Beautiful one day, perfect the next

It used to feel like holidays were when we took all the challenging parts of looking after little kids to a different location without any of the myriad stuff you need to do it. ie. You spent the whole time tired and not relaxing and feeling annoyed that you were tired and not relaxing.

But our recent trip to Queensland was undoubtedly the most relaxing holiday we've ever had with the kids. Maybe it was the location - we HEART Currumbin, maybe it was the weather - who can beat Qld sunshine?, maybe it was the fact we didn't try to do too much - beach in the morning, pool in the afternoon, or maybe it's because the kids are getting older and easier and are just more fun to holiday with.

The Porter clan also got to take a trip down memory lane at the Wildlife Sanctuary. We have three generations of family members who've been s(h)at on by Rainbow Lorikeets now; Mum visited with her brothers as a child, Sal and I have vivid memories of Dad taking us there countless times as kids, and now the Little Lawrences have both visited too. Jasmine even created her own lorikeet feeding zone on our appartment balcony in the early mornings, more concerned about their breakfast than her own. Seeing her in her element surrounded by birds made the 4:30am wake ups slightly more bearable. Slightly.

The Little Lawrences go country

We've been spoilt this year with two amazing long weekends visiting a sheep farm that family friends of ours own in country Victoria. It's the kind of experience every parent wishes their children to have - loads of space to run and explore, a working dog to boss about, bonfires, tractor rides, creeks, gigantic swings hanging from gigantic trees, newborn lambs to watch, fences to climb, and all that fresh country air that puts 'em to sleep so swiftly and soundly at night (ok, maybe that last bit was what every parent wishes for themselves).

Beau, unsurprisingly, spends most of his time sitting in the tractors or other farm machinery. Jasmine, unsurprisingly, spends most of her time with the lambs and the dog. They both absolutely LOVE it.

Here are some snaps from our two visits.

Hot days, sprinklers, ice creams and children are the best of friends

Halloween

The Little Lawrences took Halloween to the next level this year. For those of you in the Northern hemisphere, Halloween is not traditionally celebrated in Australia, but something has been brewing in the last couple of years and for the first time in my entire life, trick or treating is becoming an actual 'thing'.

Last year we visited about 4 or 5 houses of families we know in our street. This year, another mum and I did a letterbox drop in our street and two adjoining squares to invite people to participate if they wanted to, and to put out an orange balloon so we'd know where to go. And the result was amazing! Not only did about a quarter of the street's homes participate, but we were also visited by hoardes of trick or treaters at our place too.

Needless to say, with a Canadian in the house, we decorated like crazy - ghost decals in the windows, fake spiderwebs around the front door, hanging ghosts from the porch ceiling, and a very scary doorbell with a spooky voice and a resident spider.

But by far the the best decorations of all were the three pumpkins Tim carved. I must admit I had my doubts as to his carving abilities. Especially when he started googling 'pumpkin carvings' and freehand drawing what seemed to me to be absolutely impossible faces. But he totally delivered the goods.

Before

After

Our porch (note Hello Kitty pumpkin - no prizes for guessing who chose that one!)

Ready to hit the street

The kids had a blast, seeing heaps of our friends and neighbours while shoving chocolates into their faces as fast as they could open them. Beau was so distracted by opening up and eating each next treat that he walked like a zombie most of the evening and was completely unable to speak due to the sheer quantity of food in his mouth. Mummy invented a chocolate tax which meant that I got a bite of most of what passed their lips too. Only the quality treats though. I do have standards, after all.

Cuteness

The Little Lawrences have been amping up the cuteness this week.

Exhibit A: Beau threw his arms around my neck kissed me on the lips yesterday. Afterwards he whispered to me "we married now".

Exhibit B: We discovered 9 (9!!! That poor mumma duck!) ducklings at the duck pond, which, like most animals who have ever encountered Jasmine, swam straight over to her and swam and fluffed around her for a good 15 minutes while we oohed and aaahed over them.

Exhibit C: Springtime = picnic dinner in the backyard & cuddles

When I grow up...

My current prediction is that Jasmine is going to work with animals. She has an incredible knack for winning over any small, furry four-legged creature. Her favourites are deer, piglets, cats, bunnies and dogs. The first two we can definitely attribute to the nearby 'farm' which we visit a few times a year which has a beautiful nursery where children can pet the baby animals. This weekend they had week old piglets and chicks. CUUUUUTE!!

Beau, on the other hand, is going to be a tractor driver/pirate/spiderman.

Jasmine turns 5

Our little girl is getting so big now. And she's growing up so beautifully. I remember when I took her to her 3 1/2 year checkup at the Maternal and Child Heath Nurse I was so exasperated and exhausted by Jasmine's behaviour. She was so willful, headstrong, determined, independent, emotional and had at least one major meltdown or tantrum every single day for months and months on end. I was convinced she was going to become an actress or singer - a diva of some sort or other. Our nurse said, Just wait till she turns 4. A lot of difficult children turn a corner at 4 and you'll find her much easier. I held my breath and tried to hold my patience, and waited. And she was right.

Jasmine has become such a sweet, caring, independent and thoughtful little girl. Over the last year she's so much more in control of her emotions, and she's an absolute delight to spend time with. We both cherish our 'girl time' together. This week I was getting ready for work when she woke up. She was upset because we didn't get any snuggle time (when the kids hop into bed with us in the morning) because she'd slept in later than usual. I said we could still have a snuggle, would she like to have a snuggle in my bed or hers? She thought for a while and then answered, Both!

She had a My Little Pony party this year, with all the girls from her kinder (plus her best boy mate Sonny and best friend Lucy). It was the first party we've had where all the parents did a drop-and-run, so by 10:40am on Saturday morning Tim and I were 'in control' of a house teeming with 16 kids under 6! Tim's teen-training as Ashley's party entertainer was put into good use. He had the kids eating from the palm of his hand. We had a pony pinata, pass the parcel and a treasure hunt. The best bit was when we started the music for the pass the parcel game. Everyone was nicely seated in a circle on the lounge room floor when I put on Gangnam Style (which Jasmine sings incessantly - it does bother me a bit that she keeps singing "ooh, sexy lady" - but when I asked her what it meant she had no idea!). Suddenly we had 16 children spontaneously jump up and start doing the Gangnam Style dance!! It was absolutely hilarious!

Out for dinner for Jasmine's birthday at Auntie's Dumplings (Jasmine's choice!)

Jasmine's Pony cake

Getting ready for the treasure hunt

Pony pinata

Gangnam Style

Bounce!

Earlier this year we bought a 21st century trampoline (ie. one surrounded by mesh netting. Personaly, I was up for getting an old-school side-less variety. But I have to admit it was mainly for aesthetic reasons. Fortunately for the kids bones Tim won that one.). In only a few weeks Beau overcame his wonky-hipped-double-step-landing, and true to form, Jasmine had it mastered in a matter of minutes.

These photos were from a recent trip to Red Hill (very near to where we Winery Toured for Tim's 40th), where we stopped for a bite at a local cafe/olive grove/winery/duck pond/vegetable garden/ and, as it turned out, with its own built in trampoline.