Wow, what a different day to yesterday. Blue skies all day! It was even warm enough to sit outside while checking blogs this morning – mind you this was probably about 9am.

After another slow start to the day we decided to take full advantage of the weather and take the boat out again. We headed back to the ski club and today there was a lady to collect the money – we had no trouble with paying as it was such a great location for our time on the water.

We arrived here about 11.30am and didn’t leave until around 3pm. We hadn’t packed lunch but had enough nibblies to keep everyone happy.

I went out of the boat today to be spotter while Noel and Kevin had a go in the ring. So fun watching these two give each other a hard time on the float! We’re going to be selling the boat as it doesn’t get much use but it’s a bit sad when I see how happy Kevin is when he’s out on the water.

We had a very late lunch at 3.30pm and packed up the cabin ready to head home. We didn’t leave straight away though and enjoyed our last sunset before heading home.

Unfortunately we’d had problems with both the girls today and so headed off with both girls crying! Once they calmed down we were able to have a bit of a chat and discuss plans for the next two weeks – and the “Sisterly Love” school holiday camp that I’m going to be running . Wish me luck!

Aside from some rather bad (and embarassing) behaviour from my girls we did have a nice time away and enjoyed spending time with the Powells.

VERY mixed weather today but were able to get out and about during the sunny periods. The girls were awake rather early to see what the Bunny had bought. Both scored a Winter nightie and a chocolate bunny. Amy’s nightie said “Be happy, eat chocolate” which we thought was rather appropriate for Easter.

From us they recieved another choc bunny, some bunny ears, a bunny pen and a little fluffy bunny/chick which said something cute.

Even Kevin had to model the ears.

Here’s how my family spent the morning…

Eventually the Powells arrived at our cabin and we had some hot cross buns for breakfast (oops, forgot to get a photo). There was also a visit from the Easter bunny who gave out eggs to the kids. Sarah and Amy weren’t bothered though – they were too busy “fishing” again.

We decided to go for a walk and have a picnic lunch since the weather had cleared up.I made myself a salad wrap, the rest had chip sandwiches.

Then it was time for a game of cricket.

The guys were quite relieved when two of Christy’s “boy” friends from a park joined in.

The game ended rather abruptly when it started to rain. We were thankful Kevin had bought the car over for our stuff and for some of us to get home. But Leanne and Noel had to walk with their girls on their bikes.

Within an hour or so of being back, so was the sun and the kids decided to play with the tube in the lake.

Unfortunately Christy misbehaved so I spent quite a bit of time dealing with her. Amy & Sarah also madly went for a swim in the pool, and then the rain was back, but not before we got to enjoy another sunset.

Kevin was pleased to play doctor tonight when Leanne got a splinter…

He would have made a great boy scout .

Not such a great day weather wise. When I woke up this morning there were blue skies but not long afterwards it started to rain and proceeded to rain on and off the remainder of the day.

Kevin & Noel went for a drive into town to pick up coffee and other supplies. Leanne & I drank tea and supervised the kids. They did craft, played on the computers, watched a movie.

It was a bit cold outside so we spent the afternoon indoors. Mind you it wasn’t too cold for an ice-cream!

Later in the day it cleared up enough for the kids to go fishing – well, casting out into the lake – there really wasn’t much chance of them catching a fish (which is why I was okay with them “fishing”.

It was a lovely way to end a day where we’d been cooped up inside for most of it.

Another perfect day weather wise, especially as you never know what you’ll get at Easter. We had a lazy morning since Noel had been unwell during the night. The girls played and did some craft while we chatted and enjoyed the view.

After lunch, with Noel feeling a lot better, we decided to take the boat out for a bit. We found a much better place to launch this time – the local ski club – which meant we could tow straight from our spot by water rather than have to go up and down the river for pick ups and drop offs. The downside was a shallow ramp.

We spent quite a few hours here. Everyone had a good time.

While the girls waited their turns they played with blue zinc and went off on little adventures.

I spent the time chatting with Leanne, supervising the kids, knitting and enjoying the view.

The last activity before we left was the kids just playing in the raft – which I think they enjoyed almost as when they are pulled behind the boat.

We finally packed up around 5.30pm and headed back to the cabin where we had dinner and enjoyed another sunset from our balcony.

After madly packing this morning and loading up the boat and car we set off around 11am for Burrill Lakes. This will be our third Easter here with the Powells (whose parents have an onsite van here).

We stopped to buy some bread and lunch from Bakers Delight which we later enjoyed picnic style at a roadside stop.

We arrived at Burrill Lakes at 1.30pm and were able to get straight into our cabin. Normally we stay in Nan & Pop’s van they they bring down for us to use – but with them BOTH having just had surgery we thought it best to rent a cabin this time around.

It is VERY nice and the view just gorgeous.

I bought the flowers that I was given yesterday and they look beautiful on the table.

After unloading the car and unpacking our food and clothes Kevin got out the computer to check he could get online. He then discovered he needed to make a trip to a local Telstra shop so off he went to Bateman’s Bay!

The girls went off to explore, I read for a bit, then wondered down to see the pelicans.

Later I took the girls to the pool to have a swim. The water was cold but they had fun.

I had to laugh when I found Amy & Kevin playing games on the laptop. Gee, do you think they are addicted?

I sat outside (where it was  bit cooler), knitting while waiting for the Powells to arrive – which they did about 5.45pm.

We went to their van to help them unpack then came back to our cabin to cook dinner and enjoy the sunset.

The kids loved being together again and us adults enjoyed sitting outside chatting.

to Burrill Lakes….but not with Bailey driving…

Be back in the morning with a post on our first day.

Last day – sob. Can’t believe I’ve been sleeping in till around 6.30am (but I did stay up finishing my book). It was already warm. I enjoyed some nice fresh fruit this morning.

Mum was feeling better but not 100% and since it was forecast to be a scorcher of a day I took the girls shopping for a couple of hours. We first went into Nelson Bay for a wander around. Lots of beautiful home shops but I didn’t buy anything.

We then headed to the shopping center (and the air conditioning). We got school shoes & joggers for Christy, clothes for both the girls and a few grocery items. Christy was pretending to be an orphan again and making her own purchases .

We arrived back about 1pm and had some of the fresh bread rolls we’d bought. Then we got ready and headed to the shark and ray center. It was rather expensive but the girls had lots of fun feeding the rays and sharks. We opted not to get in the water and I think this was a good decision because it was way more fun watching the rays launch themselves out of the water to get the food. They were so cute and so friendly.

These guys were my favourite….

**** Will post a video when I get home!

We stayed about an hour or so. Would have stayed longer but it was so hot (even being indoors). We then took the girls back to Lemon Tree Passage to see if their friends were there. They weren’t but we’d been told to go knock on their door if we made it back there – so we did. The kids all played together for a couple of hours and we headed home after 6pm.

Back home we started packing our belongings while Pop cooked the last BBQ. It’s now 8.30pm so we’ll be heading to bed soon.

I’ll leave you with our last sunset….

Firstly, just to let you know that unfortunatley my Mum didn’t find her watch. Pop rang the police station this morning but as we haven’t heard anything I assume it’s not going to be turned in.

Woke up around 6.30am, too lazy to go for a walk. Unfortunately Nan woke up feeling unwell today so need to get to the doctors. I had planned to take the girls to the shops while they were out but they were both in “moods” so I decided it best we just stay here. Worked out to the best as Nan & Pop ended up in Emergency (since they couldn’t get an appointment till late afternoon) and had to wait over 3 hours. Since I still can’t go in the sun we just hung out here, I read and the girls played on theirs DSs.

After lunch I saw there was a bit of shade by the pool so I took them down for a swim. Unfortunately within minutes there had been an “incident” so Amy got out and Christy had a swim by herself.

It was pretty hot, even in the shade, so I was kind of glad we weren’t down there too long. When we got back to the apartment Nan & Pop had just arrived back. I made Dad and I a wrap for lunch. Then they all went down to the beach for a while. I opted to stay back (and out of the sun). I started a new book and read over half while they were gone!

They came home around 5.30pm and I made a salad to go with the BBQ. We ate outside but it was a little on the hot side (not looking forward to tomorrow as it’s going to be even hotter). Pop then took the girls down to the fair. They had a wonderful time and didn’t get home until 8.30pm.

Time for bed and for me to FINISH my book . Can’t believe it’s the last day tomorrow .

Well, it’s been another tiring day….not!!!

I woke around 6am but managed to get back to sleep for another half hour or so. Amy had a sore back and didn’t feel up to a walk. Me, being lazy, decided not to bother as well.

Played on the computer most of the morning. Everyone was up for breakfast by around 9am. Some of us read, some played DS games, and some (ie. me) played on the computer some more trying to book some more of our UK trip.

Christy did manage to make everyones bed – a job she’s chosen to do each morning. And boy, does she do a great job!

At 12.30pm I logged in for the first live chat with Valerie‘s Diamond Club. The program is supposed to start today but I’ll be starting when I’m home from holidays. Had lunch while chatting with the girls and at 1.30pm we left to drive to Tanilba House – a 170 year old house built with convict labour.

We were tempted to leave Christy locked in the convict jail cell.

After touring the home we had a devonshire tea in the school room (where apparently the ghost of the governess can be sometimes seen).

We were a bit nervous when told we were sitting on chairs worth $200. Christy couldn’t understand why when they weren’t very comfortable.

After our afternoon tea we explored the gardens a little. I was amazed to see all these spiders on the same web – never seen anything like it! Anyone know what they are – they really were gorgeous.

We drove to Tea Gardens and the girls and Nan had a swim. After yesterday I sat myself in the shade and just watched and did some reading. The girls had a wonderful time and made some friends. We ended up stay over 2.5 hours till 6pm.

Since we still have a 30min drive home we decided to have takeaway at the nearby cafe. Unfortunately it wasn’t the nicest meal.

We then drove home. Upon arrival Nan realized her watch was missing and had probably dropped on the ground back at Tea Gardens. So her and Pop headed back in the hope they could find it.

Tonights sunset photo was taken a bit earlier…

Surely it can’t be day 4 already! Another lazy day by the Bay. I woke around 6.30am, contemplated a walk but when I saw Amy was still asleep, decided tea and blogs would be more fun. Slowly the house awoken and we had breakfast (inside today as it was a little cool outside). I’ve been craving cheese on toast after seeing it recently on Taylors blog (Joy of Food) so that’s what I had. The girls played on their DSs while we got ready to go to the beach. I just love their intense concentration.

We headed out around 10.30 and spent a few hours on the beach. We had a lovely time – there was a nice breeze which made it a bit cooler. Unfortunately due to this I didn’t realize how hot the sun was and now am slightly sunburnt. I should have known better and usually refuse to be in the sun in the middle of the day but I was just trying to go along with what made everyone happy. And we did have a lovely time.

We left at 1.30pm in search of food and had lunch at a nearby cafe.

They didn’t have a lot vegetarian but there was a sandwich that sounded interesting – red kidney beans, sweet chilli sauce, sour cream, lettuce and guacamole. It was DELICIOUS!!! I’m definitely going to recreate this at home. So yummy, and so messy!

After lunch we headed back to the apartment. Mum & the girls went down to the pool for awhile. Even though I didn’t yet know I was sunburnt I knew I didn’t want any more sun today. I sat on our balcony (in the shade) reading the book I’d started at the beach. We lazed the rest of the day away and enjoyed another BBQ for dinner.

Later, we finished the game of cluedo we started last night and enjoyed another magical sunset.