Friday 30 September 2011

Things I know the powerless edition

I've learnt so much the last week. I know we have seen so many spectacular and unusual sites. There is so much we have missed too.

Some days I know the journey turns into let's get to our destination ...quick!

Though i'd rather not take a ride in this plane. I'm glad I know the Royal Flying Doctor has been saving lives across 80% of outback Australia for 83 yrs.



I know we survived five days without electricity. Electronic devices were charged while traveling via 12v ; my laptop off the 12v inverter as necessary inside the caravan. The fridge is gas/ 12v (as well as electric when we have power.)



The caravan has a battery too that charges while we drive so it powers lights and the water pump. We filled the water tanks in larger towns that are RV friendly; even providing dump points for chemical toilets.

I know the first world is spoilt by our availability of cheap water, it was challenging having a shower with only a few litres. Most free campgrounds don't have taps we have 2 x 63L tanks. They last us approx. 2 days.

I know the free campgrounds don't have many facilities but they suit us for a quick overnight stop.

Western Australia is very dry and grass is rare in many towns. Jim's mowing franchises would go broke. Kalgoorlie even has artificial grass in the median strips.

Some small towns have the best playgrounds I've seen. I know it has made the drummer boys very happy indeed.


I know we are lucky ... 1 min after we passed tractors undertaking roadside slashing a truck behind us had his side window smashed. Judging by the colourful language we heard through the UHF radio he was NOT happy.



I know our next stop is Shark Bay , and then Monkey Mia on the other side. We plan to stop here for a few days and have a break from driving.

Linking up with Yay for home ...thing I know.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Things I know

Thursday 29 September 2011

Thankful for extra sleep and free laundry !

Today, I'm thankful for a few extra hours sleep after waking at 6am with a diabolical headache. I took some Nurofen and went back to sleep till 8:45am I am thankful my DH let me sleep in.It's just a dull ache now.

Last night I was thankful for the complimentary use of washing machines and dryers at the caravan park where we stayed . It was a park provided by the local shire. It was very clean and tidy with mown grass and bitumen bays for our car & caravan. I caught up on all our washing. (The other day it cost me $20 to wash and dry two loads of washing.)

I am extremely thankful that the Grumpy grey nomad told me about it (He was friendly to us but grumpy about how WA treats tourists.) He gave me some other GOLD tips too.


I am thankful for the WA tourist/ visitor information centers. They are very friendly, give valuable traveling information and have heaps of brochures available for free.Some have water too which then let's us camp in free campgrounds.

I am thankful that my brother sold the family ski boat we shared. It means we can relax a little about non essential spending.



Sometimes my husband stops the car to let me take photos that makes this shutterbug thankful. We have yet too see masses of flowers, mostly little roadside clusters...except for this 5 mins ago.



The drummer boys are really looking forward to reaching the coast today and hopefully a beach. They are thankful when we find playgrounds like this ...





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad, in the car no less, so please forgive any grammatical or typo or auto correct errors.

Linking with Kate's Thankful Thursday hosted by SAHM today.

Wednesday 28 September 2011

Wordless Wednesday ~ Sculptured Lives













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Monday 26 September 2011

Kids in the Park


It’s school holiday time so cries of "what are we going to do" are echoing across households everywhere.

Thankfully, it’s the perfect time to get down to Sydney Olympic Park for Kids in the Park. The program runs every day of the holidays from 24 September – 9 October.

I love that Kids in the Park offers families great value, with an amazing variety to suit every age and budget. Surprisingly, even my teenager was happy to participate in family events.

Start planning your own school holiday fun now at

http://www.sydneyolympicpark.com.au/whats_on/kids_in_the_park

Hear no more “I’m bored"!

The holiday guide contains an A –Z guide with over 50 fun activities will keep families active and entertained endlessly. I downloaded the brochure here http://www.sydneyolympicpark.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/410179/KITP_Spirng11_FA.pdf

It has everything you need so you don’t miss anything as you schedule each child’s favourite activity.

I’ve noticed the program varies each holidays. These spring school holidays there are 16 free fun options including the chance for kids to have a ball of a time at free sports (AFL) clinics or one of the other 12 very affordable options ~ $20 or less per person. Plus loads of NEW activities – have you heard of floorball?

Some activities are available most weekends but every day of the holidays they serve up a wealth of extra special activities.

We have had family picnics and attended school holiday activities there.
My top picks that we have tried or planning to try are
• Riding the bike circuits & tandem bike hire http://www.sydneyolympicpark.com.au/whats_on/cycling/cycling_circuits

• Drumz Buzz! ( Drummer boys favourite of course) http://www.sydneyolympicpark.com.au/whats_on/kids_in_the_park_events/drumz_buzz_music_funology

• Free Disc Golf : Drummer boys and I love the bargain $6 for the 18 hole Mini Golf

‘Dad’ had a ball on the Golf driving range once and has been itching to go back.

The small boys loved riding the Heritage train on Railway Discovery Tour.

Our teenager and his mates enjoyed skateboarding at Monster Skate Park not long ago.

Now he can’t wait to try the
• Segway fun - http://www.sydneyolympicpark.com.au/whats_on/things_to_do_and_see_events/segway_tours

The drummer boys love
• Splasher’s Water Playground ; the best indoor water playground ever $6 child, $7 (adults)

We want to try
• Kite flying & Cakes

SO check out the latest school holiday information @ Sydney Olympic Park website !
or visit the NEW Sydney Olympic Park YouTube channel, or call the Park Infoline 02 9714 7888

 
In past holidays and on weekends our family has enjoyed the bike trails (bring your own or they can be hired for additional cost), BMX riding, skateboarding and self guided discovery trails. The colourful and fun playgrounds are my preschoolers favourite.



Kids in the park suits a wide range of ages but while your older children are attending activities there is plenty of shade sheltered, covered playgrounds to amuse your little ones. Bring your family or a group of friends and make a day of it.

The Cathy Freeman Park has lots of shady trees and green grass to run them ragged plus splash beneath the famous Olympic Cauldron.


I am an enthusiastic supporter of giving my children different experiences .Kids in the park school holiday programs ticks all my boxes.

The best part is the easy parking available or you can travel by train right to Olympic park.

What activities would you or your children choose?

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Friday 23 September 2011

Grateful for Whales and windless travelling

I am very grateful that the diabolical winds of the past week eased so we had a pleasanter day's traveling on our road-trip. It meant we got better fuel economy across the Nullabor, than we have been getting. (Just so you know - Petrol was $2.02 (premium $2.10) , Autogas $124.9 at Nullabor ...it still beats walking.)




It was a spectacular sight to see the Southern Right Whales at Head of Bight, SA . We saw several cows and their calves at the Head of Bight Interpretive Centre . An amazing experience indeed , breathtakingly grateful for the privilege. The vista of the cliffs , coastline and ocean was stunning too.


We have been on the road a week today and have almost crossed the SA / WA border. We are 10kms E of Border Village on SA /WA border tonight. We are camped (in our cosy caravan) at a designated free camp in bushland right on the coastline. It was getting too dark to safely go for a walk [cliffs ?] but I will in the morning.It is also very windy and cold.I am grateful for free camp$.



I'm very grateful for my iPad and mobile wifi that are keeping me connected to my world. I have only had limited access at the moment so I apologise if I have missed replying to comments or visiting your blogs.

I'm grateful my little Lego lads are enjoying playing Lego- Duplo in the car as we clock up the miles to get to WA. Remember to enter my new Lego Hero factory giveaway.





Maxabella's Grateful is over at Lioness lady today.

Things I know - On the road

 Things I know


...We may have travelled 2000kms over half way across Australia but we have another 2000kms to go to get to Perth.

...Today is going to be a very big day, we should cross the SA/WA border later today. Maybe

On top Pildappa Rock

...Australia is a big wide country – yet you can walk down a main street in a sleepy seaside bay (Streaky Bay) 2000kms from home and met someone you know. Older guy (OG) in sunglasses started chatting to Hubby for a few minutes before they both twigged that OG worked in a business that delivered to our business. They both knew each other a few years back.
(OG even lived in next suburb to us in 2006 and moved to  Hervey bay in Queensland .He is retired and travel widely in his caravan with many other Hervey bay’ers)

... TRUE story the other day about Hervey Bay. Two older gents (OK GREY NOMADS) met in a caravan park and one said to other “Are you the guy in the green house on the corner”
“Yes !”
“ ...I’ve seen you mowing your lawn!”

...The children have only asked for TV once (ABC2) , though we couldn’t survive without the car DVD player.We have seen some big things.


...The visit to the BOM (bureau of Meteorology) site in Ceduna was very interesting.

...The boys may have just been excited about the balloon and wanting to see it go UP and possibly POP.

...We were just relieved he told us the winds will ease today.

Did you know ? In Sydney and major capital cities the BOM has to get air traffic clearance. The last thing a 747 wants to see is weather balloon.BOM performs a very significant role and everyone relies on it to live, plan and survive.I didn't know a balloon could be so important.

Lastly, I know you don’t want to miss my new Lego Hero factory giveaway.

What do you know today ?
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Giveaway ~ Lego hero Factory


I am a seasoned Lego mum , my oldest son had so many Lego Bionicles (and Lego bricks)- I was always stepping on searching for pieces to throw put them back together after the latest creation and battles. I couldn't keep up with the names though.



Sam and Joel love their Lego. We brought Duplo - all our figures or 'MEN' and 'Cars 2' and big bricks mostly] along on our road trip and they play with it in and out of the car as we travel. The Lego was left at home except for Rocka !

You may have seen LEGO® Hero Factory , latest and greatest offering of awesome monsterish Lego creations which morph into the most imaginative action heros as they defeat evil, restoring peace across Quatros, the jungle universe.

My small boys love building creatures or 'friends' , so does their male cousin 9yrs old who has introduced them to many creatures .These Lego Super Heroes are hot ! 

I feel doomed - just after I've learnt the names of all the Pokemons dinosaurs and Octonauts -  along come 12 new 'Heroes' with special animal powers to defeat the Evil Witch Doctor - so you'll be good for choices this Christmas !

Stormer with the strength of a rhino
Nex with razor sharp tiger blades, 
Bulk with wolf speed and 
Rocka with Lion power ...we got to review Rocka .

The Rocka XL we reviewed needed all my special powers to build him. A'hem ... I got it right after a few misplaced pieces. (Not as in lost but positioned wrongly - Technically I am a little challenged.)


The boys were able to help me with the revolutionary ball & socket joints and 'claws' - it was a little difficult for small fingers to click them into place but they did some of it (bear in mind this Hero is aimed at 9-16yrs *). I did the major construction of adding 'limbs' & 'weapons' to the body. They loved the little ball launcher. (*Other figures are aged 7-16yrs)



Interestingly , Hero cans come with a unique code inside, unlocking exclusive content at www.HeroFactory.LEGO.com.

A new 44-minute mini movie airing on Nickelodeon compliments the new Hero range.

Wait , there is more ! It doesn't end there because The LEGO Hero Factory is multi faceted and highly interactive toy system.
Computer savvy kids can go online and undertake their very own missions, listen to Hero Factory FM, keep up to date on the latest news as well as play games and carry out new Hero Challenges, where they can enter a series of missions in order to prove their hero qualities and abilities.
They can even use Hero Recon to customise their own Hero and play him online . It will be a while before my boys graduate to this feature.

Visit www.herorecon.lego.com for more information and back stories on Hero Factory figures strengths & abilities.

Now the best part of any review is the giveaway - I have 3  x Lego Hero Factory figures to giveaway.

Be warned they are not sweet or cute looking like little Lego men but *sigh* I can't stop my boys from liking these Heroes . I think they go together so cleverly The design is ingenious !!


I recently read these Lego facts - 

It started off as a simple idea for a toy in a carpentry workshop, and continues to feed the imagination of various generations.  And it has become part of millions of childhoods, across many different countries and cultures. 

It is still a privately owned family company based in Denmark but ...
Now more than 400 million people are building (and re-building) their masterpieces every year.   In fact, another 23 billion LEGO pieces are joining their counterparts every year – and there are 70 LEGO bricks (so far) for every person on Earth.
Seriously, I think we have more than 70 Lego bricks per person in our house.
To enter to win one 1 of 3 - Lego hero Factory - the mandatory entry is to tell me something funny about Lego or What do you want to be rescued from ?
I will pick one creative answer and 2 random winners.
The rules: Easy !

Australian residents only.
Follow my blog - anyway
Giveaway closes 9th October 2011
Please make sure I have a way of contacting you.

Disclosure : I received Rocka XL  for this review. No financial payment was offered nor accepted for this post. All opinions expressed are purely my own.
http://threelilprincesses.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/giveawaylinky.png
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Tuesday 20 September 2011

Wordless Wednesday ~ Silverton

Aussie Wordless Wednesday






Just a few of the dozens I took of the picturesque and historic town, Silverton
Seeped in cinematic history too.







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