Yay Us!

So we are back from our camping trip.....and have brought all the holiday lethargy back with us. What we haven't brought back is the tummy bugs and flus! Yay Us!!! All healthy again here. On the flip side of that, my laundry looks far worse than the photo in the last post. We had fantastic weather for camping but as we were driving away from our campsite, the rain set in and the further south we drove, the heavier the rain came down. So I have been gradually trying to work through the washing pile from camping in wet weather....as you can probably imagine, it's not moving very quickly.

Anyways...I have stories and photos to share.

Before we left for our trip, Ayla finally realised she could reach through the playpen 'protecting' our Christmas Tree and pull off Baubles....and tinsel, and shred the fake branches, and pull the tree over.....Oh and look, Mummy put that Bauble back for me to rip off again...Cool. Yep, lots of fun and games to be had there. Trust me, that tree is not staying up til New Year's Day. It comes down tomorrow!



We have had 7 days of camping in a gorgeous spot at Burrum Heads. It's a tiny little seaside town that is supposedly part of Hervey Bay. The park was a bit neglected but we managed to snag some pretty reasonable camping spots and it was just a short walk across a road to go swimming. And yes, swimming made up the majority of our day. Ayla could see the water from our tent door and while I was tidying each morning she would sit at the door giving her very own little version of a sign for swimming and then squeal and giggle until we put our swimmies on. Our days went something like this.....wake up, have breakfast, go for a swim. Come back, tidy up, have morning tea, go for a swim. Come back, have a nap, wake up, go for a swim. Come back, have lunch, play in a bucket of water til whingey, go for a swim.....you get the picture. Ayla was in heaven.



There was one major drawback......SANDFLIES! Ugh. I absolutely will not use chemicals on anything to do with my living space, myself or Ayla....but camping we didn't have a choice. We had to resort to the good ole Dettol and Baby Oil remedy...only I just couldn't commit all the way and insisted on paying $15 for a tiny bottle of almond oil instead! I know it sounds weird but it does actually work. You mix them together 50/50 and smother yourself in it...the Sandies won't touch you! Promise. The worst hit with the bites were Ayla and Mum and it appeared that Mum might have had an allergy to them so she had to resort to antihistamines as well. And that kinda contributed to her wanting to go home after a few days...Sorry Mum. Majority rules and we stayed :)



I know that up and down the coast of Queensland was rain, rain, and more rain but we actually had perfect weather. We had a few showers and storms in the late afternoon and evenings but the days were fine and hot and perfect for swimming. We won't talk about the fishing....needless to say that Steven and Dad's record remains intact. Good onya boys!

On the way home, we stopped in at Steven's Mum's house to visit her and his sister and Ayla's cousins. Ayla slept for most of the afternoon but it really warmed my heart to see her 2 cousins actually wanting to interact with her. A lot of kids their age can't really be bothered with her and considering we only see Bridee and Aaron once or twice a year, I was really chuffed that they actually asked if they could give her a cuddle. Awwww....



So that's us! Hope your Xmas hols were just as lovely as ours and that you all stayed Happy and Healthy.

We wish you all an amazing 2010. I know lots of people that have really done it tough in 2009, so here's to a much bigger and better year in 2010. May all of your dreams, wishes, ambitions come true and for those of you who have littlies like Ayla....May your little ones reach milestones that make your happy tears flow.