Queenscliff 2015 - Day 1

Once again this year we went to Queenscliff for the weekend before Christmas, with Mum and Dad, and my sister and her family. We stayed in the same house and it was wonderful - LiAM said it felt like we lived there, and I felt like we'd come home. So great to be somewhere familiar that we all loved.

On Friday night (before we left) Caitlin was going to a sleepover and we were all going to see the new Star Wars movie (C at her party, and the rest of us together), so I had planned to be packed for the trip before we left for that at 3pm, so that we could leave early on Saturday morning. Friday was so hot however that I wasn't able to concentrate much on getting ready, and I couldn't get the food ready or clean up the kitchen because it was just too uncomfortable in the kitchen. So I got up early on Saturday to clean up and finish packing, and we didn't end up leaving until about 11. Extreme fire danger also meant that there was a bit of preparation to do around the house and yard before we left, and I dropped off our boxes of precious things to a friend's on the way.

We took 2 cars so that Tony would be able to come back for work on Monday morning. He took the kids and picked Caitlin up from her party on the way, then drove down to Sorrento, where he met his Dad who was driving down to Victoria for Christmas, and had decided to come that way so that he could see us on the way through. Tone and the kids left the car in Sorrento and caught the ferry across  to Queenscliff with his Dad - Millie saw her first dolphin in the wild, and Caitlin saw seals as well. The kids all enjoyed the ferry trip.

I drove around the long way, stopping to buy fresh berries and cherries on the way, and then stopped regularly to check out the fire situation, as there were a few fires around that I wanted to make sure I avoided. I stopped in Point Cook to do some groceries for the trip, and Mum and Dad (who had also left later than planned due to bushfire preparations) were not far behind me so they stopped and joined me for lunch. With all my stopping and starting I didn't get to Queenscliff until about 5, by which time it had started to rain and the temperature dropped around 17 degrees (it had been 40-44 degrees all the way down, it was around 27 when I arrived).

When I got there the kids were playing with their cousin, T, who is nearly 2. He was excited to see me and took me into the kitchen to show me the toaster - toast is his favourite food at the moment. It was so much fun all weekend to listen to him talking and share his excitement about EVERYTHING. Such a fun age.

We had fish and chips for tea while Dad, Tony and Caitlin played a cricket board game we'd bought down. I played Uno Spin with the other kids and we had a relaxing evening. I hurt my knee again while putting the fruit in the fridge, so spent a fair bit of time on the couch with an ice pack. Mum took the kids for a walk and Tony and I sat out on the verandah for a while. We could see the ice cream shop from where we were, with lots of people going in and out and eventually decided we would join the crowd. It was packed, and the ice cream was delicious. The kids were home when we got back, they'd had a paddle in the edge of the ocean, and were happy to just share our ice cream, with the promise that we'd get them some more tomorrow.

F, Caitlin, Tony and I played another board game - a wine game that I'd given Tony for christmas last year. It was fun, and the conversations we had were hilarious (mainly due to my tired brain mixing up words). Caitlin and F won, using some clever strategies. Millie fell asleep on my lap and LiAM took himself to bed. Caitlin decided to sleep in the front room by herself so took herself off and read her book until she was tired enough, and Tony and I crashed after a long, hot day.

Point Leo Trip

Tony's cousin asked us last week if we would like to join them camping for the Melbourne Cup long weekend, as they had a spare campsite available. The kids had Halloween plans for the Saturday night - Caitlin had been invited to a party and the other 2 had been looking forward for months to trick-or-treating in Yarra Glen - so we decided to head down on Sunday morning and stay for 2 nights. It was a very exciting invitation as Millie has been asking to go on holidays and we'd thought about camping for Cup weekend but figured we'd left it to late to find anywhere with vacancies.

Last week Tony had had a lot of trouble with his eyes, and on Friday afternoon he'd gone to Emergency to see if he could do something about them (the treatment his GP had suggested hadn't worked). We ended up taking him in to the Eye and Ear hospital in the city, and not getting home until 1am. So on Saturday we were all pretty tired and in a bit of a daze, and not much holiday preparation got done. Saturday evening was Halloween and the kids all had a great time. We came home and watched The Empire Strikes Back until I fell asleep, which still left most of the preparation for Sunday morning.

Having the camper trailer permanently half ready meant that there wasn't quite so much to do, most of our camping supplies were already packed. We got away before midday and arrived at the campsite around 1.30. The kids went down to the beach with the others while Tony and I set up the tent. We spent the afternoon between the beach and the campsite - with 4 adults there was always someone available to take kids to the beach or wherever they wanted to go, and someone to stay with those who wanted to hang out at the campsite, so it was a very relaxing way to spend the weekend. Not any stress or pressure for anyone to do things or be places they didn't want to be.

Our campsite was at the top of the sand dunes, right near the beach, although the dunes were covered in thick trees and bushes so we couldn't see the water - we could hear it though, especially at night. The waves seemed to be crashing so loudly, I was always surprised at how small they were when I went down to the beach. It was only a couple of hundred metres walk to the beach access, down a long flight of stairs, and once there we could swim, play in the sand dunes, or at low tide, explore the rocks.

The kids found some pathways through the sand dunes further down the beach and spent a lot of time playing in their 'hideout' on Sunday afternoon and Monday morning. It seemed pretty cool - a really awesome holiday memory I would say. The others had a kite and LiAM spent some time flying it one afternoon when it was cold and windy. The girls had built a big hole to shelter from the wind and all 5 kids were in and out of that. The girls also went swimming - I'd been in on Sunday afternoon but gave it a miss on Monday as it was pretty chilly. The others had little surfboards and Caitlin regularly borrowed one and did a lot of body boarding which she really enjoyed. Millie ran in and out of the edge of the waves and really loved it.

The boys in the big hole dug by the big girls, Caitlin body boarding, Millie running up and down the sand

On Monday morning I took the girls down to the beach before breakfast. It was cold and wet and we didn't have much time before food was ready, so we played around the edge of the rocks for a little while, then headed back for pancakes, bacon and eggs. After that delicious start to the day I went back to the beach with LiAM and Caitlin and we explored the rocks and rock pools. The rain was icy and my hands were frozen, and the water in the rock pools felt so warm in comparison. After a while the rocks stopped feeling uncomfortable on our bare feet because they were numb! It was a lot of fun though, looking into the rock pools and having the ocean rumbling all around us. When we got back we were so wet that everyone thought we'd gone swimming in our clothes.

Caitlin exploring the rock pools on a cold and wet morning

Tony had an appointment at the Eye hospital on Monday afternoon to check that his eyes were healing ok (they are) and then went up to Croydon for his Monday evening Masters baseball game, and came back to the camp late that night. The rest of us spent the afternoon at the beach, playground or campsite. We played lots of card and board games, and a little bit on the iPads, and had some time riding scooters. The kids all got on well and played together in lots of different combinations. There was always lots of do, and someone to do it with, or the chance to be alone if anyone needed a bit of down time.

On Sunday evening we cooked up lots of pasta, vegetables and salami, and put it out on table, each item in it's own separate bowl, so everyone could pick the bits that they wanted. An easy and effective way to feed 9 people with a range of tastes, and everyone was happy. Monday night we had fish and chips, then ice cream in a cone with ice magic. Monday lunch we had sausages and chops cooked on their Weber-Q, bacon and eggs both mornings, and left overs on toasted sandwiches (and hot dogs for the kids) for Tuesday lunch. Great food all weekend for minimal effort and cost!

The others had bought glow sticks with them and both evenings the kids had a great time as it began to get dark. They were pretty fancy glow sticks, with head bands and connectors to make ears and glasses, bangles, earrings and so on. We put them in the freezer the first night so that they would last, and used them again the 2nd night, then hung them in the tent. It was very cool to go to sleep by glow stick light!

Glow stick fun

On Tuesday morning I woke up before everyone else and went for a walk on the beach. It was sunny again and not as cold as Monday. I walked quite a way down the beach - saw some red plovers running in and out of the waves just like Millie was doing the day before - very cute! I took lots of photos and was thrilled to be by the ocean early in the morning. I decided to go for a swim - I knew I'd be disappointed later if I didn't, even though it was cold - and it was wonderful. One of my favourite things in the world to do is swim in the ocean in the early morning - it was refreshing and exciting and relaxing and so beautiful. I was very happy and content and so glad I made the effort.

Early morning on the beach

Later in the morning I took some of the kids back down to the beach - it was the first time LiAM went in the water and he loved it. The waves were small enough to not be threatening and we could easily get past where they were breaking. It was mainly like a being in a large lake with a bit of a swell, then occasionally there'd be a bigger wave which was quite exciting. Perfect conditions for kids not used to swimming in the ocean. After a while I started to get cold, and by then the dads and the rest of the kids had come down to the beach so the boys and I headed home.

While the girls and dads swam at the beach, the mums packed up as much as we could before having lunch, and the boys played around the campsite. When the others returned we ate lunch, then finished packing everything up. With no new campers coming in we were able to take our time and pack with no stress. Everything was all done by about 3pm and then we all headed for home.

Sydney Trip -> Day 11 and 12 - going home

Wednesday morning we got up and I started to organise all our stuff for the trip home. We'd kept it pretty organised so I was able to gather it all together, then take everything out of the car and repack it fairly leisurely over the course of the morning. The girls made cupcakes, then all the kids played a 'Capture the Flag' type game outside for ages. We were ready to go by midday, by which time it was pouring rain with strong winds, so we decided to wait until the storm had passed (luckily there was no rain when I had all our stuff on the ground next to the car!)

After the storm we sadly said goodbye to our friends and the kittens. After 8 days in a small house, the 7 kids were still keen to be together for longer, and L and I felt the same way, so great to find a family we gel so well with.

We left a bit after 1pm and headed south. The rain came and went, and when we stopped for lunch in Sutton Forest it was windy and freezing cold. We hung out at McDonalds for an hour or so, then made it to Yass where I needed to get petrol - there was sleet being blown sideways in under the roof of the petrol station and I got saturated, I have never been so cold putting petrol in the car! I got the big kids an orange juice, and Millie a soft serve cone and myself a chai latte and we continued on in the rain. Everyone was feeling a bit sick by now - we'd all had sore throats and sniffly noses for a few days, and we kind of crashed once our holiday was over.

At Gundagai everyone had had enough of driving, so we checked into a cabin at the caravan park near the freeway. It was a much more deluxe cabin than the one we'd had on the way up, with 3 bunks, and everyone was very excited. We headed down to Woolworths to get food for dinner - and when I went to pay I realised I'd left my wallet in the cabin, so zipped back to get it and paid - the kids coped quite well with having to do the extra trip, and I had a moment where I thought I would get upset - then figured it didn't really matter, and I was fine.

The TV worked in this cabin so we watched TV while I cooked dinner, then headed to bed fairly easily and I read Eldest to everyone until I was too tired. I started the night with a bed to myself which was pretty exciting!

Millie came in part way through the night, and neither of us slept well. We were all up fairly early and none of us felt very well. We ate breakfast and packed up and the kids had a play in the playground, and we were on our way again by just after 9.30.

Listening to 'Toby Alone' on audio CD helped everyone pass the time easily, especially with our colds getting worse. Caitlin in particular had a high fever and felt quite miserable. We stopped at Glenrowan for petrol and got some fries and ice-cream from McDonalds. Millie chatted to some army ladies when we were at the toilet, and discovered that girls can join the army, which she liked the idea of.

On the way through Yea we stopped in at Mum and Dad's and spent a lovely few hours hanging out there - showing Grandad LiAM's coins, playing lego and animals, sharing stories about our holiday and what Grandma and Grandad had been up to, looking at changes to their furniture, eating some food. We left around 5pm and were finally home just before 6 - Tony was very happy to see us and everyone was very pleased to be back in our own house and looking forward to our own beds.

Sydney Trip - > Day 5 to Day 10

Over the rest of our time in Sydney, we spent a lot of time hanging out at the house, as well as a few outings, which made it feel more like a holiday (less like being at home). On the Friday afternoon we took all the kids to Sydney Aquatic Centre at Homebush - Millie's favourite pool and somewhere she's been wanting to go back to for months. We were there for about 4 hours, swimming in the kids pool and going in and out of the fountains and tipping buckets and showers, going around and around and around in the rapids, hanging out in the spa, going on the big slide (Millie is still not tall enough, but there were plenty of other things to do to keep her happy), and running over to be dumped on by the massive bucket of water. Millie and I usually keep well away from it, by the end of this visit though she was running over with everyone else to be there for the massive wave of water. I did it once and was happy to not do it again.

On Saturday the other kids had karate and a rehearsal and other things on, and we went to Lizard Log park which has a great adventure playground, and spent 3 hours hanging out with my friend K. Her kids weren't around this weekend, so my kids played and K and I had a great chat in between helping my kids. LiAM wasn't feeling well so he didn't enjoy the playground as much as he'd hoped. It was a wonderful catch up. And warm - the first time I've been able to be outside without a jacket for many months now! On the way home we had an early dinner at Red Rooster, then home for a quiet evening with the others.

K and I at Lizard Log Park, Caitlin on the flying fox (taken by LiAM)

Sunday we headed in to Balmain to see my brother and his wife. We had a BBQ lunch sitting on their balcony overlooking the harbour, it was another beautiful sunny day and a great setting. After lunch we walked to the ferry and they took us over to Cockatoo Island - somewhere I'd never been and was very excited to visit. We wandered through one of the tunnels, examined the old cranes and railway tracks and docks, sat in the sun and ate ice cream, climbed up to the top part of the island and looked at the old sandstone buildings. On the way back to the ferry Millie fell and hurt her knee, but the ferry ride home calmed her down and we enjoyed looking at the harbour from the ferry and checking out all the gardens on the walk back to the apartment. We stayed with my brother for a cuppa, watching photos and videos of their recent trip to Thailand and Burma where they rode on elephants. They had great presents for the kids from their trip too, fans and soap for the girls and Burmese money for LiAM.

Lunch on my brother's balcony

Millie learning about sandstone on Cockatoo Island (and carrying her gift bag from her uncle and aunt)

Cockatoo Island

Monday, and the times either side of our outings on the other days, we spent at the house, playing with the kittens, playing on iPads, playing on the swings and trampoline, watching TV, sewing, dressing up in costumes (the girls did a photo shoot), making up dances and performing them for everyone, cooking (there were 2 batches of cupcakes made), playing Scrabble, and chatting and laughing.

Millie asleep with the kittens and mummy cat

Cupcake creation

Millie dancing her ballet dance

Tuesday we all went to the zoo - it only took just over an hour to drive there (boys and Millie in my car, girls in the other car). We got there just after 10 and left when it closed at 4.30. We started the day with a round trip ride on the cable car - very cool seeing the animals from above, and looking at the view over the harbour. We saw most of the animals, and stopped to watch the bird show and the seal show, both of which were excellent. We sat in the splash zone for the seal show (front row) and got quite wet, which Millie was upset about - she snuggled on my lap under my jacket for the rest of the show and was happy then. We played in the playground next to the lemurs, and then in the playground at the farm part. Millie had another 2 bad falls and hurt her knee again - luckily this time I had my sling with me so she could snuggle on my back and it wasn't so hard for me to carry her. We ended the day with a ride up on the cable car, then had ice cream and my kids bought souvenirs (a snow globe type thing with penguins in it for Caitlin, a small plush lemur (so cute!) for LiAM, and a Schleich seal for Millie, to partner the one she got a few years ago). Back to the car and LiAM and Millie and I were exhausted and still not well and wanted to go straight home, so the boys and Millie and I did that, only hitting a small pocket of slow traffic. L and the girls went down to the beach near the zoo and had a wonderful evening before heading home and missing the traffic entirely.

After checking out the zebras, Millie consulted her map to see where to go next

Sydney Trip -> Day 4

More sewing, iPads, trampolining, running outside, dressing up, doing hair, Wii, and lots of chatting by L and I this morning. The girls curled Caitlin’s hair as she was going to watch C perform in Mary Poppins tonight. All the girls left around 2.30 with L to go to dancing and then on to the show, and (for those not going to the show) to hang out in a café and a place with chocolate fondue while the show was on. I stayed at home with the 3 boys, and had a very quiet afternoon – they played the Wii and the iPads, ran around outside for a while, watched TV, played with the kittens, and popped out every so often to ask for food.

Sydney Trip -> Day 3

Despite having 13 different beds/mattresses for people to sleep on, the 7 kids managed to use only 2 single beds for the night! The 3 older girls slept in one bed, and Millie and the 3 boys in another. They all seemed pretty happy (although a bit uncomfortable) and we thought it was quite funny.

During the day the kids continued playing in and outside. They watched a movie and L and I sat out the front and had a cup of tea and a good chat. The older girls did a lot of sewing, making bags and pillows and doll’s clothes. Millie had been given a teddy by the girls, and they made clothes for it out of scraps – it looks amazing. The girls also curled each other’s hair and did make up on each other.

In the afternoon the 3 boys went in to the city as one of them has been cast in a commercial and needed to get fitted for his outfit. They took the scooters and rode for a while in Centennial park and climbed the fig trees, then called in to see a friend before going to the wardrobe call. In the meantime the girls kept sewing and played the Wii for a while, and curled my hair (which looked a bit ridiculous but was fun for all of us). I took one of the girls to dancing, and then the 3 remaining girls and I went shopping for more groceries (7 kids are eating a fair amount of food between them!). We took our time shopping which Millie liked, she could play on the rides and look at things in windows etc. We came home and did more sewing and played on iPads etc. The others got home around 9, and we organized the mattresses so that everyone could sleep in the one room without all having to sleep in the same bed. We two mums again went to bed before everyone else, but they settled down pretty quickly.

Sydney Trip -> Day 2

We woke to a very cold frosty morning. Everyone was keen to get going so we could get to Sydney earlier, so we ate breakfast, the kids helped to pack and to tidy up the cabin, then went to play on the jumping pillow and playground while I finished packing the car.

We were on the road before 9.30, something I can’t remember happening before when we’ve been staying in paid accommodation. (I think everyone having their own bag makes packing much easier, rather than one bag with everyone’s clothes in it). It was still cold and frosty but a beautiful sunny morning and lovely to be driving. We listened to some They Might Be Giants, and then started an Audio Book ‘Atticus Claw Settles the Score’ – another book about a cat and it was hilarious and engaging.

By the time we approached Gundagai I needed petrol so we stopped at the Dog on the Tuckerbox to fill the car and stretch our legs. We had a play and bought some hot chips (and a hot drink for me) and ate them in the sun near the dog. We also bought a couple of bags of Batlow apples which were delicious.

We drove the last 3 hours to Sydney with only one extremely brief stop (I pulled over, ran around to the door where the food bags were, found the food that people wanted to eat, handed it out and then we kept going and ate in transit). We reached our friends’ house at around 3.45, which was 2-3 hours before they were expecting us, so a very pleasant surprise for them, and such a relief for my kids to finally be there. Even I had been not quite believing we were going to actually get away on this holiday, so it was so great to be with our friends and realize we’d made it.

I had a cup of tea with L, and the kids played inside and out – on the trampoline and swings and bikes, in the bedrooms, dressing up, on their iPads, with the kittens (5 kittens only 4 weeks old – so incredibly small and cute!!!). After a couple of hours the girls had to go out to a dancing/singing class. Caitlin went with them and was able to join in the class which she loved. Millie and the boys and I stayed home and they continued playing as they had before. We had Chinese for dinner once everyone was home, then negotiated who was going to sleep where. L and I went to bed before any of the kids, eventually they all took themselves off and fell asleep.

Sydney Trip-> Day 1

Having packed the car the night before, we were out of the house by 9.20am which is impressive for us. We stopped off at Ringwood Library to return some DVDs and borrow a pile of audio books to listen to in the car. We made it to the city in plenty of time and after some minor hassles sorting out payment for parking, we were at Caitlin’s audition just before 11.

The audition (for a short film being made by a 2^nd year Uni student) went well and all 3 kids seemed to make an impression. On our way out of the building the alarm went off and the building was evacuated. When we reached the street there were 2 fire engines and lots of firemen so it appeared that it was not a drill. Caitlin overheard someone saying that a hot water pipe had burst. We waited outside for a little while to see if anything exciting happened, and started chatting to the girl who was auditioning after Caitlin. Another lady came over and said she’d overhead me say that we were homeschooling, and that she had homeschooled hers and loved it. The mother of the other auditioner said that she was also thinking about homeschooling, so we chatted about that for a while and exchanged details.

The kids were keen by now to get going on our trip, so we left the excitement of the emergency and started to head north. We stopped in Thomastown for Hungry Jacks (for the girls) and Red Rooster (for LiAM and I) – they were conveniently located next to each other, and sat in the car near a bike track to eat.

Then finally onto the Hume Freeway where we really felt like we were on our way to Sydney. I was quite tired and the kids were happy to have a break from the car, so we stopped after about an hour at Grass Tree rest area. There was a walking trail which we walked around, and saw lots of grass trees that looked more or less like Grug – which was pretty cool. Lots of wattle trees as well, so they collected some wattle blossoms and compared all the grass trees to Grug, and everyone felt refreshed when we got back to the car. After another hour we stopped for a toilet break at Mokoan rest area, and did another short walk – this time just along between some trees and a field, so not as interesting but a good break. The girls needed another toilet break a while later, so we stopped again, and talked to some girls whose car had broken down. It looked pretty serious, nothing simple that I could help with, so we wished them luck and moved on to Wodonga.

We reached Wodonga around 4.30 and everyone was happy to stop for the night. We got a budget cabin at the Big 4 and the kids went exploring (jumping on the jumping pillow and patting the dogs in the dog off-lead area) while I had a cup of tea. It was cold outside (had been all day, a very icy wind blowing) so everyone came back fairly quickly and we played cards for a while, then went out to find a supermarket to get supplies for tea.

I’d promised the kids hotdogs for tea, so I cooked those and fried myself some onion and kabana, and we ate them and then Magnums for dessert. The kids played a superhero/supervillian game for a while, then everyone got into bed and I read Eldest for a while. Caitlin was missing Tony who normally rubs her back before she goes to sleep – Millie moved her sleeping bag into Caitlin’s bed and rubbed her back for her which was very sweet.