The month of April and Easter in Oz

In order to try and catch up yet again on the happenings of our life, I am combining the happenings of April and our many Easter events into one post.  Easter weekend is a big deal here in Australia, which I find strange, because overall, it is not a widely Christian country.  The way it's been explained to me, is that it's more about the long weekend than the reverence for the miracle of conquering death.  Okay, we all like a good long weekend, but it was still strange being away from our home church for such a special weekend. Over the course of the month we had lots to do and plenty of Easter events to help us celebrate.  Here's a quick run-down...more for my own preservation of family memories than anything else.

We attended the Easter Party at Gaythorne Community Kindy, where the girls go to school, and chaos ensued as kids were given the green light to search for their little chocolate Easter eggs.  Over here they don't dye eggs like we do in the States, instead opting to let Mr. E. Bunny hide chocolate eggs to collect.  Later, Mr. E. Bunny himself made an appearance.  Then it was a bit of playtime and back home again.

see.  chaos.

we got eggs.

check out the ears on this guy!

he's not so bad.

playtime.

On another weekend we met up with some good friends at our favorite BBQ park - the Kangaroo Point Cliffs.  It was a fun afternoon filled with cupcakes, BBQ and another chocolate Easter egg hunt.

fun Easter cupcakes.

Jer & Cory

Ms. Brynn giving the kids their goodies. 

On April 7th, we had another first at our house when Caden lost his very first tooth!  The Tooth Fairy only had a few days warning after Caden announced his wobbly tooth before the gap appeared.  Here is the proud grin.

They're tiny little things, those pearly whites.

Look at the cute tooth fairy bag that Ms. Kylie made me!

And, in case you didn't get a close enough look, here ya go!

One of the great things about living in Brisbane is the alfresco dining.  It's so nice to eat outside when the weather is good, which is the majority of the year, and we probably eat 95% of our meals outside. In April it was still amazing weather, and as usual the girls enjoyed taking their lunches outside. When I stumbled upon them all cozied up next to each other, I just had to grab my camera.  Another great sister moment in the making.

Later in the month Wilston had Cross Country Day, which back home, when I was growing up, we would have called a Field Day.  It was a big to-do with races in all the different grade levels.  Boys against boys and girls against girls.  The preps were obviously really excited to get in on the action and had a really hard time sitting still while waiting for their turn. I guess all that pent up energy worked out okay for Caden because he came in 6th out of about 100 boys! It's funny when you have no idea how your kid will do in a competition and then they end up surprising you!

Caden & his buddy Andrew.

Caden & Ed H.

Prep F giving a silent cheer for Cross Country - Love it!

Gearing up by cheering the girls on.

Boys lined up.

Almost there!

6th place...whoo-hoo!

Getting his ribbon.

Almost directly after cross country, it was time for the annual Wilston Easter Hat Parade.  Not sure why the school thought it was a good idea to host two big events on the same day, but the kids had a good time at both none-the-less.  I wish I could have captured some of the crazy hats better.  You should have seen them...a few looked like they weighed more than the kids themselves!  So funny.

Like. So. Excited!

A sea of Easter Hats.

On Easter morning we woke up before church and found what the Easter Bunny had left.  Pretty cool stuff.  Thank you Easter Bunny...bawk-bawk (sorry, I couldn't resist!).

I think the next word was "sweeet!"

happy girl.

My sweet little bunnies.

And, last but not least, a few photos of the kids in their Easter outfits to wrap up the month of April...well not quite.  A fantastic family trip to Hamilton Island actually wrapped up the month, but that's another post all together.  Stay tuned.

Bribie Island 4x4

A few months ago, we went on yet another 4x4 adventure with the Mitchells.  And, let me tell you, when I say adventure, we definitely got what we bargained for!

Bribie Island was one of the few Central East Coast islands that we hadn't visited yet, and one of the few places where you can 4x4 right onto the beach.  We decided we wanted to get out there before the winter season set in, so we headed out on a beautiful Saturday morning in April.

We started off at a great little park for the kids to blow off some steam before possibly being trapped in the car for a while.

Caden & Sawyer, Spider Monkeys.

Hallie Up.

Marin Up.

By mid-morning we were on the beach taking in the scenery and looking for a spot to picnic and swim. It didn't take us long to stumble upon the "happenin" 4x4 spot, near a nice little low tide lagoon.

Notice the color of the water?  Well, it's actually beautiful in person.  I don't know if it's that color because of the red clay soil that Australia is known for, or if it's from Tea Trees, which I've also read.

Smart guy. Totally stuck.

Time to boogie.

Picnic Set Up.

Posing for the Camera.

Like classic parents of the third child, we forgot Hallie's swimsuit.  Thanks Daisy for letting us borrow your cover up to romp around in the water!

After lunch and a nice long swim, we finally convinced Jonathan and Melisa to accompany us over the deep wash out and continue to the north end of the island.  After all, it was still early enough in the afternoon to make it there and back before high tide and before any risk of being stuck on the island without a way off.

Wash Out.

Being Brave.

So we headed out to see Ft. Bribie and were lucky to see some other sights along the way. 

Along the way I caught a glimpse of some roos grazing.  I was so excited I made Cory stop and let me out of the car to take photos.  After all, I wasn't scared of some cute little roos...

That is, until this guy stood up and was taller than me! Not sure of his next move, I stood still and waited as he hopped back to his little family.

Then I got this great shot, and was happy.

The North tip of the island was beautiful, and we got to see it towards the end of the day when the setting sun casts a golden sheen on everything.  It really was magical.

Little Explorers.

Fort Climbing.

Aussie Beach Brush.

Dune Climbing.

Happy Traveler.

A quick run on the beach for shutterbug mom...

Ended with a fall...

And resulted in this.  As a mom, I had to laugh.

Then we had to head back before it got too late or tide got too high.  There were several wash outs along the beach that we were concerned might become too deep to pass.  Little did we know that even after we were past the worst we had been through, thinking we were home free, we came to one not 100 yards from the road where we had originally entered the beach.  Quite a large crowd had gathered to look at the rushing water...oh how I wish I had a photo to show you.  If you follow these adventures on our blog, you might see a common theme, that when I get too nervous, I can't remember to pick up my camera!  Well, this was one of those moments, and I had no idea how we were going to get out of the mess we quickly realized we were in.  While we were busy talking through how we were going to make it through a night on the beach with 5 kids and 4 adults, sleeping in the car, food etc., an answered prayer showed up in the form of a park ranger.  Hallelujah! They told us the washout had only happened within the last hour or so, that the rain water that was standing in a pool on the island had given way and created a rushing ravine.  There were several other 4x4's still on the island that the rangers had to inform, so we followed them around and then to a secret road through the middle of the island back to civilization.  We were so thankful for the way out, but were soon to discover that the ride out was something to be even more thankful for.  It was gorgeous, and some of the best 4x4-ing we've done!

Our Ranger Escort.

Pretty Brush.

Inland Pond.

Our Caravan of 4x4's.

Over the river, and through the woods.

The Mitchell's, slingin' chili...sideways!

Scenery was just breathtaking the whole way through.

Sun setting on another awesome Aussie adventure!

Critters...

If there is one thing I don't ever {EVER!} expect to get used to here in Oz it's the amount of creepy-crawleys and critters we see over here.  Not only have I seen things I wish I couldn't identify, but several species that honestly could probably win me a scientific award as well.  Here is a sampling of some of our visitors:

The Huntsman Spider - yes they are absolutely as big as this one looks.  Avg. 3-inches in diameter.  I think we've had three or four of these in our house. Not my fave. 

Blue Tounge Lizard.  This is our master bathroom - the door leads to our master bedroom. A little too close for comfort. They are not poisonous, but they hiss and bite.  

This is what possums look like here in Australia.  Yes, they are cuter than the Opossums in America, but they poop all over the place and are generally considered pests, albeit protected pests.

And now for the pièce de résistance, the most dreaded of all...

The Eastern Brown Snake.  This photo was taken on our front porch.  That's right, literally about 5 feet from the front door.  Even Cory said, this was the angriest snake he's ever come across.  

It was not huge, but regardless, it wasn't around for long!  

So, for all of you nature lovers out there, don't you just want to come visit and stay at my house?  When it's all grouped here, it does seem a bit daunting, but to be honest, the sightings are few enough for even a critter hater like me to keep composure and live a normal life.  Truth be told, I don't like the bugs, or the pesky small reptiles and mammals, but I'm learning to be brave and get on with things when they pop up.  Isn't that what life is all about: overcoming our fears?  Well, I'm trying but I'm not quite there.