Holidays

We're halfway through the September school holidays here.

I feel like we haven't done much at all in the way of outings etc. 

The kidlettes have been playing way too much xbox and I'm quite happy with that on some days. 

I feel guilty that we're not doing much but I'm a homebody and sometimes I need to be FORCED to leave the house to do anything at all, that includes going down to get the milk. (I'm sure we have poddy calves in the house right now as the milk seems to be disappearing at rather a rapid rate.)

We have been baking.  Lots of yummy deliciousness in the form of ginger nuts (Master M's favourites), chocolate slice and lemon slice.  Jam drops may be next as I have a few jars I need to use up the dregs of and perhaps some cupcakes may be in order too.  Actually I think cupcakes will be a must in the second week of the school holidays as I haven't made them in my new oven yet. 

We've had Cousin R over for a sleepover which was very noisy.  Fun but noisy!

There's also been a visit to Australia Zoo.  I can't believe it's been about 5 years since we last went considering it's only 3 kilometres from our place. 

My sister and I used to meet at the zoo for a coffee once a week back then instead of going to a cafe.  It's a lovely place to go as there are so many gardens and trees and the kids loved seeing all the animals.

My sister was taking my nephews last Friday and catching up with some other friends at the zoo so the kidlettes and I decided that we would go too.  We've bought our annual passes again so we can head up after school sometimes or just anytime we get bored on the holidays or a weekend.

The Africa section is open now so we finally got to check the giraffes out (I've been harassed for years now for us to go see the giraffes).

Master M wasn't impressed with anything other than the crocodiles.  This is not surprising as he's been obsessed with crocodiles and getting a top jaw rope on his stuffed crocodile since he could walk. 

We didn't stay all day as children (and Mum) were getting a bit tired and grumpy.  From now on when we go we'll stick to what I used to do years ago.  We pick one or two things we want to see and head up there for just a couple of hours then the next time we pick something else.  It saves everyone getting tired and grumpy that way.

Somehow I think Master M is going to pick the crocodiles everytime we go so it might be up to me to add the variety each time.

We'll see what the second week of he holidays brings but at this stage there'll be more sleepovers and I'm sure another couple of trips to the zoo.

x Susan

Click here for one of our Zoo visits years ago.

All things snakey.....

My walks this week have taken on a new level of vigilance.

On Monday I nearly stepped on this little fella below.

It was only about 20cm long but even baby snakes can pump out lethal venom so I made sure the dog and I got well away pretty quickly.

Then on Wednesday we were wandering along happily again when I spied a glistening stick in the grass and quickly called Patch back to my side.  Thank goodness he obeyed me as I really didn't want to have to rush to the vets if he got bitten. 

Can you see the snakes in the picture below (there are two).

I'll zoom in a bit for you.  There's one crossing the track and one in the grass about to follow the bigger one.

The first snake was about 3 foot and the second was skinnier and smaller so they really weren't very big.

I'm not 100% sure what they are but I'm thinking Eastern Brown snakes as they're fairly common around here. 

Considering they're the world's 2nd most deadliest snake I was amazed at how calm I was. 

We waited for about 5 minutes until they had crossed the track and gone into the bush before we continued on our walk.

After that I kept an extra sharp lookout and was relieved when we got back to the car.  You would not believe how many sticks lay on the edge of the track!!

xx Susan

Father's Day

Sunday was Father's Day and by some miracle hubby was actually home to celebrate on the day this year.  Usually we pick a day that he's home a week or so after the official day to celebrate as he's often working.

After pancakes for a late breakfast we got organised to go on a picnic.  The whole thought of going up the coast and dealing with the traffic and crowds that are a part of Father's Day there didn't appeal so we headed west.

Not too far, just a short half hour drive away to our favourite spot Stoney Creek. (You can see some of our previous visits here and here.)

(If the links don't work then just click on the picnics label on the side bar and scroll down to the story's on Stoney Creek).

The water at the swimming hole looked beautiful as usual with it's gorgeous blue/green colour.  It was freezing though and the kids were upset that we wouldn't let them go for a swim. 

We've promised them we'll come back on some of the hot days in summer that are looming on the horizon so they can swim to their hearts content.

So instead of swimming they had to make do with throwing rocks, exploring and racing stick boats down the small creek that trickles into the larger one.

We certainly bypassed the crowds out here as there were only 2 other family's at the small picnic ground when we arrived.

It really was lovely and quiet and I wished I had a book with me so I could laze around reading while the kids explored with Daddy.

Considering there was hardly anyone there, we decided to picnic on the grassy area near the swimming hole rather than at the designated picnic area.  We had the whole place to ourselves which was beyond wonderful. 

It was a really lovely family day which just happen to be some of our favourite kind of days.

xx Susan