OutandAbout

Week 1

Thursday 1st March and the house is buzzing, Adam has gone off to work and TJ, Bob, I  and the girls are busy packing everything up into the car for our little holiday at Tallebudgera on the Gold Coast but I’m not feeling too good, Zoe has been a bit off for a few days too so maybe we have the same thing.  We left home around 12.30 and it only took us just over the hour to get there but when we saw the villa we asked to change as it because it had 3 double beds instead of a set of 4 bunk beds in one of the rooms for the girls.

  Finally unpacked and settled, we left the girls with TJ to have their naps and went off to do a food shop for the long weekend.  This trip was organised by Tj for the whole of the mother’s group that she is part of, so there were, I think 8 families here for the weekend. Rosemaree was there without her husband until Friday evening so she popped in at teatime with a butter chicken curry that she had brought with her and shared it with our girls so we could get them to bed as they were exhausted from the days’ activities.  Adam arrived around 7.30pm and we sat down to dinner together. It had been a long day so we all turned in early so that we could get an early start tomorrow.  

I woke the next morning still feeling yuk so I took some painkillers to try and ease off my aching body.  Bacon and eggs for breakfast and we set off for a morning around the pool where we met most of the other families. 

The girls absolutely loved the pool time and by lunchtime were sufficiently tired to go for their naps.  Meanwhile, Bob and I took the opportunity to go for a walk along the coast to Burleigh Heads (about a half hour walk) for a coffee, people watching for a bit and a slow walk back.

  By now the kids had woken from their nap and had gone to play with some of the other children in the creek (the river coming in from the sea was only feet from the villas).  V
Bob and I joined them all on the beach later and we ordered fish and chips for dinner but I couldn’t eat much and I got bitten by Mosi’s too.  I returned to the villa and checked my temperature – it was up, so I took a paracetamol and went to bed! 

Saturday morning and all the children gathered for a mass scooter run to the park with the parents at 8am. Some also came on bikes.

Afterwards, we all set up on the beach for the day and another family arrived just for the day and brought along their paddleboard.  One of the other mums hired a board so everyone who wanted a go, had one. Bob kept falling off because there were also some speed boats taking water skiers out on the creek and the wake kept tossing him off ! lol Adam had a go but TJ and I were happy watching the children play.

There were at times up to 16, 2-4 year olds playing together on the beach and I didn’t see a single argument.  At teatime, some of the families stayed onsite and had pizza from a van, but we, along with 5 other families went to the surf club, a 10 min walk away, for a meal. The temperatures had been quite hot during the day but the walk back from the surf club was lovely, the breeze was soft and warm and the girls were full of energy. 

 

Sunday morning was pool morning again, we had most of the pool to ourselves as there didn’t seem to be that many people around,  maybe they had gone home last night or were packing up today. Whatever the reason it was great fun with the kids. Around 1pm the girls went for naps and Adam and TJ decided that they would go home this evening as we had to be out of the villa by 10am tomorrow and Adam would have to leave at 5.30am to get to work.  So Adam and I took the girls down to the creek while Bob cooked dinner and Tj packed their stuff into the car.

Bob and I decided to stay the night and do the villa cleanup before we left which was easier without the children around.  Some of the other families had rented villas on the beach and were having an evening beach get together so we all joined them until the mosi’s started biting.

  Adam and Tj left around 7pm with the girls in their pjs ready to go straight to bed.  Bob isn’t feeling well….  

Monday morning we were up early and cleaned through the villa and were on our way home by 10am.  We had planned to stop off somewhere on the way and make a day of it but Bob still isn’t feeling good so thought it best to get home while he could still drive as I don’t have insurance to drive here. 

We think that Zoe brought a 48 hr virus home from daycare as we have both had it too so after resting for a day Bob was feeling better.  

Week 2

Tj has been researching schools for Mia next year, the school just across the road is ok and they have been to the PTA to see how things are run and were impressed, however, there is a school just out of their catchment that has a really good reputation so Tj asked us to go along to a tour of the school to give our opinion of it.  We went and were impressed, the school seemed to have a positive ambience,  good discipline with the children,  and the facilities were much better than a previous school we had visited.  The only problem being that it is so popular that they don’t take many children out of the catchment. Previously parents had camped out on the street to be first in the queue on the day they were taking applications, this year they did it online so Adam and TJ had to be ready to send their application at 8am on the day, which was much easier. 

This week, nothing unusual to tell, just the normal, cooking, cleaning, shopping, taking the girls to dancing, swimming and a bit of sewing.  Bob golfed and did the lawns.  

Saturday morning was swim class for the girls, then Adam took me to a computer shop as I had brought a hard drive with me that belonged to Lucy and Adi that had failed.  It contained some photos of their honeymoon and of the boys when they were young and they hadn’t been backed up so they were lost.  Adam had a friend who was going to look at it but when we got here he said he didn’t do that anymore, hence the visit to another recommended computer shop.  They said they would look at it to see if they could easily fix it, if not it would have to go to a “clean room”  to be taken apart and hopefully recover the data.    In the afternoon we all went to the IceCream festival, near the city.  We had tickets to get in but it was pouring with rain when we arrived so the security didn’t even ask for our tickets, just ushered us in out of the rain. 

We had a lovely afternoon, trying some of the weird and wonderful ice creams, my favourite to see, was charcoal icecream – 2 little boys were with their parents who had made the ice cream and they were black !!! Obviously testing their parents produce all day lol.  When we returned home TJ and I left the boys to feed and put the girls to bed as we were babysitting for a friend of hers til nearly midnight but we then sat talking to them until nearly 1am! 

Sunday morning I had to drag myself out of bed at 7am as Tj had arranged to host a playdate with some of Mias’ Kindy friends at 9am.  We set up the table outside on the deck but it kept raining on and off, however, when the children, 13 of them, and their parents arrived the rain stopped and all was good.  A very successful morning, everyone brought food for nibbling, the children all played well, destroyed the playroom and emptied all the toy boxes on the floor but when they left it only took half an hour to put everything away.  In the afternoon we watched Paddington on the tv and got the news that our grandson, Daniel had come 2nd in his trampoline competition and had qualified for the regionals which we were delighted with.  

Week 3  Monday 12th 

Usual start to the week, girls to daycare, some housework and tidying and wash on.  Adam and tj are toying with selling their house in the UK to fund a bigger 5 bedroom house here – seems sensible as they need the extra space while we are here and it would make visitors more comfortable to have their own room.  We researched any possible houses in the area and prices and took a drive out to look at locations and sizes of them on the way to lunch at a lovely cafe called Picnic.   In the afternoon I finished writing up the February blog and uploaded it and then I have bought some craft files which I also wanted to upload and have a play with and start making birthday cards for Adam and TJ’ birthdays. Before you know it its bedtime again … 

Tuesday is golf day for Bob and I this week, we have decided on Gailes Golf which is a 20-minute drive away.  Soon realised it was a mistake to change the day as we had 3 Chinese men in front of us and 3 Chinese women in front of them, assume they are the wives and slow as you like!  Eventually had to jump 2 holes to get past them and then stuck behind 4 men who wouldn’t let us through for 6 holes!  Bob had to buy me lunch in Ikea to calm me down!  Trying to get Bob to like the Thermomix so his meal to cook tonight was chicken and mushroom risotto in the thermo – hey he made a good job of it and we didn’t help him much so he had to work out how to use it pretty much himself but he did great !  The computer shop who was looking at the hard drive to see if they could get the photos off, called today, to say that it was a serious fault and they couldn’t get the data without going to their “clean room”. They could dismantle it and probably get to the data, so we paid 250$ for the clean room service and waited. 

Adam and Tj have the bit between their teeth in regards to finding a bigger house, so they booked an appointment to see their financial advisor and a viewing on a 5 bed house locally. On Saturday, after the girls swim class we went to Rochdale Display homes where there are about 50 new built homes from several builders to wander through. We did about 15 I would think before the girls got tired.  However, after seeing what their money would get for a 5 bed house they decided to look into extending their own house and set about making  some rough drawings of their own in the evening. 

Sunday 18th is TJ birthday and her treat was the Rio circus (animal free) . The girls were amazed at the acts and we ooed and AHHed at the acrobatics and high wire walkers and strong men and the circus ended with a motorbike zooming off a ramp into the tent from one side and flying out the other! 

Today I found the latest Scan n Cut craft machine on Gumtree, it was on sale for 350$ which is less than half price and I offered $300 which she accepted Yeh so excited but I have to go to Bribie Island over an hour away to pick it up in the week.

Week 4

Things are getting busy this week, firstly the internet went down last night – of all times,  this morning the school that they want to send Mia to has opened its webpage to submit the application forms from 8am !  Still, we have no internet and last year people queued out in the street the night before to get a place and they only took 18 out of catchment.  So its cross our fingers and use the mobile – luckily we got 9th place on the list and on the grapevine we believe they are expecting to take up to 12.  Unfortunately, we won’t know for sure if she has a place until October.  Adam has now gone off to work even though he isn’t feeling well – perhaps he has the bug Zoe and I had? He did come home in the afternoon with a headache so we went out to pick up some material to make a fancy underskirt for Tj and a table tent for the girls, to give him some peace.

We have sent an email to the Queensland Mounted Police Department as Mia has been asking questions about how they work.   In the evening, to get a better insight into the workings of the Seven Hills School Adam and TJ went along to their Parent Teacher Meeting, maybe it will help their cause to secure a place for Mia too.  A few days later, Tjs friend, Rosemaree was chatting to a plumber doing some jobs in her house and he mentioned that his children went to Seven Hills, she asked what he thought of the school and he said he was part of the Parent Teacher Group,  in the conversation he said that a couple whose children don’t even go to their school came to the parent-teacher meeting, he thought that was impressive. Haha when Rosemaree told Tj of this conversation, Tj said – “it was us Rosemaree”  – she should have realised – Team Gallard don’t do things by halves!  

On Tuesday morning the Mounted Police replied with an invite to visit them for a couple of hours tomorrow morning!  What service. Mia is taking the morning off Daycare and Bob and I will visit with her.   Also, Adam and TJ have decided to definitely sell their house in the UK, it is a bit of a struggle for TJ to give it up as it was their first house together but its a sensible decision so they have told the renters. Also they have decided that it is better to extend the house they have, rather than go looking for a 5 bedroom house.  They love this house and as the 5 bedroom houses they have looked at aren’t exactly what they want and they would have to spend money on them to update anyway so its probably cheaper to extend than move.

Wednesday and Mia is extra excited, we drove all the way to Moggall Road, about an hour in the car. 

We were greeted by Nicky who showed us around and told us all about the horses.  We were watching from the edge of the menage but Mia couldn’t see over so they fetched her a step.

They have 17 horses at the moment but they can stable 25. They don’t work every horse every day because they don’t have enough riders, in fact, some of the grooms and officers who can ride come and take them out on their days off. 

They did some musical riding, trotting and cantering, they played ball games with them and races to keep them active.  The weather wasn’t very good and twice it rained and we had to run for cover but at the end of the tour we could go and pat them and talk to the riders and ask questions. Mia got shy but Grandad was in there with lots of questions, he said they are very laid back compared with the military style mounted department he worked in. Just before we left we were allowed time to take photos and Nicky took a nice one of us with all the horses.

We returned Mia to daycare for the afternoon, she wants to do a show and tell page about her day for next week now.   Adam still isn’t well so at the last minute he asked me if I wanted to take his ticket to see Ed Sheeran in concert !!!! Do I !!! I love you Adam, sorry you don’t feel well enough to go :(. 

The concert was lovely, slightly disappointed that he didn’t play more songs that I knew, there were a lot of new ones he has written and he is into rapping – not my scene. However, the rest of the concert was great.  

Thursday morning we have arranged to go to Bribie Island to pick up my scan n cut it’s a lovely drive and no problems collecting it.  Lunch at Westfield shopping in North Lakes and their Ikea entrance is inside the shopping centre and the best thing ever Ikea —- an express checkout at the entrance – I only wanted some drawer liners so no going all the way through the marketplace to pay. Great ! 

Friday morning and a builder is at the house at 8am to look at the house to see if it is possible to build up, its a yes but it’s going to be expensive. Tj took the girls to dancing and then for haircuts so I had some time to myself to play with my new machine.  Lots to talk about in the afternoon while the girls have their naps and in the evening we met up with the group of people that Adam and TJ met on their cruise last month.

 

We had a lovely dinner and chat with them and stayed until late after they took the girls home to bed. A couple of them have become facebook friends.  Sad news when we got home though, Lucy’s appeal for the house plans has been refused.  Poor Lucy and Adi, they are so desperate to make it a beautiful home.  

Saturday was like a hive of activity, after swim class, TJ was cooking a meal and preparing a picnic for Sunday lunch. I was sewing, making the table tent. 

Adam and Bob were busy fixing things:- repainting postbox, finishing the decking roof, replacing some screws in the decking, painting the wooden picnic table that tj hoofed out of a skip and chalkboard painting an old round plastic Ikea kids table she picked up off the street.!  Just enough time to shower and the babysitter arrived at 6.15 to look after the girls while we went to Escape Hunt.  We met up with Laureen and Mike who hadn’t done this before.  Its great fun, you have an hour locked in a room to find out who murdered the jockey and get the key to let yourselves out.  Lots of clues and doors to open with number padlocks on them to find the answers. 

Afterwards, we walked down the road and had a drink in a nice Hotel.

To finish off a jam-packed week, today we were off to Carbrook Lake where Adam, TJ, Bob and some other friends were wakeboarding on a wire! This was Adams birthday treat,  it was a lovely day, there was a bit of a beach for the children to play and some paddle boats and canoes to use while we were waiting. Mia went in a canoe with Grandad but Zoe was having none of it!  Lots of people came and watched, brought a picnic and spent a lovely morning chilling. The girls were almost asleep by the time we got home so we had a quiet afternoon and evening watching a film. 

Week 5

Its Adams birthday and Tj has a surprise for him, you will see from the pics that he wasn’t sure what he was looking at for a moment and then it seemed to dawn on him but he couldn’t believe it!  She had booked next Friday morning to Monday morning out into the Pacific Ocean and back on a food and drink cruise, just the 2 of them.  He has been working very hard at work since the beginning of the year, lots of long days and evening and weekends, we had been pushing him to get jobs done in the house too while Bob was here to help, so he was tired and she thought he needed a break.

 

 

Really, a Cruise, just the 2 of us? Wow !Another builder arrived at 8am to look at the house and give an estimate of the cost of extending to compare with the first. This one arrived in a smart shirt and trousers – not what a builder should look like and his estimate was way over the first!   Adam left after the builder and went off to work with a big grin on his face, so nice to see.  Bob went off to play golf with a friend of Lucy’s from the Uk who was visiting Brisbane for a wedding and wanted a round of golf.  That left Tj and I to have some time to ourselves and then lunch with Adam as it was his birthday.

Tuesday was a cleaning, washing, ironing, sewing, gardening day at home for us while the house was empty. We cooked dinner ready for them all coming home.  We like these days to ourselves, with coffee breaks, lunch on the deck and catch up with the odd tv series.  In the evening Adam and Tj went to the parent-teacher meeting at Carina, the school across the road, as this is the school in the catchment for Mia if she doesn’t get into Seven Hills and whichever school she gets to go to they want to be part of it. Wednesday  Adam worked from home and we played golf together at Mount Warren, my favourite course this visit. I won again at this course.  Lunch at Shingle inn and a walk around the craft shop before returning home to cook dinner, another nice day. Thursday Bob has another project, Tj has found some more little chairs for the children but the legs are in need of a coat of paint so he took them off and started the process.  I am continuing with the table tent and other projects, its easter bonnet parade this afternoon at daycare so a quick adjustment to the hats we made earlier for the girls before they go.

  Bob went with Tj as I had been to it last time and I wanted to get dinner organised.  Friday is Good Friday so Adam at home, Tj wanted them to finish off jobs in the house, she has a list and as they finished one, she was there with the next, good day of ticking off the list which is needed as we are down to 4 weeks til we leave. In the afternoon we wanted to see the film Blockers, such a great belly laughing film.  Bob and I did the afternoon performance and when we got back we made pizza for dinner and then Adam and Tj went off to see it.  A must see film. 

The last day of the month, Easter Saturday and we have an invite to the gold Coast to Sam and Ollie’s holiday apartment right by the seafront.  The pool is fabulous and the children played so happily,  we had a bbq and left around 5pm. Put the children to bed and played cards in the evening.  

I can’t believe its almost time to go home, feeling sad to leave, we have such a special relationship with the girls now.  Today Mia asked if when I have gone home to see Auntie Lucy can I come back because its fun with us here- oh my I am going to cry for ages!   It’s raining as I type, massive thunderstorm and loud noises, perhaps this is the sign I have to go home? 

Miss you all and looking forward to see everyone soon. 

x 

 

 

 

1st week of February

Thursday, and at last the temperature has cooled down to mid 20’s and we have had some rain, the girls are at home today and Mia is delighted that she can go into the garden with her new multi-coloured umbrella that Santa bought her.  It’s not worth going to the park so we did some housework that the girls love to help with, then some drawing and painting and jigsaws in the morning and in the afternoon, after trying on all their new shorts and t-shirts, we    cleared out the girls cupboards and I now have a pile of shorts that are too big around Mia’s waist.  A bit of elastic and the sewing machine soon fixes that.  The Thermomix is on again, this time Tj is in cooking mode and the results are, a Feta, Spinach and Carrot Frittata and some lunchbox fritters with cheese, mint, carrot, raisins, apricot and coriander in them –  with a yoghurt, mint and coriander dip –  mmm yummy.

Daddy is coming home from Perth tonight after 6 days away and everyone is looking forward to seeing him. I’ve made his favourite trifle for dessert and Bob is busy with his next painting project – the garage doors. While he is doing that,  Tj decided to take the girls out today after a day at home yesterday.   So we went along to GOMA “Museum of Modern Art”, in the city.  It’s raining again and the forecast is for rain all day and the temperatures are down to 20 degrees.

  The main reason for this visit is an exhibition of “Illusion” which finishes tomorrow and TJ wanted to be a part of it. Everyone gets a strip of circular stickers, all colours and all sizes and you just go and stick them where you want to.  I must say that I got a bit giddy and had to have a sit down but the girls loved it. 

 

 

 

The weekend was quiet for a change, just the girls swim classes and a play in the big pool afterwards with their friends and in the evening TJ and I had a lesson in binary.  It was very interesting and we learnt how to write a number in binary – well you never know when we might need it ??  Sunday we all went to Rocklea market to buy some fruit and veg and found out, that was on Saturday, Sunday is the boot market! 

2nd Week 

Again this week was much quieter, I think we are all tired from the last couple of months of activity and need a few days of not doing too much.  Once the girls are in daycare and Kindy, Bob ran the lawnmower around the garden and TJ and I did a tidy up job in the house then we all  went to meet Adam for lunch at his work before a  trip to Indooroopilly Shopping Centre on the north side of the river, looking for clothes for TJ’s new job .  Didn’t find much, but we had a nice walk around. Tuesday was a golf day for me, Katana Downs this time, about 45 mins drive north. The photos on the internet of it showed a beautiful, green lush course, but the realisation that that was taken some time ago soon became apparent.  The price was cheap so we enjoyed the game but its a shame it’s not looked after too well now.  Wednesday evening Adam and TJ went to Mia’s Kindy to meet the educators and find out what they will be doing in the next few months.  It’s scary how quickly the time is flying, next year she will be at school. 

Thursday we went to the Westfield shopping centre at the bottom of the road to take 10 pieces of unwanted clean clothing for a charity and Westfield gave you a $10 voucher!  Hey why not! 

Friday I’m not feeling too good so I decide on a lie in while TJ takes Mia to her SuperStars dance class.  In the afternoon I felt better so I made a couple of birthday cards and Adams Valentine Card for TJ.  She has a special surprise for Adam and I was keeping the secret so I can’t tell you what yet – wait til you get to February 14th to find out! …..  The girls have gone to bed so Adam is babysitting while Bob, TJ and I go to the local cinema to see 50 Shades Freed!  What a laugh, as we stood in the queue to show our tickets and go into the cinema, Bob observed that its all women in the queue and says, in a not too quiet voice, “am I going to be the only male in there”, to which a young woman, with a group of friends,  in front of us said “you can sit with us if you like?” well I said “you’ve pulled love” haha.  Halfway through the film TJ said, “is this right, watching this sort of film with your in-laws ?” 

Saturday 10th Feb is TJ’s friend Sam’s birthday and they have just bought an apartment on the Gold Coast so invited us down to use the facilities and have a bbq.  We all met at the beach in the morning, it was a glorious day, hot and sunny, the girls loved making sandcastles, burying anyone who would let them and collecting buckets of water from the edge of the water.  Adam took Mia out into the ocean to a sandbar some 100 metres out where lots of people were jumping the waves but Zoe preferred to stay on solid ground. Then at lunchtime we moved to the apartment. Unfortunately, the paperwork hadn’t been completed yesterday, as they had hoped, but they still had the keys for the entrance gate so we could use the pools and have the bbq. 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday was a stay at home day because the weather wasn’t good, there were storm warnings and my god there was a huge storm that rattled the doors and windows in the late afternoon.

So we painted handprints onto the Christmas tree skirt (the idea is to put the girls’ handprints on every year until they are 18) and we caught a grasshopper in the garden and put it in a clear box that Mia had for her birthday, so we could study it. 

3rd Week 

This was the result of the storm last night,  we woke to find the tree outside had lost a couple of large branches.

Tj starts her new job next week so while she did a trial run this morning,  to daycare and on the train to the city,  Bob and I did a clean through the house.  In the evening Tj had bought us tickets to go to a Thermomix demonstration. It was so interesting, they gave us lots of tips and tricks and all the food they cooked we could sample at the end. Then they had a ticket draw and TJ won the Thermomix serving bowl as a prize – she was sooo delighted as she had been wanting an extra one since she bought the thermomix  !. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday morning we didn’t have the car so we walked to the shopping centre and I had my nails done.  In the afternoon, all fired up with the information and recipes from last night I began cooking, at the end of the day I had made meatballs for dinner, citrus salt, some mayonnaise which looked nothing like I had tried last night and some brunch bread (see pic) which was amazing. 

 

Its Valentines day, the girls have to wear something red for daycare and Adam is going to get his surprise ….                                           Over breakfast TJ hands Adam an envelope with his Valentines card in it and something else inside …                

What is this then?

Really, a Cruise, just the 2 of us? Wow!

He was amazed, TJ has never done anything like this before, they were going on a long weekend cruise in 10 days time,  out into the Pacific for 4 days, just the 2 of them, with nannie and grandad babysitting.  He has been working very hard lately and Tj thought a trip away would do them both good. 

Bob and I went off for a round of golf and lunch at Shingle Inn was my Valentines treat. It was TJs official last day at Parmalat so she was out for her leaving lunch with the office staff.

Thursday morning Tj had booked a trampoline trial lessons for Mia, unfortunately, Zoe isn’t old enough but it was easy to see why.  There were only Mia and her friend Malar at this trial session which ran for about 45 mins.  The older girls really enjoyed it, although there was no air con in the building and it was 35 degrees outside so we all melted a bit.  Zoe and Malar’s sister Sera were allowed to join in the stretching exercises part of the lesson,  they sat and listened to the teacher but they didn’t do any stretching so it was easy to see why they have to be 3 to join in properly. In the afternoon I made some choc chip cookies for snack time. Daddy isn’t supposed to get the girls excited just before bedtime but sometimes he does ! 

 

Tj is looking at schools for Mia and Zoe, today was a tour of Mayfield school.  We met one of the teachers and she took us around the school, it only has just over 300 pupils and the staff were friendly and enthusiastic about their teaching but the school itself was somewhat scruffy I thought with a poor play area for the Prep children. Tj said I was biased as I had only looked at a public school before with lots of money and resources and this was a typical state school.  It did have its own swim pool but that looked dirty to me and there wasn’t much outside space that wasn’t concrete.  I am going to see another state school next month so I will have something to compare with. 

The weekend and we are free !  our friends Laureen and Mike have invited us up to their house about 45 mins up the coast for the weekend.  We drove up in the morning and after the tour of the house we sat in the garden and had lunch and a drink.  The Olympics have started so we watched some tv and then went out for a drive to Scarborough on the coast.  Apparently, there is a great place for fish and chips here. We sat on a bench overlooking the ocean and watching the sun go down with our fish and chips and a bottle of bubbly and orange juice – life can’t be better than this can it?  Sunday morning after breakfast and reading the newspapers we set off for Bribie Island.  We had lunch in a pub, steak sandwiches and salad and then we joined the many other people on the beautiful beach for a couple of hours.  The sun was hot and the surf high so there was lots to watch.  After a while of jumping the waves, Laureen and I sat on the edge of the water, having a “putting the world to rights” conversation but when I went to get up my swimsuit was full of sand!  I tried to extricate it but it has one of those “holds you in” swimsuits so the lining was too dense to get the sand out,  I walked to the showers with a “bag of sand”  weighing down my swimsuit – looked like I had had an accident lol ! 

On the way back we stopped at the Sandstone Hotel for a drink before waving goodbye to our friends after a lovely relaxing weekend. 

 

While we were away, Adam and Tj allowed Mia a sleepover with her friends on Saturday night, apparently it was noisy but they all had a good time. Sunday Adam escaped for a park run ……………..

 

 

 

 

 

4th week              

We started the week with a trip to the fruit and veg market at Rocklea, buying for the whole weeks baking.  While Bob did the lawns – they grow so quickly here – and cleaned the cars, Tj went to get her eyebrows done and some shopping.  I turned the Thermomix on and made some strawberry jam in the afternoon as we bought 15 punnets  for 4$, then some strawberry yoghurt icepops and an apple and rhubarb crumble for after dinner.  Tj did a chicken tikka curry from scratch but not having used star anise before, she milled it.  She had a thought and asked me to check if star anise was ok to mill – when I looked it up I realised that it is poisonous to actually eat it milled – good job she had a feeling or we might all have been poisoned! 

Tuesday was cleaning, washing, ironing day – it has to be done! Tj sent us a photo of Zoe at daycare and then Bob took a photo of the girls as they arrived home in the evening. 

 Bob and I went to golf at Riverlakes Wednesday where I thoroughly  beat him even though  I still don’t like the course much,  there is far too much water for my liking. Tj had hoped to have this week off work but they were struggling so much that she offered to work an extra week so her leaving day is now today. They will miss her and her boss said if she ever wanted a job or changed her mind about the move, she would be welcomed back with open arms – can’t say any better than that can you?

Lynne and Alan arrived this morning from Sydney, normally we try to fly down to see them but as they have a couple of weeks from grandparent duties, they had decided to drive up to Queensland and visit a few friends.  They arrived late morning and after lunch and the girls had gone down for naps we drove up to Mount Gravatt to take in the views. Although it was a cloudy day it was surprisingly clear up there.  We had intended having a coffee there too, but the cafe was closing up at 3.30pm  so we drove back down the hill and found a coffee elsewhere.  As soon as Adam was on his way home we walked across the road to the leagues club for dinner.  We had hoped there would be music on tonight for the girls to have a dance but there wasn’t so we set off for home, realising that it was thundering and raining hard. With the girls story time done and in bed, we sat down to watch some tv and POW! the electricity went off.  Apparently, an electricity station had been hit by lightening and there was a small explosion. Not knowing how long it would be before power was restored, we all went to bed by torch and candlelight.  At around 11.30 in the evening the power came back on and surprised us all as lights and tvs sprang into life ! lol  

The next morning, although power was restored, some internet cables were not repaired so we had no internet.   This was very annoying as today Adam and Tj were going off on their cruise at lunchtime and Adam was going to work from home, however, no internet meant no working from home so he had to go across the city to work. Tj had put the girls in for an extra daycare day and Alan and Lynne departed to continue their journey around 10am so I helped Tj packing bags.  She discovered that Adams black shoes had the backs out of them so sourced a new pair and dashed out to buy them for him.  She also packed a lot more for him than he had for himself – better to have everything than not have something, especially when there was no luggage weight restrictions. At last all ready, Bob dropped them at the port, wishing them well and not to worry the girls would be safe with us. 

Saturday morning Zoe is awake at 6am but Mia is still sleeping so I took her into Adam and Tjs bed and we watched tv.

After breakfast we took the girls to their swim classes, we had said we would all go in the big pool afterwards but it was pouring with rain so we went home instead. We made tents in the lounge with blankets and after naps we Mia made biscuits and offered to do the washing up while Zoe did some colouring in.

Both girls went to bed, good as gold but Bob and I weren’t too far behind as we were tired from the full on day. 

Sunday was a much better day, the sun was shining so we promised water fun as we couldn’t go in the pool yesterday.  We drove out to the coast to Wynnum where they have recently updated the park with a water play area and fountains. We played on the swings and chased the crabs on the beach, we had a picnic lunch and then into the water play area. 

 

 

 

 

Before we left we had icecream – oops sorry mummy ! 

We went home for naps but had to wake Mia after 3 hours ! must have worn her out this morning.  In the afternoon we played in the garden, dressing up as princesses, did some chalk board drawing and some painting, then trampoline and obstacle course racing – Mia can run the width of the garden in 6.8 seconds! 

Zoe rubbing all pictures out !

Well we survived the weekend, Adam and Tj tried to call us on the phone but they didn’t have a good signal but the girls went to bed again happily, knowing that mummy and daddy would be back in the morning.  

5th Week

I was awake before 6am, Adam called to say that they would be off the boat early so Bob drove down to the port to pick them up at 6.15am while I got the girls up and breakfasted, ready for daycare.  They were so happy to see them but Adam had to be off to work and the girls to daycare so business as usual, out the door by 7.45 am.  I had an appointment with Apple to have the battery changed on my iphone at 11am so Tj dropped us there and picked us up after she had had her hair done.  She starts her new job tomorrow so she wanted to make a good first day impression. At 5 pm Tj went to pick the girls up but Zoe isn’t well, she has a temperature of 38.5 but there is a 48 hr virus going round apparently.  Tuesday morning, Zoe still not well – its Tjs first day so I said leave her off daycare I will look after her. She was quiet – not like Zoe – her temperature went up and down all day but she rested and slept so she seemed much better Wednesday and went to daycare.  So much to do today, packing, a trifle to make, a pasta sauce for tomorrows dinner and shopping list to make as tomorrow we are off to Tallebudgera on the gold coast for a long weekend trip with Tjs mothers group friends. 

You will have to wait for March blog to see all the pics and stories from our long weekend away.      So for now, hasta luego xxx

Continue reading Brisbane January 2018

Happy New Year everyone, I hope you all had a good Christmas and didn’t partake too much of the strong stuff over the new year.  We had an amazingly busy December as not only did we have Christmas but Zoe’s 2nd birthday party and a new year party here too.  However, I will start at the beginning of December where we left off having been to watch the professional golfers do their thing on the Gold Coast. 

Sorry, its a few days later than I had anticipated writing this, but we have just finished (well almost) a major project – making a new, larger decking area for the girls to play on and it has been exhausting in the 35 degrees of heat that we are experiencing at the moment.  

The first week

The first weekend of December Tj wanted to clear out some of the clutter so she went to a car boot sale across the road and managed to sell around a 100 $au of “stuff”. Meanwhile, as it was swim class this morning, Bob and I offered to take the girls and Bob got in the pool with Zoe to do her lesson, while I sat on the side and watched Mia have hers, both girls have had lessons since they were little and love the water. 

Monday morning and the girls are at home, the door wreath is almost complete so we finished it off, added lights and hung it up, the girls can’t wait until its dark to see it working.

During the afternoon the weather got very thundery and as I was getting changed upstairs there was a deafening bang and a startlingly bright light came at me through the window – I ran downstairs to tell Bob and Tj what had happened and they too had seen it through the lounge window.  I have never before been afraid of thunderstorms, in fact, I quite like the smell of the air and the rumblings but this was a thunderbolt that hit the road outside the house thankfully missing the car.  When I saw the neighbour a few days later she said she had seen the same, an experience I don’t want to repeat!

During the rest of the week Bob and I played golf at Victoria Park one day, the last time we played here I almost scored a “hole in one” – not so this time! We also did some Christmas shopping and had a playdate with one of TJs friends who has a new baby, (bit of ooh and ahh and a cuddle for everyone).

Adam and Bob spent some time in the loft trying to fix the tv signal, only to find that the thunderbolt had frizzled the box in the loft and he had to buy and fit a new one – not happy, just before Christmas.  Wednesday was Zoe’s Christmas concert at daycare where the idea was that they all sang songs they had been practicing for weeks, however, Zoe, who had been singing these songs perfectly in the car, over and over again, suddenly became dumb along with several other children. 

We have to remember that some of these children are less than a year old but they were so overwhelmed by all the parents standing in front of them expectantly, that they didn’t sing and all we could really hear was the teachers!! Everyone had taken a plate of food for after the concert, so as soon as the buffet was declared open, they all suddenly got their voices back, got up and tucked in. 

For some time Tj had been considering buying a Thermomix machine, (it cuts, mixes, chops, sautee’s, stirs and cooks all in one) but its very expensive.  She asked me to have a look at it to see what I thought so I went along to her friends’ house to get a demonstration of its capabilities and I was impressed.  It also has a recipe store attached to it and you can download things to it, and it walks you through the recipe on an led screen.  After dinner we had a family meeting where we discussed the pros and cons of purchasing this machine and our conclusion was that it would be good and healthy for the family.  Thermomix ordered ….. can’t wait for it to arrive. 

 I woke early as usual today, Friday, and as I stretched and looked towards the window to see what was in store for us today I spied an intruder!  There, brazen as can be was a very large spider, looking at me from the coving on the ceiling.  OMG, I don’t mind normal spiders but this was huge.  I rushed out of bed into Adam and TJs room asking for help …. did they have a spider catcher?  Adam strolled in with a plastic sandwich box and a lid and just scooped it up and put it outside — phew.  It was a Huntsman spider of medium size apparently but it looked gruesome to me. 

 Brisbane Council had made an enchanted garden in the Roma Street parkland and over the next few days the garden was open, free of charge for anyone to go and look.  So Friday evening we met Claire, one of Tjs friends, and her children to visit the garden. O my, the queue was huge, Claire had arrived before us some 30 minutes before and she still hadn’t reached anywhere near the front of the queue. We slid in beside her and nobody complained, but we waited perhaps another 40 minutes before we were in.  However, it was beautifully done and a credit to the gardeners, there were lights and fairies everywhere and the flower beds were manicured,  Zoe kept stopping and looking at the flowers, not really interested in the lights,  “yellow flower Nannie, red flower, pretty flower…. ” she is learning colours at the moment.

 

 

 

Adams next project is to build a better post box as the current one is a tin box on a very dilapidated wooden post.                                   His idea was a little grand but we went with it and after several drawings we came up with a plan.  As with all projects, they evolve as you work and we had to stop and re-evaluate on several occasions but by the end of the weekend we had a shape and a bit more of an idea as to how it was going to look.  In the evening of Saturday Bob and I had tickets to go and see Paul McCartney at the Suncorp stadium, weather forecast for the weekend was heavy rain but so far it hadn’t arrived.  We travelled to the stadium by train but as we arrived at Milton Station, the rain started and it poured and poured, the thunder roared and lightning flashed and it was so heavy that we couldn’t get out of the station..  Some very nice station people gave out some plastic ponchos so that some people could walk the last 200 yards to the stadium but unfortunately we didn’t manage to get one.  There were heaps of people just waiting around and eventually about 20 mins later the rain eased enough to run for it.  As we were about to go, an even nicer man asked if we would like a poncho to share as he had a spare – brilliant, Bob and I huddled under it and walked swiftly until we were inside the stadium.  It was almost empty when we arrived as lots of people had also been stuck in the storm but we bought a hot drink and some chips and found our seats, great view but the wind and rain was coming into the stadium over the wall where our seats were so Bob had to take drastic action to stop his head getting wet. 

 

Paul arrived on stage on time to a packed audience and sang for almost 3 hours non stop – he was amazing especially at 75 years of age.  He sang lots  of old Beatles and Wing songs along with a few new ones too.  We left the stadium on a high, humming all the old songs he had sung as we walked back to the railway station. 

 

2nd Week  

The girls go to daycare on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays so on Monday, as the weather was hot I suggested a visit to Southbank beach with TJ and Bob.

Southbank beach is right in the city on the other side of the Brisbane river and is a manmade beach with pools for everyone to swim in, a water play area and cafes, so we spent the morning splashing in the pools and having a bit of lunch before bringing the girls back for their afternoon naps. 

Tuesday is Bob and my day so we went up to Wantima golf, north of Brisbane for a round.  We had seen lots of advertising for this course so thought we would try it out, unfortunately it was only mediocre in value and quality so ticked off the list of courses to play but not on the play again list !  Wednesday was gardening day, the front of the house will look great when the new post box is complete and installed but it just needs a bit of tidying and moving a few plants around to make way for it.

 

At the weekend TJ has tickets for the Wiggles, (an Australian childrens’ entertainment team) so she wanted banners made for them to wave. Nannie was charged with the job of making them …… that was the afternoon used up while Adam and Tj  went off for a Christmas works lunch and the girls had their naps. At teatime the Thermomix arrived and Tjs friend brought it along and set it up for us.  

Friday morning was Mia’s turn for a Christmas concert, being nearly 4years old this was a much bigger affair. 

The daycare had rented out a nearby school auditorium and almost 2hrs of singing and dancing was in store for us by probably nearly a hundred children from all the classes up to school age.  Adam had taken the day off work to be there and Mia was a star, I know, I’m biased but she sang her heart out, remembered all the words and the Happy Feet dance class she attends did a fabulous routine.  After dropping her back at Daycare, Adam and Bob continued with the post box construction and Tj and I played with the Thermomix and made some chocolate chip cookies in no time at all – love it! 

Saturday morning and the girls are so excited to be going to the Wiggles Concert at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre.  Luckily we left in plenty of time and arrived without any traffic problems but Tjs friend Claire wasn’t so lucky as she left home a bit later and got stuck in a jam.  Fortunately, the concert was delayed for 30 mins to allow those in the traffic jam to get to their seats and not miss any of the show.  The banners performed well and the girls looked amazing dressed in their “Emma” and “Captain Feathersword” outfits.

 

Wiggles concert

I learnt some new songs and moves and had a great time along with the girls.     

As a treat, we went out for dinner in the evening,  

to an outdoor food market where you can buy almost any type of cooked food from a stall and sit and eat it. A band played a mix of songs for entertainment and the girls enjoyed a dance. Early to bed as tomorrow is a big day too……

Sunday is Wet n Wild day, a water park on the gold coast some 45 minutes away. It’s part of a group which we have annual tickets for which includes MovieWorld, SeaWorld and a smaller farm park so we can visit as often as we like. We met up with 2 friends of Tj and their families, we took snacks and lunch with us and set up camp near the children’s waterslide and pool area. 

They all had a splashing time, Mia finally went down a covered in tube that she hadn’t wanted to ride before and  Zoe, with her “puddlejumper” water wings thought she was invincible and just played happily on the slides and in the water. Both girls were fast asleep within a few minutes of leaving the park as they had had such a lovely  day.

 

 

Zoe with her wings 

3rd Week

I’m sorry if you are struggling to read all this but December was a particularly busy month for us so lots to write.  Monday we stayed at home, catching up with housework stuff as we had been out all weekend and in the afternoon I set up some paints on the patio for the girls to express themselves and do some art ….. didn’t quite go as I had planned …. no explanation just look at the pics …. haha

Tuesday I feel icky and not right, think I am coming down with something so I have cancelled golf and Bob has gone off to his Thursday group of golfers at a local course in the hope that some of them are there today to play with while I stay in bed.  I slept and slept on and off all day and only just about appeared for an hour in the evening before going back to bed with more honey and lemon and paracetamol. Wednesday I am feeling a bit better and managed to venture out to the local DIY store for some lawn edgings, cement and some flowers.  Not up to helping much but I sat and watch Bob jet wash the path and re-grout it with the cement, oversee the flower planting and edging the lawn.  I think the day of rest worked as I’m feeling much better by Thursday so while Bob is at his normal golf course this morning, TJ and I check out Gumdale swim pool. 

What a great little place, its only a couple of dollars to go in, its got a baby pool only a foot deep with 4 slides and a climbing frame in it, another graduated pool only about  3 ft at its deepest with 2 bigger slides into it, a deeper swim area attached and then a separate 25 metre length pool for the bigger kids and swimmers.  It has a covered picnic area, 2 climbing frames for younger and older kids and a cafe too. 

Ok, it’s not posh and probably needs some tlc here and there but it is a great place for young children.  It doesn’t take long to wear them both out and after a picnic lunch we are on our way home.  Bob is on babysitting duty tonight as Adam has tickets for the new Star Wars film that came out a few days ago. Bob isn’t a Star Wars fan but Adam, TJ and I loved it.

Gosh Friday again already, Adam finished work at lunchtime for the Christmas holidays so he can continue with Bob on the post box and put the bark down around the flower bed to make the front garden look good, in the afternoon.  Tj had to work today so I set about finishing off some sewing projects so I could put the machines away for the Christmas holidays.  

Its almost Christmas and by the afternoon, the post box is complete, it takes all 4 of us and 2 large fence posts rolling it up the drive from the garage into position.  We stand back in admiration, it is a masterpiece! 

During the afternoon we watch, laughing, as local people walk past it, stop and do a double take, it makes such a difference to the curbside appeal of the house – well done Team Gallard.  However, Bob has sunstroke, it was sooo hot outside today and he looks awful,  lots of water and a re-hydration stick but he still threw up ….. poor Bob.  Tomorrow we were going to go to the “all you can eat” Glen Hotel for a Christmas Eve breakfast but as Bob is still unwell we postponed it until later and spent the day resting.  At dusk, TJ and Adam took the girls out to see the Christmas lights that people have put up on their houses as there is a street where almost everyone decorates. Then, we put out the plate for Santa and the reindeer and the girls go off to bed dreaming of what’s to come tomorrow. 

Last Week

At last Christmas is here,  the girls are up early and very excited, we do the family video with Lucy, Adi and the boys and have a good breakfast. 

We had intended to go to the beach for the day but there are weather warnings of very high temperature outside so we decide that as Bob got sunstroke only a couple of days ago, that it’s probably not a good idea to be in the sun too much.

 

  

Adam fired up the BBQ for a nice steak lunch and after the girls naps, Bob and Adam had a water pistol fight with the girls in the garden – a lovely relaxing day. 

Boxing day is sales day so we all troop off to the local Westfield shopping centre with Tjs list of things she wants to buy at bargain prices.  However, after lunch I am flagging so Bob and I offer to take the girls home and leave them to continue shopping for another 4 hours of bargain hunting !  

Wednesday and Thursday TJ is back at work and Wednesday the girls are back to daycare so Adam and I have time to discuss and start to draw and plan the decking project. Thursday Bob is playing golf so Adam pumps up the tyres on TJs bike and we take the girls out to a local park and have a picnic, the girls love the children’s climbing frame and even Adam enjoyed playing. 

 

We cycled over 5 klms which was good for me, considering some of it was up hill and Adam had the trailer attached to his bike with the girls in! 

Friday is Zoe’s 2nd birthday, she is overwhelmed and puzzled at the pile of presents again, but she loves the new baby doll we bought her and she has called it Polly (think it’s from the song- Miss Polly had a dolly who was sick, sick sick)?

 

We are off down to the gold coast again, this time to Movie World for the day.  Again the temperatures are extreme and there has been an accident on the motorway and the normal 45 minute journey takes an hour and half.  However, we arrive a little after 11.30am, have a drink and a sandwich and then start joining queues to go on rides, as its heaving.

                        We all had a great day but after the parade at 3.30pm lots of people went home so we stayed (not wanting to get stuck in another traffic jam trying to get out of the park) and the girls stripped down to their undies and played in the water fountains.

 

Saturday is cleaning, preparing, baking day, preparing for Zoe’s birthday party tomorrow and the new years eve party – hope we have enough food ????  

The party starts at 4pm and everyone who arrives is amazed at what we have achieved, apparently here in Australia they don’t go quite as much to town as the Gallards do!

 

 

All 12 ish children and 16 adults had a great afternoon, they all brought a plate of food and drink so there was more than enough for everyone.  One or two went home in the evening but those who stayed to see in the new year with us, children included, had a great time.  The children all played together well and we watched from the front of the house, a firework display from the leagues club across the road at around 9pm.  As the clock ticked nearer the witching hour we all donned fancy dress outfits, (a Gallard tradition now I understand), for a photo  shoot.

 

Amazingly the children were all still happy running around until 1.30am when they all went home.

  

Great party TJ and Adam, can I rest tomorrow ?     Not likely – clean up and starting the decking tomorrow …..

Well that’s the end of December blog,  you will have to wait and see what happened with the decking for the January blog.  Happy New Year again to everyone, love and miss you all – but we are having a great time here as you can see. xxxxx 

 

 

Well we made it, after 5 days with Lucy, Adi and the boys, recovering from the amazing Orlando holiday we boarded the A380 at 8.00 pm on 5th November and took off fairly promptly at around 8.50pm.  Dinner was served about an hour later but Adi had cooked us a lovely buffet lunch before we left them so I wasn’t really hungry.  I had decided not to sleep on this leg of the journey to Dubai, 7 hrs to watch films, read or just keep awake. 

That’s the easy bit as when we landed at Dubai we had 2.5 hrs til our flight to Brisbane and by now I was having trouble staying awake.  However, the flight was delayed by 1.5 hours, so by the time I settled onto the plane I was passed sleep and no matter how hard I tried, I could only doze for an hour at a time.  Those hrs seemed so long … we did have some rough weather and we climbed to over 40,000 ft to get away from it,  we also had a 225 mph tailwind so the journey was only 13 hrs instead of the planned 14 hrs and we landed in Brisbane only 15 minutes later than expected .  

It was 6.45 am on 7th November, the sun was shining and we sped through customs and security with the aid of machines and we were through into the arrivals hall in about 25 mins.  Adam and Tj and the girls were just a couple of minutes later arriving and when Mia saw us, she collapsed shyly on the floor behind Adam.  Only a minute later she realised who we were and was happy to give us the much awaited hugs and kisses. 

Zoe too, was soon happy to hold our hands back to the car.

The first week was a bit of a blur, we were soooo tired after all our travels and adventures so eased into the change of time zone and young family life. Tjs Aunt was also staying for our first few days so we slept in the playroom on the sofa bed and lived out of our suitcases.  When Debbie left on Friday evening we moved into our room and unpacked.  During our first week, we did manage to fit in a round of golf, 

some shopping to get those essentials that the luggage didn’t allow us to bring, we watched the girls having their swimming lessons and TJ and I joined the park run (walk actually) on Saturday morning at 7am ! 

Week 2 we were introduced to the girl’s daycare and registered for picking them up or signing them in. Adam was away in Sydney for the week but on the Friday morning we took  TJ and the girls to the airport to fly to Sydney to spend the weekend there with Adam.  They had a great time, visiting the Harbour bridge, the Seaworld Aquarium and the Opera House.  For us it was a bit more relaxing time, we had a cinema trip to see Murder on the Orient Express (very good) and dinner out with friends on Saturday evening.  It was good to catch up. 

Week 3 and they are all back from their adventures, somewhat tired but with new fluffy toys!  I’m sewing ….. I have treated myself to an Overlocker – I love SpotLight shop-  I’ve repaired pyjamas, sewn bit back on teddies, repaired Bob’s golf glove, sewn various buttons back on and now I am finishing an advent calendar for Zoe as I made one for Mia for her first Christmas.  Bob has met up with his pals at a local golf course that he played at last visit when I wasn’t up to playing so he goes out with them on Thursdays and I get to spend some time with TJ and the girls. 

This week was the last Superstars dancing class for this year for Mia and she was given a certificate and a star, it was so nice to be part of that. 

Friday the girls missed daycare as TJ had arranged a treat of a Pony Riding morning – Mia loved it, Zoe was ok at a distance but we eventually persuaded her to have a go with Mia. 

They had quad bike trailer rides and played with the toys, petted a chicken and then Santa visited and brought presents.  Great morning of fun.

Saturday was swimming lessons, as they missed last weeks while in Sydney they had a catch-up lesson at 8.30am and then the normal one at 10 am.

In between we sat by the outside pool, had some fruit and a drink but the pool temperature was too cold.  The indoor pool for lessons is much warmer! This weekend Adam agreed to start putting up the Christmas decorations so we visited the shops and bought some new ones for the new tree and the girls helped put baubles on and were delighted when we switched on the lights. 

Sunday was party day, one of Mia’s friends turned 4 and had a Unicorn theme party in the park and before Adam and Bob went off to the Gabba to watch the 4th day of the Ashes, they put up the outside christmas lights. 

Week 3

The girls were so excited to put the tree up and helped decorate although Zoe was just pushing silver baubles into the branches quicker than I could attach them properly. Every evening before bed they ask to go outside and look at the lights, it’s such a special time to see the innocents of little children at Christmas. 

 

Tj has been promising me a trip to the strawberry picking farm as she is always sending me photos of the girls with hands full of them.  So we set off for a morning out with a picnic, alas when we arrived the fields were bare …. they had finished on the Saturday before so we just had a picnic 🙁 .

Tuesday was golf day and we went to Carbrook, a half hour drive away to the golf course with sharks in the lake and snakes everywhere, luckily we didn’t see any sharks or snakes but Bob beat me again!  

When Mia was born Adam and TJ bought a Mango tree and planted it in celebration of her arrival, this week we have our first Mango that hasn’t fallen off before it was larger than a walnut, 

The girls needed haircuts this week, so I went with them, Zoe has only had 1 haircut before but she was very good and sat quite still. Mia of course always causes a wow from the hairdressers as she has such a beautiful mane of hair.

Friday we set off for the Gold Coast to spend the day watching the professionals play, Sergio Garcia and Adam Scott were playing among other lesser known players, (lots of Aussies ) and the day was eventful and hot hot hot.  Firstly we got stuck in traffic on the motorway, caused by an accident further down the coast, then when we got to the course, directed by google maps, we were told that public parking was at the stadium with a free shuttle bus, – GREAT ! the traffic was awful and after some chatting up of the  “officials” car park attendant, he directed us to a place to park free where there were no restrictions put up ! yeh. However, we were now following some Officials into the course so when they turned up a little path, we followed and suddenly we were in the middle of the media area with all the wires, lorries, cameras and crews – only thing to do was just push back the shoulders and walk smartly through, looking “official”, through an open gate and we were on the course !!! no ticket check, no security !!! The course was in lovely condition and it was great watching the players, driving, chipping and putting – I’m sure it looked much easier than it is. 

So that is just a snippet of our first 3 or so weeks here up to the end of November, hope you like it, you can comment to keep in touch if you want. I will do a monthly one as it’s nice for us to look back on what we did too, so visit my site a few days into each month to see what we did. In the meantime, Merry Christmas everyone and our very best wishes for a wonderful and Happy New Year. Love The Gallards x

Had to almost drag the boys from their beds this morning, I think we are actually wearing them out? We left at 8.45 giving us an hour to do the 20 min journey however, we got lost as the Four Seasons Hotel is not marked on the directions boards until you are nearly on top of it. Finally, we found it with a few minutes to spare but it took a couple of tours around the hotel trying to park the cars, then we realised that you have to drive to the lobby and its valet parking only.  They didn’t have both our bookings but no problem they found us a table for 8 outside the restaurant on a semi-covered terrace. Goofy, Mickey and Minnie were around all the time, going from tablee to table for photos but as it was Buffet Breakfast it was difficult to get us all together for photos – up and down, in and out of the restaurant – not quite a relazing breakfast I had envisaged.                                           

A couple of hours later, all photos were done and us all stuffed with food we asked for the bill. For 8 of us it was over 400$ and they put a 48$ service charge on too.  It was serve yourself? Although the waiters did bring us tea, coffee and juices we felt it was a bit steep!  Oh well tomorrow we are going to an International Drive all day breakfast and will compare it with the 5 star hotel breakfast… watch this space for the results.

The boys choice of park was SeaWorld but we only had tickets for 6 of us as Bob and Frank had played golf on the day we went to Discovery Cove to swim with the dolphins and that entrance also allowed entrance to SeaWorld. Frank really wanted to go but it was 80$ for just 1 day, I wasnt worried about going (quite fancied a restful day actually) so I gave him my ticket and Bob and I went back to the villa to read and write up some more of the blog.  The family called at 8pm after having a wonderful day in SeaWorld and being the last to leave after the park had closed, to say they wanted to go to Magic Kingdom for the fireworks at 9pm so could Bob and I meet them there.  We jumped into the car and drove to the park, jumped on the train and were there in no time.  The park was busy but the rain had started to fall and some people were leaving.  The fireworks started and wow they were worth it. 

It did take us 1.5 hrs to get home as everyone was leaving after the fireworks. Apparently Disney spends around 42,000$ every night on fireworks in all their parks.

SeaWorld blog to follow …

 

The Parents Day
The kids went off early this morning to go to Busch Gardens while Frank, Mary, Bob and I had a quiet morning? Bit of washing, cleaning and a hoover round before we set off to look for a golf outlet shop, however, without internet or maps it’s very difficult to find places. We didn’t find it but we did find an outlet park and had a wander around and Mary treated herself to some new shoes. Leaving here we headed for Florida Mall so Bob could buy a new iPad from the Apple shop here. It took some time to do this as they took his old iPad that has no Wi-fi on it, in part exchange so they had to format it and then set up the new one and transfer everything. By this time it was way past lunch so we stopped for an early dinner and then a bit more shopping for Bob and then home. The I-4 was chocca again so it took over an hour to do a 20 minute journey-  so much for a chilled relaxing day and some sunbathing by the pool !

The Kids Day  

To follow …

So with our 3 free fast passes each we arrived at Hollywood Studios which used to be MGM. Not too busy so hoping it won’t have long queues today.
Our first stop was Starbucks for coffee as we had left home a bit later but caught lots of traffic as there had been an accident on the motorway. Trying to find our way into the park via a different route to save sitting in the jam was fraught so we need a calm coffee before we set off on the rides. Adi and the boys wanted to do the Tower of Terror

and luckily they had fast passes because without them they couldn’t ride it as they also had technical problems! They soon joined us again and we wandered round the shops until we came upon a StarWars outside stage set. Lots of people had gathered to watch the show and when it finished we continued to watch the story of Walt Disney’s life in a theatre. Checking the plan Indiana Jones stunt show was about to start so we sat to watch the 30 minute show. Not sure if my memory is faded but I feel that it’s not as dramatic as it was 20+ years ago? The boys enjoyed it though so that’s what we are here for. Next was the Star Tours a virtual 3D space ship ride followed by a street show of characters playing a gang doing a quiz show, lots of audience participation and fun.
The boys were in need of another thrill ride so Rockin n Rollin rollercoaster was next up –

mary, Bob and I decided to miss out on this as the Star Wars ride had upset my tummy. Glad I did because it turned you upside down and went backwards ugg! Instead we had an ice cream sitting people watching in the warm sunshine.
Beauty and the Beast show was due to start soon so we hung around and found seats. Unfortunately I had a couple of really rude people behind me who kept talking so I couldn’t hear. I turned round and stared at them firstly but when this didn’t work I turned again and told them to shush. Lovely show 30 minutes of singing, dancing and telling the story. Charlie however said they didn’t do the story right they missed out loads – bless .
While we were still near the tower of terror and the rollercoaster ride and had free fast passes Adi and Dan went in the tower and Lucy took Charlie on the rollercoaster once more.
Time to move on to a different part of the park and have a go at the Toy Story shoot em up ride. Even though this was aimed at younger children we had a great time shooting targets as we moved round the course and Adi got highest score of 170,000 points.
We tried to see the Frozen show three times but each time we were either too early or just missed it so we carried on to the muppets 3d show and it’s still the same after all these years !
We had done several photo shoots during the day with different characters as we came across them as you will see when I can get the photos to load up onto the blog – having 1 or 2 technical hitches ourselves.
Charlie was desperate to go crazy golf and had been asking for a few days so we decided as this park doesn’t have much else we wanted to see we could leave and get an early dinner at Applebys (recommended by Lucy) then go crazy golf.
The first Applebys we came across we went in and ordered, looks nice, food selection good but quality wasn’t 🙁 . Shame because Lucy sent hers back, mine was dry and everyone else said it was just ok. Never mind Pirates Cove Crazy Golf here we come.

Best part of the day, great fun, lots of laughs everyone got at least 1 hole in one and Bob got 4 in a row! By now it was way past 10pm and we were all tired.

• I have been looking forward to this park as it wasn’t built when we last visited Disney some 20 + years ago, the weather was lovely, sunshine and not too hot or humid.

Parking has been a problem in some parks because we had to ask for space nearer the entrance for Franks scooter but we weren’t allowed blue badge parking as we didn’t have a sticker and then there was Adi’s car too.  In this park Mr Jobs worth didn’t want to let them in so Adi just drove past him !

Through the gates and we are in the park, it’s really busy today so we head for the Tree of Life and went inside to watch a short show – Its a Bugs Life – funny and entertaining. Outside Russell the Cub Scout was doing a photo shoot so we joined the queue and got photos,

next we found  Mickey and Minnie, Balou and Timón also out for photos. Time for a Starbucks coffee stop before heading to Dinoland where some of us went on a rollercoaster which was for little ones apparently, so we swiftly left this area and bumped into Donald Duck – another photo shoot – and then Goofy and Pluto too –

we have memory maker with our Disney tickets so all professional photos are free – making the most of it !

Our first fast pass is Everest – a run away train – I quite like these type of rollercoaster rides so I happily jumped into the carriage and whoosh we were off but 30 seconds later I thought I was going to die !!!!

The train stopped at the top of the Everest Mountain and then travelled backwards for maybe 15 seconds OMG this isn’t a thrill ride it’s a Horror Ride !!! Not going back on here.

We hadn’t taken anything to eat with us so we decided to stop for a bite of lunch before it got busy but must say it was a ripoff . Crisp packet with a tablespoon of crisps in it,

a dry chicken wrap for 10$,  drinks expensive – adi bought 4 cheeseburgers and 4 drinks and the bill was 83$.  Time for the next fast pass on he Navi River ride – the normal queue was around 120 mins but we were on in 10 mins – great – NO – very disappointing not interesting in fact very poor. Had we waited in the normal queue for this I would have been furious. As we came off we noticed that Avatar ride was only 75 mins wait, as this is the most popular ride and impossible to get fastpasses for we ran round to the end of the queue.

We waited and waited and after an hour we were told that there was some technical problems and they were trying to repair it. Ok we thought we have waited an hour might as well wait a bit longer …. an hour later – everyone is getting annoyed and a few people starts to leave the queue – we continued to wait  and at 2 and half hours we kept thinking we must be nearly there, the next corner? Eventually we arrived at the head of the queue and spoke to the guy sending people to the ride and asked about the delay.  Apparently those people who had fast passes, who would only be Disney Resort Guests, were given priority – fair enough, but they were letting in 50 fast pass guests to 5 other guests ! When we had finished the ride, which was fabulous, we realised we had missed our 3rd fast pass of the day so we went to Customer Services and Adi and I gave them the full disappointed routine, children fractious after 3 hours waiting, spoilt our day etc.. and they gave us 3 fast passes each for the next day.  Thank you Disney for being so understanding.   Definitely need a pit stop for ice cream or coffee before heading off to the safari ride but the light was going and when we got into the safari truck it was dark so we only saw silhouettes of elephants, rhinos,  lions, giraffes etc. however, we enjoyed the ride but it was getting chilly so we went into the shop to get warm and ended up spending money haha .

Long day, some great bits and some very annoying bits but overall not bad.

 

 

 

 

Beep beep beep 5.45 am – what a god forsaken time to be up on holiday ???

However, everyone except Frank and Bob were up and ready to go at 6.30am. (The men were going to play golf again today).

This was an expensive extra to our holiday, to swim with the dolphins and enjoy a day at Discovery Cove – hope it’s worth the £200 each? !!!

We joined a small queue outside waiting for the doors to open. We were soon at the desk, checking in and were given an 8.30am slot for the Swim with Dolphins which was great as it’s best to do it in the morning before the dolphins get tired. Just enough time for a light breakfast then on to get
kitted out in our wetsuits and snorkels,

we arrived at Sand Dollar Cabana for our pre swim video 10 mins before. Then we were off to the Beach in our group of 9, to meet Kayleigh a 13year old teenager dolphin with an attitude ! The water wasn’t as cold as I expected and the wet suits helped but the floor of the pool was a bit slippy. We got to touch, stroke and feel the dolphin between the blowhole and tail- not her head as she wasn’t happy being touched there. Then one by one we got to hang onto her fin while she swam across the water – you could feel the muscle and power of her movements – fantastic. They did photos of everyone stroking her, kissing her and the trainer showed us some of the sounds she could make. A couple of times she just swam off to see what the other groups were doing but fortunately she did come back to us. Dolphins only usually live into their teens/early 20’s because of predators in the sea, but in captivity they can live to 40+. In the park they have 44 dolphins. Great experience highly recommended even though it was £200 each we had all food and drinks included all day, towels, sunbed, dolphin experience and use of all facilities – excellent!
Need something warm now so back to the restaurant for a cooked breakfast and a hot drink before the next activity which was to swim and snorkel in the reef – really cold water- where we saw 10,000 fishes swimming around us – pretty mind blowing when a stingray the size of a table umbrella glided underneath me followed by wrasse, angel fish, parrot fish and loads more – the colours were amazing. In one corner of the reef there was a glass wall and on the other side were the sharks ! One if them must have been 10ft long!!!
Time to get warm again so we all headed for the lazy river which had heated water … ahhh. A long slow current that wound its way through an aviary where amongst others, spoonbill, toucan, white peacock, budgerigars and lots more swooped the water and watched the humans floating past – excellent. Adi and the boys went round a couple more times while mary, lucy and I went for pina colada/lemonade and white cherry slushi – never had one before but this was lovely except for the brain freeze !!!
After lunch, a bit of peace and quiet and a short 30 minute snooze in the sunshine on my sunbed as we were up early. Another round of lazy river, watched the Otters playing and Marmosets hiding before we were thrown out of the park almost an hour after it closed. This has to be the best day so far. Hope Bob and Frank had a good day too???