2013-08-12 - Day 8 (Saturday) - Coastal Tour

Our last day - no worlds today. Decided to take a tour, across the border to NSW, and visited the Natural Bridge, which was an amazing walk through the jungle. Beautiful waterfalls, trees and undergrowth. On the way we also went to the Hinze Dan, which was, er, big.

We had a lunch at a lovely cafe, and then just happen to go past Tropical Fruit World - funny! Daddy wanted to go there all holiday, and just when he thought there was no chance, we pass it by accident! Had some nice ice creams there, and walked around. Nice lizards!

Drove to Coolangatta and sat on the grass on the hill watching breaching whales - unbelievable! A few lizards too! We decided to stay for an italian dinner after finding some pressies for Aiysha and Clara's friends.

Back late, and spent out last night packing.

2013-08-11 - Day 7 (Friday) - Wet and Wild

Could this beat yesterday - would be pretty amazing if it did!

Hmmm, very crowded from the start - hottest day of the week, so not surprising. However, we had a plan! As we saved money on our flights using our points, we decided to purchase the Fast Track All Day ticket - this meant we had priority on all rides, and could get to the front of the queues without getting into the big queues! We felt a bit bad about this, but so glad we did it, as the queues were huge. We must have saved at least 3 hours of lining up!

Rides included - Kamikaze, Tornado (like the Green Room), Black Hole, Sidewinder, Aqua-Racer (Daddy and Roxy racing on mats), Aqua-Loop (just Daddy similar to Wedgie, with a mat strapped to his back) and Mammoth Falls. We went on them again and again, it was amazing fun! We stopped for lunches and ice creams, then got back to it right until the end of the day. What a day!

Roxy decided to do the Mach 5 - a ride which she did on her own, with a massive drop! From being scared of the log flume to doing one of the scariest rides in any park, it was amazing! Aiysha said she wouldn't even go on it!

Stopped off at Laurels Cottage for pizza, then hope for a goood sleep!

2013-08-10 - Day 6 (Thursday) - White Water World

Had to take it easy today with Aiysha's leg, so went to white water world - fail!

Hydro coaster, green room, head banger, green snake, wave pool, RIP, Little rippers (one lady couldn't get out of her ring - funny, sort of)- crazy rides! It was a bit chilly, but it was sooooo much fun! We were the last people to go on the hydro coaster, the only ride to go uphill by magnets! Amazing rides all day, and the queues were not that big!

I decided to go on the Wedgie - sheer drop out of a capsule - that was pretty scary stuff, but great fun!

Had our snacks, some burgers, but ran out of time to get our ice creams!

What a day - so much better that what were expecting!

Dreamworld was next door, but full of roller coasters - not what we fancied at all.

Smart Ass again!

2013-08-09 - Day 5 (Wednesday) - Sea World

We were all looking forward to Sea World, and it was every bit as good as we thought it was going to be! The dolphin show was amazing, with no unnecessary tricks, and we learned a lot - we were all amazed at what they did, it was something else! We had fish and chips right above the dolphin sanctuary, and watched them while we ate - amazing!

We went on the cable car and the monorail around the park, got our photo taken on the log flume - Clara is getting more use to the scary rides, saw the baby polar bears (well Daddy didn't), watched the shark feeding, went on the pull-up ropes, as Aiysha thought she could beat Daddy and Clara - unlucky!

We got some food to feed the stingrays which was amazing - they just sucked the food out of our hands! We ended the day watching dolphins in their pen, which was lovely.

Aiysha's leg was a bit swollen at the end of the day, which was worrying. Too much walking, so much to see!

No movie again! Smart Ass, risotto and other stuff! Everyone so tired!

2013-10-08 - Day 4 (Tuesday) - Movieworld

Coolish day, so decided to check out Movieworld, and were were shocked by the queues! Everywhere had queues! We couldn't get into the first stunt car show, so we headed to the log flume which was pretty empty - only because everyone else was in the show! It was a very cool ride as we went backwards down a pretty steep drop, and got pretty wet. When we tried to go on it again, we queued up for over an hour, which was not great.

We made our lunches again, but did get a few treats. We visited the Harry Potter and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory shops, but both were pretty disappointing.  Shows were running through the day, but all very old characters that Aiysha and Clara did not really relate to - Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Marilyn Monroe?

Other rides - Scooby Doo (Mummy and Daddy, pretty scary), Taxi ride which Clara overtook Aiysha on - very funny, small dodgems, and also the big dodgems. Clara was pretty scared on the log flume, but she went on it twice which was amazing, and she deserved to win Mr. Brave! We also watched a 4D movie of ice age, which was a bit disappointing. We never made it to a show - just too busy, but ended the day in the dodgems that Aiysha and Mummy found, which was so funny!

Smart Ass, home made burgers and sausages. Yummy, and tired.

2013-10-07 - Day 3 (Monday) - Mount Tamborine

It was meant to be the cloudiest day, so we decided to make our lunches (as they were so expensive yesterday) and headed off to Mount Tamborine. There were some hang-gliders going off the top of the mountain which was pretty cool. Apparently they set off from near our cabin too, not without a few accidents. 

First stop, the Glow Worms. The parking attendant was a very nice funny chap, and really lifted our day. The glow worms were amazing, and certainly worth going to see. We also saw a few lizards along the way.

We stopped for lunch in the park, where we heard some rustling in the undergrowth. We then took off to Cedar Creek to look at the waterfall. Aiysha spotted a huge monitor lizard, which was pretty cool, and then we trekked to the waterfall. Quite a few loud people there, and we were surprised at the amount of litter. Roxy and Daddy climbed over the rocks.

We headed into Tamborine town, looked around a bit, and got ourselves ice creams and youghurt and coffees.

Pretty relaxing day all round. Just gearing up for the 'worlds'!

2013-10-06 - Day 2 (Sunday) - Australia Zoo

Dad went on his first run around the hills - reminded him of the fields in England, with the cows and the streams. It was a lovely run, and did exercises on the seat overlooking the valley - amazing! Saw a palm tree growing inside another tree!

Set off for Australia Zoo at around 930, and got there just in time for the Crocodile show, but it was a long drive, and it was a really hot day. Refreshments were sooooo expensive, as well as everything else, which was a little disappointing. The carers also did not seem very enthusiastic at all. The animals were pretty cool, especially the giraffes, but the layout of the zoo meant Aiysha had a long way to walk, which wasn't great with her healing leg.

Cooked at home, and Smart Ass. Funny! Still no movie time :-(

2013-10-05 - Day 1 (Saturday) - Perth to Brisbane

Packed up, set off at 10 to the airport, we jumped on our Virgin plane, and we arrived on Saturday afternoon at Brisbane airport. We collected our upgraded hire car (Kluger - cool!), and drove into the Hinterland, through Narang, picked up some supplies. Amazing view from our place, right on top of the mountains. Had a BBQ, and played Smart Ass, which was pretty funny. It was a bit chilly being so high up. We checked the weather for the week, and begun planning...

2013-10-03 Daddy's Birthday!

Clara: I felt that it was my birthday today! We took Daddy horse riding! We drove really early to the hills, and Daddy had no idea. Well, he sort of guessed in the morning when we gave him a card saying "I hope you are better at this than before", and horse riding was the first thing he said! We said nothing though.

Our horses were so cool. Daddy was on Bob, Aiysha was on Tassie, Mummy was on Meg, and mine was called Herbie. We actually rode each horse on our own, and we were meant to control them all by ourselves! It was so exciting riding through the bush, especially going uphill and down slopes!

We went to a lovely cafe after and played hide and seek for ages. It was great fun!

Aiysha: I was pretty scared on the horses, but going downhill was so much fun! I was lucky I got my cast off too. Tassie was pretty big, but I felt I controlled him well. It was fun!

C: Hmmmm, Meg had a bit of a mind of her own at times...it wasn't Daddy with the problems this time, he was always out in front!

S: Really funny day horse riding, and a lovely cafe after. Bob wanted to go in front all the time, and ate so much grass! Awesome horse!

Made my own cake this year, which was lovely to have when I got home!

Thanks guys!

Funny card from Lizzie - I'll get her!

2013-09-28 My Cast Is Off!

Aiysha: My cast is finally off, and I should be able to walk pretty soon! I can't believe it! It feels really funny, and I am still going to gymnastics. We have a sleepover too at HighFlyers in our onesies! I got a giraffe.

School holidays has started - cool!

The Dockers lost the Grand Final to Hawthorn Hawks - hmmm, not sure whether I like footy or not, but it was fun watching those men scramble around on the floor!

We had the netball wind up at Hengs Chinese Restaurant - the food was okay, but a food fight was started. It was such a stormy week, it was scary! The wind must have been the strongest we've had for years!

Clara: I love my dancing - every night I keep showing everyone, and Daddy is even trying to be like me - he isn't very good though, but makes me laugh!

Daddy fed Smokey some lettuce the other day - we all told him off! Lucky for smokes!

C: Daddy, why did you feed Smokey lettuce! What were you thinking?

S: Er...huh?

2013-09-20 Daddy's Day, Turtle Bike Ride

Clara: Daddy and I went on a huge bike ride on Sunday! On the way to Neil Hawkins, we saw a huge turtle! We guided it off the track. We then saw 2 bob tail lizards - one of them kept on looking like he wanted to bite us! Not friendly! We then stopped at Neil Hawkins to walk along the bridge, then rode all the way round the lake to Rotary Park! We were saving ourselves for the ice cream van, but it wasn't there! We were pretty sad, but decided to play some games until it arrived and it did! We both got Choc-tops with flakes. We then finished the bike ride, and I was so tired! We were almost 3 hours! It was so much fun.

Aiysha: For Fathers Day, we woke Daddy up with our puzzle present and our home made gifts! He then went for a run, then we made him pancakes!

We went out to Kailis Brothers in the evening, which was a great surprise for Daddy. Roxy and I had lovely fish and chips, and Mummy and Daddy had some strange dishes - Baramundi wings and zuchini chips - wierd! We even had a colouring competition, which amazingly I won - Roxy is such a good drawer...

S: Amazing day - thanks guys, it was such a laugh. Baramundi wings, what a treat!

C: Mmmmmm, Kailis Brothers...

2013-08-16 My Poor Leg

Aiysha: At gymnastics I broke my ankle on the  trampoline. It was quite sore after and I have to keep a cast on it for 6 weeks. I had an operation and had 2 screws put into my ankle. I stayed in the hospital for 3 days. I was cool in the hospital because i had my own TV and I could turn it on anytime I wanted to. My friends at school also made a card for me. But I miss the Lightning Carnival and the Inter school Carnival. I will miss lots of gymnastics and netball. i will have my screws taken out in 3 months. i cant do any sport for 5 months. I was really sad I broke it.

Clara: I was so sad for Paish! She is so brave.

C: Poor Paish, i can't believe it! She is so brave.

S: Everyone is feeling sad for you Paish - you had some great visitors, and so much support.

2013-08-11 Division 3 Now! My Comeback Gym Comp!

Aiysha: I had my 2nd gymnastics competition on Saturday. I got third overall. I place third on floor, 2nd on bars and 2nd on vault. I didn't place on beam because I fell off on my leap. I was happy with myself. I think I quite well.

Dani had a 80's party it was really fun. We had to dress up as 80ish as we could. Some of the costumes were really good. She had 80's music. She also had really nice food. We play charades, musical statues and pass the parcel. It went till 9:00pm.

Zoe had a sleepover at mine after gymnastics. We had lasagna for dinner and ice-cream and strawberries for pudding. We watched some really funny videos and ate lots of chocolate. I really enjoyed having her over. We had lots of fun.

Clara has gotten us all into Sudoku. I find the challenging and fun. I love doing them when i have time. Mum prints them off for us.

Lauren came over today and we played charades and we went to the beach. We played cricket at the beach and it was really low tide. Then we went home and played charades. Me and Lauren were on a team playing Dad and Clara and obviously WE WON.

Unfortunately Joseph is moving down to Albany to live. He is moving down to Albany so his dad can work at a school. we are all really sad that he is leaving.

We moved up two divisions, and in our first two netball games it was 27-27 and we should have won as we were leading right up until the last 30 seconds and we gave the ball away. In the second game we lost 29-24 but again we should have won as we were really careless. It is great how we are playing better teams now.

Clara: I love Sudoku! I think everyone is getting into it.

C: Well done a gymnastics Paish - what an improvement! Why is Sudoku so hard?

S: Amazing transformation Paish from the last comp - well done, so proud!