THE TRIP HOME

We were all very sad when it came time to leave Numurkah. It is always sad saying goodbye to family there, but this time we had so many new friends we were leaving behind as well.
We made it to Forbes on the first night and met up with Uncle Merv. We got to check out his new motorhome. It was a nice free camp spot by the river.

The next day it rained all day, which wouldn't have been so bad except we ended up by the side of the road in Dubbo for 2 hours fixing a wheel bearing. Well it was actually Darren who had to sit in the rain on the side of the road fixing it while the kids and I sat in the van and the car.
That night we stayed at the Narrabri showground for $14

The kids woke up the next morning to see someone training their horse. We couldn't believe that we'd be back on the Gold Coast later that day.
It was sad to think this would be our last morning waking up in the van together. There were many things we were looking forward to about living in a house again, but the van had become our home and we had shared some amazing experiences together over the las 14 months.
We made it back to the Gold Coast around 6pm that night. Our big adventure had come to an end. I think the experience has changed us all, and certainly brought us closer as a family.
Signing off.......until the next big adventure!

A BUSY MONTH

The title says it all - my excuse for not blogging for a month! The kids had their swimming carnival at school. Casey did really well and made the relay team for Red House.

Brodie and Tara had their 'swimming games' day the following day and had to compete in lots of different activities. They had a lot of fun, but the water was freezing cold.

A couple of weeks ago we went to see a car show at Tocumwal, just over the Murray River into NSW. This pink car was Tara's favourite.

This very cool car belongs to our good friends.

Darren took Casey and Brodie to the Waaia Tractor Pull. The boys weren't overly excited about it until I told them they weren't ordinary tractors, but modified ones which compete to pull heavy weights as far as they can. They had an awesome time amid the noise and dirt and flies!

The other main event of the past month was the school fete. Tara loved having a camel ride with her best friend.

The kids have one more week at school before the holidays, and then we start preparing to head back to the Gold Coast. We're all looking forward to living in a house again and seeing our family and friends again, but we're also sad about saying goodbye to family and new friends down here.

I can't believe our big adventure is almost over!

ONE YEAR IN THE CARAVAN

The 18th of February marked one year on the road. A whole year has passed since we moved into the caravan and left the Gold Coast. A few days later, Casey celebrated his 9th birthday - the second birthday he has had in the van. Just like last year he had a little party at Gran and Pop's with his cousins Liv and Pres.

We gave him an MP3 player and a basketball for his birthday. It can be a bit frustrating in the morning trying to get him ready for school when he's got the earphones in.

It didn't take long to settle into a routine again - making lunches, getting to school, doing readers and homework. Waking up to an alarm is still a bit of a shock to the system though! The kids are loving it at Numurkah Primary School. They have all made new friends and are doing really well with their schoolwork.

Just like last year, Darren and I went along to the Mooroopna Cricket Club ball. It was fun getting all dressed up.

STARTING SCHOOL

We decided to put the kids in school while we're in Numurkah (probably just first term) because we thought it would be good for Tara to start with the other Preps. She missed out on her pre-school year last year so I wanted the transition to school to be as smooth as possible. The big day arrived last Friday (yes they started the school year on a Friday!) Luckily I had decided to sit down and read the information booklet thoroughly just two days earlier and I discovered the Preps only had a 15 minute appointment with their teacher on the Friday and didn't actually start school until Monday. So on Friday we got up to an alarm (shock to the system) and got the boys ready for school. They weren't exactly excited about the idea (see photo above!)

Later that day Tara put her uniform on and we took her to meet with her teacher, who is really lovely. She had a chat to Tara then asked us if there was anything we wanted her to know about Tara. Tara piped up and said, "I'm really smart!"

At the end of the day Tara and I went back to the school to pick up Casey and Brodie. They both had a great day and talked non-stop all afternoon about everything they had done.

Today was the big day - Tara's first day of school. When we got to her classroom, different activities were set out. She went and sat at a table on the far side of the room all by herself and turned her back to everyone. The teacher got her and sat her at a table with some kids who were colouring. I thought this would be a good time to leave. She waved and gave us a smile. I didn't quite make it to the car before I started crying. My baby at school!

I picked the kids up and took them to Gran and Pop's for afternoon tea so Tara could tell them all about her day. She had fun and made three friends.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We had a great time at the Mooroopna New Year's Eve Festival with Vaughan, Michelle, Livvy and Presley. It's a fun family night with music, entertainers, rides and fireworks at about 10:30pm. When the kids heard the Chicken Dance they just had to get up do the actions.

Tara had a ride on the merry-go-round while Casey, Brodie and Pres watched on. Casey and Pres were very excited to find out they were big enough to drive the dodgem cars for the first time.

Tara gradually warmed to the fireworks and thought they were beautiful, but she didn't like the really loud ones.

The kids had fun with their glow-in-the-dark lightsabers.

Like last time we were here, the kids helped Gran do the Meals On Wheels deliveries one day. They carried a course each. Brodie thought the soup smelled delicious!

After devouring 8 of Gran's homemade sausage rolls in one sitting, Brodie asked if he could make some himself. We bought the ingredients and went to Gran's kitchen to make them (much more room than the caravan).

It was quite a long process, but he did every step himself with very little help.

The first batch to come out of the oven barely hit the bench before he started eating them. He was very proud of the finished product.

CHRISTMAS IN THE CARAVAN

As I write this we are sitting in the van, trying to stay cool with the air-con working overtime. It's expected to hit 40 degrees today. The weather down here can be hard to predict. It was so cold just after Christmas that we were rugged up in jumpers and socks!

Foremost on our minds right now though is my brother and his family in Emerald as they face the worst floods there on record. When he rang yesterday the water was close to their house but they were still okay.

But let me look back over the last couple of weeks. I took the kids up to enrol them at the local school for next year and I picked up some uniforms. Tara had to try hers on as soon as we got home. As you can see we also picked up a small Christmas tree and some decorations to put in the annexe.

We went to the carols night in town and the kids were excited to see Santa there. At one stage he dropped his sack full of lollies and they helped him pick them up.

Casey got his face painted and then they posed for a photo with Santa.

The kids were all very excited that we made it back to Numurkah in time for the caravan park Christmas party.

.The kids sang a couple of carols for everyone. They were the only kids there so they were a bit of a hit.

Santa paid a visit to the caravan park party. It was a great night.

On Christmas morning the kids were very happy to see that Santa had found us in the caravan. Casey and Tara got a scooter each and Brodie got a skateboard.

Later that day we went around to Gran and Pop's and they had a lovely day with their cousins Olivia and Presley.

THE GREAT OCEAN ROAD AND GEELONG

Still managing to dodge the bad weather that was causing havoc on the east coast and through SA, we drove along the Great Ocean Road, pulling in to every lookout we could with the van. The entire length of the coastline is spectacular amd there is much more to see than just the Twelve Apostles.

The Grotto

London Bridge

These two rocks at Loch Ard Gorge used to be joined across the top to form an archway, but the middle section broke off last year and fell into the ocean.

The Twelve Apostles

We stayed in Apollo Bay that night, then drove the remainder of the Great Ocean Road (the winding, cliff-edge part) to get to Geelong the next day. Again there were some stunning views, but there was nowhere to pull up safely with the van to get photos. The good thing was we didn't have to get out of the car to see them.

We stayed two nights in Geelong. I lived there for three years when I went to uni, but haven't been back since I left Victoria in 1989. I couldn't believe how much had changed. The waterfront at Eastern Beach was still recognisable, but had many new features including figures such as these ones all along the foreshore.

It was a cold day and there were some light showers around, but the kids insisted on going to the playground - a decision I came to regret. Casey was chasing the others up the steps when he fell forward, shattering his front teeth. There was quite a lot of blood so we rushed him up to emergency at the hospital (only 600m away luckily). There was no serious damage to his mouth.

He lost about one third of one of his front teeth, and a piece off the inside of the other. It's off to the dentist on Monday. We almost completed a full lap of Australia without visiting a hospital! At least it's not serious.

We spent a quiet day in the van after the drama of the morning, then went out to have a look at Bells Beach.

The next morning we drove all the way back to Numurkah in northern Victoria, completing a full lap of Australia.

I took this photo of the kids just as we were pulling up in front of Gran and Pop's house. Needless to say, they were excited!