Whales and dolphins

Richard went down to Dolphin Cove after Jack and Josie were in bed last night to check out the surf, and saw two whales playing, jumping out the water the whole lot.  So, this morning we thought we would head down there to see if we could see any more.  We weren't disappointed, a pod of whales passed by along with a mother and calf - no breaching but impressive nonetheless.  They were followed  shortly after by a school of dolphins and then some more whales.  Spectacular.

 Mother and calf whale

Dolphin, closer to the shore

Jackson's 5th Birthday Party

Jackson had his 5th Birthday Party today.  He invited his two best friends, Liam and Rory, and we went to Mandeni for some soccer, mini golf and a play on the jumping pillow.  Everyone seemed to have a good time, especially our nearly 5 year old!!

Halloween dress ups!

Jackson has dress ups for Halloween at school today, so yesterday we went to the shop to buy some dress up stuff.  Of course Josie wanted to dress up too!

Morning of beach play at Pambula Rivermouth

We spent a lovely morning at Pambula River-mouth, building sandcastles, chasing waves, checking out the old fishermen huts, and Richard and Jackson even had a swim.  Brrrrr - too cold for me and Josie though!!

 Richards face says it all!

 Apparently it was 'ok once you are in', yeah right.

The Scott 24 hour mountain bike race

We had a great weekend in Canberra for the Scott 24 hour mountain bike race.  We were entered as a mixed team of four - Andrew, Jemma, Richard and I, and we not only had to attempt to ride for 24 hours but also had 6 kids to look after! Andrew and Richard took the bulk of the load and rode through the night with 6 laps each, Jem and I got to sleep back at the house with the kids and did 3 laps each.

The course had 2 different laps, a red and a blue, and we had to alternate between them.  The red was 12km long and wound up to the top of Stromlo before a sweet downhill.  The blue was 14km long and was a lot of up and down with lots of rocks and boggy sections.

The event was extremely well organised, apparently the largest 24 hour mountain bike race in the world, so it was amazing to be part of it.  A great weekend away, thanks Rices - it was a pleasure to represent Team Raceline10!

BTW, the winner of the solo event, Jason English, did 31 laps and covered over 400km, he did his last lap faster than most guys did their first.  Nutter.

 Our set up

 Me waiting in transition

 Jem finishing a red lap

Me starting my final lap

The kids made the local paper

Jackson and Josie had their picture taken after their race on Monday, and today it was in the Bega District News!

Camping at Saltwater Creek

We just spent a night at a fantastic camping spot at Saltwater Creek in Ben Boyd National Park south of Eden.  We arrived late afternoon yesterday, so once we had set up camp we just went for a walk to have a look around.  Then today we went for a paddle on the creek.  Lovely couple of days.

Mountain bike racing

I entered the Tathra Fuzzy 50 today, which is a 50km race 5 times around a 10km loop, it was a social ride where you can do as many laps as your legs will take you.  I managed 3 laps before I decided enough was enough.  They had a kids 1km race before mine started which Jackson and Josie entered, and they both loved it - particularly Jackson.

 Jackson and Josie racing

 Cheering for me as I set off

Finished! Yay!!