Where Else But Queensland!

I am lucky to live in such a warm tropical environment. It's winter and it's probably cold somewhere, but it certainly isn't here. It's just perfect. So perfect and warm in fact that the 2 boys and I went to the beach for the whole day. We ventured to Bribie Island. Picturesque, alluring, exciting, full of retirees, but the most wonderful place for a day trip. The 2 boys and I started our Bribie Island adventure at the park right next to the beach. Before long, both boys wanted food. So we set up our picnic blanket and opened up all the food I'd packed for such a big day, then both boys decided that they only wanted to eat a pink cupcake each. Brandon ate half of his while Bailey had a lick of the icing and was finished. That was our picnic. So I packed it up, put it all back in the car and suggested the 3 of us head over to the Surf Club for some yummy lunch. It would have been nice if my husband was with us, but he was working all day. Next time. As soon as we were seated at our lunch table, the waitress bought over a menu and 2 very large bags of things for the kids to do while they waited for their food. What a wonderful woman. What a wonderful idea.

We all shared a plate of hot chips with aioli dressing, and a rather large dish of potato wedges with sour cream and sweet chili sauce. While in no way nutritional, it was delicious. It also meant that the kids weren't running up and down the stairs or around and around the restaurant. It went well. Bailey spilled his lemonade all over the table, but apart from that, all went smoothly. From here I took the kids back to the car where I changed them into their swimmers while leaving a jumper on them each, and then we all ran to the beach. Here we stayed for hours. It was divine. While I thought the water temperature was too cold to swim, people were. I suppose if you had come from down south where it's Arctic ( and I know it is because I used to live there!) then 18 degrees in the water would probably feel like a nice warm bath. I hope they all enjoyed it.

Brandon and Bailey looked so happy which made me happy. Then Bailey started running in the opposite direction from Brandon and myself so it became a little difficult, but we managed and all kept playing in the sand and at the edge of the ocean. Time passed and Brandon said that he'd like to go and play back at the park again. It took me another 45 minutes to actually pack up and move the boys towards the park. Eventually I just sat back down in the sand while they both went completely crazy sliding into a big hole someone had made in the sand previously. They thought they were hysterically funny, of which they were. No-matter where we go or what we do, people always watch us. I've put it down to the fact that both boys are always running and I'm always running to catch up with them, or perhaps it's the noise level and people are astounded that I still have my hearing. Who knows, but people always smile and watch us. Maybe we make for great entertainment.

We played at a different park before we finally left the beach. I managed to round the boys up, get them changed into clean clothes, convince them that yes it really was time to go home, fed them before we fare welled Bribie Island. Bailey fell asleep for about a big 10 minutes in the car, and by the time I drove through McDonald's drive thru, he was awake. I had an overwhelming urge for a bottle of water and a hot apple pie. I also wanted to get the kids some more drinks. We'd all had a lot of sun and a lot of activity. Before we knew it, it was 3pm and we were arriving home. My husband was home so he hung out with the 2 boys while I ducked up to the supermarket to do our big food shopping, as you do when you've just been to the beach!

By the time I finally arrived home and unpacked truckloads of food, Brandon and Bailey were gobbling up their dinner. My husband and I whisked the kids through their bath, through all their noise and commotion, and finally into bed at a very fast pace. Hooray! Now all I have to do is wake my husband up and then I can have an enjoyable Saturday night as we reflect upon the very wise decision we made several years ago to pack up our lives and move to beautiful, sunny and warm Queensland.