Rowan's Reward

Rowan started to have big wobbles about going to school during his first full week.  He enjoyed it when there but the separation at the start of the day was too much for him to the point where I would have to walk away from him screaming for me to stay (and we all know how loud his screams can be!).

So after 2 days of this we had a good chat and he said the school day was too long and he didn’t like to leave me.  We talked it through and came up with the idea of the mummy hanky.  He has a special hanky that has some of my energy in it and if he gets worried or upset he can grab his hanky and I will be there in spirit.  We also talked about a reward.  Now Rowan doesn’t usually go for bribery and I want him to be enjoying school not feeling like he has to go to be able to do anything exciting, but we came up with the idea that if he goes to school with no fuss for 5 mornings then he will earn a star that will give him a trip to the Gold Coast.  We also agreed that he would go to school until 1^st break for week 1, then 2^nd break on week 2, then the end of the day on week 3.

So over the first 2 weeks he earned himself 7 stars, he was fine with going to school – in fact one day he was the first through the door!  The teachers were fine with him leaving early and he is enjoying school.  Result J

So he earned a trip to the Gold Coast.  The Gold Coast is the full on touristy, party, theme park, cheesy part of the Queensland coast and it is 1 and half hours south of where we live.  We have bought year tickets to the theme parks which work out much cheaper.

So Rowan had the choice of which park and he chose Wet and Wild. 

We headed off at 6.30am and grabbed some breakfast in a 50’s American diner (very cool!) near the parks.  Then headed into the park, grabbed a spot to put our towels (in the hope that we will be able to lie in the sun for a bit!!!!! Yeah right!) and esky with our lunch in.

We parked up by the kids area.  It was great fun with waterslides, squirters that you can control – great for getting mum and dad! And shallow water pools in the shade.

Rowan really wanted to go to the wave pool, so we headed there.  It’s funny as we have a pool at home and we live 10 minutes walk from the beach but still his favourite ride is the wave pool! 

Then we went to check out the big rides.  Rowan took one look at them and said NO Way, Reuben took one look at them and said Hell Yeah!

A couple of them Reu was to small for but most of them he could go and they were full on but he loved them. 

After Rowan had waited around for us to go a ride for a while we decided to split up and Tris went with Rowan and I stayed with Reu then later we switched over.

Rowan did decide to go on one ride, but his tummy went funny on it and he has probably been put off ever trying any of them again!

Tristan and I did want to go on one full on ride that neither child was allowed on, so they had to wait whilst we queued for about 40 minutes.  Bless them, they waited so nicely. 

The ride was the Aqualoop – You wait in a locked rocket type thing at the top of a almost vertical slide, then you have a count down and the floor drops away and down you go into a loop the loop and out the bottom.  Wow, it was full on, I am still not sure if it was fun, I was shaking after for about 15 minutes.  I would go on it again though ;)

During the wait for us to go on the Aqualoop Rowan got splashed and it made his head go forward and bash his mouth on the fence and it knocked out his wobbly tooth and it fell down the drain!  That’s his second tooth he has literally ‘lost’!

We spent the last of the day on Rowan’s second favourite ride – the lazy river.  You lie or sit in a rubber ring and float around a river circuit with a current.  He  loves it!

It was an awesome day, everyone had so much fun and Rowan felt very proud that he earned it for everyone.

Although the next day everyone was so grumpy and tired, Rowan said he had had so much fun on Saturday that he had no fun left for Sunday!

Well Chuffed Rowan - He has earned us all an adventure to the Gold Coast!

Like father, like Son.  Rowan said I am just going to have a little sunbathe before going off again!

The kids playground

I love this one

Rowan very proudly showing off his 'lost' tooth

A rare photo of the Graham clan

The aqualoop - yes we went on that!

Us with the drop of the aqualoop behind us

Our First Bush Camp

The other weekend we had had enough of shopping for boring housey stuff or having our weekends full of stuff to do, so we decided to go camping.   We had been recommended a campsite about an hour inland, so we bought a second hand tent and other bits we needed and headed off after Rowan finished school on Friday afternoon.

We packed up in hurry, which is never a good thing to do, so we forgot a few bits but we survived!

We drove for an hour on windy mountain roads gradually getting further into ‘the bush’.  It was quite amazing to see just how close we are to proper Aussie bush.  We drove past loads of cattle stations with hundreds of cows grazing in the shade of eucalyptus trees surrounding the waterholes.  It looked very idyllic.

We made it to the campsite after driving the last few km’s down a dusty dirt road and were very pleased when we got there as it looked great, loads of shady trees, a creek running along side the camp ground with a backdrop of Mount Archer covered with thick trees and rocky outcrops.

We only had an hour until the sunset so we had to get to work on the tent, it was a bit tricky but we managed to get it all up, then went to put in the tent pegs and realised that the second hand bargain tent we had bought came with NO tent pegs!  Fortunately we were on a proper campsite and the shop sold them (at a very inflated price, but who cares, they sold them!).

We finally finished putting up the tent, lit the bbq and got a camp fire going all just in the nick of time before the sun went down.  During this time the cicadas, kookaburras and other birds and insects start their nightly calling – WOW, it was loud and amazing.  Whilst sitting by the fire Rowan and I had 2 kookaburras fly low over our heads and land in a tree nearby and start their crazy laughing call.

Later in the night we were amazed by the stars.  The sky here is so big and there are no street lights to pollute the sky, needless to say the stars are the biggest and brightest the boys have ever seen.  Rowan just kept staring at the sky saying WOW.  We spent the evening toasting marshmallows and answering Rowans questions about the universe!

We all slept really well in the new tent, which has loads of ventilation which was well needed.  When packing I thought we would all need a jumper and I even packed and extra couple of blankets (I am just not used to camping and not being cold!), but we only needed a light cover in the early hours!

The next morning at about 4.30 Tris and I were awoken by the dawn chorus.  We had forgotten the deafening sound of the birds waking up for the day, there were kookaburras laughing, whip birds cracking and cooing and hundreds others.  It is truly so unbelievably loud but amazing.  And what is even more amazing, the boys slept through it all!

When they finally woke up we headed into the nearest town to stock up on supplies (well drinking water, as we forgot to pack any and the campsites water you need to boil first – not that great when all you want is cold water to cool down!).  The nearest town is Woodford which seemed quite sweet and quaint.  The local supermarket proudly proclaimed that Sunday trading will start here before Christmas!  It’s hard to believe but lots of places don’t have Sunday trading here yet, it really is quite old school in some places.

When we got back to the campsite it was very hot so after some lunch we headed down to the creek with 2 airbeds in tow!  We all jumped in 2 on each airbed and had races up and down the creek.  Earlier in the day Tris and the boys had spotted a snake slither off into one of the waterholes, so we were slightly apprehensive about going in, but there were loads of people in the water so we assumed it was safe.  We had great fun trying to capsize each other and floating around in the cool water. 

We spent a good couple of hours down there, Rowan and Tris built a dam and Reuben made friends with everyone’s dogs!  We saw another snake slither out of the creek where we had been playing, no one knows what type it was though!

Towards the end of the day we had some food and headed over to the shady shelter where the campsite was showing a kids Christmas movie, but the boys decided after watching the film for a bit that they would rather toast marshmallows and stare at the stars! 

The next day we packed up and headed home, with a list of all the things we forgot so we can make sure we have them next time!

Our camp

The boys with boobs.  Reuben is going for the old African lady look!

Boules or Boccee as it's called here

Sitting in the shade

The lush and cool creek

Dam building

Dam destroying!

Breakfast time

A nice photo of us

Rowan insisted that we do a silly one too or he wouldn't take a photo!

The Boo with his varied diet!

Proud Rowan

At school every Friday morning they have parade (assembly).  Parents are welcome to stay but we haven't yet as we wanted Rowan to get used to us not being there.  Anyway last Friday his teacher asked if I could stay, so Reuben and I did.

They sing the national anthem and give all the relevant talks (litter and child safety today), then they present awards, of which there were quite a lot due to it being almost the end of term.
They give out Super Surfer Awards for all manner of reasons and Rowan got one for doing his best in his new school!  I was unsure if he would go up on stage in front of all the school (500 kids) but he was straight up there and got his certificate.  He was so Proud.  When he met me after he said, "That was so awesome!"

I did shed a tear, but got distracted as he stood in the wrong place whilst everyone else got theirs, which is probably a good thing else I would have blubbed!

Those little things

Been meaning to post this up for ages.......

On the train journey from Camborne to Heathrow we stopped at Par Station.  Rowan said, “ Pa is another name for Grandad, that means we have just stopped in a great, big belly!”

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On the plane, in the dark Rowan asked Reuben, “ How many carrots do you think you have to eat to be able to see at midnight?”

Reuben replied, “Erm, 100?”

Rowan said, “Yeah!”

Reuben thought about this then exclaimed,  “I’ve eaten 100 carrots!”

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Reuben in Heathrow airport pointing to a lady in full burkha,

“That man’s a ninja, I’ve seen them before!”

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Rowan, after his second swim of the day,

“Mummy, You know before we left England I said I didn’t want to come to Australia, that was before I knew how much fun it was.  I love Australia”

Christmas Carols - Aussie Style

Last Tuesday it was the hottest day on record at that time of year, it got to 38c and was still 33c at 5.30pm when we headed over to Rowan’s school for the carols evening.  The hall was packed and very hot and sweaty, which was unusual!

Rowan’s class went on to stage and sang their carol, Santa Wear Your Shorts!  Rowan opted not to join in as he had only had 2 lessons of learning the song, but he wanted to watch.  They were very cute.

The whole school were performing but we didn’t stay as it was mega hot.  There were loads of parents and kids all running around outside in the fresher air.  We stayed for a bit, watched the amazing sunset whilst the kids ran around with other children then headed home.

I thought I would post up a couple of the carols:

Santa Wear Your Shorts

We all love a warm warm Christmas

Sitting outside on a summer night

We’re all wishing for a warm warm Christmas

Maybe Santa Claus would wear his shorts tonight

Santa Wear Your Shorts

Santa Wear Your Shorts

Santa Wear Your Shorts Tonight

Santa Wear Your Shorts

Santa Wear Your Shorts

Santa Wear Your Shorts Tonight

Brother keep smiling, Sister does too

We put our Christmas turkey on the barbeque

Mum is happy cos’ the weather is cool

And Dad is happy cos’ he’s swimming in the pool!

Aussie Jingle Bells

Dashing through the bush in a rusty Holden ute,

Kicking up the dust, esky in the boot.

Kelpie by my side, singing Christmas songs,

It’s summer time and I am in my singlet, shorts and thongs.  Oh!

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, jingle all the way,

Christmas in Australia on a scorching summer’s day, hey!

Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut,

Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden ute!

Engine’s getting hot, we dodge the kangaroos,

The swaggie climbs aboard, he is welcome too.

All the family is ther, sitting by the pool,

Christmas day the Aussie way, by the barbecue, Oh!

Chorus

Come the afternoon grandpa has a doze,

The kids and uncle Bruce are swimming in their clothes.

The time comes round to go, we take a family snap,

And pack the car and all shot through before the washing up, Oh!

Rowan reading the lyrics

Rowan's class singing Santa Wear Your Shorts

Beautiful sunset on an incredibly warm evening

Feeling Hot Hot Hot!

Well today is forecast to be the hottest day for decades, inland it's forecast to get to mid 40s!  We have the coastal breeze here but it's still forecast to get to 38c. 

Tris is at work, outside climbing trees, not sure how he will deal with it, but he has a day off tomorrow.

Rowan is at school, where they don't have aircon, but they teach about being sunsmart and are not allowed to play out in the sun when it's this hot and are made to have loads of drinks through the day.

Reuben and I are at home trying not to resort to putting the aircon on, but it's only 10.30am and it's already 33c outside. 

I have been trying to think of summer meals to have for tea and thought that today would be a good day for a quiche and salad, but even cooking the bacon to go in the quiche has made me sweat, I have had to leave it half made whilst I cool down!

The funny thing is Rowan has his Christmas carols at school tonight! 

Super Cell Storm

As some of you may know, the other weekend we had a full on storm.  Now storms out here are something else, thunder and lightning (proper forks of lightning and lots of it), big rain, large hail, high winds sometimes to cyclone proportions.  We have entered storm season with a bang this year!

The weather forecasters were saying there may be a bit of wind and rain, but as rain has been so scarce over the last year no one believed them.  Fortunately for us, a friend put us onto a storm chasers facebook page.  They were excited, saying the storm forecast hasn’t been this good for 4 years.

So we listened to them, stocked up with food, made sure everything was charged and prepared the kids for a storm.

The storm chasers were right on Saturday morning 2 super cell storms ripped through Brisbane taking people unawares.  Trees down, market stalls ripped apart, cars written off. 

We thought we had avoided it, but half way through our movie in the evening the bangs started, then the flashes.  We went outside to watch for a bit, amazing strikes of lightning flashing across the sky.

The boys dealt with it well.  Reuben was quite excited, Rowan was interested, but also really worried that we would get struck by lightning.  The bangs did scare them a bit too, they were so loud.  One even shook the house! 

Then the rain started, and boy did it rain!

By Sunday morning the rain had eased and the storm had passed.  The pool was nicely topped up and it looked like the rain may stop and it would be a nice day.

So we decided to head out to the Glass House Mountains.  On the way we found a lovely little coffee shop, so we stayed there for a bit, reading the newspaper reports on yesterdays devastation in Brissy. 

We made it up to a lookout in the centre of the mountain range where you get an amazing 360 degree view of the stunning mountain range.  We lit up a bbq, chucked on our sausages and started to prepare our lunch.

The lookout is very busy with tourists and locals.  There was also a lot of people who had been out 4 wheel driving, their vehicles caked in mud. 

Then it started to get busy with people with full on cameras, all running to the top of the lookout.  What were they doing? …………………

Trying to get good storm photos!  Over one side of the mountain range the clouds were starting to build, fast.  They were thick, heavy and very dark and they were coming our way!  Rowan had a bit of a panic until we explained to him that a car is a very safe place to be if we were to be struck. He was ok then, he didn’t need to sit in the car, just the knowledge that that was where go was enough for him.   We waited for our snags to cook, ate our lunch watching it come in, until the rain started.  Then we jumped in the car and headed home.

It was an interesting drive.  The boys fell asleep, which was probably good as I was very nervous.  It took a long time to get back as we had to drive at 40kmph.  One part of the road was flooded, but we made it back in one piece, put the car in the garage and watched the rest of the day’s storm come and go.  Tris even went to beach to try and get some good photos.

It is very hard to get good photos of storms, but here are ours……………………

Tris' best shot of the evening number 2's lightning

These shots are from our back garden

Storm moving out from Dicky Beach

Driving home from the Glass House Mountains

Glass House Mountains - watching the storm coming in from Brisbane

Silly daft poms having a bbq on top of a mountain with a storm coming in!