beach

On a walk with a friend yesterday, we were discussing how your idea of a perfect holiday changes (and simplifies) once you have a couple or more children in the family. She and her husband have two children and after going to the Anglesea holiday park to see some friends during the holidays, they went home, packed up all their stuff and promptly went back there to stay the rest of the week. This is a couple who like to have very adventurous holidays, even with children, like cycling around Africa or Indonesia and they hadn't thought that a holiday park would be quite their cup of tea...but this time they appreciated the simplicity of a holiday where their children were fully entertained and so they were able to do things that they wanted to do too. The main theme of the conversation was that, on holidays, if your children are happy then you are too. We also talked about how you and your partner tend to negotiate taking turns looking after children so that the other can do something that they want to like a run, a bike ride, a haircut, shopping, sewing etc...Of course if you can manage a babysitter at some point, so you can go out for dinner or do something together, then that is extra special.

Our family spent the second half of the school holidays on the Mornington Peninsula near Sorrento. We have been coming here for some years now and for us it is a place that has something for everyone - a place where our children are happy and so are we.

There's the child-friendly, calm Bay beach....

The playground where you can always find other Mums, Dads and kids to chat and play with...

Cafes with yummy food that give Mum and Dad a break from cooking...

Our cousins live close enough to come and visit for the day - for our boys their cousin Ethan is their hero...

A really, really fabulous homewares store called White Nest...with paths all the way that are perfect for little boys to scooter on...

Banks of sand for flying off...

Holidays are a great chance for brothers to spend time together...

Baby Teddy on the same beach a year ago...we hope that coming here will become a tradition or ritual for our family...

And I haven't mentioned all the wineries and attractions that we didn't even get to these holidays...

So, a holiday where everyone's simple needs are met keeps everyone feeling simply happy! As we drove home to the mountains in the pouring rain - the weather turned on the day we left - we talked to our boys about just how lucky they are to have spent time in one beautiful environment and then be going home to another completely different, yet equally beautiful one. Not sure how much they appreciate it right now but sure they will one day - they certainly had fun anyway...