Monkey bars

We finished making the monkey bars on the weekend, and have since finished making the rope ladders and trapeze (I did the splicing, Jon did all the knotting)(we have still to make a swing). It wasn't long before both girls were up the rope ladder. Sarah proceeded straight up onto the top of the bars; her example eventually inspiring Abigail to do the same. I found that a bit scary - the bars are 2.15m high! - so I think most play will be supervised until we're confident they can get themselves up and down safely. But it is finished and we are very pleased with the result. We trust that it will get lots of use in the years to come - by us and the kids :)

Well, it's been a couple of weeks since we got back from the Bunya Mountains - my chest freezer is full again and my bushwalking cravings are still well and truly satisfied!

There's only a couple more weeks til bubs is due now. I was starting to get impatient for baby to come over the weekend. I had an achy back which I thought could possibly be pre-labour; and having had a rental inspection that week, our house was really tidy so I didn't feel I had anything much left to prepare while waiting the next couple of weeks out. So I prayed that baby would either come or that God would help me think of a list of things I'd like to get done before bubs is born. I now have a list to occupy me :)

This morning the girls and I went to the Gold Coast (the first time I've been to the GC since moving to Australia nearly 5 years ago!) to meet up with a friend from my uni days, Katie, who was over from New Zealand. It was so nice to meet her little boy and to show my girls - to catch up! The girls enjoyed playing on the beach - in the water and then in the sand. We ran out of time to try the playground (our parking meter having run out) so we will have to go back sometime soon as I had promised Abigail a go on the pedal trains. It was a lovely lovely morning.

Jon has started working on the monkey bar set up for the girls. We spent a couple of hours on Saturday morning at a playground store finalising our plans/options and getting the necessary bars, and picked up some things from Bunnings. This week we'll get posts and then it shouldn't be long before its up. Jon has started to make a trapeze with rings and a rope ladder to hang from the bars - he has taught himself how to splice and now is learning various knots (I have been told I have to learn these things too) - so there will be plenty of things for the girls to climb on before long. We trust that it will provide much healthy fun through the years ahead.


My recent scan showed that bubs is healthy; our car air conditioning is now fixed (and the heater turned off!); our rental inspection went fine (though our lounge room floor is now covered with toys again); and I got my hair cut finally (thank you God for Thursday night shopping!). We've also been able to visit great Grandma Sheehy (we went to Wynuum Park together), great Grandma Randall (Jon and the girls introduced her to geocaching while I rested); and Uncle Jono's come to visit (both girls much look forward to seeing him).

Abigail has been unbearably chatty lately and is growing so quickly (we're often coming across clothes she no longer fits); Sarah is talking more and more, and is doing a lot of imaginary play at the moment - very cute to watch. She has taken to a stuffed toy frog lately - puts it to bed and carries it around lots. She can almost completely take herself to the toilet now (still has some trouble getting her knickers off/on). Both girls can be kept happily occupied for ages if given a wet wipe each - they fold it, wrap it, scrunch it, wipe things, use it as a blanket on a toy etc.

For mum and Grandma:
Abigail to Sarah: "We have 2 legs. Wonky donkeys have 3 legs."

I love my girls :)

Our Bunya Mountains Holiday

Last Thursday evening we headed for the Bunya Mountains where we stayed 4 nights in a holiday home called Eden.

Our 'home' in the mountains

I have had bush walking cravings, exacerbated by our wonderful time in the Blue Mountains, so the plan was to get my fill of walking in before bubs comes. I can confidently say that I got my fill!

At roughly the half way (6km) point; 8 month preggy bump

On the Friday we set off on the Barkers Creek Circuit. 12 kilometres and 3 1/2 hours later we emerged from the bush. We had the single pram and the sling with us, but Abigail walked a considerable amount of that distance on her little legs. Very proud of her. A couple of times Jon was pushing Abigail in the pram while Sarah was on his back, so am also very proud of him! Towards the end of the walk, Sarah wanted down from the pram and she took off running. She ran and ran and ran. I was quite amazed at how far she was going. Then she started crying and running. We have learnt over time that Sarah can get quite demoralised by long journeys (like the drive back from Sydney) and it seemed that she had simply had enough and just wanted out of the bush, poor thing. Thankfully we were only about 10 minutes from the end. While I then plonked myself down on a picnic bench, the girls ran around happily (energetically even!) playing in the sunshine, and Jon went off to retrieve a nearby cache.

Abigail and Sarah practicing their letter recognition

The next day my legs were sore (I wonder how Abigail's were?). We decided we'd just do a little (1hr) walk to the highest point of the Bunya Mountains - Mount Kiangarow (where there also happened to be a cache hiding). At the top were rocks to climb on much to the girls delight (they love to climb). While Abigail had dragged her feet up the mountain, both girls happily ran most of the way back down.

Rock climbing

Driving back down the mountain, we stopped to 'quickly' grab another cache - it was only supposed to be a 15-20 minute walk. 2 hours later we emerged without the cache. It was a looped path which we took clockwise; the cache was 20 minutes in counter-clockwise. Jon however had managed to go off and find another cache along the way (and got himself lost for a while in the bush - a bit of a scare; meanwhile the girls and I had continued slowly on the path back to the car), so we didn't come away empty-handed - just very tired. Off we went to get ice-blocks to raise everyone's morale!
 

That afternoon we kicked back a bit and the girls watched most of Nemo (their second ever movie; the first half of Sound of Music being their first). I believe it was Jon's first time to see it too.

The next day (Sunday) my legs were sorer still. The weather had turned very cold and wet, so thankfully anymore bushwalking was out! Instead we spent the morning (driving) to find some nearby caches. The wind was freezing, so it was good to get back home and light the fire. With that roaring and hot soup in our bellies, warmth returned. That afternoon, Jon and I sat in front of the fire and completed a 500 piece puzzle together.

There was a lot of bird life to be seen or heard, much to Jon's pleasure. His bird-list has grown. King parrots, crimson rosellas, bower birds and currawongs visited us on our deck each day, while whip birds, rifle birds, and cat birds could be heard around us (though we didn't see them). An attempt to feed the birds some sunflower seeds resulted in them landing on him; Abigail did not appreciate it when a king parrot landed on her!

Monday morning we headed for home. We picked up some more caches along the way before stopping in Toowoomba for a Sizzler lunch. With full bellies (and sugar overload for the girls) we drove the final leg to Brisbane.

Cache nearby

Location of another cache

Signing the cache

We got home late afternoon to find the deep freeze was turned off. Thankfully (probably because I had it so full) some things were still completely frozen (6 meals of vindaloo survived, along with about 5 kgs of chicken), but much had to be thrown out (including 5kg basa - sigh). My wonderful husband cleaned it out for me and got it going again. There is always something to be thankful for, and in this case I am thankful for a clean freezer which I can stock neatly - no more miscellaneous or unwanted items (think chickpea tikka masala) floating about. I have already managed to cook a meal to freeze (Country Captain Chicken) and will have another after dinner tonight (Mama's Healthy BBQ Chicken). Tomorrow I will be able to add at least 4 meals of chilli mince and beans to my stash.

Once the car was unloaded, Jon went out and picked up another set of bunks we've been waiting on, which we assembled after dinner. We've left the slats off until we get a couple of mattresses - voila, another thing for the girls to climb on (have I mentioned they love climbing?).

We had a lovely holiday, made possible by some lovely friends. I hope, with a sufficient break from it now, that the girls aren't put off bushwalking for life; I certainly feel the need to put my feet up a bit!

Here's a couples photo idea I saw on Pinterest a while back that I've wanted to copy:

And here's what I finally got around to doing today:

The last couple of Saturday mornings we have gone geocaching - spending 2-3 hours walking in the hot sun and picking up caches along the way. We found some new bush to explore off Leacroft Road today, and a few hours of caching in it found us having finished half of the tracks - lots of caches found and lots still to find! Abigail and Sarah liked finding the 'treasure'. We spotted 8 wallabies, 1 tiny tree frog, and a small goanna, as well as 4 horses with riders along the way - these are what the girls will most remember about the morning!

A little frog that Abigail found sitting in the pram (I thought it was a bit of bark!).

Overtaken by some horse riders

 

Helping each other through the bush :)

Our weekdays have been productively full. Various outings - playgroup, visiting Great-Grandma Sheehy, going to the library, and lots of shopping trips here and there. More deep cleaning and organising at home (I've even scrubbed the inside of the garage door :) ). Extra cooking and baking for the freezer - I want to have a good stock of meals frozen for when baby comes and my freezer is now quite full. I've also made a gluten free Christmas cake which is sitting in the cupboard 'marinating' in brandy; I hope it tastes as good as it smells and looks - bring on Christmas to find out! Gluten free muesli is something I've been wanting for breakfast lately, and finding the store brought ones as card-boardy as ever I've tried making my own using soaked and dehydrated sunflower seeds as the base (I have access to bulk seeds so have a few kilos of sunflower seeds in the cupboard); it is yet to be taste-tested (made yesterday).

Lots of ice-blocks (we mostly just freeze fruit juice in ice-block molds, but recently bought some frozen yoghurt ones for a treat) have been getting eaten as it has been pretty hot. We've moved our garden swing just outside the kitchen window so we can sit in the shade through the day. A good breeze has been blowing most days and so it is very pleasant to sit and rock - well, as pleasant as it can be with the girls climbing and hanging off the frame! Jon plans to build a monkey bar set with various climbing attachments for them to monkey on to their hearts' content (a trip to the necessary store on the Gold Coast today wasn't deemed wise with the GC 600 on); hopefully we can build it before bubs comes!

Sydney Trip (Part Two)

On the Tuesday, we all headed out to the Blue Mountains where we stayed in a lovely old house at Katoomba. That afternoon found us all taking a long walk to the supermarket, detouring for a couple of caches along the way.

On the Wednesday, we went to Scenic World where Jon and I took the Scenic Railway (a 52 degree incline!) down to the Jamison Valley Floor while Jachin and Alisi, with the girls, took the Scenic Skyway (a glass bottomed cable car) across the valley. Jon and I then proceeded to walk across the valley to the bottom of the Three Sisters where we climbed up the 900 steps of the Giants Stairway to Echo Point where we all met up again. It took us 75 minutes - much better than the estimated 2-3 hours! Jon and I LOVED it - the bush was wonderful and the track was a 'proper' bush walk - lots of variation and ruggedness to it.

Along the Jamison Valley Floor

At Echo Point, looking out at the Three Sisters

We all walked back to the Skyway by road (poor Jachin had had to manouvre the pram up and down a lot of steps on their bushwalk to meet up with us at Echo Point) where we split up again - Jon and I took to the bush again to make our way back to Scenic World while the others took their return ride on the Skyway. The track wasn't well marked and it took us a couple of wrong turns before we finally made it back to where the car was parked - very hot and ready to eat! While waiting for us, Abigail had managed to get her uncle and aunt to buy her a kangaroo toy which she has barely put down since! Thank you Jachin and Alisi :)

That afternoon Andrew joined us all; Nola and co brought him up and stayed for dinner with us - lots of homemade pizzas!

On Thursday, our last day together, we went to Wentworth Falls and did a big walk (a couple of hours) together there - along, up, down, and under the cliffs.. Jon and I are keen to come back to this area to do some of the even longer walks - fascinating bush/cliffs! As it was, we did a fair amount of walking (the girls walked most of the way too), with Sarah falling asleep in Jachin's arms towards the end. Then the sexes split - the gents detoured off to complete an earth cache, while Alisi and I took the girls back towards the car park. That was the hardest part of the walk for me - I had a sleeping Sarah in my arms, a heavy pack on my back, and a 32 week pregnant belly to get up a hill! Alisi and I spotted a bench to rest on near the top for much needed refreshments, and when the guys caught up with us again we found that we had stopped only a stone's throw from the car park!

Part of the Wentworth Falls

Sarah worn out from the big walk

After a picnic lunch we headed back to our house in Katoomba. Jon and I had a nice soak in the bath to ease stiff muscles while the girls slept (oh the luxury of a hot bath!).

Friday morning was spent packing up before splitting ways - Jachin, Alisi and Andrew back to Sydney while we started our northward journey back to Brisbane. It took us 8 hours of driving in the heat before we reached our stopover (again, at Nambucca Heads). The next morning we were on the road by 4:30am and reached home before 9:30am - thus we avoided driving in the heat and being caught up in end of school holidays traffic. Sarah seemed to be quite demoralised to wake to find herself in the car AGAIN so I am sure she is glad to be home again!

Lunch stop to find air conditioning and cold drinks!

We had a GREAT holiday with Jachin and Alisi and look forward to being able to do it again in the future! A big thank you to you both for all your hospitality, company, and generosity!

Sydney Trip (Part One)

We returned yesterday from our Sydney road trip - our first time ever to Sydney. We left on Thursday a week ago and took two days to travel down, stopping overnight in Nambucca Heads. It was a hot journey (I think we are now convinced that it is worth putting money into fixing the air conditioner in the car!)! The girls traveled very well - apart from reading a couple of books to them, Jon and I pretty much left them to amuse themselves (and sleep) for the journey there and back (we spent a total of about 24 hours on the road return).

Cooling off after a hot day of travel

Day two of travel's attempt at trying to cool down - iceblocks!

We arrived at Jachin and Alisi's place mid-afternoon on the Friday. I really enjoyed getting to see Jachin and Alisi's flat - it is really nice and I love how Alisi has set up and decorated it (I am inspired!). That evening Andrew, Nola and gang came over and we had a big BBQ dinner together.

BBQ!

On the Saturday, Jachin and Alisi took us to see Sydney's iconic sights. We all caught the ferry into the city, stopped for lunch, and then visited the Sydney Aquarium. Fish, coral, sting rays, sharks, penguins and a dugong were all viewed!

Next we caught a ferry which took us under the Sydney Harbour Bridge and past the Sydney Opera House before catching another ferry home again.

On Sunday morning, we walked to a large park nearby for some geocaching/play/exercise. Jon, the girls and I then spent the afternoon napping. That evening we headed out to an RSL for a buffet dinner (Andrew, Nola and gang met us there). More good food!

Monday morning, Jon and I went out to do a little grocery shopping (I love Sydney's grocery store hours - open 6am!) before finding a little cafe to have breakfast at. Our arrival back at Jachin and Alisi's found them and the girls heading out the door to the park so we had a nice quiet morning.

Our evenings were mostly spent playing Xbox/Kinect - great exercise that left Jon and I with sore muscles!