Boathaven Holiday Park

Round 3 of camping with mother's group friends and what a great time it was... The weather was not promising at all leading into the weekend with Friday morning full of sleety, misty rain with the occasional downpour. The forecast said it was going to clear in the early afternoon and fortunately the sun did come out and dry the ground enough for us to decide to go ahead with the trip anyway.  The cooler overnight temperatures and the occasional icy wind were nothing a roaring campfire, a fan heater and a few layers couldn't fix!

The caravan park had a few fantastic features that kept the kids entertained for hours like the jumping pillow, the adventure playground and plenty of space to fish, play cricket and imagine a whole new world for Mr Plastic Green Lizard to live in...

James and Lucy adore their little mates who they've known since birth, and we love the company of them and their parents.  We're so lucky to have such a rich network of friends who have the same interests as us.  James is below with Chelsea on the left, and Ruby in the middle. I didn't have the real camera until lunchtime on Sunday so missed out on taking pics of Kell, Nath, Lyla and Charlie who had another commitment on Saturday night so only camped Friday night this time.

Matty was the ultimate firemaster, heading off into the wilderness to collect the wood for the chilly nights (and afternoons, and mornings... actually the whole day!)... 

 

 

Karen and Violet thought the fire was the place to be!

More hunting and gathering by Brad and Matt

Late on Saturday afternoon we had a quick visit from another couple of families that weren't able to camp with us this weekend.  King of the Kids Shay got them running over the jumping pillow.

The kids went to bed extremely well on Saturday night, and we settled in for a few glasses (or bottles) of whatever suited and sat by a fire glowing with coals. A board game, some chocolate brownies, some reflections about the serenity and living the good life was how we spent the night. About midnight, as we were heading off to bed poor little Violet started to get sick and she became unwell with a bout of gastro about midnight Saturday which pushed Karen and Greg into action, eventually resulting in Trish driving Karen and Violet home.  The fact that we were all of 15 minutes from home was a blessing at that point.

Sunday morning was foggy and cool but our kids didn't wake til 6.45 so we were very excited!!!!  Warm clothes were the order of the day, followed by a boiling kettle and warm drinks and porridge all round!
Lucy, the ultimate dag, wasn't happy with her hoodie so picked up Matt's beanie and put her socks on her hands.  She was warm so we left her, but had to take a pic for her collection!!!












Trish and Brad packed up in a flash and Greg did a brilliant job packing down St Pinkertons cathedral (you should see their tent!!!) and keeping Ruby happy on Sunday morning.  James thought he'd help keep Ruby happy too ;)

The Tinkler taj mahal is all packed away now until next camping season.  But we're already planning where our first venture of the 12/13 camping season will be!!!

Thanks McCormacks, McGuires and Pinkertons. We had a ball!

The great outdoors...

More later but here's a quick post to show everyone what they're missing out on ;)

Playschool 2012

We're lucky enough to have the Playschool crew visit every year at about this time. And I love it (secretly I think it is the ultimate job and would give almost anything to be a presenter!) as do the kids so we buy our tickets every time...

Like most things, James and Lucy have their own way of concert moshing.  Lucy is hard core and dances her time away. James will be a seating kind of concert goer I think, he likes to sit back and soak it all up.  But he remembers every detail and sings and dances when he's back to the comfort of his own home :)

We had Abi and Jay this year. And they were BRILLIANT!!!!!

Lucy scored a take-home Little Ted from the merchandise stand and showed him off proudly. (James is pictured below with his Big Ted "because he's bigger than Lucy's")

 But then struggled to do Twinkle Star without letting him go...

 Until Mum saved the day with a makeshift baby pouch!

Probably the funniest part of the show was Jay's portrayal of Mother Hubbard's dog...

What a cranky doggy model of a 2/3/4year old child he was!! The tantrums were perfect!!!

We finished off with a cuddle and 'hi' to Abi and Jay and a promise to return next year!!

Well done Playschool...