Snakes & Ladders

Inspired to get our board games out again...

Vacuum #4

We were away over the Chinese New Year so all the Asian relatives (and all of the 'aunties') showered the boys with those little red envelopes.

Shmoo had grand plans to save a little more and purchase a Dyson vacuum cleaner, however the temptation of a certain big LEGO set was just too much. He did have enough money left over for a vacuum from KMart and is now the proud owner of a Piranha upright.

Peacefest 2014

Peacefest @ Myalla, Tasmania. Yummy food, beautiful people, great market stalls... A lovely family day out.

  

A seaweed labyrinth with a papier mache earth in the centre in which to place wishes. The boys struggled to put their wishes into words so instead they drew pictures. 

Baby Bear sampled the leaves and gravel. Yum. 

Pleading in vain for pet ducklings. 

Patches

Last year The OH started collecting patches for the boys. He found some cool canvas satchels on sale at a camping store and will sew on the patches as the kids 'earn' them. Shmoo has earnt his martial arts patch. Loo, a fossil hunting patch; Beanie, a 'Be a Star' patch; and Baby Bear, a Valentine's Day patch.

Refinding Our Rhythm

My elderly father hadn't been well for quite a while. My parents had been planning on flying us up to spend some time with them in July, however in early January my dad's health took a turn for the worse.

Toward the end of January we got the call we'd been half expecting and with less than a week of last minute planning, booking and packing, we flew north for a 2 week stay.

We got to spend 10 days with my dad before he finally passed away; it was lovely to see his joy in seeing all his grandkids again. Since it was so close to our departure date and the funeral had to wait for international relatives, we decided to extend our stay by a week. REX were great and waived the flight change fees when we faxed our travel agent the death certificate but Virgin wouldn't budge and we had to fork out nearly $1500.

Our stay in far north Queensland was hot, humid, wet and exhausting. The mosquitoes just about ate Beanie alive when he spent 10 minutes outside. There were cyclone threats. Due to my dad's ill health and death and the hot, wet weather, we didn't venture far from my parents' home. The boys got bored, watched far too much TV and ate far too much junk food. We stayed indoors and enjoyed the air conditioning. The boys enjoyed a nearby child-friendly shopping centre.

While we were away from home Beanie celebrated his 4th birthday and both toilet trained and finished breastfeeding. Big moments! Baby Bear celebrated his 1st birthday and started really cruising, even taking 3 unassisted steps! 

It was lovely to catch up with some old friends and family again (and to have some yummy nem chua again for the first time in over a decade) but we are so glad to be home. In the last couple of days of our stay, Shmoo and Beanie came down with a nasty cold and Loo had an allergic reaction so our journey home wasn't particularly pleasant and the rest of us have since caught the cold too.

We are still unpacking (having gone up with 2 half full suitcases and returned with 3 overloaded ones), recovering, and trying to settle down into some kind of rhythm again.

   

The Nut - Stanley, Tasmania

Yesterday evening we took the boys to another Parks & Wildlife Service (PWS) activity - a 'creatures of the night' tour of The Nut (remnants of a volcanic plug) at Stanley. It was again led by Discovery Ranger Jess who shared her passion and extensive knowledge about the native wildlife (and scatology). After a short but very steep walk we viewed the beautiful sunset over the water. We then did a circuit around the plateau and got to see some pademelons and short-tailed shearwaters (muttonbirds) flying in to their burrows. The group even spotted a muttonbird egg as well as an echidna.

(Did I mention that it was a steep walk? Steep! And coming back down in the dark with an 11 month old wrapped on my front was certainly interesting! It was after midnight by the time we got home and we had 4 very tired boys!)

Go Fish...

Shmoo and Loo playing Go Fish with science cards.

Tasmanian Pademelon

 

Our little pademelon friend has taken to stopping by quite regularly and The OH has named her Bridie. The other morning Bridie brought a friend along to breakfast with her and The OH was thrilled to see that Bridie also had a joey in her pouch. This evening she was back and we were able to get a good look at her adorable baby.

Tasmania Parks & Wildlife Service - Devil Detectives

 

   

  

  

As part of their education service, the Parks & Wildlife Service runs a Summer Discovery Ranger Program. We took the boys along to the Devil Detectives session at Sisters Beach. The enthusiastic Discovery Ranger Jess used fun games and activities to teach the kids (and adults) some interesting facts about Tasmanian Devils and we learnt how to track Devils as well as some other animals. Among other things, the kids got to see some animal skulls and poo; learn how to identify various tracks; make their own plaster cast of a devil print; and check out equipment like motion sensor cameras and traps.

Check out the free summer activities that are held all over Tassie!

Happy New Year

Took the boys over to Burnie, had a late night picnic and they watched their first ever fireworks display from the boardwalk...