Mega Massive Catch up!

Oops!  I have not done much on here for ages, sorry!

So what has been going on in our upside down land?  Well the main thing I suppose is that mum and dad have been here for a month, the boys had school holidays, we all went to the Gold Coast for a week and basically it has been a very busy month or so.

Now we are back into school and work and study.  Yes, study!  I have started college, training to be a teaching assistant.  I am doing this by open learning and through the boys school, so it all works out really well, I have had to drop tuck shop but have increased my volunteer hours at school working with the prep and grade one years doing extra literacy support. 

So life is very busy for us all, our weeks are full of school and work, the boys have started swimming lessons after school one day a week and are loving it.  It is amazing to see them improve so quickly, especially as they are both self taught swimmers so far.  Just a little direction perform a stroke correctly and breathe and they are well away.  Unfortunately our pool is a bit too cold for them to go in at the mo, but they go to the leisure centre once a week and are usually in the sea at least once on the weekend.

Tris has really got into surfing, he is totally hooked!  He has his own board (early birthday!) and is in the sea most days on the weekend and also after work if he finishes early!  Rowan really wants a proper board now too, he is improving on his body board but wants to do the whole standy up thing!  I have been getting into paddle boarding which is also great fun, nice and relaxing, paddling off around the lake.

We have been up to so much that I think I will stop waffling and just put up photos, be warned though I have quite a few (it may take a few days to get them all on here!)........................................

All along the Gold Coast they have these koalas, all wearing different patterns - this one was a tiger

The beach at Surfers Paradise (where we stayed), the beach has not yet recovered from the cyclone, but it was still very busy

The view from our hotel window

Movie World

Tris and Wonder Woman

Two little super heroes

Rowan and Grandad on the dodgems

v's Reuben and Tris

We watched a car stunt show, which was really good fun to watch, the stunts were great.  The boys loved it

One of Reubens favourite rides

Reuben loved all the characters walking around and wanted to have his photo taken with them and give them all high fives

Rowan loved this little train and the tea cups!  He still didn't really want to go on many rides as they are all too scary for him, but he still thinks it's the best place ever!

They have a parade at the end of the day, where all the characters walk and drive along the main drive.  Reuben didn't stop waving!

He even got a high five from Flash!

We kept driving past this park on our home from the theme parks, so one day we went there and the boys had a great time

This bouncy thing was such good fun, it was really, really bouncy.

I couldn't work out how to get off - Rowan showed me the easiest way!

Making friends

Full moon rising

It was the start of the Surfers Paradise festival whilst we were there, it started with a parade by local schools and groups

And some awesome fireworks.  They launched them off a boat out at sea

The moon was beautiful that night

Sea World - Dinosaur island

Nanny and Grandad blasting poor innocent children with water!

Dad got well into it!

Rowan wanted to go on this pirate climbing course and had no fears at all about walking along very thin beams, very high up

Relaxing

On the cable car

Another stunt show - Jet skis this time

We went to Bryon Bay on our last day, unfortunately it was cloudy and rainy.  It has changed so much since Tristan and I were there 15 years ago.  Shame to see it so poncey, but I'm glad we went.

sunshine, mountains and disco dancing

Firstly I apologise for lame posting on here but the truth  is we haven't really been up to much.  Our weeks are full of school and work, after school the boys either run off to the rumpus room to play or veg out to the TV.  Then the weekends have taken the form of Saturdays being rest day, where me and Tris get bits done and the boys just chill out, then on Sundays we, if the weather is good, head out to do something.
The weather is improving, as from last week the showers are much less frequent and last weekend was a scorcher.
After a day of chilling out at home on Saturday, we all went down to the beach (not our nearest as the waves and rips are a bit full on at the mo - left over from the rainy season), which was lovely.  The boys dug in the sand and did lots of rolling around and then we all went in the sea, which was lovely and warm, did a bit of body boarding - Rowan is really starting to get the hang of it, Reuben is kind of getting there.  It is really nice on the mega hot days to get up early, go out and do stuff before the heat comes in, then go home for the middle of the day and head out again later when the sun is not so full on.
On Sunday we all got up early and headed out by 8am.  We went up to Mt Coolum - a mountain in Aussie standards, but at only 208m it's only a big hill really.  But nevertheless it has a path all the way to the top and great views.  So we started out on the walk not telling the kids too much as if Rowan thought he was about to climb a mountain he would have not got out of the car.  Anyway, they both headed off on our 'adventure' with sticks in hands on the look out for kangaroos and koalas.  It was hard going for them both as it was so hot (it actually got up to 33c later that day), Rowan wanted to go back down as he felt like he had been put on the bbq and he declared that he wanted to go and live in the South Pole as he was soooooo hot!  But we all made it and the boys were very proud of themselves and declared it awesome!  The view from the top was great, the boys were amazed at how small all the cars and houses were.  At the top there were all theses amazing big butterflies fluttering around.
When we had got back down we headed to the nearest town - Coolum, a surfy holiday town.  We sat down for a well deserved ice cream and felt like we were on holiday, a great feeling on your weekend when only 30 mins away from home :)
Then we headed home and chilled out round the pool.  It was a lovely weekend and it was so nice to have Mr Sun around for a whole weekend, great for the spirit.

I haven't been taking many photos lately, but here are the few I have .................

The boys had a school disco this week, which they were both so excited about.  They did the longest conga I have ever seen!  That is Reubens teacher in the middle of this photo

The disco boys ready to rock

Can you spot Rowan? It was actually a really big thing for him to want to join in with no coercion at all.  He loved it so much that him and 3 class friends carried on doing the conga well after everyone else finished!

Rowan has discovered a love for art and will spend a good 20 mins at least every day drawing

'We made it' 

At the top of Mount Coolum

Tris and the view

Woohoo we did it

On the way down

Tired out boys on the way home