Fun Times

After the Wallumbilla Show we drove to Gympie.  Of all the places in Australia Gympie is the most like home for us.  It’s where our storage shed is that contains all our worldly possessions!

On our drive from Roma to Gympie we passed through 11 road works where teams were fixing the roads after the summer floods.  At one point it took us 2 hours to get 100k’s!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

After putting some stuff into storage we headed to the Gympie Showgrounds for the Gympie Show which is always the highlight of the year for the girls.

This year they took home 13 ribbons!  Girls and dogs did so well reflecting all the work they have put in to training in the last year.

 

While in Gympie we caught up with some kiwi friends where the girls had a great time in tearing up the lawn in their buggy!

 

 

 

 

Wallumbilla Show 2012

Very successful day at the show today … the girls and dogs did awesomely!  It was Sambo’s first show appearance (he is 9 mths old), he was very nervous to start with so we did lots of heel walking to relieve his tension.  It must have worked as he was very focused on his tricks and did well.

We did three different shows throughout the day.  Tonight everyone is tried but happy! 

Next up, competing at the Gympie Show then … who knows!!

Chana, Lassie, Jessica, Tess, Sparkie, Jasmine, Chantel, Sambo

Jessica

and

Tess

 

 

Jasmine

and

Sparkie

 

Chana

and

Lassie

 

 

Chantel

and

Sambo

 

 

Fireworks to finish the night!

Happy Birthday to Miss 12!

Chantel was born 1st May 2000!  I was booked for a c-section on May 5 as the doc was sure I wouldn’t go into labour sooner!  Chantel was a breech baby and after 2 previous c-sections it was considered best to do a repeat section.

Around mid afternoon on 1st May my waters broke!  A quick trip to hospital and they prepped me for an emergency section.

To cut a long story short … when the opened me up they found a large mass which later tested positive for cancer!

Two weeks later I was in having Chemo!  It was a huge roller coaster ride!  After round three of chemo and a diet change I declared myself cancer free!!  Well I stopped chemo!  Continued testing for about a year with no signs of the disease!  Praise God!!

 

Watching on as Jasmine lights all but one candle that Chantel said she wanted to light!  I feel a new tradition coming on!!

Chantel lighting the last candle!  Wow 12 candles on her cake!

We are so thrilled to have Chantel in our family!  She is a delight with her sense of humour and sensitive heart.  When she was born the doctor said it was “remarkable that she was well”!!  She sure is one remarkable girl!

Keeping it clean

So we live without running water … we carry drinking water in Jerry cans, about 70 litres.  How then do we keep everyone clean, you may ask?

Here are some of the ways we have found ….

Water slides are a great way to keep clean .. the friction on the slide gets the dirt off easily!

‘Hand held battery shower is great for quick clean-ups

 

Outback bath!!

A tap at the local park is great for washing hair and a quick scrub of the feet!

 

The most recent water efficient way of showering is using a 1 L pressure sprayer!  We can wash from top to toe the three youngest using less than 1 L of water!

 

A good swim in the sea followed by a cold outside shower is refreshing and invigorating!

Many servos have a shower, a lot of them are free or a couple of dollars for the key.  Showgrounds usually have hot showers and charge anywhere from free to $20 for a night on power and use of the facilities.  Some towns (Broken Hill in NSW, Roma in QLD) have free showers in town.  Ask the truckies, they usually know!

So while it’s not just as easy as turning on the tap and running a bath/shower … there are lots of ways to stay clean on the road!

Free Food!

After being forced to move sites due to the rudeness of fellow campers we now have a spot with internet reception!!  Yay!
AND …..

A tour bus pulled in having been up to Carnarvon Gorge.  They stopped for lunch, then gave us there leftover sandwiches! 

 

There was a selection of corned beef and salad, chicken and salad, and curried egg!  They also gave us some packets of chips and some muesli bars!

Jasmine enjoyed the treat as did the rest of us!

Thanks very much Kangaroo Bus lines for choosing our family out of all the other campers!!!

Some Easter Fun!

Finally got some Easter eggs today … most of them were half price!  Instead of the customary Easter egg hunt, we did egg and spoon races.  Everyone had fun and there were lots of laughs.

Ready, set and GO!!!!  Gabrielle wanted to join the big kids.

 

Jireh having a go!

 

 

 

Michael and I had a go!

 

 

 

 

Gabrielle carefully removing the wrapping from her well earned egg!  She did lots of races as she perfected her way of getting the egg to stay on the spoon as she walked faster!

 

 

After eating their Easter egg, Jireh and Suzanna headed off and found a puddle to play in – compliments of the rain last night!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jessica working on Tess’ hoop jumping!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jasmine relaxing with Sparking after doing a heap of training!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chantel working on Sambo’s “Take a bow”!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chana practicing “Pray” with Lassie

 

 

 

 

 

 

So that was our Easter …. fun and family!

Old Reservoir–Cobar, NSW

 

Wonderful bush camp 3k’s from Cobar!  No facilities but beautiful views, peace and water for swimming, fishing (not that we caught anything!), boating (not that we have one) and relaxing.

The sunsets were stunning!

 

Up too late for a sunrise picture … but early enough for some reflection shots before the breeze sprung up and made ripples.

 

Jireh and Suzanna could hardly wait to go for a swim!

There wasn’t enough depth for the girls to let go the rope swing … but they had a lot of fun anyway.  I had a go at fishing … but didn’t even get a bite … had fun trying though. 

This is one of the best camps we’ve been for a long time.  With a camper trailer you could get right round the other side of the lake.