Hippos need their beauty sleep too

I walked into my daughter's bedroom this morning to this sight...

What has made you laugh today?

Cobwebs

A spider's web glistening as the sun sets on another day. Beauty is all around us, we just need to be looking for it.

Growth

Ever look at your own child and wonder how they grew so quickly? I often do this straight after I've loaded images onto my Mac from my CF card. The days and weeks go by so quickly that we barely notice that day by day they grow that little bit more. Then all of a sudden you are looking at a child who says to you "Mum, it won't be long before we can swap clothes". And you know what? She's right, it wont long at all. (Okay so the fact that I am vertically challenged will speed this process up more than most, but it will come to us all). Remember to cherish every day.

Watch the birdie!

I think I have met my match with this little one :-)

iSad

Way back in the first month of blogging I did a post called Inspiration. It contained a link to Steve Jobs' Address to Stamford Graduates back in 2005. Today, as I found out the sad news that he had passed away, aged only 56 years, I watched this link again. I am sure you will agree, the speech is even more poignant now.

The overwhelming reaction from around the world, on hearing the news of his death, is not surprising. Amongst other things, this man created and recreated Apple, not forgetting Pixar. After all, what sort of a world would it be without Toy Story? Oh, and I guess the iPhenomenon is pretty awesome too. If you have a spare few minutes, please watch the link above. His own speech says everything you need to know about him far more eloquently than I can put into words and may even inspire you in your own personal journey through life.

RIP Mr Steve Jobs. For somebody who never even completed college you did pretty well and certainly made your mark on the planet.

A few more from the show

Here's a few more images from the Royal Melbourne Show. These have to be the coolest animals on the face of the earth. Just look at that expression!

Until tomorrow....adios amigos!

Royal Melbourne Show 2011

We went to the Show last weekend and I as surprised by just how big it is and particularly, by how many rides there were. Caution, if you are going there with children for the first time, unless you want to take out a small mortgage, give them a limit as to how many rides they are allowed on in advance. $30 for all four of us on one ride...not exactly cheap! I'm pretty sure the kids enjoyed themselves.....

It was pretty busy although the weather had been poor last week so I guess everyone had been saving themselves.

Oh and I'm not sure about Marcus' tastes in ladies.

Squeaky Beach, Wilson's Prom

This is a follow on from yesterday's blog about a trip to Wilson's Prom. Once we left Norman Bay there was only one place the kids were interested in seeing, Squeaky Beach. "Mum! Dad! Why is it called Squeaky Beach?" "Erm, don't know, maybe there are lots of little mice there" came my feeble answer. When we arrived, everyone ran ahead of me and I heard lots of giggling (mostly from Matt, but the kids were quite amused too). Georgia came running towards me, "Mum! Mum! We know why it is called Squeaky Beach! Come and listen." Okay, I'm not making this up, the sand squeaks when you walk on it. No, really, it does! I've just googled it and apparently it is rounded quartz sand which is why it squeaks. I presume that the giant boulders there are rounded quartz then. Oh yes, I'm a super sleuth...can't get anything past me!

This will give you an idea of just how big these boulders are.

I had to run, quickly, after taking this last shot and I may or may not have said a word best listened to in French.

I love the line created by the sea level. It's such a contrast against the orange and black.

Oh, and we were not alone....

Before long it was time to head back to the lodge for the night. We saw some of the locals on the trip there.

The view once back wasn't too shabby...



...and neither was the one we woke up to.

Wilson's Prom got a big thumbs up from us. Great weekend getaway for Melburnians.

The Southernmost part of mainland Australia

We travelled to Wilson's Promontory last weekend, the closest part of mainland Australia to the Antarctic. The kids liked this fact and wondered why it was colder, hehe. We booked to stay in a cabin and when we arrived the owner asked if we had been waiting for it to open again. "For what to open again?" came my reply. "Wilson's Prom National Park". Boys and girls, this is why you should prepare. Turns out, the whole of the National Park suffered very badly from floods in March and had been closed ever since. It re-opened on Friday 23 September, the day before we arrived... this was of course luck rather than judgment. Can you imagine if we'd driven all the way there to not actually be able to go into the National Park....I suspect I may have got into a little trouble seeing as I organised it all!

Anyway, with lady luck on my side we dumped our bags and set off to explore the Prom. It wasn't long before I hollered at Matt to stop the car. I was couldn't quite believe what I was looking at....an emu!

We continued the drive to Tidal River and the beautiful beach at Norman Bay.

As you can see, we were very lucky with the weather too. It was quite windy though, and we spotted a couple flying their kite....

...so Matt went to the car for ours. It has been years since I flew a kite. I had forgotten how much fun it is. Mind you, this one was substantially better than the ones we had in the 80s that were made out of plastic. As I recall, throwing a bin bag into the air was more effective!

Now I'm not saying that my husband is competitive or anything, but just look at this......he's taking this way too seriously.  Stunts I tell you, STUNTS!

Incidentally, notice that the children are nowhere to be seen. They'd become bored by this point and were busy playing in the sand.



The surfers were out in full force.



It really wasn't that warm....I do sometimes wonder about them. Do they eat special food that keeps them warm? That kid isn't even wearing a wetsuit! Makes me feel cool just looking at him.



The girls were not going to be outdone.



We left Norman Bay and did some more exploring.....but I'll tell you about that another day.

Have a lovely weekend!

Brekkie in Inverloch

On our way to Wilson's Prom last weekend we drove the scenic route by the coast. We stopped off at Inverloch for breakfast. I can certainly see why it is such a popular place.

Wiggleson's Prom

Ever wondered where the Wiggles go for the weekend?

Norman Bay, Wilson's Prom