holiday

Some of you may have noticed that I haven't written a post for a couple of weeks now and that's because I took a little time out from my simple life for a little holiday, which by some standards, might also seem pretty simple, but was thoroughly enjoyable!

The first part of my holiday involved a weekend away with my girlfriends from our high school in Cairns Nth Qld(it happens to be 25 years since we left high school this year - that was our excuse)in Melbourne. Two of the girls flew down from Cairns, one from Brisbane and one from Sydney. This was the first time that we had all got together in 3 years and the first time ever that we had all gone away somewhere together. Since I had the youngest child and was able to get away for the least amount of time, the other girls all agreed to come to Melbourne which was close for me. I can't tell you just how wonderful our time together was. This was my first time away by myself since having had children and these are very special old friends. We explored places in Melbourne that even I had never been and we spent hours and hours just talking over long lunches and dinners with bottles of wine and then back at our hotel room in our pyjamas. Of course shopping was also on the agenda, and despite the fact that I had planned not to buy anything for myself I came home with this lovely flowered cup that I'm using as a vase, from a lovely shop that I had never visited before called Wilkins & Kent, 372 Little Bourke St, City. My friends in Mansfield had told me about this little gem - I thought that I had seen everything there was to see in the way of homewares stores but this one was definitely a bit special.

I'm also finding myself very drawn to this colour green and bought jeans AND a scarf in it...perhaps a little bit too much together...

Standout meals were had at Longrain and Maha - can highly recommend these places for both great food and great atmosphere!

I arrived home very happy to see my little family again but having had an absolutely wonderful time away with my friends. Of course all four boys had also had a fantastic time together and nobody needed me at all. It took a full day for the boys to stop asking their Dad, instead of me, for stuff they needed/wanted!

It was when I was on my way home on the bus to Mansfield that I heard on the radio how Jill Meagher had gone missing in the early hours of Saturday morning - so terribly sad to think that that had happened while we were having such a wonderful weekend. Of course the details of her death  became clearer over the following days and I know that many of you have also been very touched by the awful tragedy of such an end to a young woman's life.

After I returned from Melbourne we spent a day washing, packing, cleaning the house etc and then set off on a family road trip to Canberra. Son number one, Sam, came home from school one day last term and said that his teacher had told them all the great things you can see in Canberra and that it was only 5 hours drive from Mansfield and could we go there??? We thought that was actually a pretty good idea and set about finding some accommodation. We found a really good deal at Rydges Capital Hill in a family room and the hotel had a heated indoor pool. Sounded perfect! The hotel was actually getting a bit old and daggy but it really was a perfect arrangement. Our room had two separate rooms, two TVs, a kitchenette, a huge spa bath and of course, the heated pool (which was a huge hit). Sam said it was the best hotel he had ever stayed in. It was very close to everything including the Manuka and Kingston shops and restaurants. Canberra actually has a fantastic restaurant scene. We took the boys out every night and managed to eat some really nice food while also keeping them happy. There were families everywhere at the hotel so I guess many others had found the good deal on family rooms too.

We did something that I have wanted to do for many years - went to Floriade, the flower festival. I met with some opposition from all the boys in the family but it turned out to be a big hit when the ferris wheel, jumping castle and super slide were discovered!



Other attractions we visited, all of which were very much enjoyed by the boys, were Parliament House, the Questacon Science Museum, the National Mint and the National Dinosaur Museum. Unfortunately we had to skip the National Gallery this trip...

When we arrived home, the first thing to be done was to build a Dinosaur Museum!

Whoever would have thought that Canberra could be so much fun?!?

The best thing though is that we have really enjoyed spending time as a family and the three boys have spent a lot of time actually playing together, since they have had the opportunity to do so. The two biggest ones have rediscovered what great playmates they can be!

I was really happy to arrive home to a clean and organised house last night, since I had spent the day before we left working on it - pathetic aren't I!! I was telling my husband what a difference it makes to our homecoming for me - are you the same?