i'm grateful for . . . 'the park of all parks, best playground EVER'

Greetings all,

Well you are probably getting to know what kind of family we are . . . outdoorsy, active & all about our children.  There are terms like 'unplugging', 'free range parenting' & the 'let your children climb trees' movement - or you could just bloody well raise your children how you were raised - without technology, with parents saying "go outside & don't come back until it's dark" & allowing them to use their imagination & siblings for entertainment!!  Doesn't that make sense??  It's free & you'll find your children at their best, it's the greatest investment of everyone's time & energy.  

 I'm not even going to tell you how high this branch was!!  I don't worry or hover over my children, even as babies - yes, they were exposed to parks as new borns & loved spinning, swinging & crawling around . . . they knew their strengths, they don't fall & if they ask for help, i explain they are trying to do something beyond their skill or size, i'm not giving them a leg up.  To us, the park is their natural habitat (read: Army housing usually has crappy small 'rental' style backgardens of nothing). 

 I love that i have a high schooler who still loves climbing trees . . . 

 & a non-Avatar fan squealing with delight that this was the Navi forrest . . .

 it's actually the Cotton Tree Forest at the Pirate Park at Scarborough Beach near Redcliffe Qld, a short drive up from Brisbane & you pass all those Queenslanders to get here.

 Very glad this girl had leggings on under her skirt . . .

 she was practically doing hand stands on those big tree limbs.

 They climbed so high & right up the top . . . is my husband!!

 Our children started creating their own 'tree houses' & inviting each other over to visit . . .

 i took 80 photos here, it was hard to limit them for a blog post.

 This is the top of a cotton tree . . .

 & the children worked out how to get down themselves!!

Maxabella Loves, this week I'm Grateful For . . . the most amazing park find in the universe (& we've been to Disneyland) we only dragged ourselves away due to aching hunger, it was the true highlight to our school holidays & best of all, we had no idea this park even existed!!  Love Posie

things i'm loving . . . 'the mighty Queenslander'

Greetings all,
I have always been a big fan of the stunning Queenslander style of home.  To me it's architecture at it's most functional & stand out beautiful.  It's not an entirely unique style of home to suit tropical/ sub tropical climates, similar styles are found around the equator, but in Queensland, they reign supreme.  My husband patiently stopped the car every few hundred metres along the 'Moreton Bay Tourist Drive' around the Sandgate-Redcliffe area, north of Brisbane, so i could take these snaps.  Poor bloke, with me thrusting my breasts across him to lean out his window to snap yet another image of a house.  He wasn't complaining, tee hee. 

 Look at the stairs, the balcony, the gates!!

 Clever way of controlling the breeze, with shutters.

 These are all along the foreshore, nothing blocking their view of the beach across the road.

 So many different ways with paint colour combinations . . .

 & stunning gardens!!

 Even multi level Queenslanders don't look McMansion, just grand!!

 I think the wrap around verandah is a must though.

 Why not buy one today??

 Add a jacaranda tree, it's the perfect family home.

Then there are monoliths of buildings like this, all i could think was "too much money" & the old cliche of "money doesn't buy you style".  I'm sure the owners LOVE it & have amazing views, but me, i'm old school quaint, i'd pick a Queenslander with a verandah & a rocking chair, every time.  The homestead we're designing will be based on a ground level Queenslander (raised country houses seem to have more snake sitings, eeek) as it's all about French doors & that wrap around verandah for me.  Oh & a breezeway (an external hallway between 2 buildings of the same house) which my husband isn't sold on.  Honestly, he just has to say you find more snakes in breezeways & i'd scrap it from the design!! 
To see what other people are loving this Friday, take a peek at PaisleyJade, love Posie