Sunday, March 30, 2014

Dunsborough Holiday Part 2: Days 5 - 7

 Day 5 of our holiday dawned and we almost had the beach to ourselves! Bliss! Here we are, all set for the day!

From snorkeling, to sun bathing, to rock hopping and swimming. Fun was had by all.
Another day another kayak!
 After a day at the beach we decided to have an early evening adventure for (hopefully) some good sunset photos at Sugarloaf Rock.

Here is the stunning WA coast line.
 We all clambered over the rocks to get down to the water level, here we saw rock pools with crabs and snails.... Ethan was loving it!
 I can see how there can be some stunning photos taken at this spot, but it all depends of the cloud as to whether you get any rich reds and oranges!
 Ethan loved out "adventure"
 The early evening light on the rich red rocks of WA was stunning.
 Jason, our mountain goat, took Ethan the whole way up on his shoulders!
 Yet Ethan makes it look like he has been working hard!
The light was lovely for photos, I was hoping beyond all hope for a stunning sunset!
 Either way it was a great outing and we got some great photos!
 Unfortunately the cloud just wasn't quite right for the sunset that I was hoping for!
 There was a little bit of red, but not like the WA sky can be at times!
 The next day we took Ethan to the Wonky Windmill animal farm where he got to the lambs.
 Play with the rabbits and hamsters.
 and feed the sheep (they needed it after a dry summer.... not much grass for them)
 We spied goats, llamas, alpacas, deer, emus, ostriches, kangaroos, chickens, pigs and cows.
 In the afternoon we headed back to the beach and took a walk up to the Whale lookout (during Sept - Dec you can spot the whales here on their annual migration through). The views were amazing!
 Time for a quick family shot! We don't get them anywhere near often enough!
 Ethan had on his adventuring shoes and did really well over the rough terrain, until his legs just got too tired for him.... again it was mountain goat Dad to the rescue for the rest of the journey...
We finished our day with dinner and beers at the Pour House! A lovely evening was had by all! We took a leisurely walk home along the beach with Ethan walking nearly the whole 1.5km home!

BUT.... all too soon was it our last day! We took one last morning walk into town for coffee and then it was time to pack for home!

All in all it was a lovely holiday, one with many memories to treasure!

Monday, March 24, 2014

Dunsborough holiday part 1: days 1 - 4

Well its been a week and our holiday is a far and distant memory! So I thought it was time to post about the wonderful time that we spent away in Dunsborough.

Jason's parents arrived the night before Jason's birthday (Thursday) and we headed off to Dunsborough on the Saturday. 

It didn't take the boys long to pump up the pool toys and take advantage of the pool at the holiday house.
While dinner was cooking on our first night we took a walk down to the beach (600m from our holiday house) and it was stunning... in fact Ethan walked straight in! The water is very shallow for quite some way so very safe for a young one.
The light was beautiful and it was lovely and warm for our nudey rudey boy having his swim (we didn't plan for him to swim so didn't have any towel/togs or spare clothes.
It took some time to convince Ethan that we needed to head back to the holiday house!
Later that night I was a little apprehensive about what the night might bring with Ethan sleeping in an unfamiliar territory, but I need not have worried, he slept right through.

Invigorated after a full night sleep I took the opportunity to head out for a run and to see the wonderful sunrise! Bliss!
When I got back after my run I was greeted by my two boys.... how lucky am I?
This is the pool area at our holiday home... 
Ethan enjoyed some quality time with his grandparents!
Our first full day on holiday was a little overcast so we took the opportunity to do the  train trip on the busselton jetty out to the underwater aquarium.
The wait for the train back as a little long so we walked back, all 2km of it!
There was plenty to see and distract us on the walk, and I for one was happy that we weren't in full sun!
Ethan and Jason then did some rock hopping before we headed to the Cheeky Monkey Brewery and Cidery for lunch (great kids playground) and then back to Dunsborough for the afternoon.
We spent the afternoon in the water down at Old Dunsborough bay. After some initial issues with Ethan not wanting to wear his life jacket for paddling we all had a blast.
Our third day started with toast and pink milk on the front porch for Ethan and grandad. This shot also shows the awesome front lawn, many a fun hour was spent here.
Our accommodation was around 800m from town and on day three we walked in for our morning coffee... spying these sculptures on the way.
Ethan got quite used to his baby cino and marshmallows every day!
After coffee we headed back to our holiday home via the water (this time I bought togs for Ethan to wear).
Ethan LOVED the star fish and sting ray!
It was a little windy so we headed off to Yallingup beach for the morning. Here we were treated to a lagoon for Ethan and a reef for Grandad and Jason to snorkel over.
The water was a little colder over this side of the peninsula so we bought Ethan a wetsuit, the best purchase ever!
We had lots of fun in the sand
and chasing sea gulls
I couldn't resist this shot.... like father like son!
By the afternoon it was a lot calmer and we decided to pay a visit to Meelup Beach (my favourite beach to date)
And what a beach it was.... rocks for rock hopping, and snorkeling over, calm waters for playing and kayaking in, sun and shade!!!
Here is Ethan, me and Grandma kayaking and Grandad snorkeling.
Ethan thought the snorkel set looked like fun!
The first four days of holiday were idyllic... stay tuned for the rest!

Sunday, March 16, 2014

7 March 2014

What made the news on 7 March 2014??


Journalists covering Corby deported for covering case while on tourist visas

'I shot her', Oscar Pistorius clutches rosary beads as he hears evidence in court.
P lab found in upmarket apartment block in Wellington across road from police station.
Russia sinks shops to block Ukraine navy.
US teen sues parents for living expenses.

JASON's Birthday!


The anticipation had been building for Jason's birthday all week. Every day Ethan got up and asked whether we could open Daddy's prinsets (presents) yet and every day we gave him the countdown. Finally today was the day and Ethan was really excited for his dad!

Jason was very spoilt with a new knife set, a work bag, bbq light, bbq tool kit and an iPad mini.

I decided to try and make Jason a fish tank cake and use his own aquarium as my inspiration! Apologies for the blurry iPhone photos!
Here's the cake on its own. I think Ethan was impressed! The fish on the left looks a little odd though hehe!
After presents, cake and a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday we took the opportunity for a short stroll to the local coffee shop.
Later that  evening Jason and I had a trip out into town for dinner, just the two of us! Thanks Grandma and Grandad!