From Tweed Heads to Goondiwindi

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27/4/09 Quiet day, caught up on paperwork & Kara spent the avo with us showing us how to set up the blog . We rang Colleen & Maynard Vormister who live at Burleigh Waters, friends of ours for a long time & arranged to meet at their place tomorrow for lunch. Brett & Kara came for tea but she did most of it. Kara & I had a good “Happy Hour” can’t remember much but I had a good time. Went to bed early, woke up fine .

28/4/09 Up early to do washing & shopping ( yes we still have to do those mundane jobs ) I forgot to bring the maid along. We are heading out tomorrow to Chinchilla to see our son Corey, wife Val, Granddaughter Kirsty & new Great-Grandson Riley who is only a month old & our Grandson Hayden who is 11. Only Val & Kirsty know we are coming as it is Corey’s birthday Thursday & we wish to surprise him & Hayden will get a kick out of seeing us. We then went to see Maynard & Colleen (thank God for Tom-Tom ) it made it easier, it was so good to see them & catch up with all their news, they haven’t changed & we laughed over some good old times. We had a lovely lunch & saw their 2 daughters Kim & Kate & their grandson, Rebecca was not there , she is at uni. It makes you feel old seeing all your friends kids having families of their own. Back to camp to tidy up, Den packed up the awning & anex etc ready for tomorrow & we had Brett & Kara over for “Our Last Supper” for a while, it was sad when they left, we will miss them. They are heading to Byron on Thurs for a week or so then heading to Bowen for Brett to start another Skate Park.

29/4/09 Up early again ( don’t we ever get to sleep in, I thought this was a holiday ) on the road again & cant wait to see the family. Went up to the Logan Motorway then out to Toowoomba & had lunch just the other side. We then went through Dalby & onto Chinchilla, Its very dry & flat out here. Corey & Val have bought 100 Acres of property & have spent the last 12 months renovating the old Queenslander house on the property. They have worked so hard on it & it is a credit to them, the house looks great. So after we found the place, went 5ks past it, we arrived about 2.30 pm. Corey was still asleep as he was on night shift ( he is a power station operator ), Val was at work & Hayden at school, but the first person we saw was Kirsty & our new Great grandson Riley, Well he is gorgeous, he looks like Kirsty & she is managing very well & is getting him into a routine now, so we had lots of cuddles & hugs & caught up on all the news. Corey woke up & got a surprise to see us, & we were shown through the house & saw all the work they had done. Its such a peaceful setting with the birds & garden around the house. Then Val & Hayden got home & it was worth the extra miles we travelled to see the surprised look on Hayden’s face, he nearly knocked me over with his cuddle. We then got shown the chooks, the new shed, his motor bike & track, how he climbed trees & the gardens Mum had put in, & we still have heaps to see when we go back in two weeks before we head off on our trip. Den & Corey caught up on news before .Corey went to work & then we had tea & played “The WII” with Hayden (bowling) which Pop & I got Flogged, never mind. We then had some more cuddles with Riley before heading to bed.

30/4/09 We were woken with Hayden getting us up & having breakfast with us , then Corey got home & Den had a beer to celebrate his birthday ( when you are on nightshift everything is upside down ) they had bacon ,eggs & Val had cooked a birthday cake. After I walked Hayden up to catch the bus we inspected the Container & all the contents looked good, Den decided when we come back we will put a false roof on the top of it to keep some of the heat off it. We packed up & said our goodbyes & had more cuddles with Riley. Now onto Goondiwindi via Tara & Moonie (roads still narrow & country dry) to see our other son, Michael, wife Nicky & Granddaughter Madison who is 2. We arrived after lunch & set up on their rented 40 acre property. They have a house in town but they love their horses & now have 5, including Nicky’s 26 year old pony that Maddy now rides, so they needed more room. We then went to pick up Maddy from Kindy & dropped in to see Nicky at work. They have just bought the Goondiwindi Pet Shop & Nicky has it looking really good. Mick had finished work early, he is workshop foreman on the shire. Maddy had to show us all the fish, kittens , crabs etc in the shop, she is talking so well & is very funny. We then went back & fed the horses & were shown the chooks, guinea pigs, the dog & the cat. After tea we all had an early night as Maddy was riding in the Goondiwindi Show on Misty the next day in the under 6 category. It’s a 4 day holiday here so we get to have a long weekend with the kids.

1/5/09 Its up early again to get ready for the show, Nicky was out already braiding Misty’s tail & putting sparkles in it, Maddy was very excited. We all piled into Mick’s new ford F250 with the horse float that he built behind us. He did such a great job on it, its nearly finished, just the kitchen cupboards to go, they play a lot of Polo Cross & they sleep & cook in the float when they go. We got to the show & got Misty out & Maddy wanted to ride her straight away, so Nicky put her on it & led her around, but then she didn’t want to get off, we had a battle to get her off & dressed & her event wasn’t for another hour. So Nicky put her back on & led her around again, well it was so funny all she wanted to do was go into the ring to ride with the kids, she could not understand that she had to wait her turn, so Nick entered her into the under 12’s just to get her a turn in the ring, so in this event the kids were not led, they held on themselves, so you guessed it Nicky had to take the lead off & walk beside Maddy in the event, cause all the other kids didn’t have a lead on. She was so funny, sitting up straight & holding onto the reins & giving Misty a kick just like the other big kids. Then she didn’t want to finish & started to cry, so the judge gave her a ribbon & then she was hungry & she ended up getting a big chocolate biscuit off the judges table , we were all laughing at her. She did so well, then the next event was the under 6’s & she went well & got a 3rd & $2.50 prize money. We were all so proud of her. We then went to get some lunch & go down side show alley, we had rides on the merry-go-round, jumping castle, the clowns, the tea cups & of course the dodgem cars, she loved them the best she screamed & laughed. By this time she was busted, so home we went ( it was only 1.30pm ) so Maddy had a sleep & we had a rest & then she was up & it was feeding the horses & we had tea. Mick went in to help with the fireworks & we stayed home. I am catching up with the blog & Den is watching the footy. Its time for bed I am getting tired its been a big day.

2/5/09 Maddy came to see us early & had toast & “a cup of tea Nan” for breaky, we all got ready & Pop, Maddy & Nan went to do some shopping, saw Mum ay work & Took Maddy for coffee, she had a baby chino & cake & she thought she was just it, home to unpack & Maddy had gone to sleep , but as soon as we moved her she was awake & would not go back to sleep, we had Feral Cheryl all avo. Nic was busy with judging at the show & Mick was helping set up the fireworks , so we took her out about 4.30 & she had an ice-cream & chips (all the things Nan & Pops can give their Grandkids) & then we sat down with Nic to watch the Bull Rodeo, there were plenty of spills & also the whip cracking & the fireworks were good but Maddy fell asleep of course. It was all so different to the big city shows , we had a good night & came home at 8.30 & Mick & Nic stayed & had a few drinks & got home about Midnight.

3/5/09 Maddy had her breaky with us & we minded her while Mick & Nick went to get “Pete’s” feet (Nic’s Horse) looked at, all was good & they were home quickly. Mick , Jocelyn , Will & Emily Freeman came for lunch & it was nice to catch up with them & all their news, all the Kids had a ride on Misty, Maddy’s horse & they loved it. After they left Maddy had a sleep & Nan had a nana nap, Nic had a rest & then prepared tea for another lot of friends, Jo , Brian & Michelle so she had a big day. After a nice tea & a few wines we all were in bed early. Maddy too.

4/5/09 Another public holiday today so an easy day although Nic went to work for a while & Den did some running repairs to the van & car, Mick fiddled with the horse float & I washed & entertained Maddy. Mick & Nick had a practice ride on the horses & Maddy rode her horse with Poppy & Nanny worn out cause she wanted to TROT & GO FASTER. We then had a baked dinner & we were all ready for bed as we are not used to all this fresh air.

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Photos

At the show
Got 3rd place