brrr it's cold in Canberra so i'm dreaming of Brisbane & beaches

Greetings all,
Thanks for all the head-cold-well-wishes, too sweet!!  Today i treated myself to some Peter Alexander knitted booties & flannel jammies, mmmm, cosy +.

 Dreaming of warmer places . . . i realised i hadn't done a post on our Easter holiday in Queensland!!  We dropped the puppy at 'doggy camp', then hit the road after a first-thing-in-the-morning-tyre-change (argh!!)  It took 3 attempts to leave the house, finally we were off, headed to . . . we'll see where we are at 4p.m. 'twas THAT kind of day!!  

 After an evening of fantastic Italian seafood in Taree, we got back on the Pacific Highway & headed to Coffs Harbour.  With my husband as the prize that afternoon, i was NOT stopping for family photos at the Big Banana.  My eldest daughter took this shot as we drove by (note: the family who DID bother to stop for family photos!!)

 Oh we do love our BIG things in Australia.  This is the Big Prawn in Ballina, in it's new location, i hope it's temporary??

 Yay, we made it to Brisbane.  My husband stood on the main road to 'wave' us in & much to everyone in the peak hour traffic & her parent's shock . . . our 3rd daughter leapt from the car at the red traffic light & ran to Daddy.  It was alarming & beautiful all at the same time, quite sure i looked like a kidnapper though. 

 The official first day of the Easter school holidays - we went to South Bank (remember seeing on the news - that man made lagoon area on the side of the Brisbane River that went under in the floods) & we worked out the parking machine.

 Just as the children announced they were starving, precisely 30 minutes after eating breakfast . . . we walked into an official opening of a refurbished-post-flood park at South Bank & da dah, fully catered marquee.  We assumed it was a private function, or at least for actual Queenslanders, but it didn't stop us from filling our bellies on delightful tastey treats. 

 Oh dear, like this shot of Anna Bligh, Qld Premier??  I don't think she would like it either.

 There were all sorts of clowns & entertainment - like bubblers??  We were quite impressed, within our first half hour of site seeing in Brisbane, the children had been filmed by news crews (so glad they didn't ask our children where they were from), we'd seen the state premier & we'd eaten a feast.  Thanks Queensland!! 

 Then handsome soldier took us on a tour of his current home town.  Clearly i had brought the chilly weather, sorry Brisbane, like you needed more rain.  This is Kangaroo Point, where the television stations set up to bring us views of the Brisbane River flooding. 

 Driving around Brisbane, i felt like i knew where i was going - from being glued to the news during the floods. 

 OMG, proof a man WILL read a map!!

 It wasn't very sunshiney at Easter but nothing stops my 4 children from swimming.  As Daddy was at work, we'd go swimming every day, rain or shine . . .

 or when soldiers are doing 'river crossing training' in full combat gear, packs, machine guns & boots!!  It's not every day your children are up that close to guns, at the pool??

 My husband LOVES his milkshakes & showed off his favourite milk-shake-shop.

My favourite place was the SunShine Coast, this is a water park at Kings Beach.

 As i lounge with a head cold under a blanket, it's nice to dream of the beach.

 We went past the GlassHouse Mountains a couple of times, on our way to the SunShine Coast & Australia Zoo (which deserves it's own post).

 Absolutely loved spending Easter Sunday at Dicky Beach.

 Our guys had a ball here, hours & hours playing by this wreck!!

 . . . discovering periwinkles . . .

 . . . being chased ashore by the waves . . .

  . . . collaborative sand castles . . .

 . . . ambitious plans . . .

 . . . while mummy relaxed . . . that is a great holiday Sunday!!

 Another day at South Bank, this time requiring emergency medical treatment!!

 You guessed it, our accident prone girl.

 Before we knew it, it was time to say farewell to handsome soldier & we left the eldest girl behind to spend a little more grown up time with Daddy & she flew home (lucky girl!!)  Must admit, the 1500km journey home, i wished i was flying not driving too.

 How pretty is driving through Tenterfield??  On to my brother's house 100km further down the New England Highway where i caught up with his family - all 4 of his children were home from University & boarding school, yay.  Oh, i got breath tested for the first time EVER!!   

 My sister-in-law had bought some wigs on eBay (99c) & my guys went kind of nuts playing with them, like totally crazy, possessed even!!  Oh that shiner my son is sporting was from their insane Boxer puppies who got a tad overexcited & jumpy.

 On the way back to Sydney we passed the 'Cloud Factory' near Newcastle.

Poof, another school holiday over, almost time for the next one.  My husband has been living in Brisbane for 18 months, so we're officially half way through our living-apart-situation.  His bachelor pad is fabulous, so close to the city & in lieu of our visit, he purchased a fridge/ freezer, washing machine & vacuum (don't ask how he lived 15 months without these basic appliances, but he's just never home!!)  Until then he had the basic man needs of bed, lounge, television & a small bar fridge.  No point in investing in anything else, he'll be home with us before we know it, yippee. 
Stay tuned for a post on Australia Zoo & some Brisbane shopping too.  I did a post on all the lovely bloggers we met on our holiday here.  Love Posie