Our kids had a visit from a couple of their friends this morning.

Rather than let them sit around playing computer games, we bundled them into the van and took them on a couple of hikes. (After checking that it was ok to kidnap a couple of extra kids. Thanks Renea!)

The first hike was around Camp Mountain – a beautiful forest to the south of Samford. I’ve done this on the mountain bike before, and really wanted to show everyone how picturesque it is.

It’s a big road for a small person. Lilly kept going all day. (Picture by Liz)

It’s a good climb to the Summit of Camp Mountain, with great views of the city.

Some of the wildlife at the top (Picture by Liz)

The second hike was up the Goat Track – a washed out dirt road west of Samford. I love this road because of the views and the fascinating Rock Art that has sprung up along the way.

I’ve been observing the rock structures over the last couple of months and they’re getting quite realistic!

The view from The Goat Track looking east past the Water Tower at Albany Creek, with Moreton Bay in the background.

All up we hiked 8.8km with a total ascent of 520m. I was really impressed with how well the kids coped with it – no complaints and everyone kept up a great pace (average of about 4.5km/h).

Well done team!

I thought I’d take the boys for a ride around some of the locally flooded creeks.

Here’s some photos of them having fun.

A few random pictures from a fun weekend.

We celebrated Josh’s 21st birthday on Sunday afternoon. I had a great time chilling out and watching the kids play basketball.

So did the girls

Lilly had fun trying to get the Piñata at Angela’s birthday party on Saturday

And I was so engrossed in taking a photo while out riding on Saturday morning that I didn’t realize I’d taken a photo of myself in the rear-view mirror.

All-in-all a fantastic weekend!

I love the colours that seep out after sunset at the beach. This afternoon we walked along Coolum Beach as the sun was going down. Even though it’s winter, the water is still quite warm, and there’s always something interesting to discover on the beach!

Congratulations Harrison on climbing Mt Coolum with me this afternoon.

There were some pretty steep rock faces to scale. Well done, my boy, for making it to the top, and back down again.

The views of the Sunshine Coast were spectacular.

Carla the Toy Voyager

We received a Toy Voyager in the mail recently. Carla is a cute little black bird all the way from cold Siberia. She’ll be staying with us for a few months and going on some adventures with us.

I introduced Carla to Lilly this afternoon, and the two of them instantly became friends.

Lilly showed Carla around our slightly overgrown but very green sub-tropical garden, and Carla obliged by perching on Lilly’s head.

If you feel like indulging your inner child, why not host a toy voyager for a few months? It will change the way you look at the world.

Well done, Lilly.

We’re really proud of your performance today at the School Talent Quest.

The Moreton Bay council organized a cycling morning at Lakeside Raceway this morning.

Between 6.30 and 8.30am cyclists were allowed around the track, and we got a free drink at the end of the morning too.

At first I got a bit frustrated that Lilly was going so slow till I realized she had a flat front tyre. (Silly Neil). So I pumped it up and she flew. When she took the "kids shortcut" that cut out one of the hills, I had trouble keeping up with her.

I think it’s great that the council is organizing things like this. And it was good to see at least one of our local councillors, David Dwyer, out on the track in his bright yellow spandex. Good on ya David!

The second best thing about the ride this morning was being on bitumen and not having to worry about cars.

The best thing was having some fun exercise with the kids.

If you’re looking for a fun way to get fit, buy a bike!

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It’s time for toy voyager Sheldon to leave us and continue he journey overseas.

So the kids and I took him for a ride down to the North Pine rover this morning to say “good bye”.

It’s been great being able to take Sheldon on some of our adventures over the last 9 months, and we hope his new hosts get as much joy from him as we did.

See ya, Sheldon!

Exploring with Dad (1)

Exploring with Dad (2)

“Dad, when I get older will you get me a real bike?”

“Sure, Lilly. What sort do you want?”

“One of those cool bikes like what Harrison has with gears?”

“Yeah, why not!”

Lilly did really well today on her pint-sized bike as we went up and down the hills near our house and checked out some olf the local parks near the river, including the “secret” park.

“Hey Lilly, I think it’s good this park is secret, don’t you?”

“Yeah, so that means the bogans won’t find it”.

I think “bogans” are on the lowest rung of the social ladder in our kids minds.

Thanks for a great lunchtime bike-ride, Lilly!



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