19th and 20th February 2011

A weekend mostly of trying to stay dry and get things dry.

Finn woke me Sunday morning to let me know he had a nosebleed and to show me the sunrise. I love it when he wants to share a sunrise with me. The nosebleed not so much ...

The boy wanted to practice his skills on his skateboard, bike and scooter so we judged a gap in the rain and made the most of it. He's getting better and better every time.

A long weekend

It wasn't quite the weekend we thought we were going to have. We thought we would be camping. But then there was the rain, the leeches, the lack of a viable campsite, oh and did I mention the rain? A six hour camping trip that included four hours of driving - a new record for us I think.

We started afresh on Saturday morning with a cooked breakfast followed by a trip to a surf beach for some wave action. A movie night rounded out the day.

Sunday saw Mark heading for the lakes with the promise of returning with fish - unfortunately the wind blew him home early. In the meantime Finn and I rode the bus to the Wooden Boat Festival where we checked out timber and varnish and a funky bike. After watching Prince of Persia on Saturday night Finn wanted to try a Taste of Persia for lunch and gave it a big thumbs up.

Monday morning dawned clear and calm - perfect for an egg and bacon breakfast at the beach and a little kayaking on a beautifully calm sea. Perfection.

5th and 6th February 2011

After a back to school and work week it was very much a back to routine weekend. Lots of catching up on household chores.

Finn was keen to show us the ramp he skateboarded on at holiday program, and the hill they rode the billycart down.

All three ipod touches in the house got a good workout over the weekend, lots of apps tried out and photo effects explored. Fun.

I cooked a gorgeous meal, I must say. The boys didn't have to act so surprised. :-)

29 and 30 January 2011

We had the best time at White Beach. It was so relaxing and we could each do the things we like. I headed over to Port Arthur with my camera a few times (OK maybe six times, but who's counting). We went on the ghost tour one night which was fun and, according to Finn, freaky. Finn joined in the kids archeology dig - that was pretty cool. We all got out on the water in the big boat and the small ones quite a few times. One day we were surrounded by a pod of dolphins - luckily this was in the big boat - I've just got to show you this picture even though it was mid-week.


The McNeices came to the Peninsula for the weekend and Finn was so excited to see his cousins and play tour guide at Port Arthur. While we waited he decided to try the leg-irons for size - they were OK for a little while but so heavy. We found time for a little photo shoot in the church - can you tell how thrilled Finn was about that - he's got the moody teenager thing down pat already.

The weather for our last weekend of the school holidays wasn't great but we bid a fond farewell each in our own way and promised to come again soon.

22nd and 23rd January 2011

We had two weeks at White Beach Cottage and this was the middle weekend. We were just across the road from the water with a little beach to safely launch the kayaks from. Finn dived around the kelp and seaweed just off the shore, with Mark as support vessel to take him further afield.

We had passed the Coal Mines site many times on the way to and from camping at Lime Bay but had never stopped. We were surprised just how much was there. It was a beautiful bush setting near the coast and was very peaceful. Those poor convict men would have had a terrible time there. The underground cells were very, very dark even without doors on them, I can only imagine and shudder at what it must have been like to come up from the mines only to be locked in another dark hole.

The air shaft was kind of strange and unexpected. It was at a distance from everything else and apparently there are no remaining records of when or why it was built. It is beautifully built in sandstone and goes a long, long way down.

15th and 16th January 2011

What a fun weekend enjoying the weather in the great outdoors. Plays at the Botanical Gardens are always fun and it was great that Nick could join us. The weather was perfect and it was a "rollicking yarn" performed with lots of laughs and music. Matt and Leah showed great courage to take a spin on the biscuit, especially Leah whose turn came up just after the enormous seal swam through. We did catch a lovely feed of flathead - too busy bringing the big ones aboard to take any photos.

8th and 9th January 2011

Saturday slipped away from me in trying to catch up on lost sleep, but Mark and Finn made the best of it. Some fishing, ski-biscuiting and generally enjoying being on and in the water with the McNeices filled in their morning.

They made it home for a BBQ lunch and Finn was straight into a new library book. He started reading it right where I handed it to him - sitting on a table on the back deck.

Nick came for a sleepover and the boys enjoyed each other's company very much. They played all kinds of computer games, watched movies and gave the table soccer a workout. It was lovely to see them together.

The flowers on the New Zealand flax have been attracting birds for a couple of weeks now. After heavy rain on Saturday night they were weighed down enough for me to get a closer look.

Mark headed off on Sunday morning for a trip the highlands. He saw lots of fish and even had a couple that got away so he came back a fish-less but very happy man.