Camping Life

A few random photos from our camping trip so far.. Happy New Years!

"Tacky Gear & Christmas Cheer" Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve Dinner at Huey's at Bluey's Pizza Restaurant- Bluey's Beach.

Our first annual tacky Christmas Eve dinner.  

I dont know what was more fun- embarrassing ourselves at dinner or picking out our outfits.. 

Ellie Claus

Rocky Road for the Road

Yesterday Dyllan and I made a big batch of rocky road to pass out to our new (not so much anymore) neighbors.  I figured it was about time we actually get out and meet our neighbors- and Im so glad we did.  We met some nice and interesting people.  The people who live behind us- a family of 4- just got a new puppy- a 10 week Dalmatian pup named Isabella.  I told them we would love to babysit any time.  The people on the right hand side happen to be camping in Yamba the same time we are (just after christmas) and have offered us to use their kayaks.  The family a few doors down have kids- and the son is the same age as Dyllan (plus they have a trampoline and swimming pool- score!) as well- the husband is on the school board and has offered to put in a good recommendation for Dyllan to get into the Kindy program (the wait list is more than 5 times the allowed number of students).  We ran out of rocky road before we finished the street.  And as always- my intentions were good- and I thought I'd have time to make another batch and finish the block.. but its not looking promising.  Today we will be packing for our big trip down south (10 hour drive) for Christmas to be with Dan's family at Marianne and Lauries new home.

I am bringing my good camera- so Ill have some fun photos to share.

Wanna make some rocky road yourself?  Its really easy to make, but be warned.. its very addictive.. and you can't stop eating it.  So my advice is to bag it up quickly and either freeze it.. or pass it out to friends for xmas.  Enjoy!

The Ultimate Rocky Road
Easy to make pink and white marshmallow and chocolate fun for any occasion!

Prep. Time Cooking Time Serves
Skill Level
what you need

20 minutes 5 minutes

11⁄2 cups PASCALL Marshmallows, halved
1 cup peanuts, chopped
3⁄4 cup red glacé cherries, halved
220g CADBURY Dark Baking Chocolate, chopped 220g CADBURY Milk Baking Chocolate, chopped 150g shortbread finger biscuits, broken  

** I can't follow a recipe ever- and I changed it.  I added some ghiradelli chocolate chips instead and i used a different kind of cookies.  oh and i did salted mixed nuts.   Also instead of saving some for the top- i just mixed it all in- then sprinkled crushed mixed nuts on top.  I dont think you can go wrong no matter how far you stray from the recipe. 
make it
1. COMBINE 1/3 each of the marshmallows, peanuts and cherries and set aside.
2. MELT together the milk and dark chocolate in a glass bowl over simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water.
3. STIR the biscuits and remaining marshmallows, peanuts and cherries into the melted chocolate. Spoon mixture into a lined 18cm × 30cm slice pan. Gently press the reserved marshmallow mix into the top of the slice. Chill until firm and then slice into squares to serve.
To view this recipe online, please visit
http://www.cadburykitchen.com.au/recipes/view/the-ultimate-rocky-road/1/ 

Ellie Got Back

Here's Ellie enjoying "baby got back"

Dear Other Parents At The Park

I loved this story.. and found it from here:  Often times when we are at the park, I will be hanging out in the sand... watching Ellie or talking to the other parents.  Minutes later Ill look over and see that Dyllan has recruited another parent to push her on the swings.  I have taught her how to pump.. but she continues to ask other unsuspecting parents to give her a push "scues me?  Will you push me please?!"  The other day I came over to the swings to find a lady pushing her 2 year old with a newborn strapped to her chest.. also pushing Dyllan.  The little Turkey.  I always have to explain to the poor, unsuspecting parent that she knows how to pump, and not to worry about giving her a push... anyway.. I can totally relate to this story...

Dear Other Parents At The Park:

Please do not lift my daughters to the top of the ladder, especially after you've just heard me tell them I wasn't going to do it for them and encourage them to try it themselves.

I am not sitting here, 15 whole feet away from my kids, because I am too lazy to get up. I am sitting here because I didn't bring them to the park so they could learn how to manipulate others into doing the hard work for them. I brought them here so they could learn to do it themselves.

They're not here to be at the top of the ladder; they are here to learn to climb. If they can't do it on their own, they will survive the disappointment. What's more, they will have a goal and the incentive to work to achieve it.

In the meantime, they can use the stairs. I want them to tire of their own limitations and decide to push past them and put in the effort to make that happen without any help from me.

It is not my job — and it is certainly not yours — to prevent my children from feeling frustration, fear, or discomfort. If I do, I have robbed them of the opportunity to learn that those things are not the end of the world, and can be overcome or used to their advantage.

If they get stuck, it is not my job to save them immediately. If I do, I have robbed them of the opportunity to learn to calm themselves, assess their situation, and try to problem solve their own way out of it.

It is not my job to keep them from falling. If I do, I have robbed them of the opportunity to learn that falling is possible but worth the risk, and that they can, in fact, get up again.

I don't want my daughters to learn that they can't overcome obstacles without help. I don't want them to learn that they can reach great heights without effort. I don't want them to learn that they are entitled to the reward without having to push through whatever it is that's holding them back and *earn* it.

Because — and this might come as a surprise to you — none of those things are true. And if I let them think for one moment that they are, I have failed them as a mother.

I want my girls to know the exhilaration of overcoming fear and doubt and achieving a hard-won success. 

I want them to believe in their own abilities and be confident and determined in their actions. 

I want them to accept their limitations until they can figure out a way past them on their own significant power.

I want them to feel capable of making their own decisions, developing their own skills, taking their own risks, and coping with their own feelings.

I want them to climb that ladder without any help, however well-intentioned, from you.

Because they can. I know it. And if I give them a little space, they will soon know it, too.

So I'll thank you to stand back and let me do my job, here, which consists mostly of resisting the very same impulses you are indulging, and biting my tongue when I want to yell, "BE CAREFUL," and choosing, deliberately, painfully, repeatedly, to stand back instead of rush forward.

Because, as they grow up, the ladders will only get taller, and scarier, and much more difficult to climb. And I don't know about you, but I'd rather help them learn the skills they'll need to navigate them now, while a misstep means a bumped head or scraped knee that can be healed with a kiss, while the most difficult of hills can be conquered by chanting, "I think I can, I think I can", and while those 15 whole feet between us still feels, to them, like I'm much too far away.

Byron Bay Girls Weekend

Our good friends Matt & Francesca are getting married.  Matt was the MC at our wedding and such a major part of our big day.  Unfortunately, Francesca wasn't able to make it to our wedding, but they have been close friends since before we got married.

In January 2015 they are getting married in Byron Bay- so Francesca invited me to spend the weekend with her doing all things wedding (with a lot of fun mixed in).  We had initially planned on staying at a Bed and Breakfast just outside of the main part of town.  We were both fine with the fact that we were staying at an old lady's run down house, sharing a bed with pink sheets, and biking into town for a swim and a cocktail- cause we were saving money.  But when I went to meet Francesca- it wasnt the BnB I expected... Matt paid the difference and put us up in a hotel in town.  What a pleasant suprise.

Here are the highlights..

~Friday~

Hotel walking distance to the beach and town

Visited Byron at Byron (the resort their reception will be held) 

Swimming

Wine in to-go cups and a cruise through Byron

Happy Hour & Tappas for hours talking and catching up

Beach hotel- for a few more hours of girl talk

Kebabs for dinner

Home by 10:30pm

Cheers- welcome to Byron!  Celebrating our surprise hotel.

The Bryon at Bryon

Tappas and Happy Hour

The Beach Hotel- A bottle of wine and a view and conversations until the mosquitos kicked us out. This reminded me of Mexico.  So pretty.

~Saturday~

Slept in till 9am- no kids

Great coffee and a swim in the ocean

Frozen Yogurt for breakfast

Visited the lighthouse where Matt and Francesca got engaged and brought the lighthouse volunteer a bottle of wine

Walked to the Eastern most part of Australia

Swam and laid out on a beach all to our selves.. apart from the surfers.

Fishmongers for the best fish and chip dinner Ive ever had

Frozen Yogurt (again!) for desert

Movie and relaxing at the hotel

On the way up to the lighthouse- looking down on Tallow Beach

At the lighthouse

The lighthouse Matt and Francesca got engaged 

Tallow Beach

~ Sunday~

Woke up for coffee and an ocean swim and walk on the beach

Checked out the church that they will get married in

Back to the Byron at Byron for breakfast with the Managers

Day room at the resort and cabana by the pool

Home for an amazing dinner with the family

A swamp at the Byron at Byron

Poolside in our Cabana

Just a wild turkey by the pool

Cabana by the pool

 ~Monday~

Back to reality- Francesca got a taste of my life here in Brisbane

The girls and I took her to South Bank on the ferry for a swim

Park and coffee

And off to the airport to say goodbye to Francesca

Dyllan was dead set on coming back to Sydney with her.. she even said she would ride in her suitcase

Waiting for the ferry in Bulimba

South Bank

Love Street Park- best friends

 And on a side note.. Dan's weekend was great- but far less relaxing.  I got texts and pictures throughout the weekend of all the fun the 3 of them were having.  They spent friday camping out in the back yard in our new tent, Saturday at Sea World down in Surfers Paradise (an hour drive south), and the petting zoo Sunday.  All in time to welcome us home for a BBQ dinner on Sunday evening.  Is he the best husband or what!?  I am pretty lucky to be able to escape and not only relax, but trust that he'll also have an amazing weekend.

Christmas in the Park

I am so lucky to have a new friend who is a photographer.  Here are the photos she took of the girls the other day at our park Christmas party.  

Santa and his helper