Family Day Out

Easter Saturday at HARS Museum

Posted on April 3, 2013October 10, 2026 by Libby Withnall

On Saturday morning we met the Powells at the HARS (Historical Aircraft Restoration Society) Museum, where we had a guided tour.

Our tour was supposed to go for 1.5 hours but we were there nearly 3 hours. Between a chatty guide and inquisitive husbands we certainly got our money’s worth.

The kids did great, though they did get a bit bored (as did Leanne & I) at the engine display :-). They loved being able to get inside quite a few of the planes.

We also got see a few take-offs…

including the careflight helicopter, which helped save Sarah’s life a few years ago.

Even though the tour was a little too long for the girls, the museum really is worth a visit. We were here a few years back and will come back again.

After our tour we headed back to our place where we had a vegetable quiche that Leanne had made. It was such a gorgeous day that we sat outside.

After a busy day and half we were happy to relax for the afternoon, while the girls swam….

and watch H2O, Just add water….

Later we enjoyed a sponge cake for afternoon tea…

and cheese tortellini with tomato sauce for dinner…

Fun day at the Easter Show

Posted on April 1, 2013October 10, 2026 by Libby Withnall

We’ve had a fun Easter with the Powells. Often we go away but since we go to Germany in just 2 weeks we decided to do another homebased holiday – meeting up and spending the days together and letting the girls do some sleepovers.

On Good Friday we headed up to Sydney to the Sydney Royal Easter Show. Luckily we got there nice and early at 9am because by lunchtime it was crazy busy and very hard to move around.

To try and avoid the crowds we first went to the working dog show…

then to watch the pig racing and pig diving. So cute – we’d never seen this before…

Then it was time to visit the nursery – which was already pretty packed…

Around 11am we had a show essential – fresh corn on the cob (and the first food on stick for many)…

Time to learn some circus tricks…

We then headed into the main arena…

where we watching some stunt horse riding…

precision driving…

and motorcross freestyle… which was fantastic… see the guy in the top left of the photo!

Then everyone (except me) had chips on a stick…

Time to brave the showbag pavillion, before we visited the fresh food dome. This was SOOO crowded.

Kevin got his chili eating badge…Noel got one last year…

The girls got tattoos…

And there was more food on sticks…

and I had some strawberries and cream….

A short time later I found some homemade gnocchi so I had that for a late lunch. It was delicious.

It was crazy busy so we headed in to watch some of the woodchopping finals…

Before we headed out at 5.45pm. Tired but happy.

We stopped for dinner on the way home at a Thai resturant.

I had the BEST dinner I’ve ever had at Thai. What a shame it’s not a local place.

The girls did a sleepover swap so Amy headed to the Powell’s and we took Alyssa home with us. We watched a little TV then went to tired absolutely exhausted.

I’ve got another video with the clips taking during photo taking.

Family Fun Day – Dog beach, lunch out and bowling

Posted on October 15, 2012October 10, 2026 by Libby Withnall

Amy was supposed to be going to a pool party on Saturday, and we’d planned to visit the dog beach after dropping her off. The party was cancelled due to all the rain we had on Friday but we still headed to the beach. The pups were SOOO excited.

Since it was too cold for the girls to swim we went for a walk and explored the rocks.

The girls found this baby shark. So sad. We guess it got washed ashore with the wild weather we had yesterday.

After the beach we went via the dog wash to clean the dogs. Then dropped them home before heading down the coast to Gerringong.

Where we had lunch at our favourite vegetarian cafe, Perfect Break. Amy was with us too but never wants to be in photos these days :-(.

I had a very yummy high-protein vegetable burger. Barely made it through half though as it was HUGE!

Next up….time to don “those” shoes. Hmmm…. with my mismatched socks I’ve really got the whole clown look going :-).

We enjoyed our game. Shame it’s so expensive.

Hmm… looks like I was the biggest loser…. The girls had fun choosing their names.

Amy had a “teenager” moment towards the end of bowling but otherwise we had a great day out.

Posted on October 7, 2012October 10, 2026 by Libby Withnall

We’ve decided to reinstate our family day out on Sundays when possible. Today we got to celebrate Nan & Pop’s 45th Wedding Anniversary with lunch out at Cronulla. It was a gorgeous day for the drive up to Sydney. We stopped at Miranda on the way up to buy some Summer shoes for Christy. She scored 4 pairs and is now all set.

Lunch was at the RSL We had a bit of trouble finding parking and ended up with a bit of walk back to the club.

But it was worth it. Check out the view we enjoyed while having lunch.

Here we are all together with Granny, Auntie Robyn, Uncle Brain and cousin Fiona. So great to catch up with them. Seems to be a long time since I’ve seen them.