Easter 2013

We had a great Easter 2013.  Of course there was the egg hunt first thing in the morning, we then had a picnic lunch at Magic Mountain with some friends, and Jack and Josie spent about 3 hours on the jumping castle!

The new Giant MTX

Jackson got his early birthday present in Canberra, a Giant MTX mountain bike, complete with front suspension and 5 gears.  He introduced it to the single tracks of Mandeni yesterday.  He is still getting used to it, in particular the brakes and gears, and had one quite big 'off' (which resulted in lots of screaming and limping) but he still rode to the end and, according to Rich, would have given me a run for my money up one particular hill.

Kid talk

Jack and Josie were discussing where the Easter bunny comes from this morning, then Josie said "yeah and Santa Claus comes from the North Hole" !!

Surf Patrol

Richard had a surf patrol down at Pambula Beach this morning, so Jack, Josie and I went down to say hi.

Richard watching the only 2 people between the flags - Jack and Josie

Cross Country and Easter Hat Parade

Jackson had a great last day of school before the Easter break.  In the afternoon they had a cross country race, then an Easter Hat parade.  Parents and siblings were invited along too, so Josie and I (and Richard later on) went down to watch.  Jackson loved the cross country and was very pleased to announce to Richard later on that he came 5th.  Then they did a second race where the school kids were invited to race with their younger brother or sister - so off Jack and Josie went holding hands for a lap of the cross country circuit!

Then we had a lunch break and then the Easter Hat Parade in the Hall (as the rain had just set in).  Josie, once again, joined in - she sat down with Jackson's class and when Jackson's name was called out, she paraded around with Jackson and his mates!!

 And they are off..... (Jack is the second on the left)

 The race with Josie

 Jacksons class with their Easter hats

And Josie with hers!

Mad Kows

Rich, Andrew and Andrews mate Joe competed in the Mont 24 hour Mountain Bike Race on the weekend in the Kowen Forest, near Canberra.  They were entered as a team of 4, but unfortunately one  of their team members had to pull out due to a broken arm, and as they were unable to find a replacement they still competed as a team of 3 in the Open Male Foursomes.  Team name: Mad Kow Racing.

They were really pleased with their set up this time, the gas heater was definitely a hit - especially in the middle of the night after doing double laps each!!  They each completed 7 laps of the course, totalling  426.3km between all of them and came 36th out of 165 in their category of Open Male Foursomes (not bad, especially as there were only 3 of them!).

The Mad Kows!

Canberra weekend

We just got back from another lovely weekend in Canberra.  Rich and Andrew were competing as a team with another guy called Joe in a 24 hour mountain bike race in the Kowen Forest starting on Sat lunchtime.

So Jack, Josie, Will, Jacob, Sam, Lucas, Jem and I got to hang out whilst the boys were racing.  On Saturday I caught up with a friend from Merimbula who is currently in Canberra hospital, she got a day pass so we went out to Kambah park with her, her husband and her daughter for a great play on the flying foxes, park, and huge swings and slides.  Then on Sunday some skatepark action, out to the Kowen Forest to cheer on the boys before driving home.

Another lovely weekend in Canberra.

The Jack and Josie sculpture

A couple of years ago Richards Dad cleverly made a sculpture for us which we proudly put up in our garden in Carine, we have now put it up in our front garden here in Tura Beach.  The Jack and Josie sculpture has a pretty good view!

Family mountain bike ride

Yesterday we all rode a loop of the Mandeni mountain bike track.  Jackson was on his bike, Josie in the bike seat on my bike with Richard, and I got to ride Richard's wonderful 29er.  The Mandeni loop is about 10km on single track, Jackson completed it in just under 2 hours, not bad for a 5 year old - and he didn't whine once, not once.  He was even keen to do more.  If he keeps going like this, Rich will be struggling to keep up with him in a few years time.  Little does Jackson know he is getting his first Giant Mountain bike (complete with gears and front suspension) next week when we go to Canberra as an early birthday present (its already bought and hiding in Uncle Andrews garage).

Well done little man!

Tathra bushwalk

Woke up to a windy and chilly day this morning, so decided to go for a bushwalk in Tathra.

Bermagui Seaside Fair

Jack, Josie and I went to the Annual Bermagui Seaside Fair today.  Great day out.  There was all the usual things you would find at a fair - market stalls, expensive rides and games, showbags, etc.  But we happily (well I was happy!) avoided all that and watched a magic show, then played heaps of FREE kids games at the Kids Corner.  They had a sack race, a three-legged race, an egg and spoon race, limbo, throw water balloon game and fish throwing.  A great time was had and they both got some great prizes as well!

Waterslide action

It was a warm day on Friday, so on the way home from school we decided to stop by Magic Mountain for a play on the waterslide.

Josie did have a go on the waterslide, but as I had to catch her at the end I couldn't get a photo as well!

Kid talk

Josie and I have been for a couple of bike rides recently while Jackson is at school, that is I am riding and she is sitting in the kids seat.  We had just finished our ride today when Josie (who chats the WHOLE time we are riding) said "Mummy, I like riding on Daddy's bike best", Me "why is that Jo?", Josie "Because Daddys bike goes faster". So true.