up the road at Toomulla, so we decided to hold off on our move to Cairns and spend a little longer with them. Glad we did, we got to meet another great couple, Mick and Michelle and their 5 daughters. So all in all we had 10 kids between us and barely a disagreement to be heard for the 2 days we were together. Amazing! Will and Laura had so much fun at the playground, on the beach, riding bikes and just generally playing around with the other kids they didn't want to leave. But of course we had to get a move on, Caz is waiting for us!

Here we all are on top of the lookout at Townsville.

Here are our little "trick or treaters". Laura is the ghost, then Elly, Lacey, Jay, Keira and Will (the pirate).

The camp site at Toomulla with our big blue bus in the background.Steph in his boat with Will and Laura and some of the other 10 kids!

We found these little bird "nests" all along the beach at the high tide mark. Think they were tern's eggs and they were just plopped in the sand in groups of 1-3 amongst the shells. They were really well camoflauged so the kids ran around marking them with sticks so noone would stand on them. When we checked them the next day a few had hatched out. Very cute, hey?

Got to Fishery Falls on Wednesday the 4th. Caught up with Sandy and Trevor, had a few drinks (of course) at happy hour and met some of the locals. The next day we went into Cairns and spent the day on the Esplanade at the lagoon and the snazzy little playground called "Muddies".

Green Island

2009-11-07T20:59:00.015+11:00

Yesterday we spent the day snorkelling out at Green Island. It was great fun, once we all got the hang of it, and found a spot that wasn't too wavy. The trip over on the "Big Cat" was a little bumpy but we quite enjoyed the rockin' and rollin' and didn't get sick at all, unlike some people! Although the water was a little murky in places we still found lots of flora and fauna to spy on. Chris got some super photos with an underwater camera we hired, as you can see by these shots.

The kids are here giving their tired little legs a rest from the flippers. In the background at the end of the pier is our boat, the "Big Cat".

We are so lucky to have such amazing things to see and do here in Australia. No wonder so many tourists come here every year. Each time we stop at a lovely new spot or visit a new sight I'm amazed at how little of Australia I have actually seen. What a special thing we are doing, not only for our children, but for ourselves. Come on all you people and get out there...before it's too late!

Emptying out the park...

2009-10-23T09:42:00.009+11:00

Well today we had to say goodbye to another lot of wonderful friends, Kerrie and John. They are from Albury, Vic. and with any luck we'll catch up with them next time we are down that way, or better yet, maybe we'll run into them unexpectedly somewhere in the great beyond! Sorry, too much "Land Before Time" (one of the kids fav. shows). We had a little send off last night, and I do mean little. There are only two couples left now from our original group of 7 "long-termers", and the last ones, Carol and Paul will be leaving on Sunday! As I'm not fond of goodbyes at the best of times, I am glad there will be noone to wave us off when we leave, we can just jump in and hit the road. No tears, just lots of great memories!

Jen sent me some photos from when they were up last month (seems like much longer ago now), and I've added some of them in. Love the one of Nikki on the back of the motorbike with Uncle Chris, she thought it was wonderful, and the other one of Nikki on the swing in her new dress (cute!). The rest are us at the waterpark and the kids in the tent.

My husband officially became unemployed today, YIPPEE!!! Now we can spend some time with him and get on with the rest of this trip. OK, truthfully.... Deb just wants to get to Darwin, but I am glad poor Chris doesn't have to do any more 3am wake ups, and the kids have been missing him something shocking so it's great for them too. We will need to be a bit cautious with the finances, but at least Stevo is catching fish again so maybe we won't starve after all! At the moment he is off trying to catch some red claw (yabbies) at a nearby dam. Just hope he doesn't find a snake instead, the taipans up here are deadly! We sold the motorbike yesterday, although we didn't really want to, we just couldn't fit it on the trailer. Will buy a cheap car in Darwin instead. Well that's news from me for the moment, cheers to you all and take care, Deb.

FISH, GLORIOUS FISH... (AT LAST!!!)

2009-10-22T07:52:00.015+11:00

LOOKIE WHAT WE GOT!! Chris, Elliot and Kai went out on a charter while they were up on holidays and came home with these 5 beautiful fish. Kai got a flathead and a mangrove jack, Elliot got the barra, and Stevo got a GT and a morgan's cod. For three yummy meals the eight of us stuffed ourselves with fish. Delicious!
So for all you doubters out there (yes, I mean you two, Holty and Mooka!!!) here are the photos. Official photos of real, beautiful, fresh fish. OK, caught on a charter (to Stevo's disappointment), but still caught and able to be eaten by us, not brought from the shop!
Tans, Elliot and the kids came up for just under a week and although it wasn't nearly long enough, I think they had fun, so now onto the relaxing part of the holiday...

Spent lots and lots of time in the pool. Everyone's skills came along in leaps and bounds. Will learnt to float on his back and to dive. Elliot and Takia also learnt to dive and practiced at every opportunity, getting us to give them a score out of ten to see how they went. We had scores anywhere between 2 and 10 and lots of laughs!

We caught the bus into town one day to go to the water park (we couldn't all fit into Jimny) and the kids had a blast. Poor Chris had to go to work, but the rest of us made the most of it.
Here are Stevo, Deb, Tans and Elliot relaxing after a hard day of swimming and catching up on the news from home. It's a tough job but someone's got to do it!!
We had a going away party for Paula and David while our visitors were up, so they got the chance to meet all the lovely people we have befriended here at the caravan park. They also went to see Chris at work and Kai got a now customary ride in the tractor to see it all up close.
But like all good things must come to an end, so did the holiday :(( I hope they all had a wonderful time, we sure did. Here are the girls (Laura and Takia) spending a little quality time together on the swing.

RIP Bindi

2009-10-10T09:35:00.002+11:00

I'm sorry to report some sad news this week...our one and only bus pet has passed away. Dear little Bindi the spiny leaf stick insect died yesterday from unknown causes. She had just shed her skin a few days earlier and although it was the first time she had done that she seemed perfectly normal, just understandably a little sleepy. Over the next few days she got floppier and floppier until finally, thank goodness, she died and put us out of our misery! Laura and I took her out to be buried last night, Chris and Will decided they had more important things to do (go figure!). I said a few nice words over her grave about what a lovely pet she was and Laura sobbed for an hour or so that "she wasn't just a pet, she was family". Then this morning we all woke up to a brand new sunny day and have moved on, so no more sad faces. Despite Laura's insistence that we get another stick insect NOW, we are going to wait until we get to Darwin and spend a little time in Caz's menagerie and hope that satisfies Laura's need for a pet, at least for a little while. Correct me if I'm wrong, but at last count Caz had a couple of dogs, a couple of cats (and photos showing a handful of kittens, maybe not hers??), chickens, ducks and a rat, all in her little backyard. That should give our girl plenty to do for a while. OK, we are off to the pool now. Tans and family arrive in TWO DAYS!! YIPPEE!! Chat more later, that is if anyone out there is actually still reading this site???

Things are heating up...

2009-10-06T14:20:00.012+11:00

Jen and I took the girls to the markets in Sarina during their visit. It was a busy morning and after dragging them around to all the stalls we grabbed a bite of lunch and headed off to the beach to cool off. As you can see, a lack of bathing attire was no deterrent to our beautiful girls who stripped off and jumped right in. The next photo shows the little darlings relaxing on the way home...please note: Jen's kids NEVER sleep in the car!!

Just grabbing a quick bite to keep the energy levels up! Laura, Nikita, Will and Hughie having brekkie in the bus.

The weather has been heating up over the last few weeks (early 30's) and the humidity is pushing 50% some days. Building up a bit today and looking like rain but whether we get any or not is anyone's guess. Just getting us ready for Darwin where the temperature will be in the high 30's and the humidity will be in the 90% region...can't wait!! Have been getting lots of emails and photos on the phone from Caz, who just happens to be in Melbourne at the moment and is freezing!

Last week we had to say goodbye to some wonderful friends, Carol and Allan, who have made our stay here in Mirani a really joyful experience. They live in SA we are planning to drop in to see them on the way across the bottom of OZ at the end of 2010. In true Mirani Caravan Park style we cracked out the drinks and nibblees the night before they left, and after lots of chatting and a few tears we gave them an unforgettable send off.

Laura is at the party with Paula and Dave, our friends from NZ.

The Mirani Girls! Kerrie, Carol, Paula, Deb and (Kiwi) Carol.

LOTS OF BIG NEWS

2009-09-22T14:48:00.011+10:00

Hi everyone, need to catch up on a few things that have been happening over the last few weeks. First big lot of news is for Will. Last weekend was the final game of softball for the season. Lots of fun, games and water balloons! All the kids were presented with a medal after the game, then they did some special presentations and Will got one for the "under 10's most valuable and consistent player". He was wrapped and keeps his little trophy at the end of his bed so he can see it as soon as he wakes up in the morning.

Next exciting news arrived on Tuesday afternoon...Gary, Jen, Hughie and Nikita! The kids have been on cloud nine and have hardly had time to draw breath. As you can see from the photos we have been in the pool at the caravan park and on the swings at the playground.

Here are the girls on the beach at Dolphin Heads. Laura is collecting crabs and Nikki is pretending to be a starfish.

We also went for a drive to the marina to see the boats/ships and then to a big playground in Mackay which our kids love. Don't Hughie and Nikita look cute before we let them loose on the playground equipment.

Luckily we didn't do all this on the one day, we have tried to space things out to conserve a little energy. I think the kids are holding out beautifully, it's the parents who are getting a little tired. Zzzzzz... We brought a tent and the kids have been taking turns to sleep in it. The first night we tried all four in it at once, what were we thinking?!! Since then we found pairs work much better. At the moment Gaz and family are in Airlie Beach for a few nights, they will be back Thursday for another week of fun in the sun before flying home.

Chris, Gaz and Will went fishing the other night at the beach. No luck with fish but they did get a big sea snake. What has happened to my Great White Hunter, aka Stevo, who used to put fish on the table at least once a fortnight? Now I'm resorting to buying it from the supermarket in a box!

Oh, we heard from Spotty and Co. the other day with some more brilliant news. The mighty Colac Braves seconds team won the baseball grandfinal and we are so proud of them. If it didn't mean leaving this warm weather and wonderful relaxing lifestyle, we wished we could have been there! A few days later we got a photo of a tattoo saying "Braves" on a certain persons arm. It looks great and we heard that this certain person also has the team song tattooed on his left buttock...any truth in the rumor?

Our routine way of life

2009-08-26T09:15:00.014+10:00

We have settled into a real routine now and I must say I'm loving it. No appointments or committments other than those we choose to make. Lots of free time to play or do absolutely nothing at all! Chris is loving his job and the kids seem to enjoy school most days. All in all life is wonderful for the Stevenson family and every day I am grateful that we have the opportunity to be on this exciting adventure that is our life.

We are now counting down our time here in Mirani, having heard only this week that the "crush" (or cane season) will be finished by the end of October, if not sooner. We had a look at the map this morning, one of my favourite things to do, to plan our move across to Darwin and I'm getting so excited now! Have been on the phone to Caz and she thinks we would be better to stay at her place in the bus rather than spend all our money on site fees at a caravan park for 6 months. No arguments there, but I don't think she realises how BIG we actually are. Waiting for some photos of her driveway to see if taking down the front fence will give us enough room to actually get up the drive. Luckily she wants a new front fence anyway, so Chris is the man for the job!
My beautiful children with Laura's new "puppy".
Had a visit to the skate park last week, just up the road from where we live. As you can see Will was a natural (as long as he didn't go near any ramps!), then he hit the deck pretty quickly, but to his credit he got back up and tried again, and again...and again! Glad to report there were no major injuries, despite all the crashes, but I had the ambulance ready on speed dial, just in case.

Laura and Chris found a safer(?!!) way to go down the ramps which was just as exciting and with only half as many spills.

I captured this special moment while the kids were getting ready for bed one night. Both of them crammed into Laura's bed reading a story. Awww, cute hey?
Yes, I know this photo is a bit blurry, I didn't realise the night setting had to be still for a few seconds before it took the shot. But ignoring my lousy camera skills I still think it looks amazing! This is the cane field out the back of the caravan park which had been cut that day and was being burnt off to remove all the rubbish.

We went to the beach at Dolphin Heads on Chris' last days off. The tide was out and had left a couple of big "puddles" so the kids jumped in for a dip on their boogey boards. The poor things didn't realise the rocks at the bottom were really sharp and they came out with cuts and scrapes all over their hands and legs. Lucky for them there were no sharks in the puddle!
The kids were more careful climbing around these rocks looking for "treasures".

The fisherman, waiting for that elusive fish, which just won't come!!!

So today Chris is off to the river to try his hand at some lure fishing instead. Then tomorrow he hopes to go out in a boat with a bloke from his work to try for a barra. You have to give the man credit, despite his crappy track record since we left Colac, he just refuses to give in. I have the freezer emptied in the hope that tomorrow night it will be full of barra fillets. And I have all of my fingers and toes crossed too!

I will finish off with some very exciting news...just heard yesterday that Tanya, Elliott and the kids are going to come up here for a short visit before we leave Mirani. Haven't heard actual dates yet but I'm already making plans and getting things organised. I can't help it, I'm an organiser, that's what I do! It will be after the pool here has opened and if yesterday's weather in Colac is anything to go by, they will be thrilled just to lay by the pool for the 4 days, soaking up the beautiful rays. Ah, the serenity!

Bosco and Sawyer

2009-08-16T11:46:00.009+10:00

I should have put these photos on weeks ago, but better late than never. These are some good friends (the Edward's family) who have now left Mirani caravan park and are making their way back home to Victoria, via Darwin!! They live not too far from us (at Torquay) so we will catch up with them in 2010-11 when we get back that way. We need to see how large the LEGO collection has grown by then!

Laura and her buddy Bosco.

Laura on the swing with Sawyer.

Lance is here playing soccer with Will and Bosco on the grass out the back of our site (if you can call it grass!) Not surprisingly they were all exhausted when they had finished.

The kids have made a quite a few friends lately which has been wonderful for them. They met some great kids, Marc and... I'm sorry to say I don't know how to spell the young girl's name, but then only got to play for 1/2 a day because the family had to move on to Airlie Beach. This week they have made friends with Zac and Allan who come up regularly with their Mum (from Burpengary) to visit their Grandparents who live here in the park. Even tho' they are leaving tomorrow, they will be back in a month or so to visit again, so the kids will look forward to that. The boys are the same age as our kids and they get along really well. It's nice to see them playing with new friends, they haven't really had a chance to meet other kids until now and I know they get sick of each other at times. At the moment (just to prove me wrong) they are outside eating lunch in a cubbie they've made from old blankets and towels draped over chairs. They are behaving like the best of friends and I am going to have my lunch, put my feet up, and see how long it lasts...

Good times...

2009-08-05T11:55:00.007+10:00

These first few photos are to finish off my last entry, which I was too lazy to do! While Don and Bett were still up here we went for a drive to the local dam. The boys threw a few lures (but no bites) and we then all enjoyed a lovely bag of nibbles and finger food, which also served as lunch. The kids had a great time getting their feet wet and as you can see the weather was lovely.

Bett relaxing by the dam, with Chris giving Will a few pointers in the background.

Now back to the latest news...This weekend Chris and I took the kids for a lovely Sunday drive to Finch Hatton to go to the local market. Chris had heard the advertisement for it on the radio while he was working and thought it might be nice. Unfortunately, when we got there, there wasn't a soul in sight. No markets, no stalls, nothing! Maybe Stevo needs better ventilation in his tractor, perhaps the exhaust fumes are getting in?!! Luckily it was a beautiful day so we weren't fussed and decided to head over to Sarina for a walk on the beach. On the way we stopped at Cattle Creek for this next photo opportunity. It's a very rocky bottomed creek, but Stevo wasn't interested, no good fishing spots!!

We jumped back in little Jimny and continued on towards Sarina, but along the way we passed a sideshow. I wanted to walk on the beach, but as we live in a democratic world I was outvoted 3 to 1 and we went to the show. We brought lunch and the kids had a ball on the blowup slides, dodgem cars and running around in the enormous worm. We even got lucky by coming in as the lady on the ticket booth was packing up, so we didn't have to pay, yippee! Saved heaps $$!! By the time we were done we were too tired to do anything but head for home, thinking we might stop to have a quick look in a bric-a-brac store in Mackay for a few things we wanted...forgetting that Mackay doesn't have Sunday trading. Bummer, foiled again! Someone did not want us to spend our money that day, how lucky were we?!!

Laura having a blast and Will waiting patiently for his turn.

Back to normal...

2009-07-30T16:24:00.010+10:00

Back to normal... well as normal as it gets around here anyway. Don and Bett left on Monday to continue their journey and here are the kids giving them a big cuddle before they head off. Hope they have a great time.

We went off to Sarina with Grandma and Grandpa for a little daytrip through the week. As you can see the weather was lovely and the kids had lots of fun running around all over the place.

Took a bit of encouragement (and a few prods), but they finally made it to the top! Hooray!!

Also had a day at the Finch Hatton Gorge (where we have been before, but well worth a second, or third trip!). As you can see, Laura was exhausted when we arrived so we took time out for a little rest and enjoyed the scenery...BEAUTIFUL!!

Kids are back at school this week and without jinxing myself I must say they have been particularly well behaved. Will even did a story yesterday that was over a page long, without even being asked. Could have knocked me down with a feather. Don't want to tempt fate but it would be nice to have some smooth sailing, this poor teacher isn't cut out for rebellious students! Still need to put on a few more photos but will leave it for another day, time to get the washing in and make some tea. No rest for the wicked...or the eternal travellers! Cheers.

Visitors from home

2009-07-17T11:54:00.004+10:00

Yesterday Don and Bett (Chris' parents) arrived for a little holiday with us on their way to Cape York. The kids have been looking forward to the visit but thankfully we didn't know exactly when they would be coming until about a week before they left. They told us they would arrive somewhere around lunch time yesterday, and we were just at that point where I couldn't entertain the kids or placate them any longer with promises that "I'm sure they will be here REALLY soon", when they finally arrived. Phew, relief!

There was a free site right next to us so we took that and helped set up the camper trailer and then sat down to soak up the serenity. Chris was home early which was a nice surprise (only a 10hr day that day!) so we lit the fire and sat around after tea chatting and eating marshmallows. Reminded me of all the great camping trips at Princetown with my lovely family and our wonderful friends (Kaz and Baz, Sandy and Robert etc). Wish you could all have been here to enjoy the moment with us. Ahh, bliss...

Anyway enough of that, things here are much the same as my last entry. Kids have been busy with their two little mates (Bosco and Sawyer) who live here at the caravan park (but are leaving Monday). The other day I made them all a "treasure hunt" where they had to go from point to point finding clues around the park, until they reach the end. My kids love these and we used to do them at home pretty often, but the other boys had never been on a treasure hunt so they were jumping with excitment and they all had lots of fun. They especially loved the chocolate coins and kinder surprise they won along the way!!

Chris and Don went fishing this morning at the dam and got 3 "sooty" and 1 redclaw (yabbie thing). Sorry Mooka and Holty, I told him to take the camera and SHOW YOU the fish but he forgot and had already filleted them when he got home. I promise next time there will be photos! Hope to do a little sightseeing over the next few days so I will get some more shots on the blog soon. Cheers, until next time, x x x.

How Sweet It Is...

2009-06-30T13:50:00.014+10:00

Chris pulled us out of bed early one morning to go fishing at Kinchant Dam (about 10 mins away). As you can see from the attire it was a bit chilly early on, but we soon warmed up once we got a few bites and had a few fish in our bag. We lost a couple, let the turtle and massive eel go and ended up with 4 lovely sooty grunter for our tea, yum!

These photos below may give you some idea of how much land in this region is planted in sugar cane. As far as you can see in almost all directions there is cane. Even houses are hidden and tractors are dwarfed by it.

The kids have been wondering what Chris actually does at work so last week he took them for a ride in the tractor to see how the sugar cane is harvested. They really enjoyed it and Laura wants to go every day! Hopefully you can see from these photos and videos how the process works. The harvester drives up the row of cane and cuts the stalk of cane into little short lengths. The driver needs to make sure he stays nice and straight because he can't see where he's going. Chris is driving the tractor/trailer beside and catches the cut cane, making sure he fills to the top of the trailer but doesn't let it overflow. The leaves and other waste get blown out over the top onto the ground. Some of the farmers burn the paddocks after harvesting to clear the rubbish. It's amazing to see, but the smoke gets very thick in the air for miles around- cough, cough.

Chris is in the red tractor with the trailer. His boss is in the harvester which is almost hidden behind the cane.

At the rail siding Chris tips up the trailer and directs the conveyor belts to shoot the cane out whichever side the bins are on. In the first of these two photos you can see the full bins on the right and the empty ones which Chris is filling are on the left.

The little red engine on the left is coming to collect the full bins to take to the mill. In the background Chris is still emptying his trailer.

So that's how the cane is cut, collected and sent to the mill to be processed. We hope to do a factory tour soon to see the remainder of the process. I will keep you posted. Take care and love to you all. x x x

It's Show Time!

2009-06-17T20:58:00.008+10:00

On Sunday the kids and I went to the Finch Hatton Show, just 1/2 an hour from Mirani. It was a beautiful day, and as you can see from the photos, the kids had lots of fun. We saw horse jumping, wood chopping, a cow dressed up as a horse, and all the other usual show things. Of course we ate too much, but noone threw up so that was OK.

Will and Laura slipping down the slide.

Having a blast up the front, hurtling around on the roller coaster.

Laura with a good grip on things.

Laura (in pink on the far right) seeing the sights from up high.

We are settling in to life in Mirani. Chris is doing very long days, leaving at around 3.30am and not getting home before 5.30pm most times. He works 6 shifts on and then gets 2 off. I don't even hear the motorbike any more...loving wife that I am! Did I tell you we decided to lash out and get Chris a bike (with an engine), so I could have the car to get kids here and there and everywhere. It's about 20 years old but he really loves it and it goes like a beauty, even on these chilly mornings. Brrr!

The hot rod!

Yesterday Chris had the day off and went fishing, caught 2 "sooty" (don't ask me what sort of fish they are exactly, but they tasted lovely).

We heard from our friends Mark and Sam this week and they are hoping to get up for a visit in a few months time, can't wait! Laura also got a big fat letter from her old 1/2K class at Elliminyt primary school, full of postcards and photos of all the kids. She was so pleased and read them over and over.

We found a really great park in Mackay. This video is brilliant if you want a good belly laugh!!

Well cheers until next time!

MIRANI

2009-06-03T12:39:00.007+10:00

We moved camp on Sunday to be a little closer to Pleystowe, where Chris is working. Our new home is a caravan park ajoining the local pool in place called Mirani, a half hour west of Mackay. At the moment the pool is closed for winter but we have been told that we can be the first ones in when it opens in September! As soon as we drove into the park there were people there giving us directions on where to park and coming to say hello. It was very nice. It's a small town and everyone knows everyone so I'm sure we won't have any trouble making friends.

Everywhere you drive there is sugar cane as far as the eye can see. It blocks a lot of the landscape, but not for much longer. Monday was the first official day of the cane season so there were tractors getting started with the harvesting and trailers loading it on the wagons for the trains to take to the mills. Need to be careful now of all the rail crossings, the trains are very long but at least they go quite slow. Chris started his new job this week, and according to the stories he tells me it's not too bad and he's quite good at it. Unfortunately the weather has slowed work down and according to the locals it is "unseasonally wet" at the moment, which makes it hard to get on the paddocks to harvest the cane. What a surprise! Everywhere we go it's "unseasonally wet"!!!!! Starting to think we have created some kind of black hole which dumps Victoria's rain on us wherever we are!!! But it is nice and warm still, so that's a bonus.

Chris, I've lost the kids!!! Can anyone see them?

The kids decided to go dunking for apples. Here is Laura's attempt...and then the camera goes flat before Will can get it.

Finally VICTORY!!

There are lots and lots of green tree frogs around here. I had to chase one out of the shower cubicle yesterday before I was game enough to close my eyes and put my head under the tap! Chris also found this lovely little gecko who we thought might like to eat some of the ants and mozzies we get in the bus from time to time, so we put him up near the bag rack and every now and then we see him. Much to my disgust he has been named "Norbert", a very ugly name for a very cute little critter, but he doesn't seem to mind.

NORBERT, our resident gecko!

Well my windows are grotty and I am heading out to give them a scrub. Hi to you all and if anyone wants to write you can send mail "c/o Mirani Post Office, Mirani, Qld" (not sure of the post code) and they tell me it will find us! Chow for now, love the Stevenson's x x x

Touring around Mackay

2009-05-29T09:19:00.029+10:00

Hi there friends and family, time to catch up on our news. This week has been a touristy week, showing Lynne all the sights around Mackay. We organised a hire car so we could travel in style (and no one needed to be tied to the roof rack!) and on Tuesday we headed off to Dolphin Heads and Blacks Beach. Only a short drive down the road and lots of beautiful scenery. Sand, sea and...OK, not much surf, but still it was nice. Went to the local pub for a delicious lunch (I recommend the prawn caesar salad, mmmm!), the kids collected shells and we found a playground so the adults could have a little down time. All in all, a very relaxing day.

Does it look windy much?!! Laura having a bad hair day.

Lynne and the kids on the beach near Mackay.

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Next day we were off to Eungella National Park, about a 1 hour drive west of Mackay. We stopped along the way at Finch Hatton Gorge and went for a walk through the rainforest to "the wheel of fire" (no idea where the name came from, no wheels or fire seen by any of us!). It was a lovely walk thru' the rainforest and although it was mostly uphill and involved climbing about a million stairs, the kids didn't complain and we got to enjoy an icy cold drink from the stream when we got there. After recovering we trekked back out and went to The Pinnacle for lunch. They are advertised (by the lady in the tourist information centre) as "the best pies in Australia", and I must say they weren't far wrong. BIG and home made, yummy!

Can anyone spot "rock Willaby"?

Lynne and Will on the track heading out.

After filling our tummies we went up to the Eungella Range, a very steep drive but well worth the view. At Broken River we went for a walk to try and spot a platypus, but alas, just like the dingoes at Fraser Island, we saw not-a-one. Not sure whether it was the small, noisy people we had with us or whether the little rascals were just all out for the day, but no platypi (or as Chris says "platypusses") were sighted. Still, it was a beautiful spot to visit, lots of interesting plants that we don't often get to see.
Laura wanting to climb the "ladder", and Chris wishing he was Tarzan!
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Thursday Chris took Lynne and the kids down to Sarina whilst Deb opted for a day of peace and relaxation on her own. I went to the shops and got a book which I came home and made a good start on! I also got 3 loads of washing done and spent a considerable amount of time wondering what the kids were doing, but mostly I relaxed! It was lovely. Lynne took some photos of the kids playing in the waves and generally having a wonderful time.

MACKAY

2009-05-19T10:21:00.003+10:00

We arrived in Mackay last Thursday and are staying at The Andergrove Caravan Park. It's a lovely big park with lots of room for our bus but unfortunately they may not be able to take us long term. We are having problems finding anyone who can fit us in, first of all, and even less who can also keep us long term. I guess they can squeeze 2 vans into the space we take up and charge them more to be there short term, so it all comes down to the money. What a surprise! We went for a drive yesterday and found that our options are very limited, so we will keep our fingers crossed and keep looking and who knows what might turn up.

Haven't had a chance to do much sight seeing yet, just getting settled in. Yesterday I took the kids to the shopping centre to spend their pocket money. It's the first time they have been paid since we became unemployed so they were happy little shoppers! Chris went fishing at the harbour on Sunday but came home empty handed. He had a good bite I hear, but alas, no food for the family! The kids have been for a dip in the pool a couple of times here at the caravan park but I haven't been game as yet. The water is freezing and the kids go blue after half an hour or so, so someone has to be on hand to revive them! The weather has been in the mid-20's most days but it's too cool for me. Brrrrr!
Will and Laura taking the plunge!

Saturday the kids went to play softball. There's a softball field right next to the van park and Chris went over for a look on Tuesday night to watch them training. They were looking for new players and we thought it might be a good way for the kids to make some friends so we joined them up. The only problem will be if Chris is working weekends I won't have a car to get them to the game but one of the ladies said she can pick us up if I need it, so that's good. They had lots of fun and although they were quite shy at the start they soon got the hang of it and showed their style!! They wanted Chris to play in the mens team, but although he was extremely tempted he doesn't want to get an injury. That's all we need, Chris out of work injured, arghhh!

This week Chris is off doing the UD driving course he has to do before starting work in a fortnight. We (the kids and I) are catching up with school stuff before we get our first visitor later in the week. Lynne is coming on Thursday and we have been marking the days off on the calender until she arrives. The kids are hardly excited at all!!!!!!!! I don't expect much work to get done on Friday so we will do a little extra over the next few days. Today they made a butterfly kite and have just been out to test it. It's pretty windy but perhaps there were some issues with the aerodynamics because it just didn't want to stay up in the air! Now we are doing some sums using the dominos so I had better go supervise. See you next time...

EMU PARK

2009-05-13T17:13:00.012+10:00

We moved on from Maryborough yesterday after a good look around the area. It was a very friendly place and one day we might come back to settle somewhere around here. Chris actually found a house for sale on "Stevenson Street" which we drove past to have a look at. We thought about the irony of it but decided to keep moving and following our travel plans. Maybe next time around! It's amazing how the landscape has changed from being very green and lush, to now being quite dry, it reminds me of the Darwin landscape. We are having a few nights in Emu Park now, at a lovely little caravan park just a stones' throw from the beach. In fact someone with a good arm would hit the beach from our bus!

This is the beach I walked on at 7am this morning, and a spot to have a quiet relax if you need one.

Today we went for a drive through Yeppoon and Byfield, very pretty scenery. We took the kids to Cooberrie Park, a wildlife sanctuary where they could see and pet lots of animals. They even had spiney-leaf stick insects, just like our Bindi Anna Jones! There was a cute little wallaby that loved having his neck rubbed and looked like he would roll on the ground with his legs in the air if he could. The kids patted snakes, lizards, koalas, kangaroos, even a crocodile. We saw dingoes (not like at Fraser Island!) a wombat, peacocks, a fox, and lots of other things. Chris even showed me the mysterious "whistling tree duck", long story!!

Tomorrow we are off to Mackay where we will hopefully settle for the next 6 months or so. But first a walk on the beach for Deb and a quick race down the bike track for Stevo and the kids.

FRASER ISLAND

2009-05-13T16:04:00.015+10:00

On Saturday we got up at the crack of dawn (literally) and went over to explore Fraser Island. We caught the barge from River Head and took Jimny over for a little 4WD ing. It was great!

The tracks were amazing through the forests. The enormous trees we are looking at are called "satinay". They are a hard red wood. The rivers were so clear they don't even look like there's water in them. This one had about a foot of water running through it and a lovely sandy bottom.

Then we went for a zip along the beach. Look how far you can see, and that's only a little strip of it. It actually goes for 75 miles but we only had the one day so we couldn't go too far. The island is enormous and you could easily spend a couple of days exploring it. We were hoping to see a little wildlife but other than a few birds we saw nothing...not a dingo or a lizard or anything.

Next it was off to find Lake Mackenzie and have a little dip. To look at, it is paradise but unfortunately it was freezing the day we went so we weren't in for very long. Chris said when he came here many moons ago you could see a lot more clear water, but now the leaf matter is covering the bottom. Still it was beautiful and well worth the bumpy drive to get there. Will was propositioned by a gorgeous blonde lady, she asked if she could help him build his sandcastle - but he turned her down! That's my boy :)

This is Chris on the pier at Fraser Island, waiting for the barge to come and pick us up. And these are Deb's feet, having a lovely relax on the beach, boy it was heaven!

on the road again

2009-05-07T16:40:00.008+10:00

On Wednesday we said goodbye to Lismore, GOODBYE! We had a BBQ lunch with about 8 other tennants in the caravan park on the Sunday before we left, which was lovely. We also were given a little "gift" from the owner...a bowl of tadpoles. Laura was thrilled. Fingers crossed they are FROGS and not anything else. The day we left it was pouring rain so I must be honest (when am I not?) and say I was glad to get the hell out of the place!!! Chris and Will in the Big Rolling Turd, and Laura and I in Jimny. We left after brekkie and were in Maryborough by 3pm or so, with a short break in Burpengary to pick up our lovely new trailer and have a bite of lunch. What a relief to be back in my beautiful, comfy navigators' seat.Here we are all relaxed in Maryborough, minus Will the photographer.

A school experiment:

Before we left Colac this magic tree was given to Will by Aunty Jenny. We finally got it out to see what it does and we were amazed. This shot above is how it looks when you first set it up. You just add water to the tray at the bottom.

Then 2 hours later it looks all puffy like this one above...
Then in the morning we checked it and it was all finished and some of the crystals were starting to fall off. It was great to see it growing, although the kids checked it every few minutes so that got a bit tiring!

We went over to Ballina had one final stab at fishing before we left the area and came up trumps. Although Chris spent most of his time replacing bait and hooks, the kids and I pulled in some lovely bream, and couldn't leave until Chris had caught a few too. Laura even snagged this little beauty which was a lovely addition to our evening meal. MMMmmm, mudcrab!
Chomp, chomp, chomp!

looking up...

2009-04-30T10:40:00.002+10:00

Things are finally looking up for the Stevenson family. After 9 weeks of unemployment, poverty and torrential rains things have turned a corner and started to improve! OK, I may have exaggerated slightly there, but it could have been that bad!!! We are saying goodbye to Lismore next Wednesday (I'm throwing a little party!) and going for a leisurely tour up the East coast. Finally a bit of sight seeing and travel. Isn't that what I booked in for in the first place? Noone mentioned budget constraints and mouldy living quarters and 24/7 company. Thank God I like these people or it would be hell!

Although things seem to change from moment to moment the latest plan is this...Wednesday we hit the frog and toad (road!) and head to Burpengary to pick up our new (and hopefully very LEGAL trailer). Still waiting to hear back about the legal proceedings relating to the last trailer, what a fiasco! Anyway then up to Maryborough, which is near Hervey Bay, for a few nights. Wanting to visit Fraser Island for at least one day of 4WDing, maybe two. Bundaberg is not far above that so maybe a night there. Chris used to have a mate living nearby at Burnett Heads so depending on whether or not we can catch up with him that may be extended a little longer. Rockhampton is probably the next stop, then Mackay the next day...WooHoo!!! At this point in time Chris needs to complete a UD driving course for a week in mid May, then a week off before starting work driving tractors etc, hauling out sugar cane. It's very exciting for both of us. Even more exciting is the fact that we may be getting a visitor from Colac in that last week of May...Aunty Lynne! The kids are over the moon and although Laura burst into tears when she heard about it from Lynne she told us later she was only crying because she was so happy. Yeah, sure! I feel so bad when Laura gets homesick but what can I do, except keep pestering the family to VISIT, VISIT, VISIT! Well the school work is slowing without me there to crack the whip so I'd better get back to it. Feeling much more positive now and thanks to all my wonderful friends who kept saying things would get better. I so didn't believe you at the time but lookey, you were right! Chow for now, x x x

LEST WE FORGET

2009-04-25T11:19:00.004+10:00

It's Anzac Day today. The kids have been doing some reading and activities at "school" this week to give them some idea of what went on in the wars, drawing pictures and making lists of what Anzac Day means to them. No matter what we say they can never really understand what it was like, and I guess I wouldn't really want them to. Lets hope none of our children ever have to experieince something so frightening.

As it is still school holidays in NSW we also had a few fun days this week. The library put on some free activities so the kids got to see "Brian the magician" on Tuesday and yesterday they made book marks and had story time. After that we went to the shopping complex to see "Rover McWoof" who put on a little show. Will even won a little prize for his dancing! Must take after his mother.

News on the work front is good. Chris now has 2 jobs so we are in the process of sorting out the best opportunity for continuing our travel plans. At this stage we are moving on to Bundaberg in the next week or two. There is a job due to start in May hauling out sugar cane and before it starts Chris will need to complete a week long course which can only be done in Mackay. We will get settled in Bundy and then Chris will drive to Mackay for the week beginning 18th May. Puts a strain on the finances but what else can we do? I'm looking forward to the move I must say. The kids need some stimulation to keep them out of trouble and although the weather has improved here in Lismore I'm ready for a change.

Lighthouse at Byron Bay

Last weekend we went for a drive to Byron Bay. Went up to the lighthouse which involved a drive up a narrow, windy road close to the edge of the cliff that made me a little nervous, especially when we were sharing the road with lots of tourists! Chris showed us the roof top that is used for hangliders to take off. It was too windy, even for them which was a shame, I would have liked to show the kids. Couldn't go into the lighthouse but the view from the top of the cliff was amazing.

NEWS, NEWS AND MORE NEWS!

2009-04-15T15:23:00.004+10:00

Lots of stuff has happened this last week. Deb had her birthday on April 9th and believe me, I really do love a birthday. No worries with getting older, I just love an excuse for a party! I got to do a little shopping, thanks to the wonderful family members who sent me some "spend it all on your self" cash. I also got to go out for tea with chris and the kids (a novel experience with financial constraints as they have been). I got some perfume which was just in time as I was down to my last squirt of good stuff, and chris bought me a gorgeous pair of earrings from the antique shop, very nice! All in all I was thoroughly spoilt and had a very special day.

The following day I got to celebrate some more...Chris and I had our 10th wedding anniversary. Imagine that, 10 years and we still like each other, that's amazing!

Then we need to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my beautiful niece and nephew, Nikita and Hughie who turned 3 on the 11th of April. Wish we could have been there to see them but I know they would have gotten extra kisses from Grandma or Aunty Lynne for us. Hope they got their present OK.

Well that was Thursday, Friday and Saturday all taken care of...then woke up Sunday and you'll never believe it...Easter Bunny had been! We weren't sure that he would find us here in Lismore but the kids made a basket anyway just in case and Laura decorated the christmas tree with easter eggs to help him find us. Anyway it worked and come Sunday morning we were richer by 2 dozen chocolate eggs or so. Enough to make the kids hyper and the parents pull their hair out!!
Will and Laura with their Easter stash. Mmmmm!
Last night just for good measure we had a visit from another special friend...the Tooth Fairy. Laura finally wiggled a tooth out that has been hanging in there for more than 6 months. In fact the new tooth had taken up position in front of it and we thought it would never let go, but lo and behold with a bit of pushing from Laura it came out. Yippee!

What a week of celebration it has been. School holidays are on and "awful teachers" that we are, we gave the kids only the Easter long-weekend off. Because of the inclement weather we have been getting we decided to keep boredom at bay by continuing with school until we are able to do something useful with our free time. Sounded like a good idea to us! We did get to go 10 pin bowling, (Chris won both games - woo hoo!) which was fun.

Well I have already mentioned the less than perfect weather, suffice to say we had such a solid days rain the other day that Chris changed the batteries in the torch and got us ready for flood exacuation, just in case! We have been having lots of trouble with mould inside the bus and this morning I had to kill a whole nest of ants trying to make their home in a handbag in the bedroom cupboard. Not fun. Even worse are the mozzies, especially now we have holes in the flyscreen at the door! But then I guess if it was wonderful every day you would all want to be here with us, and much as we love you there just isn't room! So we will soldier on.

Chris got a job today. I really should have put that first shouldn't I? Only prob. is, it doesnt start for another month. So we will keep looking and if nothing else comes up in the mean time we will be off to St.George at the end of May. It's on a winery doing stuff with the vines. Maybe we'll get a special deal on some bottles...fingers crossed! Cheers for now, x x x

Slipping and sliding!!

2009-04-05T09:42:00.005+10:00

One weekend when it was all overcast in Lismore we decided to brave the weather and go to the water park in Ballina. We had been promising Will since his birthday we would take him there and because of the weather we still hadn't been. I'm so glad we went, it was a little breezy up on the top of the tower but otherwise it was lovely. In fact after running up the stairs a few times it was quite warm! I will admit I'm not too fond of heights and it took me about 5 goes before I could look out over the edge of the rail at the top of the tower to see all the things Chris had been pointing out to me. It was a great view of the mouth of the Richmond river going out to sea and there were lots of boats and yachts.
Laura here in front of the slides at Ballina Water Park. The big yellow one was really fast and the climb to the top was exhausting, but the kids loved the slower green one best of all because they could come down at the same time.
Here they are coming down on the green one together.
GOING...GOING...
GONE!

Casino

2009-04-05T09:32:00.005+10:00

Casino is a little town about a 1/2 hrs drive inland from Lismore. We headed off there last weekend for a look around and had lunch before coming home. Apparently there is a great park in Casino for motorhomes so I want to go back one day soon and check it out.

This is Chris and Will having a look at the river in Casino. It has lots of little fish swimming around in it (hence the boys' interest). We will come back one day to do a spot of fishing but so far we haven't gotten there. Laura is off in the background somewhere.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM (BETTY)

2009-04-03T15:32:00.003+11:00

It's Bett's birthday today so a big happy birthday to you first of all. We hope you have a lovely day.

We have just gotten home from a 2 day trip to Surfers Paradise to catch up with the Milverton and Robertson families. It's only about a 2 hour trip from here to there and I must say it was just what the doctor ordered. I had been feeling a little sad and sorry for myself and most of all frustrated at not having a job yet, and the constantly wet weather has not helped my mood, so this was a real "pick me up"! We stayed at Treasure Island and although the wet weather followed us (and in fact got quite a lot heavier) the pool there was heated and we got in regardless. It was a novel thing to be in a lovely heated pool with the cold rain belting down on our heads and a cold bourbon in my hand...mmm paradise! We had planned on taking the kids to one of the theme parks but of course the rain put a stop to that so a trip to the movies was organised instead. They watched "Monsters V's Aliens" which they loved while Fiona and I did some window shopping.
Catching up with our very dear friends and just having a chat while the kids played together was wonderful. I was quite sad to leave this morning and even Laura said "Mum, I had tears in my eyes this morning when we left, but I wasn't crying, I was just sad". Poor darlin', she does miss her friends and family, probably more than any of us.

Much of my time lately has been spent wrangling with NSW government departments and I must say I have not found them at all helpful. I would go as far as to think that I would never want to live here in NSW because of the lack of help and the irritation I have been given. I have had to contact Centrelink, the Department of Education and The Nurses Board and I have been driven to distraction by each and every one of them. When I have had to follow up with the same departments in Victoria it has been a different story entirely, maybe Victorians are nicer, or maybe our laws/policies are just better and easier? Anyway I need to save my strength to do some more battling on Monday so I will leave off now. Chow.

THANKS, THANKS, THANKS

2009-03-26T16:05:00.005+11:00

A big THANKS to Aunty Tanya, Elliot, Takia and Kai. This photo shows the proceeds of the pocket money you gave Will and Laura to spend on their trip. Will got himself a video of "Starwars the Clone Wars", a set of marbles and a wriggly wooden snake. Laura also got a snake, a baby doll (called Emily) and a bag of paraphernalia to go with dolly! They are all much loved and getting lots of use.

Introducing : BINDI ANNA JONES, Laura's pet spiny leaved stick insect. She was only about 1-2 cm long when Laura first got her so you can see how much she has grown. She munches up her gum leaves, makes no mess and is super quiet...we all love her! A big thanks to Kylie and family for letting Bindi join us on our trip.

RESCUE HELICOPTER

2009-03-26T15:31:00.004+11:00

First video is the chopper taking off. It also shows the back of the caravan park where our site is. There are cabins up higher on the block, ahead of where our bus is. The showers, toilets and pool are also up that way.

The second video is the chopper coming in for a landing.

These videos are especially for Hughie and Nikita. (but everyone else is welcome to have a look too). We knew the kids would love to see the rescue chopper that has its landing pad just near the caravan park. It can be a little noisy at times but you really do get used to it, sometimes it goes out 2 or 3 times a day. I apologise in advance if the kids make you play them over and over Jen! I have been to see if we can get a tour through the emergency services base where the helicopters live. We are waiting for a call back to arrange a time, I will show you any photos I take.

EVANS HEAD

2009-03-26T14:34:00.007+11:00

On Sunday the 22nd March we went for a day trip to Evans Head, a lovely little seaside town about 1/2 hr drive from Lismore. The first thing we saw when we arrived were these cute little crabs. Hundreds and hundreds of them, running about everywhere and burrowing into the sand if you got too close. They had a blue shell and made a "tinkling" sound when they ran and brushed against each other. Click on PLAY and see what I mean...

The weather was lovely, perfect for walking on the beach and letting the water lap at our feet. When it was time to turn around and head back Will had a pocket full of smooth black rocks and Laura had dripping wet shorts! What a surprise!! We found a little shop where we could buy an ice cream and watch people go by while Laura dried off. Then we found a park and the kids had a play.

The next day Chris came back to try his hand at catching us some tea from the rock wall in the photo above. He spent the whole time getting bites and replacing his bait but unfortunately, no tea. He did spot a shark swimming by tho'. YIKES!

This anchor was caught in a fishing net near Ballina. It was dragged along the bottom until the net broke, then it was retrieved by divers.

WILL IS NOW 9!

2009-03-20T20:19:00.006+11:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR WILL,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

Guess who had a birthday today and turned 9? Our big boy Will. He has been patiently waiting for this day for weeks, repeatedly telling us there are "X" number of days until my birthday. Now it has finally arrived. We had a leisurely breakfast (during which Aunty Shas rang to say happy birthday), did a short morning of school and then were going to head off to the water park in Ballina, but unfortunately the water slides aren't open during the week so we will go tomorrow instead. Will was OK with that, it meant he got to spend a couple of hours on his new "batman LEGO" PS2 game. After lunch the family (minus Deb) went for a swim. It was too cold for me, brrrrr! After tea we sang "happy birthday" as you will see on the video, and enjoyed a lovely chocolate mud birthday cake. All in all I think Will had a lovely day:).

FUN, FUN, FUN!!

Last week we went for a drive around Lismore to check out the sights. First we went to the airport, but being a Sunday there were no planes coming or going. Next we went to Bunnings, always fun to be had there, but alas we had no money to spend so that was also a short visit. Then we found a little park and stopped there for lunch. It had this cute little train which Chris and the kids went on (I volunteered to take the photos!). There were lots of little birthday parties going on around the place so we will come back one day during the week when it's a little quieter.

As you can see it was as much fun for Chris as it was for the kids!

Taking a dip

2009-03-14T19:48:00.004+11:00

We get to swim almost every day (once school has finished of course). The water is pretty cool but we tell ourselves it doesn't matter because the air is lovely and warm.
Will and Deb are usually the first out, once we start shivering and turn blue!
Will likes to have his flippers on and then he can go anywhere. He is getting more confident every day. Laura is fearless and Chris throws her around all the time into the deep end, she loves it.

Laura has learnt a new trick...diving, and here she will show you how. Will can do a safety dive and get the ring from the bottom of the pool, and Chris can do a handstand. What a tricky lot they are!!

BYRON BAY

2009-03-11T10:23:00.005+11:00

After school one afternoon we went for a trip to Byron Bay. What an excellent beach! The water was lovely and warm, the waves were small enough for the kids to play safely and the only problem was that I didn't take my own bathers. It's about a 40 minute drive from Lismore and the road was very windy (of course we forgot Will's accupressure wrist bands) and although we did hear once "Mum, I feel sick", we made it before any puking took place. Phew!

After the swim we went for a stroll around the town. We bought an icecream and Chris said we are definately going back there another day. They were VERY YUMMY! I also found a lovely little clothes shop with lots of brightly coloured and tie-dyed kids clothes that I'm going to spend up big at (once I get a job). Can't wait. Looked for Jonno's pizza shop but couldn't find it. Now I know it's "Legends" we will have tea there next time we head to Byron.

The best laid plans...

2009-03-08T12:19:00.004+11:00

Well to be fair to anyone following this adventure I guess I'd better put in the crappy stuff as well as the great bits. We were not long out of Canberra on Saturday the 21st of Feb when we came to our first (and never to be forgotten) weight station at a lovely little stop called Murulan. We pulled in thinking "great, this should take about 5 mins" and ended up wasting about an hour after the lovely man told us the trailer was not satisfactory to carry our 4WD and could not legally be taken any further. Major bummer!! I will leave out all the hair pulling details, suffice to say that our only option to get us out of there was for Deb and Laura to jump into the Jimny and to follow Chris and Will in the bus. Luckily the bus was big enough that it wasn't easy to lose, but it wasn't nice to think that we were heading thru' Sydney with 1 map (in the bus) and 1 mobile phone (with me) and that if I did lose chris I would have no way to communicate with him!! ARRRHH! The other problem we had was driving thru' a very busy little town trying to find a guy in Hornsby (just out of Sydney) to try to get the trailer load limit changed. I almost had a nervous breakdown and was so glad to see Chris finally give up and head for the highway (while we were all still in one piece). We made it that night to a 24hr servo just out of Newcastle and boy had we earned out bourbon that night!

After sleeping on it we had made a definate decision to head to Lismore so the next day was solid driving (with a few well earned sanity breaks in between). The kids were wonderfully behaved, considering the general mood at times was a little low. But having said that, we were still glad to be on our way and the scenery was great. Haven't seen so much green grass in ages.

On the morning of Monday 23rd Feb we drove into Lismore Palms Caravan Park and made our first official working stop of the trip. Well of course as yet there is no actual work but we are getting there. And the thinking about it sure does work up a sweat! Makes you appreciate the daily dip in the pool, even tho' I think some days only a Victorian would see it as warm enough!

Canberra

2009-03-08T11:00:00.016+11:00

Laura on the steps of the Australian War Memorial

The Australian War Memorial, Canberra. On the little pond there was a duck swimming with her ducklings. The domed building at the back is the resting place of the "unnamed soldier" and every inch of wall and roof is covered in the most magnificent mosiac.

The kids getting in a bit of learning, with the headmaster watching on!

The kids were amazed to see all the names on the wall (and this was only one wall, there were just as many on the opposite wall). We were trying to find any family names and were fortunate that we couldn't.

What a lousy shot of Canberra! Smoke from the awful fires (still going when this was taken) have made the view very poor. At the extreme right of the shot is Parliment House, the little bridge going across the "lake" leads to it.

OK, I know what you're thinking, Deb was not drinking when she took this one! I'm sure there's a perfectly easy way to turn this around but I can't find it so just lay your head on the side and get over it!! It's a big communications tower on Black Tower Hill and we could go as high as the roof of the middle "disc" with the double row of windows. You might be able to see the big spikey fence that kept us from jumping off, if you look closely.

As you can see, the Botanic Gardens in Canberra were lovely. We took a picnic lunch and ate it with the lizards and other wildlife.

Good bye to Colac...

2009-03-08T10:11:00.005+11:00

Nanny and Jessie checking everything is ready for the trip.

The Stevenson family ready to start their big adventure around Australia.

Laura and Will giving a last hurrah before we drive off.

On Tuesday the 17th February, 2009 we finally departed on our big adventure. After more than a year of planning, organising, saving and building, we were finally ready to kiss all the family and buckle up our seatbelts. We only got a few hours down the road when we got a phone call to say there were problems with a water pipe at the house we're renting in Colac. The shed was flooded!! We were not going back, let me tell you, so luckily Chris' dad took care of it for us. Thanks Don!

We stayed our first night at a truck stop about an hour out of Gundagai. We were parked on such an awful lean I thought one of the kids might roll out of their bunks, but luckily no one did. I had to keep my hand on the frypan while I cooked tea to stop it slipping off the hot plate! We were so tired we all went to bed early to the sound of trucks roaring by and woke early the next day.

We had a short days drive (with a little stop to see the "dog on the tucker box") and got to Yass by lunch time. Did you know that the dog apparently did a POOP on the tucker box! What an educational experience this has been already!

Nice little caraven park in Yass so we stayed there for 3 nights. Learnt that there were floods in Grafton (where we had planned our first working stop) so no hurry to be off.

OK, time to hit the road

2009-03-03T13:15:00.004+11:00

The final countdown!
Will and Laura are testing out their beds in preparation for departure. They look happy, but not very tired!!

Chris is showing off his new BBQ and yet to be completed table/storage hatch door .

Will and Laura loving their new home and ready to move in!

2009-02-27T19:55:00.008+11:00

The finishing touches...

The kitchen with the oven, rangehood and fridge in view. Chris made all these cupboards and hung all these doors himself (what a relief when it was finished!). The kitchen bench was the old oregon dining table that I couldn't bear to leave behind.

The lounge is opposite with the couch (a futon that pulls out to a double bed) and my chair for travelling, it also swivels to face the desk at the side.

This shows our escape hatch! The old hatch has been replaced with a new one that can open right up if we ever tip on our side and can't get out!

The bottom photo shows our little dining table (my old coffee table). Behind that is the pantry and the passage down to the bedroom.

2009-02-27T18:27:00.007+11:00

Getting close...beds are in and cupboards waiting to be filled.

top photo shows the kids bunks- Will on the top because he doesn't move in bed, Laura on the bottom because she fidgets all night!! At the end of their beds are 2 shelves each for nick-nacks. Next photo shows the wardrobe at the rear of the bus, just waiting for the curtains to be fitted across the front.

On the opposite side to the bunks is this seat under the window. Cushion still to be covered.
Next shot is our bed, new mattress yet to be fitted, end piece still to be filled in. Green wall is the head end of the bunks.

2009-02-26T15:26:00.007+11:00

Laying down the foundations...

We wanted to keep most of the fittings at the front of the bus as original as possible. We kept all of these windows. We filled this step at the front to level the floor.

This is the bathroom wall going in and then the view from front to back showing the bathroom dividing the kitchen and bedroom areas.

This is Deb's feature wall which is between the master bedroom and the kid's bunks.

2009-02-26T14:47:00.002+11:00

A BARE SHELL...

In December 2007 we purchased our Nissan UD exschool bus and so began more than a year long building adventure. We stripped out all the seats and removed all the windows except one each side at the front. We left these so we could open a window for fresh air as we travel. We filled all the wall cavity spaces with 2 layers of insulation and then lined the walls with white colourbond sheets, helped by uncle reg. We made sure all the largest pieces of furniture were in before the windows were filled or we wouldn't have gotten them in. Gary helped with the welding and Don helped too. I gave lots of helpful advice, some they heard and some they pretended not to!

chris having a well earned rest

what a mess!!

nearly there....

2009-01-28T01:51:00.005+11:00

finally we are living in our beautiful big blue bus (in mum and dads back yard!). nearly killed ourselves moving out of the house and getting it all cleaned up in a record 3 days but we made it. now i have to put my trust in the tennants to love it as much as i do and concentrate on getting us on the road.

very hot weather due this week so that will test us. already we have frozen the coil (or something like that) in the air conditioner and it was hardly doing a thing. luckily we know the prob. now and have it all sorted, just in time for a stint of 3 nightshifts for me.

school holidays coming to an end this weekend so the kids will be starting school with mum and dad as the teachers. look out everyone!

The story begins...

2008-10-04T02:21:00.003+10:00

It was a wonderful weekend in Melbourne in the middle of 2007. We were catching up with our friends and having a few "child free days". Jane and Gareth asked Chris and I what we thought about travelling around Australia with them the next year. We immediately replied "Wow, that sounds like a great idea!" We chatted about a million things and had plenty more to drink and every time we spoke about "the trip" the greater the adventure sounded. By the time we went to bed that night Chris and I could talk of nothing else but "the trip" and we were decided that we would give it a shot and try to be off within the next year!

On the way home from Melbourne we even stopped to look at caravans and our excitement just grew and grew. We mentioned the plans to our kids (Will 7 and Laura 5) and although they really had no idea of what it would mean they both thought "a holiday" and "no school" sounded wonderful. We broke the news to our families early on too and thought that if we could answer any concerns they could come up with then we would be all set to go.

Fast forward to December 2007 and plans had changed slightly. Jane and Gareth were not able to come at this point in time and our dream home had changed from a caravan to a converted school bus.Then what do you know.... BINGO, we had found an old Nissan UD school bus to buy. It was a much cheaper option and gave us lots more room (which is important when there are 4 people squeezed into the one living space!) Chris flew to Qld to pick it up, and 2 days later he was home with our beautiful big blue bus. It was love at first sight for all four of us and we couldn't wait to get started on the renovations. Within days all the old vinyl seats had been removed and we had an empty canvas to begin building our dream. We took plenty of time and lots of drafts to come up with our final design and then marked it all out on the floor in chalk. We could walk around inside and say "look! I'm in the bathroom", or "hey, I'm having a sleep on the bed" and almost believe it!

Over the next 10 months we slowly saw our dream taking shape. Every day we weren't working to pay the bills we spent at the bus, minus a few days here and there to shop for food and clean the house. The kids were a little "over it" by the end so we had to take turns staying at home sometimes with the kids to give them a little time off. We took every opportunity to show off our project to family and friends and couldn't wait for the day we could take it for a trial run. Not far away now!!