Rest In Peace Ma...

Yesterday Ma passed away.  She was 101 years old and will be terribly missed. She was fortunate enough to be in the company of close friends and family in her finals hours.

Christmas in Mooloolaba

Qantas flight 1544 to Brisbane

Poor Linc was quite nervous prior to his second ever trip on an aircraft (the first time he was way too young to remember). However, on went the Bose noise cancelling headphones, a good movie or two, and he was fine. Carter was amazing; didn't appear phased at all by the whole thing. He had to make do with the rubbish Qantas headphones, but didn't complain. Both boys were wonderfully behaved for the entire flight, which was packed with families heading off on holidays. 

We hired a car for the eight days we were away, but unfortunately no upgrade from Thrifty so we were stuck with a god-awful Toyota Camry. At least it had plenty of room for us and the bags. I can't really find anything else good to say about it. 

Accommodation

The accommodation at Mantra Mooloolaba was superb. We had pre-ordered shopping from Woolworths so we didn't have to rush to the shops; unfortunately it didn't show up until we chased it up (apparently there was no name on the order!).

We had a reasonable sized two-bedroom apartment on the 14th floor. The view was excellent, as was the shower head (very important considering the length of our stay). Of course the lifts were painfully slow, and the kids just couldn't help pushing buttons... Unfortunately the HDMI connections on the TV had been disabled, so we couldn't plug the iPad in to watch movies/kids TV shows. In the end we just read a lot and the kids were content playing, or watching whatever was on the tele; however, obviously we were out most days, spending a large amount of time either at the beach, the esplanade, or one of the two hotel pools (one inside, one outside).

The kids appeared to love the pool more than the beach; they are both so confident now in the water. If only they could swim, it might actually justify their confidence!

View from 14th floor, Mantra Mooloolaba

Australia Zoo

Australia Zoo was just as amazing as ever; $172 for a family, but well worth it considering the work that must go in to maintaining the park. The Croc show was fantastic, and it was hard not to get chills down your spine seeing Steve Irwin up on the big screen... sad also to see that Queensland Police thought it necessary to have two officers keep an eye on proceedings. Some people may feel safer because of their presence, but I just think it's a waste of taxpayers money - honestly, who is going to target a zoo...?! Maybe they were only there because someone reported a croc sighting!

Mooloolaba Esplanade

What a wonderful place. It's probably our favourite place to holiday, despite it being SO expensive. The beautiful people, cars, beaches, eateries and scenery (and Gellatissimo!) provide everything you would want on a beach holiday. And because it caters for huge numbers of tourists almost all year round, there are plenty of facilities to cater for a Christmas influx of visitors; i.e. the complete opposite of the South Coast which simply cannot cope with the massive numbers of visitors during the holidays. 

Noosa Heads

Let's go surfing now...

Christmas Day

Is there any better place to spend Christmas day? The weather was great, there was a real festive vibe to the place, and we had booked in at the Wharf Tavern a few months back for a fully catered, buffet style Christmas lunch! Lunch was fantastic, with seafood, turkey, ham etc. with heaps of sides to choose from. Of course the kids hardly ate anything, with Carter having a tantrum when asked to eat his ham roll...

This year Santa gave the kids a Samsung Galaxy Tab for kids each; they absolutely love them. It took away from the fact that there wasn't quite as many presents under the non-existent tree than last year. With the tablets filled with games and their favourite TV shows, they proved very popular and a great way to occupy them; the result was that Mum and Dad found more time than expected to just relax... read a book... enjoy the view from the balcony... and perhaps have one too many chandons...

Underwater World

Another great place for the kids to get up close and personal with some amazing creatures. A little cheaper than Australia Zoo at $110 (or $92 if you booked through the hotel!), and not quite as expansive, but the range of sea creatures is really good, and the seal show was fantastic. Amazingly, Carter was keen to have his photo taken next to Groucho the seal; unsurprisingly Linc was not so keen...

Home

A huge thanks to Aunty Suze who looked after our house and managed not to kill the cat (I'll have that $50 back thanks Suze...) and, despite a delayed return flight (always the way!) we returned home, safe and sound and more than a little exhausted. Driving the Mondeo home was a revelation in how to build a car. Stepping into our massive house brought home how big this place is after living in a small two bedroom apartment for over a week. But all in all, a wonderful Christmas of minimal stress, and a healthy dose of family bonding! We are so, so, so very lucky.

Carter riding a big boys bike

While he hasn't quite picked it up as quickly as Linc, he has matched his brother in bypassing training wheels completely (thanks balance bike!) and can balance really well.

He's still getting used to the pedaling bit, and tends to look down when he pedals, thereby throwing off his balance. But we're so proud of him! Admittedly, there isn't as many good places around (like there was at our old house) for him to practice. But by the end of the summer, he'll be super at it - just in time for the annual three-family coast trip in January!

We've been very careful to take it very SLOWLY, as Carter won't have a bar of anything if it scares him too much the first time...!

Merry Christmas

...and I'll have an Optimus Primal, with a dinosaur on one hand and a drill on the other hand... oh wait, and maybe Bumblee. Oh, and Mum and Dad said I had to ask for a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 for kids... whatever...

Merry Christmas to all! The poor old blog is - yet again - the first to suffer when things get hectic, but, well, things have been very hectic - thanks to a large event up north, and a boss that doesn't understand the concept of work/home life balance..!

But on a positive note, Mum and Dad both bought Garmin Vivofit activity trackers, and have been getting a lot more active - especially Dad who has, since 28 October, lost over four kilos! To be honest getting active has also helped in the bed department; i.e. better sleep, leading to less grumpy parents during the day!

Not long till we will be in the Sunshine Coast, enjoying a well deserved break; I have never looked forward to a holiday more than this one...