20 June 2011

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

14 comments:

Cat said...

It looks like you had a great holiday visiting your hubby, I bet you all miss him heaps and went to visit some of our best spots. I have to say though it's not too warm here at the moment though, the other night it got down to 1 degree where I live but at least we've had some sunshine to defrost in. Looking forward to seeing the rest of your holiday snaps. xo

Cathie said...

fun, fun, fun!! and swimming too!
it is a bit chilly here, very windy.

glad you got to relax with the essentials Ms Posie.
big hugs ♥

Bron said...

How nice is that to revisit a holiday full of warmth and swimming while you are now freezing ...hope you are feeling better.

All For Love said...

What a wonderful trip Posie, so glad to read about it, even if it was a few months ago. That is cute your daughter jumping out of the car to run for Daddy.
Hilarious that you crashed a private function and were able to fill up on the offerings, awesome!
It's amazing how well men can get by without necessities for cooking/cleaning. My hubby was similar when I started going out with him, I whipped him into shape quick smart ;o)
Yay for the half way mark, you could almost start counting the days til you're all together again xo

MichelleTwinMum said...

Sorry to hear you have been poorly. Great set of easter hols photos - I am a bit traumatised by the huge prawn though!

Mich x

Just Martha said...

Ah Posie - so near and yet so far... from me!! It always amazes me how kids will swim rain, hail or shine. Glad you had fun.

The Provincial Homemaker said...

Sounds like a great visit; but of course anywhere would be nice with your husband.

Congrats on reaching the half way mark on Married-separated.

Your post has reminded me that we really need to see more of queensland before we post out - Brisbane just seems such a long way from Toowoomba with a 14 month old in the car!:)

ally said...

I love your jammies - flanny is just right for this time of the year!
And your sunny holiday shots made me feel warm (for a moment anyways!)

Salley said...

I married a Queenslander...he's always trying to get me back to his homeland! Winter is so good there..no humidity :)

Unknown said...

enjoy your sunshine-y memories - they sound lovely and are sure to make that head cold feel a bit better.

Seaweed and Raine said...

What fun it looks like everyone was having! Did you heart stop when your daughter dived out of the car to run to daddy?
I have to admit, the weather WAS lovely (if a bit windy) here today, but about 30 mins ago it got cold, so it's nice reading about beaches and sunshine, and people we love (You do so well considering you are living in different cities right now. Bet you can't wait for the next hols!)
Hope your jammies and booties make you feel much snugglier and better soon.
Love S&R xxx

Anonymous said...

Hi Posie, thanks so much for stopping by my blog earlier. Love the brissie photo's. We hope to get up there these holidays.. can't wait for some warmer weather after today's shocker!
Here's hoping I get some shopping time at the next markets and actually meet some ppl instead of just a 2 min lap around. :-) Roseanne

TexWisGirl said...

hi posie! nice to meet you! thanks for finding my blog and leaving such nice comments!

i'm sorry you and your hubby are living apart for so long - like you said, half way there!!! hurray!

you keep yourself VERY busy. your kids are beautiful and happy! and your crafts and sewing work has made you famous!!! :) will love getting to know you better!

Anonymous said...

I every time used to read piece of writing in news papers but now as I am a user of web so from now I am using net
for content, thanks to web.
Also see my web page - business