The last school holidays (before the next ones begin)

At the end of this week, it is only three weeks until the last school holidays before Christmas!! Yikes! I am nowhere near ready for Christmas. I put money away each fortnight into a Christmas club account but have thought nothing more about it this year. The kids have come to me with their wish lists and I always say "that's nice" and then promptly forget about the lists. They have started writing them down and pinning them on the fridge or pin-up board in the office or if you are really clever like Hallie, has written them in the notes folder on my iPhone so "you won't lose it there Mum". The last school holidays went really quick because we packed so much into them. After the cousins all left, we were out and about most days.

We went for a walk at the Gorge. I always love doing the zig zag track.

The kids thought it was a blast walking on the pool bottom with no water on it. So different to summer time when the place is teeming with people.

We have been swimming once a fortnight on a Saturday for the winter terms with the Neates and Kings. It only costs $15 an hour to hire out the pool. I thought it was a great way for my kids to keep up their water skills in winter and what better way to do it than with friends. On our last swim (which was the last Saturday of the holidays), we headed back to our place for a BBQ tea. It was noisy with all our kids but so much fun to laugh and chat.

Flynn was sick for a bit. He has been sick off and on since Easter but in the last month has been doing much better.

We waited for a huge dump of snow out the back of Quamby and went up for our annual snow trip, about 40 mins from our house.

At the lookout, looking across the valley.

There's always one who just has to try it!!

Who needs sleds or toboggans when you can just bring a bin lid.

Also in the holidays, the 3 boys went to Oma and Pop's house, Flynn for one night and Oli and Jonty for 2 nights. After I finished work on the Monday night I went to Devonport and picked up Flynn. He loved his first night away from home by himself. Oma took some photos of the boys at the park and at Tasmazia. It looks like the had a great time.

On one of the really wet and rainy days in the holidays (and there ware a few), we took the kids to PCYC to do some rock climbing.

Practicing?!?!

Even Jonty who I thought would be really scared and is often reluctant to try new things (but once he has, you can't stop him - it's just getting him to try that is the hard part), quickly got into it and climbed all the way to the top and didn't want to stop.

Flynn always wants to do what the big kids are doing. 

Oliver and his best friend Noah participated in a soccer clinic over two days and they were beautiful crisp cold days and very muddy so they had a blast. Noah's Mum Suzannah took them the first day and on the second day, Flynn was still recovering from being sick and as we got there, he said he needed to go to the toilet and I couldn't get there quick enough before he pooped.

 Poor Flynn was shocked that it was all coming out everywhere and was very upset. I tried to clean him up as best I could in the toilets but every 20 mins it would happen again. It even went all over my car keys, his socks, the floor…. everywhere!! I tried to clean some of his clothing in the sink but that started to clog up and then I had to clean that too!! We smiled our way through it because what else could we do! :) Needless to say we spent a fair about of time in the toilets as opposed to watching the boys play.

post toilet pit stop pic (no undies or socks)

We certainly packed heaps into two weeks and I'm hoping with the next school holidays in three weeks time, that we can take advantage of some hopefully warmer Spring weather and do some more fun things outside.