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