Tag Archives: swimming

Seaspray over the break

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Across and 26 & 27 December Pa and I took Maggie to the Seaspray for a swim, and on 2 January we went again with Claire and Ed.

The beach is fast becoming Maggie’s favourite thing, and 24 January we went again for Australia Day.

Ed was less impressed with the wind and sand, and spent more time in the playground.

Maggie’s energy was at a 10 the entire time, there is nothing that she loves doing more than running and jumping in the water. She even tried a bit of boogie boarding and did quite well at it.

I tried to take out deeper once and she tried to pull against my hand at exactly the wrong time and got a “wipeout” which dampened things, though the fish and chips afterwards made up for it.

Long weekend in Phillip Island

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Myself, Claire, Maggie, Jenny and Dean went down to Phillip Island for the long weekend. Not exactly the sort of camping and boating fun that I usually like to write about, but it was still a good trip outdoors and quite managable with Maggie from a rented house. Brad, Ains, Maddie & Isla went down too and of course Maggie loved being around Maddie and Isla.

Friday was very hot and Maggie and I spent most of the time in the water or playing on the beach. The 36 degree weather was too much for the others.

 

Saturday the cool change had come through and it was raining on and off. We went for a walk along a beach to some caves and Maggie thought it was the best thing ever. She still sings “beach patrol” to the theme of paw patrol. Watching her partipate in it with Maddie and Isla was a lot of fun.

The rest of Saturday was raining but the house was well set up for it and the girls had a lot of fun. We ordered Chinese and Maggie enjoyed her giant bowl of steamed rice. She asked Claire (while sitting around a noisy table of 9) “Mummy, who do I speak to?”

Sunday was the trip back and Brad and I played some mini golf of a terribly run down course while the girls and Dean went to a wildlife park.

Easter 2018 – Maggie’s first camping trip

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Easter and we decided to camp with Maggie – she had just turned one. I expected it to be difficult, and it was. The worst part of camping I think is nap time – on a warm day it is too hot to nap in her bed which was in a tent. Yes, you can nap her in the pram or the parent’s caravan etc, however, she will only sleep 30 minutes in that circumstance and it isn’t ideal.


Biccies and drink by the fire

So anyway.

We got there on Friday after a long day stuck in traffic (we usually try to avoid Good Friday traffic but it couldn’t be helped). Papa and Nanny had decided to come with us for a night – their first camping trip ever. We got there and Maggie was super excited. Pa and Grandee had already set up nearly everything for us, so it was a lot of fun around. We were a bit nervous about the night but Maggie slept very well. It is looked like everything would be smooth.


Swimming!

Action splash shot

The issue of napping arose on Saturday. It was a very warm day, lots of fun at the river. But it was very difficult for Maggie to nap. Plus she loved everything so much, she was very stimulated. That night was terrible. Firstly some horrible people in the camp site next to us were blaring music. The rule of the campsite says “All noise such as radios must be turned off by 10pm. Please be considerate of your neighbours”. They read this as “noise can be unlimited until 10pm”. I complained to the new owners who said they would act but didn’t until around 10.30pm. On one hand I don’t blame the campers, that rule is very ambiguous. On the other, they certainly had a red hot go at us and the onsite managers, so I hope they aren’t allowed back. But anyway.

That night was horrible for us. Maggie was completely overtired and just not herself. She only slept for small stints and basically slept on Claire most of the night.

The next day, Easter Sunday, half of the horrible-camp left, so we were tempted to drive back to sale but thought we would give it one last crack. We were glad we did. Maggie slept well until 3am, but was difficult from there. Which isn’t too bad. And it was a lot of fun sitting around the campfire. A few people suddenly came down with gastro… we got hit too, but not until we had arrived back home on Monday.


Easter egg hunt on Sunday

Happy Easter!

So, overall, it was a lot of fun during the day. I think we made the correct decisions based on the information we had at the time. But gees it was a tough work. Not sure when I will take Maggie camping next, earliest I think at 18 months, perhaps not until next Easter.

Day Trip to Paradise Valley

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Brad and the girls (and the other Brad and his girl) was going to Paradise Valley. Although I had university and could not actually camp, I decided to go down for a day trip. It was a very hot day, and it was so great to be able to enjoy the water – I haven’t done so since I was a kid. It was also fun to see the kids play there the same way that I used to.

Camping in the summer seemed like a great idea – though I have to say the wind was fierce at times. Once destroying a tent. Not sure if that is something that occurs in the summer, but that was the only drawback that I could see.

Maddie summoning the courage to jump!

Paradise Valley 2016

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Every Easter a group of us head down to Paradise Valley for a camping trip. It is so refined now that we take a kitchen sink. It really does make the dishes easier to do. Anyway this trip has been going on before I was born, I really look forward to it each year.

This might be the last year, though we have been saying that for a while. The people who own it are getting older and having trouble putting it on. And so it goes.

Got down there Thursday a bit later than we planned. Claire and I put there tent up and we were right on the river.

Friday & Saturday were gloriously sunny days, we made the most of it. I went for a swim each day except Thursday, which is really rare. Although when we were kids we used to swim for hours at a time, never getting colder.

Very happy after the Kangaroos had a win!

Otherwise it is a lot of food, beers and laughs. “What is like a sheep but black and white” Claire asked in a game of articulate. The answer is cow of course. These are always the longest and most fun trips, but the hardest to write about. The weather really made this trip, it was the first since I moved back to Melbourne. Definitely a lot of fun. Hope we get to do it again.