Our inaugural family camping adventure

July 6, 2014 / Renae / 4 Comments

I grew up camping. Even though Hubs can’t believe I could ever be so tough and not-princess-like to “rough it”, as a kid it was always an adventure and there was always fun to be had no matter what. Can I help it that, as an adult, I’d rather have a flushing toilet instead of having to squat, and a hot water to shower in, instead of a cold bucket of water to splash over me? And that I’d prefer a tent over a swag? (Who wouldn’t?? Seriously??)

Anyway, a friend of ours who has organised a few 4WD days with us was keen for a trip to stay at Lawn Hill National Park (check out the map of Qld to the right of that page – we actually couldn’t be any further from Brisbane if we tried!) and we were SUPER keen too, so he booked the campsites (there aren’t many there and they book up fast!) and we (I) offered to organise the food for everyone (7 adults, 2 kids, 3ish days). It was all booked and we were enthused. I spent a couple of days getting the food organised, as well as eskys and all camping paraphernalia I could think of (thank you google).

We planned to leave on the Thursday whenever we could get away, and meet the others up there late Friday night (aka we would see them early Saturday morning). Hubs was on night shift Wednesday night and I spent all of Thursday morning getting everything ready to pack in the car. Of course, out of the all the days to be late, Hubs didn’t get home til 9:45am (he’s usually home by 8:30am) and I informed him that everything was ready so if he was keen, we could “just pack the car” and leave asap, instead of him having a couple of hours sleep first. He was happy to be persuaded so after a shower and coffee, he got to packing. This took about 2 hours all up by the time we fit everything in, and this was the end result! (This is obviously on the road.) (Oh yeah, and we borrowed a canoe for the weekend…)

Gosh there’s so much to tell about this trip but I don’t want this post to be too wordy! Our camera batter died on the second day and my phone was dead so we had to rely on our friends to take photos which I copied over last night. But after 4 days of camping, we neglected to get a photo of our tent set up, which is a shame as we were quite proud of ourselves that we managed to set the tent up first try after never having done it before and only ever seeing the tent up once just before we bought it for $70 at a garage sale in Townsville over a year ago! And with Hubs not having slept for 24 hours!

There’s so much more I could say, but instead here’s what you’re waiting for:

We stopped at the Riverslea Fossil site:

The next day while Quinn was sleeping and I was “supervising” Hubs took Chanbe on a walk up a “big hill”. That’s the gorge right in the middle and the campsite to the left. Rather stunning, no?

The next morning, our friends had arrived so we decided to check out a lovely swimming spot. Hubs, Chanbe, Felix and Erica took the canoe and Sonia, Amber, Lindsay, Quinn and I went by foot. It wasn’t very far, but it was a very exposed track.

Matchy-matchy stripey tops!

After the desert-feel of the walk, we go to the top of a (small) hill and had an “ooooooh” moment.

We couldn’t have timed it better, with the canoe load arriving at the same time.

Just a touch (a touch) of paradise

Obviously Chanbe had an absolute ball

And Dadda enjoyed his Tarzan moment

There was a lot of this…

…and this…

A beautiful sunset at the camp ground

On our way home on Sunday, we stopped for lunch at a creek crossing.

Years and years ago I found this recipe that I’ve always wanted to try!

You cut the tops off oranges, scoop out the guts (to eat later!), fill with cake mix, put the top back on, wrap in foil and put in hot coals for 20 minutes (ish!)

You can see the oranges in the foil underneath the jaffles

They were super delicious! Very moist and orangey.

Quinndy pointing delightfully at something

Chanbe made a very close friend in Lindsay, our pediatrician friend. A good friend to have!

The whole group on our way home at sunset

There are so many photos that I didn’t get like the campsite set up (as mentioned) and my super-grubby kids on the Sunday after not bathing for 2 days and me just giving up on wiping noses or food off faces. It was super adorable, though I did enjoy taking to them with a nice wet washer before we got into the car!

I also hadn’t mentioned that Hubs had been feeling ill since waking up Friday morning. He powered through the 3 days of camping, but then collapsed in a heap on Sunday night when we got home. After 2 more days of fevers and aches and pains, I sent him to the doctor. He had to have Wednesday and Thursday off work and still isn’t 100%. This is a photo Chanbe took of him:

So all in all, apart from the sickness, it was an amazingly successful camping trip and we had a lovely group of people to share it with. We are already looking forward to the next adventure! Maybe this time I’ll even remember to get a photo of the tent!

An unplanned and unexpected hiatus

July 5, 2014 / Renae / Leave a comment

Wow. Um yeah, so the last 3 weeks accidentally passed by without so much as a cop-out photo post! The thing is, there’s been plenty going on, including a visit to the Cloncurry show, an afternoon/evening 4WD trip with new friends, Hubs’ birthday, our first official family camping trip, complete with tent, and Hubs getting the flu and being out of action for a week for the second time this year, which also coincided with our camping trip. Fun!

We are also in the middle of “application season” where Hubs has to apply for jobs for next year, so we’ve been talking about that a lot and have come up with a few ideas, and with a week-long trip for Hubs and 4 week-long trip for the kids and I to Brisbane starting next Wednesday, there’s been lots of thinking about packing and putting it off until the next day.

And don’t get me started on the fact that this book has kept me completely occupied since Tuesday morning (thankfully I just finished it an hour ago – which is almost a record for me as I’m the world’s slowest reader) and this show has kept us busy in the evenings.

Not enough going on? Well I’ve also had some pregnancy blood tests and other tests, as well as my 20 week morphology scan booked in for Monday and follow up Obstetrician appointment for Tuesday.

Still not enough? How’s this for the cherry on top: Our dear friends Haz, Maz, Jaz and Az are going to be passing through the Isa on Tuesday night en route to Darwin and are staying here the night. Hubs is working night shift that night starting at 11pm and we will be heading out to the airport at 8:30am the next morning to catch said flight to Brisbane. And we couldn’t be more excited! It’s going to be so great to see them and get the kids together again!

And of course, there’s been the usual “life” stuff like washing and cooking and tidying and exercising and entertaining children to throw into the mix.

So yeah, that’s enough. I’m tired just thinking about it. But anyway, I’m here and there are photos (that I need to upload and transfer and blah blah) so they are to come, but stay tuned!

The good stuff

June 16, 2014 / Renae / 2 Comments

I’ve spent a great deal of time and blogging space this year listing the things I don’t like about Mount Isa, I think it’s about time I shared some of the things I do like.

Winter
Wow. Mount Isa seemed to bypass Autumn entirely, with temps ranging from 22 to 36 degrees one week, and down to 10 to 22 a couple of weeks later. It’s been getting down to under 10 overnight since I arrived back from Brisbane a week ago, and I must admit I was caught completely off guard. People told me it would get cold here, but after what felt like the endless summer, it was very hard to believe. Now, I believe it.

Dark mornings
It doesn’t get light here until after 7am which means the kids are generally sleeping in until then. This is such a bonus and we are loving the later mornings. Even in summer it doesn’t really get light til 6:30am, so it’s been a pretty nice change from Townsville.

The transient population
This can be a good and bad thing, as friends come and go frequently, but the good thing is there’s not much of an “us and them” mentality amongst the “locals” as there are very few of them! And if you’ve been here more than 5 years, you’re considered a local! Very different to some small towns we’ve lived in.

The small number of celebrants
A win for me! I’ve already lined up 2 weddings this year through celebrants who are leaving town who had my details. My networking when I arrived sure paid off! This is very exciting as I’ve really missed doing weddings. I have 3 in total booked in in a 6 week period; 2 up here and my cousin’s wedding in October down south.

Bin collection is twice a week
Okay, this may seem like a weird one, but it’s actually fantastic. Especially in the height of summer with stinky nappies in the bin. There is no recycling up here so bins get fuller quicker. But I think it’s more to do with the stinkiness in summer. Regardless, I love that even if we forget to put the bin out one day, it’s only 3 days til the truck comes again. And with a 3 year old boy in the house, it’s bonus entertainment!

Size of the town
Yesterday I had to go to from one side of the town to the other, twice. It took less than 10 minutes each time. No traffic, no hold ups, only the regular RBT to have to contend with. Easy peasy.

The playgroups
The playgroups here are so fantastic. I’ve met some really lovely mums through the 3 different groups I go to. A lot of the same people go to the same groups so there are always familiar faces which is nice.

The 4WD tracks
We have been 4WDriving a few times since we arrived and it’s been lots of fun! We have met some people who are also keen and generally free on the weekends to do fun stuff. The weekend just gone, we headed to Rigby Falls (they were pretty much dry) and went fossicking for Maltese Crosses, without much luck. But it was a great day out and Chanbe rather likes going on a “bumpy drive.”

Hubs’ timetable (at the moment)
Hubs is currently working in emergency which is a 8 days on, 6 days off timetable. And those 8 days are a mixture of 4 different shifts, so there are only 2 days where he is away from 7:30am until about 8pm. The other days he either has a late morning start, or an afternoon start, or most of the day off followed by an evening or night shift. Granted, he spends most of the next day sleeping, but it’s still nice knowing he’s right there. Those are the days the kids and I are mostly out to give him sleep, so it’s extra incentive to get out there!

There are other little things I like about living here, but these are the things that immediately came to mind. This is also part of my better attitude I am striving towards at the moment. Baby steps…

The last day

June 6, 2014 / Renae / Leave a comment

Yibbeda yibbeda. That’s all folks. It’s been a fun month, and I’ve enjoyed the challenge of writing every day. Some days I’ve really looked forward to sitting down and writing, other days it’s been a bit hard, but it’s been good being accountable to you folk out there, waiting every day for a post to be published 🙂

So what have I achieved in my month of “recharge and reset”?

I did a lot of walking. Even though the frequency dropped off a bit in the last week or so, whenever there was a choice between staying home on the couch, or heading outdoors, I was almost always able to get myself moving.

I got a lot of sleep. Like, a sleep-in til almost 9am almost every day. Thanks Mum.

I crossed off 2 things on my 101 in 1001 days – this Nablopomo, and not chewing my nails for a month. They look totally amazing and I’m not going back. Hubs and I had a weekend away together and I also started a few as well, like painting my nails and getting a lot done towards my new blog. I didn’t do so well on the stretching, but it’s more of a priority now as my pregnancy advances.

I wrote every day for a month. Woo! And I don’t think I whinged too much. I hope.

I have been nourished and fulfilled by my wonderful family and beautiful supportive friends. I feel motivated and energised for our return to Mount Isa, and can’t wait to just be with Hubs again. I’ve really missed him.

So. One more sleep-in, an early morning for our flight back Sunday, and it’s back to reality and full-time parenting. And it’s going to be great 🙂

The big move

June 5, 2014 / Renae / Leave a comment

No, I don’t have any news about us moving next year. Not yet, anyway. I’m talking about my brother and his partner – they are making the move to Melbourne! Kate is heading down in less than 2 weeks, and Kris is following in around October as he has commitments up here until then. I’m so excited for them. They are very “Melbourne” people in my opinion and I think (I know) they are going to love it down there. And it makes me want to move back there even more!

Hubs has The Alfred (in Melbs) as his #1 hospital for next year and even though we’re trying not to get our hopes up too much, we are really really keen to get back down there. For a number of reasons – the weather not being one of them mind you! It’s close to all my girls in Wang for starters, and we have quite a few friends in Melbourne who are in the same “life stage” as us – having kids, start of med careers – so it would be nice to be around familiar people with similar priorities and focus.

Plus, it’s Melbourne. We love Melbourne. I wasn’t sure I’d ever want to return there with kids and live in the burbs, but the thought of it really excites me, especially now that K & K are going to be there for a while.

But like I say, not getting our hopes up… (yeah, right…)

The end is nigh

June 4, 2014 / Renae / Leave a comment

I can’t believe my Nablopomo is almost at an end! Since my first post was on the 7th of May, my final post will be the 6th of June. That works, right? And, um, that’s Friday. It’s been quite a challenge posting everyday, and not just resorting to photos (too much). I’ve enjoyed the extra writing, and finding things to talk about even when not much is going on. I have a couple of things planned to write about for the next 2 days, but nothing for today really. I just read over that first post and remember the feeling I had when writing it. I felt tired but optimistic that the following month would be a nice, Wifey-focused month. And it definitely has been that. It’s been really lovely and I have had so much time to myself as well as with family and friends which is what I wanted and needed.

My parents have had an amazing time, as usual, with the kids, and I love how familiar Chanbe and Quindy are with them. I do often wonder what it would be like living in the same city as my parents full-time, but I don’t dwell on this. I know the time they have with the kids is so special and that I get just as spoilt when we stay here, so I chose to enjoy what we have, not wish for something that may or may not be “better”.

It’s also put me in a better frame of mind for our return to Mount Isa on Sunday. I just want to get home to Hubs and even though I know things aren’t going to be dramatically different, I have a few strategies to cope a bit better this time around.

2 more posts and 4 sleeps to go 🙂

The tale of the rug and the frog

June 3, 2014 / Renae / Leave a comment

I’m not exactly sure how, but little Quindy has a ruggie. And it’s too cute. It’s just a muslin wrap that I bought in a 3 pack that she took a fancy to about 6 months ago and now it’s her thing. She grabs it and the thumb goes in. If I hear her go upstairs to her bedroom and start yelling, I can be pretty sure she’s at her cot trying to reach her rug, which Chanbe will often help her out with.

And then came the frog. Again, we have plenty of stuffed toys hanging around, but there was something special about “Froggy”. It was actually a toy that was given to Chanbe as a baby but he was never really interested… until now of course!

It’s lovely when my kids can be so easily pleased. It’s a reminder that sometimes all you need is a little comfort and something familiar to be happy.

The photo shoot

June 2, 2014 / Renae / 1 Comment

I’d better warn you now that I’m not actually going to show you any photos from “the photo shoot” I had today. I know. What a tease. But I can assure you that you will see at least one of the photos very soon 🙂 This is all part of my new blog that is currently being thought out and put together. To say I’m excited would be a crazy understatement. Today was a lot of fun and I was proud of how I can look at the photos and feel good about myself. I’m not too concerned about the extra squishy bits here and there; instead I can look at the photos and know that my body can do a lot, and is doing a lot for me right now, and that I rely on it every second of every day. And that it’s doing a pretty damn fine job.

I’m slowly learning, after so many years, that I have to be happy with how I am “now” if I am to be the best I can be. Yes I’d like to lose some weight, but that’s because I want to be able to move more without feeling out of breath; I want to (ready for the cliche?) keep up with my kids; I want to feel more confident in less clothes. But in the mean time, I’m getting to be more happy with just being me. If nothing changed for the next 10 years, I want to be able to be happy with that.

I’m getting there, slowly.

The day that nearly didn’t have a blog post

June 1, 2014 / Renae / Leave a comment

I’m happily exhausted. It has been a bumper weekend of driving around and catching up. So much quality time has been spent with friends and family; the kids have had a blast and went to sleep immediately; and I’m about to hit the pillow also. I’ve just spent the last hour online booking flights (ie spending more money) and researching Marriage Celebrant professional development options. I’m more confused now than when I started, which suggests to me it’s time to go to bed.

On another positive note, we sold the falcon today! (Which just reminded me to log in and remove the online ad!!) We’re going to miss the old girl, but I’m very happy to have it out of our hands and on it’s way to new adventures. Hubs and I are discussing possibilities for our next car which is always fun and exciting. Especially when we dream, and disregard any budgets or practicality. I’m pretty keen for a family van and Hubs is certainly a van man, so he’s doing a lot of the research into it. But mostly it just entails us pointing out cars as we drive around and passing judgement. Which is always fun.

So that’s me done for the weekend. Only 1 more week and I’m back with Hubs again in Mount Isa. I’m really missing him now – 5 weeks is too long to spend away from home. Hubs is home and I miss home.

Ni-night.

The weekend in Gympie

May 31, 2014 / Renae / Leave a comment

This trip to Brisbane is all about me recharging and resetting. It’s about spending as much time with “my people” as I can, so I can return to Mount Isa full of positive energy and motivation. So when I contacted my friends Luke and Henna about a visit to their home in Gympie, I was delighted that they offered for us to stay the night and really make a weekend of it.

They also suggested that I invite a mutual friend and her family along for brunch and really make a weekend out of it! So that’s what’s happening tomorrow morning. This afternoon was spentwith our 2 eldest (they have a 4 year old daughter) playing nicely (as well as that age group does!) And Quindy bossing their youngest (they have a 9 month old son) around and trying to do all the fun things the big kids were doing, as well as sneaking bites of play dough while I wasn’t looking.

When I was growing up, Gympie was always the town where we stopped on our way to holiday along the Burrum River, near Hervey Bay. We would pull into the Tram Car Bakery for a pie or sweet pastry, a coffee (or milkshake for us kids) and a toilet stop, then we were off again. I really don’t know much else about the town or what is had to offer, but my friends are enjoying their time here for now.

So the kids are all in bed, almost asleep, and it’s nearly time for more catching up over hot cups of tea. I love a good old reminisce. I’ve mentioned before that I’m a bit of a sentimental fool.

We might even swing by the bakery tomorrow on our way out of town 😉