A quick trip to the Zoo

The first Sunday of the school holidays dawned clear and gorgeous.  It really was one of those perfect winter's days that scream at you to get outside and enjoy it.  We answered the call.

We were still in lazy weekend, holiday mode so we didn't want to go to far.  The unanimous decision was to go to the zoo.  We haven't been in about 6 months which is a bit unlike us and needed to renew our annual passes first but they are so worth it if you live only a few kilometres away like we do.

This visit wasn't about seeing all the animals which may seem a bit odd considering it is a zoo.  Having said that, you can't go anywhere without seeing animals of some kind and I couldn't walk past one of the koala enclosures without taking the next photo.  It cracked me up.

It looks like how I'm feeling of a morning these school holidays.  (Too much cricket and Wimbledon is on which means ALL night here Downunder).

What we really came to the zoo for was the obstacle course which they have had over the winter school holidays for the last 3 to 4 years.

The kids love climbing, sliding, going under and going through all the inflatable sections of the course.

I love the fact that they're wearing themselves out while I find a nice shady spot, spread out the picnic blanket and crochet away for awhile.

Since we were last here they've added a big bouncing pillow so the kids had to try that out for a bit as well.

Then it was time to enjoy an ice-cream while watching the water fountains which no one was in at the time as it was a bit too chilly.  Once the weather warms up it gets really popular as you'll see from one of our other visits in this post.

Another thing I love about the zoo is the water stations.  There are a few of them around the site and you can refill your water bottles with cold water for free.

It's the little things like this that can help families save a bit as we know how expensive outings can get, especially when you're on holiday.  Even after running around on a short visit we usually need to fill the water bottles up.

Another thing I love is that there are seats everywhere around the zoo so there's plenty of spots to stop for a bit of a rest.  Lots of them have a carving of an animal on them and the little baby crocodile kept me company while the kids played on the jumping pillow.

It may seem like we were there for ages but in fact it was a little over 2 1/2 hours from when we left home to when we drove back in.  A perfect little afternoon jaunt.

For my new readers who haven't followed me for long, we live only 3 kilometres from Australia Zoo, the home of Steve Irwin the Crocodile Hunter.  We've been coming to the zoo since the kids were babies so they've pretty well grown up going there.

Since the zoo is really spread out, we always purchase an annual pass and rarely stay more than 2 - 3 hours as longer than that can make the kids a bit too tired and cranky.  We usually pick one or two sections that we're going to go to that day, then have a bit of a play in the fun areas before heading home.

If you want to see more of our zoo adventures over the years, click on Australia Zoo section on the side bar or click here.

xx Susan

Water fun at the zoo

To get the kids off their screens last weekend, we went up to the zoo for an hour.

They have new fountains which the kids have wanted to play in and as it was quite a warm weekend, I thought I would let them cool off and have some fun.

I can tell that this is going to be very popular during our long, hot, sticky, humid summers.

They've made this section into a lovely area for families to sit and relax and take some time out of wandering around the zoo.  There's plenty of picnic tables and seats as well as lots of grass to loll about on.  I may need to bring a picnic blanket with me in future in case I can't get a seat.

It's also right near the Dingo Diner so you can grab something to eat or even just a coffee as you watch the kids play.  It looks like there's a new café and toilet block about to open right near it as well so I'm sure that will be popular over the summer months.

Being the zoo it's not your usual big water bucket spilling water onto the kids.  It happens to be a big frog that croaks then periodically a waterfall rushes out and then there's plenty of excited squealing.

A kookaburra joins in the fun as well and there's a crocodile and a very relaxed looking koala for the kids to climb on too.

As usual, I took the chance to start something new on my hook.  I had to unravel and start it a couple of times until I had something I was happy with as I've only got a small amount to work with.  This yarn is from my stash that I just sorted and I've only got about 3/4 of a skein of Noro yarn left from a project I worked on a while ago.

The kids wanted ice-cream afterwards but the clouds started to roll in and it cooled off pretty quickly.  I had told them it was a quick play time today and we weren't buying anything.  I want them to learn that you don't have to buy something every time you go out and it is possible to have fun without spending any money.  

Having said that, we do often buy an ice-cream in summer when we pop up for an hour or two.

I told you it was a relaxed koala.

I hope you have all been having some fun lately.

xx Susan

For those lovely new followers and readers that I have, you may not realise that we live only 3 kilometres from Australia Zoo, the home of Steve Irwin.  We've had annual passes since the kids were toddlers and head up there for a couple of hours every now and then to get out of the house and just enjoy the place.  If you want to see more of our adventures at the zoo over the years just click on the Australia Zoo section on the side bar.

Time flies

This last school term seems to have flown by so fast and I can't believe we're already half way through the first week of the Winter school holidays already.

 

We've been busy.  I've been making myself do more things and get out more and we're all loving the results of this.  Sometimes it's not for long, just a little outing to get us out of the house.

 

I've also finally finished my picnic blanket which I sewed the top of a couple of years ago.  I just cut up squares of old jeans and pieces of fabric that I had left over from other projects and joined them all together.  It has been patiently waiting for a backing during all of that time and I ended up buying a dark blue sheet which I cut up and sewed onto the back.

 

It was used the day I finished it and a few times since.  It's the perfect size for us to sit on for a snack and me to crochet upon while the kidlettes go off and have some fun.

 

Then it goes straight in the washing machine when we get home to get ready for our next outing.

 

 

 

 

On weekends if I've decided there's been too much screen time, we'll grab a snack or buy something yummy from one of the local bakeries and head off to find somewhere to run off some energy.  Sometimes it's up to Maleny and Mary Cairncross Park, other times it's to Skippy Park or Pioneer Park which are our usual favourites.

 

We usually have something to eat, a play and a run and are home within  1 1/2 to 2 hours and much happier that we've done something, no matter how small it seems. 

 

 

 

 

There's also been more cooking by Little Miss R (with help from Mum).  She decided she wanted to make Crème Caramel which isn't something I've ever made but we gave it a go.  OMG!  It was incredible and really EASY.

 

 

 

The biggest problem we had was with the caramel as it didn't get cooked enough.  Not having ever made it or seen it being made I kept thinking I was burning it and there were a few other problems too.  As a result we ended up having more toffee in the bottom of the ramekins than caramel but there was enough to make it really good.

 

 

There's been other outings with specialist appointments for the kids up the coast which luckily turned out to be after school time and hubby was home.  We headed to Cotton Tree in Maroochydore for some fun in the playground and fish and chips by the water for dinner where we watched the sun set.

 

 

 

 

Of course there has also been Zoo time.  These school holidays they've got an obstacle course set up so we headed up late one afternoon when I decided we needed to get out for a bit. The kids really love the waterslide they had in the summer holidays so we decided to check this out.

 

 

 

A few times around this really got the heart pumping and the kids hot. 

 

 

They expelled a lot of energy, especially by the 5th and 6th times they went around so we all went home happy.

 

 

There was also a drive with hubby.  This was a spur of the moment drive on our way home from the shops and ended up being a little bit of an adventure.

 

We're not hard core 4WD enthusiasts but hubby took us on a track that he used to drive a lot with my brother when they would go hunting.  It's been really churned up from the weekend warriors over the past year or so.

 

 

 

Some parts were really muddy and other parts the road was hard and really gouged out.

 

 

 

We got through it all easily though and the kids were pretty excited about our spur of the moment drive.  I'm just glad we didn't get bogged.

 

I hope you're all having a great week. Hubby heads back to work tomorrow and I have an appointment today so I'm off to have a lovely day to myself.  I'm REALLY looking forward to this!

 

xx Susan

 

 

 



Busy

We're getting close to the end of the school holidays.  There's just this Easter weekend left and then it's back to school and the usual weekly routines again.

 

We've certainly been a lot busier these school holidays and there's even been more sleepovers so we've had kids coming and going constantly.

 

I've finished another lovely scarf.  This one is in the last of my pecan alpaca yarn that I have and is really beautiful to work with.

 

 

 

 

I did have a small amount leftover which wasn't enough to make a big project. 

 

 

 

In the end I decided not to waste the yarn and make something in alpaca that I can wear myself this winter so I made up the lacy scarf you see below.

 

 

It's not very long because of the amount of yarn I had left but it does wrap around the neck nicely and isn't bulky so I'm really looking forward to wearing this one a few times when the weather gets a bit cooler.

 

 

We also had our usual trip to the zoo.  Little Miss R loves to ride the horses and they're only there on the school holidays so we try to give her at least one ride per holiday.

 

 

 

 

There's also a 4 month old cheetah cub that the kids were so excited to see.  They loved the fact that it was sleeping with it's head on a blue whale toy which was very cute.

 

 

There is usually some kind of activity on at the zoo during the school holidays.  This Easter weekend it was a hunt for hidden clues.

 

The kids were given a small 3D thingy and had to read the clue on the card they were given at the entrance.

 

 

From there they had to find the animal enclosure in the clue and there was a board with another hidden clue on it.   Around the zoo we went to different enclosures until we got to the last clue which had a special phrase on it.

 

 

 

Armed with the phrase we went to the information desk and they got to pick a small prize from a treasure chest which was pretty exciting.  There were tiny little koala animals, fridge magnets, arm bands, stationery (zoo themed) and animal stamps to choose from.

 

We have movie plans (Power Rangers for the boys, Beauty and the Beast for the girls) , Easter Sunday to enjoy then hopefully a quiet day on Easter Monday before heading back to school.  Then I can hopefully get a little bit more crochet done as I've sorted through and organised my yarn as well as my patterns this holidays. 

 

Everything's much easier and nicer to find now and of course I got plenty of inspiration for more projects with some of the lovely yarn that I had forgotten I had.

 

I hope you are all having a lovely and safe holiday.

 

xx Susan

 

 

 



Back to the crochet soon I hope

Until then it's been a mad whirl around here during the last few weeks of the school holidays then back to school.  I haven't even been taking that many photos even though we seem to have been doing plenty.

So I'll quickly let you know just a smidgeon of what we've been up to.

First of all, there is this.....

 

 

 

 

 We bought it in mid January from a friend who hardly ever used it so it's in really good condition.  Hubby's been out a couple of times and has taken the kids as well but we decided that the engine needed a service before we used it anymore.  That is happening as I write so we may even go fishing after school today.

 

There have also been plenty more zoo trips and why not.  It's an amazing place, the kids love it, we have the passes and it keeps us entertained for a couple of hours at a time.

 

 

 

 Little Miss R has been really enjoying cooking and baking more.

 

 

 

That has slowed down a bit now that school has started and also since our lounge room air conditioner died late last week.  Believe me when it's in the 30 celcius and really humid, no air conditioning in our lounge room is not pleasant.  It's a room that faces full west and pretty well doesn't get air. 

 

 Unfortunately it's not getting looked at for another week and we've got some mid 30 celcius days coming up.  Eeek!  Luckily the bedrooms have air conditioning.

 

Master M got a new bike for his birthday so we've been tearing up the tarmac on that.

 

 

 

 

There have also been outings and picnics which have involved plenty of driving (always lots of driving when hubby takes us on picnics).  In fact we did nearly 500 kilometres on Saturday when we went on a jaunt.

 

Somehow our picnics and outings nearly always involve creeks and rock throwing.  This one is Emu Creek near the town of Blackbutt and is really low right now.  Boy do we need some good rain.

 

 

 

And of course school has started.  I thought things would slow down a bit once the kids went back but that hasn't happened as yet.  Last week I was trying to catch up on things that I didn't get the chance to do on the holidays.

 

 

 

 So hopefully I'll get the chance to do some crochet and finish Master M's blanket.  I'm over two thirds of the way there, I just need to find some time to actually sit down for a time and get it done.  Perhaps I'll hide away in my air conditioned bedroom later in the week when it's hot and I won't want to be anywhere near my oven of a lounge room. 

 

That sounds like a plan!

 

xx Susan

 

 

 



This is so much fun Mum!

As usual we did a quick trip to the zoo yesterday afternoon.  It was pretty hot and about 3pm I told the kids to grab their togs (swimmers) and towels and off we went.

 

Swimming at the zoo is not a usual thing, mainly because the only water areas are filled with crocodiles and that's certainly not tempting to dip your toe in the water no matter how hot it is.

 

This January though they have a big waterslide so we popped up there to cool off for an hour or so.

 

 

 

 

It was so much bigger than I had expected with 3 slides to choose from.

 

 

 

The kids didn't have the jitters at all at being high up.  They just sat down and off they went.

 

 

 

It was a pretty quick trip to the bottom where they slid along with a splash.

 

 

 

Master M wasn't to be outdone either.

 

 

 

He wasn't too impressed at getting water in his eyes and up his nose but it didn't stop him from going on it again..and again...and again...and again........

 

 

It was a pretty steep climb up the back of it where they had to wait patiently in line until they were allowed up 2 at a time to stop it getting congested at the top.

 

 

 

The zebra's, giraffes and rhino's didn't seem too impressed with their new neighbour.  Perhaps they thought it was some new exhibit with the humans on display!

 

 

 

I can see us having plenty of fun with this over the next few weeks.

 

xx Susan



'Tis the season.....to cook

I seem to be spending a lot of time in the kitchen lately.

 

First there was the Welsh Rarebit muffins, the brownie and the gingerbread from last week.

 

 

 

It seems to be a little bit of muffin mania around here because  I ended up making a batch of Anzac muffins which my kids LOVE.  I can't even remember where I got the recipe from for these but it's something I stumbled across years ago and is full of rolled oats and grated apple.  They're perfect for a snack or a quick blitz in the microwave from frozen and enjoyed for breakfast.

 

Because it's nearly Christmas I wanted to make some gingerbread muffins so I searched for an easy recipe that the whole family would enjoy.  This is the first one I found and tried and let me tell you they are pretty amazing and sooooo easy.  Most of them have gone already so I'll be making another batch in the next day or so and I've decided that these will be part of our Christmas morning breakfast.

 

I might even make sure the batter is made up the day before and then all I have to do is bung them in the oven so we have lovely, hot fresh muffins on Christmas Day.

 

Muffins aren't the only thing I've been making.  We're having a bit of a get together here on Christmas Eve so I decided to make my Thai sausage rolls. 

 

I found the recipe for these in a magazine YEARS ago and they've always been a hit.  Then I somehow lost the recipe and only recently decided to find a similar one by googling.  I forget to about doing that half the time.

 

What do you know that the first recipe that came up in the search engine was the same one I had all those years ago. (Click here if you want to try it.)

 

They're made out of chicken mince, some sweet chilli, coriander and a few other ingredients.

 

The recipe uses 3 sheets of puff pastry but I find them easier to roll up with a little less filling so I use about 4-5 sheets and cut 6 out of a roll instead of 5.  As a result I ended up with about 52 little sausage rolls instead of the 30 it said in the recipe. 

 

 

These freeze really well and I only have to reheat them in the oven on Christmas eve. 

 

It's not all been baking around here either.  Little Miss R was a Zookeeper for a Day during the week.

 

The Zookeeper experience is an amazing programme put on by Australia Zoo during the school holidays.  This was part of Little Miss R's birthday present back in October and she has been waiting (not so patiently at times) for these school holidays so she could participate.

 

 

 

There were 10 kids in her group and they got to go behind the scenes at the zoo and do a few extra things that you don't get to experience on a usual visit.

 

Not only did she help prepare the food for the lemurs but got to go on the special raft over to the lemur island which is not part of the usual zoo experience.  She got to sweep and rake out the rhino enclosure (one of the other kids had to pick up the poo - much to her relief).

 

She got to hold a diamond python and a blue tongue lizard and had a tour of the Australia Zoo Animal Hospital.

 

The kids also had their lunch while they watched the Crocoseum show as well as plenty of other things they got to do throughout the day.

 

We dropped her off, extremely excited, at 8.30am and picked her up at 2pm, still excited but pretty tired.

 

If you have kids from the ages of 6-15 and you're near this area then it's a great holiday idea for them to do something a little different.  They have different programmes designed for different age groups and our girl really wants to do the Extreme Reptile programme now which has really surprised me. 

 

We'll see about next year then!

 

xx Susan