The Great Ocean Road!

Every weekend we try to get out of the house. Especially when the kids are with us. We didn't have anywhere specific in mind (we usually don't!) and Chelsea suggested Geelong. On the way there, we pass signs for The Great Ocean Road. I have been wanting to go there again since I arrived in Australia. We've talked about going for a few days in January when the kids are on holiday, but I still keep trying to go earlier. Well, we went for a little while on Saturday! I was so excited because it is so beautiful along the coast. We stopped for lunch on the way down and ended up going to Lorne for about 1 1/2 hours.

Saturday was the Cox Plate, so while in Lorne Paul dropped the kids and I off at the beach and he went to the TAB on the corner to place some bets. I don't have any pictures of us there though because we went on the trampolines and I didn't want to leave my camera unattended. So anyway, Chelsea, Andrew, and I went on the trampolines first. I love trampolines! They were a pretty good deal too at $3 for 10 minutes. We had a nice view of the ocean while we were jumping. After that, the kids went on the playground for a few minutes. It wasn't that spectacular so we moved on down to the beach. Since we weren't planning on going down there, we weren't really dressed for the beach. The kids had fun anyway. They rolled up their jeans as far as possible, but still ended up a little wet. It was one of the best weekends we have had so far!



The view we had when we stopped for lunch.


Right after lunch. Some guy was trying to chat
me up while I was taking pictures.


Chelsea on the ride down.


Andrew wanted the hawk on his hat to be seen.


The Great Ocean Road!


There are a ton of curvy roads like this one.


This was our first stop.


The beautiful view!


Andrew saw a lizard and was trying to get it
out of the grass.






We drove down a little farther and parked
near the beach. Paul stayed in the car while
the kids and I went down to the water.




I loved the waves crashing on the rocks.










Some unusual sea growth.






On the way home, I heard a strange hissing noise.
It sounded like sprinklers were running so I didn't
think anything of it. A few minutes later we
discovered this:


That would be the hissing noise I heard.
Paul changed the tire and we were on our way
home. We were still 2 + hours from home
and in the middle of nowhere so we were a bit
nervous and hoping the tire would hold out.

It was a long day for the little man and he fell
asleep on the way home!

Happy Halloween!

I know it's still early, but Happy Halloween! They don't really celebrate Halloween here much, but it is gaining popularity. Since the kids won't be with us on Halloween, I decided to make Halloween cupcakes with the mix and frosting my mom sent from America (Thanks, mom!). I was going to wait until they came home from after school care, but then I discovered that I only had one muffin tin. Since it was going to take a while to bake them all, I started them early so they could frost them when they got home. Of course Andrew, being a boy, didn't want to frost them, so Chelsea and I did them. She had so much fun and like "accidentally" getting the frosting on her finger so she had to lick it off. Paul actually tried them and likes them! They are already half gone and I think I am going to freeze the rest so they don't go bad since the kids are gone again for another two weeks.

Here is just a sample of all our hard work!

Andrew's Famous Sayings!

Andrew comes up with some pretty good sayings. I thought I'd start posting them here so they will never be forgotten!

On the way back home, Chelsea wanted a drink and our drink bag was empty.

Chelsea: "There's no more cans of drink left and I'm hungry!"

Chelsea was jumping on the Springfree Trampolines, trying out the different ones, when Paul asked her how the one she just got onto was.

Chelsea: "This one is gooder."

I was telling the kids that I won a DVD in a competition.

Me: "I won a DVD, but you can't watch it."
Chelsea: "What's it rated?"
Me: "MA15+"
Andrew: "I've seen MA15+ before! Wait here, woman!"
Paul: "Did he just call you woman?"

Paul and the kids went grocery shopping. While there they picked up some of what they thought was toilet (dunny) paper. Once they got home, Paul asked Andrew to put the toilet paper on the holders. He goes to do this, then comes back out holding a roll of paper towels, which were bought accidentally instead of toilet paper.

"Dad! This is the biggest dunny roll I've ever seen!!"

Before we moved, Andrew would come into the bedroom and snuggle with Paul when he woke up before going downstairs to play. One morning he had done this and then came back a little while later once Chelsea had woken up and was snuggling with Paul.

Paul: "Andrew, how long have you been up?"
Andrew: "At least 10 minutes, Dad."
Chelsea: "You've been up over an hour!"
Andrew: "I know. I said at least 10 minutes!"

Paul and Andrew were talking about the school sport day. Andrew had run a 100 meter race.

Paul: "How did you do in your race?"
Andrew: "Good."
Paul: "Where did you finish?"
Andrew: "Second last."
Paul: "Second last? What's so good about that?"
Andrew: "It wasn't last."

Paul and I had gone on a day trip up a mountain the weekend before. We were in the car with the kids and I was telling them what we did. Somehow, I said, "Last weekend, your dad and I went up a dinosaur!" How I got dinosaur out of mountain, I will never know. That night once we had gotten home, I said something equally as strange, although I can't remember what it was. After I said it though, this is what Andrew said.

Andrew: "Amy, are you sure you're not taking any drugs?"

A Day At The Park/A Day At The Beach

On Saturday we went to play at a park. We had no plans for the day, and I suggested we pack some balls into the car, and pack a lunch, and go out to play. We drove to Gisborne and found a nice big park. We grabbed our footy and took a walk through the woods and came to a footy ground. It was empty so we played on there for a while. I did pretty good for my first time! Eventually some cars pulled up and the people were dressed in cricket outfits, so we knew it was time to go.


Chelsea kept getting mad because she had to
chase after the ball!


Andrew with his footy.


I loved seeing grass! I don't see as much of it
anymore.






A baby magpie. I got up close to take this picture
and then Paul told me that they swoop at you if
you get too close. Thanks Dear!


My lovely family.


They love playgrounds. (I do too!)


I have no idea.





Sunday, Chelsea had a birthday party to go to. Paul, Andrew and I had nothing planned. Andrew said he wanted to go somewhere that we hadn't been to in a long time. We ended up going to the Werribee Beach! I love going to the water, even when it's a little chilly!


Andrew loved throwing shells at the jellyfish to
watch them bounce off.






While he was throwing shells, he accidentally
picked up some dog poo! After I finished
laughing, I told him to rinse his hands in the water.




The sand was littered with shells! Too bad it's
illegal to take them home!

Sunday Day Trip

Paul and I went for a day trip on Sunday. We ended up going up a mountain! I was so excited as I had been asking to go to the top of a mountain for a while now. It was cold and rainy, but it was still beautiful! I loved seeing all the plants, grass, and ferns! We ended up going to a place called "Sky High". It had gardens, a maze, gift shop, and restaurant. There was a wedding going on while we were there, so the Secret Garden part was blocked off. Here are some pictures of the rest of the place.


Paul wanted to kiss the kangaroo
on the totem pole. Who am I to
stop him?




They had some nice statues around.
Don't ever let Paul tell you he doesn't
like his picture taken - he seems to
end up in them a lot!


One of the gardens that we were able to walk
through.


The owl.


I'm not sure if this guy is crying
into his hands, or holding his whole
head in his hands.


Mr. Percy Possum. There were a
ton of kids there, I'm sure they would
have loved to play over by this tree!


Some of the beautiful flowers that were in the
gardens.






We were literally in the clouds!



The Giant's chair!




The view of the towns below the clouds.


Paul loves his Sabres hat!