One of Ellis’s friends at school has a mum who is a firey. She invited us to come and blow freddy’s nut.
He was excited until it turned on and the burst into tears.
Even though he cried his eyes out. Ellis and I had a great time!
A morning of adventuring in the Swan. Walking for us bigger Smiths and Freddy on his bike over streams with stops to throw rocks of course!
We saw tadpoles, a juice black spider and lots of ants!
Freddy couldn’t get enough of the puddles and Ellis has a new stick called Warrior!
We decided that despite the rain we would head south to Lowden. Just us and Lauren with her boys. It’s a short drive at 2 hours and meant a return to where we had my 40th birthday celebrations.
The first thing to get going was the fire so we could eat! The kids all went foraging for kindling and Dave headed out a bit further with the chainsaw to get some bigger logs.
Ones the chores were completed we all got to ride the trails built by the owner, which are great fun for all ages. Dave then set about making the dinner! Ellis was on veggie chopping duty and all the boys got super dirty.
Lauren made a delicious apple crumble (also on the fire) but I’m surprised it contained any apple, given the quantity of apples the kids wanted to devour.
To top off the fun a Ellis whipped out her archery set and the bigger kids got to loose arrows under close supervision. They made their target and managed to get it to stick to the tree without the use of nails! Furthermore both Fraser and Ellis hit the target!
Another great weekend in the bush.
A leisurely 9am start this morning led to a lunch stop at Jurien Bay. The temperature is already higher than home and I am regretting the long pants I chose to wear.
Before lunch there is time to burn off a little energy at the playpark.
After some hat swapping and “too cool to be photographed” posing we are back on the road. Next stop Geraldton!
Geraldton was purely a fuel stop as Freddy was quiet and Ellis happy. Onwards to the Billabong Roadhouse for an overnight, dinner and a game of pool for Dave and Ellis.
Today we headed to the ‘summit’ of Mount Cook; Perth’s biggest hill. We went with the Vines and the majority of the James clan (Kate is still on house rest until JJ pops out).
The kids were promised an icy pole if they managed to get to the top and down again with no whinging. They were all very good and enjoyed the views and the lizards. They all fell over at one time or another but still there was no complaining. Zoe was the hero almost running her way to the top!
The babies were carried by their daddies and both slept for part of the trip.
A lovely morning over the 5km round trip. 
Our last camping trip before Christmas and since Cape to Cape! We have been slacking/unpacking into the new house.
The weather was great and we had a great storm go around us on Saturday. Sadly the awesome lightening pics didn’t come out (user error no doubt). After a spot of rain it was up to 35 degrees and too hot for freddy’s sleep in the camper.
The big kids (Ellis and silly) did some boogie boarding and surfing and Alexander enjoyed being out in the water on his boogie board too!
Today the conditions were so good Ellis and Olly barely got out of the water and I even had a go on Ellis’ board and a boogie board too! It was much more fun than I’d expected and embarrassed not to have done it sooner.
I discovered a good alternative to hair clips when I couldn’t find any… IKEA packet clips!
Freddy as usual ate lots of sand.
Ellis and Olly spent a LOT of time in a tree going up and down a tie down strap!
We also had a lovely walk/skateboard/scooter to the Lancelin pub for some beer and dinner. Even Charlie the dog came and enjoyed the trip!
I don’t know about you girls, but I remember very well getting my ears pierced. There were the negotiations over the earliest possible age with my parents, then the anticipation as I awaited my 13th birthday. I was lucky enough to go with a very dear friend of many years (Louise Ross) which made it even more special.
So when Ellis started asking about when she could pierce her ears it conjured up many memories of all the above. My initial reaction to the ‘when’ question was double figures. It seemed a reasonably poignant time in a life to have it done, old enough to look after them without having to wait until early teens. I then began to think, what’s the big deal? They are only holes in ears afterall and not tattoos! So after much deliberation Denise (Amara’s mum) and I had a chat. I was keen for Ellis to be able to go with a friend like I did as that was such a big part of it for me. Luckily Denise and I were able to come to agreement and so, just before The Ford’s headed to Singapore for Christmas, Ellis and Amara went off excitedly to Essential Beauty to get stabbed in the ears.
Dave and Tom came too purely to take the mickey and crack bad jokes. I mean they came to support and encourage their little girls. Amara and Ellis were not put off at all by comments like “ah, that tissue must be to mop up all the blood” and “so you’ve really never done this before” to the piercer. Ellis and Amara smiled through it all and mentioned only a slight sting when the earrings went in. Brave little things are now very happy with their new ears. If they are anything like their mummies these will be the first of many piercings 😜.
Back around again after missing last year’s event (due to Freddy’s precarious in utero situation we were unable to go further than 20 mins from the maternity hospital) we were back again with most of the usual rabble to watch the boys beast themselves for 4 days.
Dave, Andy, Tom, Simon and Rhys were the contenders this year and it was Kate’s turn to be pregnant while supporting!
The boys all put in a very good effort but of course Tom came out top of our lot and I think 12th overall which, out of 1500 riders, is rather good going.
It was the C2C 10 year anniversary so it was very well subscribed by weekend warriors and pros alike.
Us girls and kids took up the roll of race support and watched starts and most finishes.
My turn next year!
Walking with the kids in the sun is always great and especially when you can do it with friends! Freddy loved the backpack (thanks Jodie) and the girls did a great job walking around the loop with no whinging! Well done Rach 😜.
Off to Dwellingup we go!
This time not only did Rach come too but we camped in the main Dwellingup campsite which boasts flushing loos and showers!
Unfortunately I had a cold so was bad company for the Fords who were spending the weekend with us too. Tom managed a great result with 1st in his category in the 100km and Dave did brilliantly with 4th in his category for the 60km (he did the 100 before and says it is too dull to do the full 100).
We went to visit the old POW camp for the first time and unfortunately there was not too much to see but some interesting info nonetheless.
Of course there was a fire and toasted marshmallows to go with it.
I'm looking forward to giving the 100km a go next year despite the potential boredom.
The Blog of Dave Lara, Ellis and Freddy 