I always thought multitasking was a good thing...

that was until last night. I was in the kitchen, doing the usual 'mum' thing - a hundred things at once when a pot of oil caught alight and did quite a bit of damage!

The funny thing is that I thought I was super organised yesterday but I still found myself busy as a bee in the kitchen last evening. I had butter chicken all ready to go in the slow cooker (really yummy recipe by the way, have to post that some time) rice cooking in the microwave, and golden syrup dumplings almost ready to pop in the saucepan for desert - I had promised the kids earlier I'd make desert on Friday night. I decided to turn on a pot of oil to make the pappadams we always have with butter chicken and while the oil was heating turned to finish mixing the dumplings. A short time later I noticed a flicker of light on a packet sitting beside me on the bench and turned to see where it came from. I was confronted with large flames leaping from the pot of oil and lapping at the range hood. Immediately I grabbed the lid to suffocate the flames - didn't work, the flames just squeezed out from under the lid! and were getting taller by the second. Isaac, by this stage had heard me utter a 'swear word' (yeah I know I'm the RS President but there's no perfection prerequisite for that or I wouldn't be there!!) and was going mental (he's not that good with emergencies). I yelled for Matt who was reading in another room and had heard a bit of a commotion but didn't think much of it until he too heard the 'swear word'. He came running in like a super-hero and totally saved the day. He did accidentally burn himself though so obviously he's not a real super-hero!

So the damage is: totally stuffed range hood, gas cook top, cupboard doors, floor damage where hot oil spilled over and blistered the timber finish, the pot and two lids are cactus, the whole house has smoke damage, the laminex above the oven is all melted.

The insurance company sent two guys around last night to clean up a bit and assess what else would need to be done. So now we have this dirty great 'air filter' machine in our kitchen which has to run continuously until they come back on Tuesday. It is LOUD but everything is starting to smell cleaner. On Tuesday they will come and do something called a smoke sponge (or something like that) they have special sponges they wipe over walls and ceilings and they can tell just how far the tiny particles of soot have traveled. On just looking last night they are certain the kitchen, lounge room, family room and hall way will all have to be washed.

I can't believe how much damage occurred in what was about 30-40 seconds. Anyway here are a few photos taken by my neighbour ('coz I still don't have a camera!!)

P.S We still got to eat the butter chicken - 'twas delicious and I even managed to finish the dumplings. I'm glad we decided to get the BBQ with the hot plate, I think it will come in very handy over the next week.

P.P.S I like to think of myself as a fairly positive person and I like to think that something good comes from everything, saying that I figure there are a few 'goods' from this; I'll never turn my back on cooking oil ever again, I'll get some new kitchen items, there's no excess and insurance covers everything, I'll get my ceilings and walls washed and best of all I wont have to cook for a while :)

Tathra

Just outside of Merimbula is a little seaside town called Tathra. We really only stopped to take some photos but found out a couple of tidbits of information - even good ol' Tassie gets a mention!

This is the view from a place called 'Pig & Whistle Lookout'. It was named by Morgan Smith from Tathra Primary school in a competition. The name was chosen based on this bit of Tathra's history; Between 1862 and 1954 sailing and steam ships docking at the nearby Tathra Warf were commonly known as vessels of the 'Pig & Whistle Fleet'. The ship carried many live pigs as cargo, who always burst into a wild screaming frenzy, every time the ships piercing whistle was sounded. Thus the name 'Pig & Whistle Fleet' was born.

This part of the coastline is also home to another lookout and plaque entitled ' A DESPERATE WALK TO SAFETY', which was laid in 1997 to recognise 17 brave sailors from 'The Sydney Cove' who, in April 1797, walked this coastline as part of their epic 640km trek from Victoria's Gippsland coast to Botany Bay Sydney to seek help for their companions. The Syndey Cove was shipwrecked on what is now known as Preservation Island situated off the coast of North Eastern Tasmania. The 17 sailors set out in a long boat, which was cast ashore, and began their long trek. Of the 17 that set out, 3 made it to Botany Bay.

I couldn't help but stop and ponder the actions and fate of these brave men (probably just boys really) and the irony of our beautiful coastline. For me it is simply majestic, one of God's greatest creations but for them it was probably their greatest challenges and ultimately, for most, their place of death. I bet they hated it!

Moving Right Along...

We set off from Merimbula and by the end of the day (the very end of the day) we were in Wadalba where Lou and Dan live. Wadalba is near Gosford, North of Sydney. We made lots of stops along the way and saw some of the most beautiful coast line. Some more posts to come with those pics. We also stopped by the Sydney Temple to look at the Christmas lights and dioramas set up there. There was also a carpark choir rehearsal going on at the same time so it was lovely to wander the temple grounds and have beautiful Christmas carols being sung in the background. It really helped us to feel the Christmas spirit. I was a little concerned that with all the traveling and sightseeing we would be doing over the time we are usually gearing up for Christmas it would overshadow this special time of year and that it wouldn't feel like Christmas at all. It was VERY late by the time we got to bed down that night but it was worth it just to be reminded of what Christmas is all about and to reflect on the birth, life, and death of the Savior.

We stayed with Dan and Lou for three nights (unfortunately these are some of the photos that were in my stolen camera bag!) and while we were there it was roasting hot so we spent two days on the beach and a day in a shopping centre and at the movies

Terrigal Beach - this is the place Matt really wanted to show us. It is a beautiful beach. By the end of the day though, I think Matt really wanted to forget this place. He got VERY sunburned. Having a fabulous time surfing with the boys and forgot to 'reapply'. I tried to tell him! Oh well a couple of sleepless nights did the trick and he became the Sunscreen Nazi (Second in command...I was the General)

Charlotte, Bella and I went to see 'Where The Wild Things Are'. We all laughed and cried and absolutely loved it. It is one of our favourite books so we were really excited when we heard it was being made into a movie. Being a book with mostly subtext I was interested to see how the movie would translate. It was fantastic.
Of course Matt, Isaac and Reuben went to see Avatar. No need to say anything really. Doesn't everyone love this movie? I can't speak from experience though. Despite the fact that nearly everyone I know has seen it twice, I missed out somehow!!

Just us...

Well today was epic! All four kids were at school for the very first time EVER! So what to do? Visiting Teaching of course!!!!!!!! When I organised to go visiting teaching I didn't realize it was going to be THIS day. Oh well...it was a great day nonetheless. Great because Matt is home (long service leave) and he kept me company this morning. When the VT was all finished we celebrated this monumental day with a spontaneous, delicious lunch at Dukkah in the city. I don't know whether Matt and I have ever 'done lunch' before. It was wonderful to spend the day together and over lunch we made plans for our other 'child-free days' (I know what you're thinking and yes Matt was thinking it too!!!!!!!!!!)

Life can get so hectic and busy without you knowing it and finding time for each other can sometimes be quite difficult. I am so looking forward to being able to be together without needing a babysitter or having to organise everything first. I'm quite excited to have my hubby around. Everyone has been making comments about how quickly I will wish he was back at work but you know what? I don't think that will happen, I'm grateful I'll have him under my feet.

.road trip part 1.

It all began on December 10th. Matt left home with the 'Trusty Tarago' packed to the rafters (when is that starting again??) and Isaac for company and headed for 'The Spirit'. While they sailed across the Tasman, the other three kids and I flew across and stayed with the Lawlesses in Melbourne. Matt and Isaac arrived safely the next morning.

On December 12th we repacked the car and set off for Merimbula. It's a bit over 500km from Melbourne to Merimbula so with several stops along the way (mostly of the toilet variety) we pretty much traveled all day and didn't get to our accommodation until 7.30pm. It was great though. I've never traveled along the Pacific Highway before. It was awesome. The drive up does have some pretty boring patches but also some amazing coastline. The terrain was very familiar -stands to reason - just like driving the East Coast of Tassie only a bit more stretched out! But it is BEAUTIFUL.

We stopped in Lakes Entrance for a bit. We had a bit of a look around, bought icecreams and hung out at the beach for a while.

The younger kids were keen to see the 'Welcome to NSW' and 'Welcome to Victoria' signs along the way. They were hoping to have the opportunity to stand in two states at once but unfortunately the signs are on opposite sides of the road!!

Matt and the kids were very patient with me throughout the entire first leg of the trip. If I wasn't yelling out "Stop...I need to take some photos of this", it was, "do you reckon we could find a toilet?" I have a limited bladder capacity at the best of times but it was hot and the a/c was blearing and I must have drank 3 litres of water!! Anyway I'm pleased to say that all of the public amenities were very clean and tidy - even the ones in the middle of nowhere! And for those of you wondering...yes I did squat behind a tree sometimes! When you've gotta go you've gotta go!

We stayed in a BIG4 caravan park in Merimbula and it was the best! Everything you could possibly want was either supplied or available. Apart from our awesome place on the Goldcoast it was by far the best place we stayed in.

The kids (especially Reuben) were very taken with the friendliness of these birds. I think they're Rainbow Lorikeets. They were obviously used to human contact and it was ok to feed them. You can get bags of feed for 20c at the office. So off went the last of the big spenders to buy up big!! Once the food came out so did the rest of the birds! I think we counted at least 50 of them all gathered around in a feeding frenzie. You can see from the photo that wherever you put the seed the birds would go!

Our last night in Merimbula was warm and still so we took a stroll along the boardwalk. We had fun climbing trees, taking photos, getting in the path of rushing cyclists, getting growled at by grumpy runners, and finding freaky fish!!

If you've never been to Merimbula you probably don't know that they have a family friendly theme park there called Magic Mountain. It is set on a hill behind the town and is really fun.

It boasts a medium size roller coaster (about the size of the one at Sea World), toboggan ride, go-carts, a maze, water slides, mini golf, playground equipment, super slides, and probably other stuff I can't remember.

I love this photo of Reubs, he really was having a blast.

Charlotte was a bit of a dare devil at this place going on everything, starting with the roller coaster (which I actually thought was a bit too much for her). She loved it! It was so funny watching and waiting to see her face so I could tell if she was enjoying it. At one point (you know the big dip right after the big climb at the beginning) I thought I would see tears and screaming but no, just laughs. There was one worried look but the HUGE cheeky grin she was wearing at the end said it all - she takes after her dad!

This beach was right behind our caravan park.

Merimbula is a beautiful place and somewhere we will definitely go back to. I'd really love to stay longer next time. If I lived in Victoria or southern NSW this would be my holiday place.

First Day

Charlotte started Kindergarten yesterday!!

Has this been a long time coming or what?

Not for me but for my last born! It's the end of an era for me and I'm feeling a little bit sad but ok. I am ready to discover what the next chapter has in store for us.

Charlotte's first trip to the school was when she was only 2 days old and since she could talk she has been asking when the day will come that she can stay 'for real'.

Yesterday morning everyone was up bright and early (except for Isaac - he had a student free day) and eager to get to school to check out their new rooms and catch up with friends. Reuben is in year 6 this year, Bella in year 3 and Isaac is in year 8.

Mt Nelson has a new Kinder teacher, Heather Hazell, who was teaching at Maydena before coming to us. She is young and enthusiastic and is great with kids. She seemed very relaxed and at home. My other three children all had the same kinder teacher, Mrs Nolan, who was absolutely wonderful so we were a little disappointed when she told us last year that she was going to retire (lucky thing she's pretty young to be retiring, she's only in her mid fifties!) It's not bad though seeing as though the new teacher is so lovely. Plus Mrs Nolan lives just down the road from us so we see her all the time :)

It was so weird seeing Charli all dressed up like a big kid. She seems so much older.

This photo DIDN'T capture the moment! really and truly they were all very excited to be returning to school




I'm sure that by grade 6 she will have grown into her "anything but pink" backpack.

All day long I kept looking behind me and wondering, for a second, where Charlotte was. Then I'd remember and wonder what fun things she would have to tell me at 3 o'clock.

P.S Thanks for the loan of your camera Chels x

Sadness

Sunday was supposed to be a day where we met up with everyone at church again, settled back into our callings, chatted about our awesome holiday, caught up with what we've missed as we fielded "welcome home!" comments...It didn't happen that way. An hour into church Matt discovered our rear window in the van smashed in and my camera bag containing my much loved camera and lenses etc valued at around $3000+ was stolen. It also had my sd cards etc containing the last part of our holiday. I don't usually have my camera with me of a Sunday but my nephew was getting baptised after church and I thought it would be nice to get some good photos for his family. It was only in the car for an hour and wasn't in plain sight but nonetheless it was gone! We spent the remainder of the day making 'should a, would a, could a' comments whilst waiting around for the police to arrive.

Forensics were able to get some good prints and the police are fairly certain of who the culprit is but I sensed they were as frustrated as we were because their hands are tied in so many instances. The real stinger was when I spoke to our insurance company. They only cover $500 worth of items stolen from a vehicle. If it had been stolen from somewhere else it would be totally covered!! :( So...I jumped in the shower, had a bit of a cry and then tried to get some perspective. As much as I LOVE my camera it really is only a thing. I can replace it...one day very far off! and our back window was replaced the very next day. You never know my camera could even be recovered.

For many years I have wanted a 'nice' camera and here's where the irony is; I was able to purchase it because of a pay out I received because I had been the victim of a crime, now the camera is gone because I've been a victim of crime!