Kid talk

We had just put Jack and Josie to bed and kissed them goodnight.  As I was walking out of Josie's room she said "Goodnight, don't let the bed beds bite"
Jackson then yelled out "Josie its bed bugs not bed beds"
Josie "Jackson be quiet I am trying to go to sleep"
Jackson "but its bed bugs"
Josie "BE QUIET!".

Kid talk

Jackson has recently got into chess, they play it a bit at school and he has taught me how to play.  We played 2 games last night and he beat me for both.  After the second game, he said "Mum, can you go hard on me the next game?" Me "Jack, I AM going hard on you"

Surf and snow

Richard has always wanted to be able to surf and snowboard on the same day.  So with him having Fridays off, Jackson and Josie both at school that day, and Dad offering to look after Jack and Jo after school - Richard had a quick surf in the morning, then we set off for the mountains.  We had a great day, we got there at midday and boarded until last lift, and we still managed to get home in time to put the kids to bed.  Love where we live!

Principals Award

I went into Jackson's assembly last week to see the little man get a Principals Award.  So proud of him.

Tasmania and Melbourne

We just had a great 9 nights away in Tasmania and Melbourne.  Driving from home to Melbourne and getting the overnight Spirit across, then a night in Cradle Mountain, 3 nights in Hobart, another night at St Helens in the far North East coast, a night in Launceston, before getting the overnight Spirit back and spending 2 nights in Melbourne.

View of Mount Raymond on the way to Cradle Mountain

The below pictures were taken on the Dove Lake Circuit (which is 6.6km) near Cradle Mountain.  Yes it was cold, yes it rained, no we didn't actually see Cradle Mountain but it was a lovely walk nonetheless.

 Do you see Cradle Mountain?  No, neither did we! Oh well, next time.

After leaving Cradle Mountain, we drove down the West coast to Hobart - it was a loooong drive and pretty average weather, but we did see some stunning scenery on the way....

Lake St Clair

Nelsons Falls

Then onto Hobart where we checked into our accommodation for 3 nights allowing us some time to get out and see Hobart.  First day it was a bike ride for Rich and a trip to one of Hobarts best playgrounds for Jack, Josie, Grandad and I, then up to the top of Mount Wellington for some stunning views of Hobart, then onto the Botanic Gardens before we hit the shops, day two saw us check out Salamanca Markets and Battery Point, before heading to Cascade Brewery for a pint.

Lower Sandy Bay Park

Top of Mount Wellington

Studying the map at the Botanic Gardens

 Jackson playing chess in Battery Point

 Cascade Brewery

From Hobart we made our way up the East coast to St Helens in the North East.  The scenery here is apparently stunning on a nice day, unfortunately we didn't get one, but we still managed to see Richmond - home of the oldest bridge in Australia, the blowhole at Bicheno, Coles Bay and a nice steep walk to see Wineglass Bay

Feeding the ducks, and nearly falling in, under the oldest bridge in Australia at Richmond

Bicheno Blowhole

Wineglass Bay

From St Helens it was a short drive North to check out the Bay of Fires (again not the best weather), then onto Launceston where we saw Cataract Gorge via the suspension bridge and then the chairlift.

Rockclimbing at the Bay of Fires

 Cataract Gorge suspension bridge

From Launceston we drove through the Tamar Valley and saw the town of murals, the town of topiary and the town of sculptures before getting back on the Spirit bound for Melbourne.  We had two days in Melbourne, staying in St Kilda.  Getting the tram into town on the first day, checking out Federation Square, Flinders Street Station, the MCG, Bourke Street Mall, and the Southbank.  Then day two saw us heading to Victoria Street Markets (with a detour to H&M for me!), onto the Melbourne Museum, before checking out a really cool adventure playground in St Kilda on the way back.

Jack and Josie checking themselves out on a big screen in Fed Square

We came across this great place called Artplay on the way to the MCG, where they encourage play through Art.  Here we were given all different coloured tape and had to create 'art' on the floor/walls.

 The mighty MCG

Flinders Street station

Doing some 'cooking' at the Victoria Street Markets

 Jackson has just done a term on dinosaurs at school, so he LOVED the dinosaur exhibit at the museum

Adventure playground - inner city style.