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18/5/09 Slept in & we were on the road by 10am. We travelled to Dalby & stopped for a cuppa at the information centre, the weather was cloudy & threatening rain, it’s still very dry out here. We pushed on & arrived at Chinchilla in the avo & set up the van, it started to rain so Den put up a tarp at one end of the awning (thank goodness he did ) it started to pour. Corey, Val & Hayden had gone to Toowoomba for Drs appointments & shopping, they got back about 6.30pm with Pizza’s for tea. We had tea & caught up with the goss & Hayden was pleased to see us. We all went to bed early we were all tired.
19/5/09 We were woken up early to Nan are you awake, we were then. It had rained all night & Val was doing a jig. Hayden had a day off from school as there was a teachers strike. He played a game called Greed with Pop & then talked him into Monopoly, while I tidied up & made out a shopping list, my turn to cook tea. We then went into town & went shopping,
Hayden showed us all the best shops to go to ( including the video shop $2 day ) & went home to the van . Pop & Haydy watched the DVD’s while I got a baked dinner ready. Val was busy trying to wash & do a bit of running around. It was really raining & in front of the caravan we nearly had a swimming pool. When Corey got home the boys found some planks & the built a bridge, then Corey tidied up his shed & did some work on Hayden’s bike ( he has a KTM 80cc bike ) & is riding moto-cross this weekend at Roma on Sunday. We had tea & watched TV & all went to bed ,it rained all night.
20/5/09 We were woken early again, Hayden snuck out to the van to us , he loves coming out to the dogs & spoils them rotten. More rain & getting wetter, more wood in front of the van ( it’s becoming Bridge over troubled waters ) Hayden went off to school with Val, she is at work today. I decided to clean van from head to tail & washed floors & changed
sheets, washed etc ( I still have not found a new maid ) Den went into the shed & built a shelf & frame for our set top box to sit on top of the TV. It worked out well ( he’s a clever Dick ) then tidied up the shed, by that time it was time to drag Annie & Jessie out to do a wee, as it had been 10hrs, they were not happy but put there coats on & they ran out quickly & did what they had to & ran back. The rain has not stopped & the puddles are getting worse. We went up into the house & I cooked Spaghetti Bolognaise for tea & Val, Corey & Hayden arrived home about the same time. Hayden got changed & had a ball on his pushie doing wheelies & falling into the mud & Den helped Corey measure up the front veranda as they are replacing all the wood. Hayden & I played Uno & then Hayden snuck to the van & watched TV & cuddled the dogs & they were all happy Time for tea & , talk & TV & Bed. Rain easing off
now , I think we must have had 2-3” rain, Val is stoked main water tank is overflowing & there 2 new tanks are 2/3rds full. Great news.
21/5/09 We woke up to sunshine & mud but you can do something with mud not dust. Den has been tromping around in Corey’s gumboots & I am going to buy some today. Val left for work & Hayden caught the bus to school, we had ran out of water in van so Den had to bucket rain water in, it was worth it to have it so fresh. I made another list for shopping, drugs, meat & vegs, etc, then booked our accommodation for Adel’s Grove, Lawn Hill In QLD & also booked into the Alice Springs Camel Cup in July. That feels like we are nearly on our way to start our trip. We started out for town, & went out the back gate of the house & Den stopped the car while I shut the gate. I got in the car & Den started to drive out & we were going nowhere, we got out of the car & we were bogged on all four wheels. I got
in while Den put wood under the wheels & pushed the back of the car while I tried to drive it out. No luck, Den just said “you really didn’t want to go to town did you?’ He found more wood & dug out some of the mud & we gave it another go, I took it slowly & he pushed again & we were out & I just drove till I hit solid ground. Well Done Den!!! We finally went shopping, no luck with gumboots as most places were sold out, but we had lunch down town , then came back & unpacked & walked the dogs, inc Jemma, to Meet Haydy off the bus. Val & Corey got home & Haydy, Val & I went to feed the chooks, Blacky, Whity & Browny & collect the eggs, we then went for a walk around the house yard & then over to see the moto-cross track that Corey built for Hayden to practice on. We saw the Dam & Den & Corey went over to the paddock to clear some scrub to make the track bigger ( a figure 8 track ) . After Jessie escaped under the fence
& went through burrs & mud, mum (me) had to wash her feet before she went back into the van, & a brush later. Pop played Greed with Haydy & we were all bushed so went in for a nice tea with sausages & Vegs thanks to Val & went & caught up with the news & some TV. Off to bed as its show holiday tomorrow, not sure if we are going we will see. ( Those gumboots would have come in handy).
22/5/09 woken & greeted with Hayden “ hi Nan & Pop can I have some Breaky “. Den got up & helped Corey as he is putting a new veranda on the front of the house, so they had to cut all the ends of the bearers to fit & then Val & I started to paint them & then the boys came & helped. When we had done 2 coats on them we went & put a coat of paint on the sub frame of the house veranda, it was done in no time. Hayden & I then went to the Dam to put in a yabby trap to see if we could catch
some. It was then time for Hayden & Corey to go & make the Moto-x track a bit bigger & have a practice for Hayden as he is riding at Roma on Sunday. Val, Den & I all pitched in & moved some scrubby bushes out of the way ( Farmer Den again ) while those two ripped up the dirt to make the track. It bought back memories of when our boys were younger & were riding moto-x , scary I tell you. They had a good couple of hours on them & Hayden is riding so well. After that we went and checked the Yabby trap & there were heaps in it but they were only little. So decided to wait till tomorrow to move the trap to the other end of the dam to see if there were some bigger ones in it. We went back to the house & we threw Hayden some cricket balls & then went in & Corey made Tuna Casserole, we watched TV for a while & I was bushed so I went to bed & Den watched the footy.
23/5/09 Up early & the Sun is shining, we all went
over to the Dam to set the trap ready to get some big yabbies for tea. I played cricket with Hayden while Val, Corey & Den started painting, Annie & Jessie were out in the house yard , chasing lizards & heaven knows what else, they had a few snakes in the yard a few weeks ago ( I am hoping its too cold for them). Kirsty rang Val, so I took over the painting out the front, when Val came back we decided to go into town to get some supplies ( its not like the cities the shops close at lunch time on Sat ) The sky came up dark & threatening & the wind picked up. Den fixed the awning as it is not locking in properly so he put another hole in the roller part. Its starting to look like Swiss cheese. That done he was a lot happier. We checked the yabby trap & Hayden had 3 large ones so we decided to put them on ice before we drop them in boiling water ( more humane ). Corey washed the bikes & cleaned all the gear & Val helped get ready & packed for
Moto-x at Roma tomorrow. I helped get tea & we had an early night as Corey & Val had to leave at 6.am.
24/5/09 Up early to go to Roma, the kids had gone already, we left at 7.30 for the 2 hour trip. We decided to take the dogs with us as we weren’t sure what they would get up to . We had a good trip to Roma & had a phone call from Maddy, on the way “ Nanny where’s Hayden ?” When I said he was at the moto-x track she proceeded to ask where Corey, Val & Poppy were. We said we would ring her later & she could talk to Hayden, who she loves. We arrived at Roma about 9.45 & Hayden had just had practice & Val was on flag duty. We snuck the dogs in & they stayed in the car, quiet happy, It was windy & cold & the track was muddy from the rain, Hayden went out for his first race & came off but got up & caught up & had a blinder of a race & came 3rd. His 2nd race he came off again but still
managed a 3rd. His last round he gunned it off the start & nearly flipped the bike but picked it up, we felt so sorry for him but he got back on it & put all his effort into the race & he was flying. He ended up 3rd again but if he had 1 more lap he would have got a 2nd. He came 3rd overall & got a trophy & we were so proud of him he tried his hardest. He came home with us & he was bouncing off the walls as he had had 2 Power aide drinks ( full of sugar ) & he never shut up all the way home, God bless him ( I reckon even the dogs had a headache ). We got home & Val rang Kirsty to let her know how Haydy went & then we rang Mic, Nic & Maddy to talk to them but Maddy was asleep so will ring in a couple of days. We all went to bed early as it had been a long day.
25/5/09 Hayden woke us for his breaky & he went off to school, Den helped Corey with the front
veranda beams & Val did some cleaning & washing . I tidied & swept out the van ( don’t know weather dust or mud is better ) then did washing again, the girls are out in the yard having a ball , they are so busy they will sleep well tonight. I then decided to sort out my tax & try to get it ready as much as I can, I hate this job. Hayden got home & I started to cook tea & we decided to cook the Yabbies as well, Haydy went to chop down a tree Val didn’t want, I hope she tells him which ones have to stay, or she might be planting some new ones. We had tea & cooked the Yabbies & put them in the fridge, but forgot to eat them, we will have them tomorrow. We then played Uno & watched TV & went out to the van.
26/5/09 Up early, Den wants to do the container roof today, Corey & Den went in to pay for the roofing material & to get it delivered early. When it came, they were into it & had it done by lunchtime. Corey &
Val took us for a drive around Chinchilla & also drove us to the weir where we are going to stay on the weekend with Hayden. We were amazed it is a great spot & the council even supply some electric spots & toilets, perfect for fishing, Kayaking, skiing & relaxing. Then we went to see all the new developments & we were surprised at the amount of new homes going up . It is a nice friendly town , but the shopping is not real flash. We got home from town & Val & Corey took us around in Tilly to see their property , “tilly” is their old ute & is not registered & we call her a “Paddock Basher” Val opened her door & there was a huge spider in it . AHHHH!!! I hate spiders, I was sitting on the edge of my seat all the way around the property, if one had turned up in front of me I would have been out the door like a flash. The property is 100 acres & has lots of room for a few cattle later. When we got back, Corey hooked up a spreader bar (which spreads
& evens out dirt ) to even out the bike track, but Tilly got bogged & Farmer Den had to get our 4 wheel drive to get Tilly out & Then Den put the spreader on our car & did a bit of circle work for the track. Val (yes Val) & Hayden went for a motor bike ride & I finished off my tax, Then we had tea & watched a movie & went to bed as usual.
27/5/09 Well busy day today, Den fitted phone Arial to car & washed the car inside & out. I clipped the dogs ( not as good as the parlour ) , then defrosted our fridge, washed all the bedding, prepared tea & cut Corey & Den’s hair . ALERT if anyone has seen my maid , please kick her butt & send her back to me. Rang Mick, Nic & Maddy, they are well except Maddy has a cough & on Monday she was going Cough, cough, & said , Mum I am sick today & Nic said well I’ll get the medicine & then she says . I better now. She’s a character. So all in all a busy
day. Went to bed early I was bushed.
28/5/09 Haydy woke us early for breaky & we got up & washed the dogs , went shopping for all those essentials for taking Hayden camping, like kit-kats, chips, poppa’s, roll cake etc , etc. Washed dog blankets at the Laundromat & got some money out of the bank, had a cuppa down the street & came home to unpack everything & tidy up to go to the weir tomorrow. Tried to download a new map on Tom Tom but disc is not big enough , so will have to buy a new one Monday & try to sort it out. Hayden went for a ride on his bike while we caught up on emails & mail. We all got ready to go to the RSL for tea & had a lovely meal. Came home & had an early night, it rained lightly all night, so we were wondering if we would go out to the weir.
29/5/09 Woke up & rain was clearing so we decided to bite the bullet & go out to the weir. We went out about 11.30 & set up, it is a great spot,
the council supplies power for about 8 vans, there is no drinking water, but there are toilets there, picnic spots, a bit of sand to sit on & a great spot to put a boat in & hopefully catch some fish. We set up & found that our leads were not long enough, so Den went back to Corey & Vals to get a longer Extension cord out of the container, that did the trick. We were amazed , at the end of the dsy there were 14 vans there. Val dropped Hayden out to the Weir after school, Den & I had already had a ride around the island of the weir in the Kayak, it is such a pretty place. We had collected some fire wood for a fire later. When Hayden got there Den took him for a ride in the kayak, & then he wanted to fish, so after throwing away half the bait ( not even one nibble ) the boys got the shits ( Pardon that’s the only way to describe it ) I had a shower while the boys got the camp fire going, We had cheese & biscuits & chips, then we
had a sausage sizzle, nice & , we played Uno & then the boys watched the footy. We all went to bed.
30/5/09 The boys were up & eager to go fishing, so we had a cooked breaky & then they took the kayak went to the sandy part of the weir to fish, after about an hour of Hayden being very patient & not catching a thing ( except mastering his casting of his fishing rod & baiting his hook with live worms ( not too happy about that ) They decided to go out in the kayak to see if there were any fish out in the middle. While they were out I decided to go to the loo , I walked into the first toilet & I did not have my glasses on, but I noticed the lid of the cistern was off & I could see these green lumps, on closer inspection I could see they were big green frogs, I quickly backed out & used the second one, I was not very comfortable & Kara you would have screamed. I then decided to take the girls for a walk to the sandy beach part
& give them a swim, they had a great time in the water , but it was cold. I towelled them off & took them back to the van, they then had a sleep they were tired. The boys arrived back at the van with no fish, we had lunch & I got chicken out for tea ( just in case ) We all went back down to the Kayak, & Den & I went out for a spin while Hayden fished from the shore, we could see him from the kayak patiently trying to catch a fish, with no luck. Corey & Val arrived for tea & everyone went for a ride & had a fish, I cant believe we did not catch one fish & had no bites. We went back to camp & wicked up the fire & I had tea ready to go, we had cheese & biscuits then cooked a BBQ & salad as well as my first Damper, was it ever nice. We had a nice night with everyone & Hayden had been really great all day. Corey & Val left & Hayden & Pop played Uno & I laid on the bed &
watched TV. Another early night as we are bushed - too much fresh air.
31/5/09 Hayden awake at 5.30 am so much for Sunday sleep in. Den & Haydy took the girls for a long walk & then went for a fish & Kayak ride, I tidied up & washed up from the night before, have to save water you know. The boys came back early & Den was not happy, he had lost his anchor in a tree in the water in the weir. We decided to pack up as we have a big day tomorrow as we start our trip. We arrived at Corey & Vals at 10.30 & Den washed the Kayak out , & packed the car & did odds & ends. I Cleaned the van & washed & decided to catch up on the blog & photos . We packed everything up & got ready for tomorrow & had our last meal for a while with Corey, Val & Hayden & we are not looking forward to the goodbyes tomorrow. But we are getting excited & looking forward to our trip & first day tomorrow, heading for Roma & staying the night at Mitchell
& checking out the hot springs , will let you know in the next blog how we go. THERE ARE 2 PAGES OF PHOTOS SORRY, YOU WILL HAVE TO PRESS NEXT TO SEE ALL OF THEM.
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Kara and Brett
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Yikes!
Hi SFA, SFU and our SF'Dogs. Looks like you guys are having a great time! Can't wait to read more of your adventures. If only things were moving faster on this skatepark maybe we could catch up to you! And you would have heard my scream down to Wollongong with those frogs in the toilet and also that spider! Yikes!! Lots of love, mofos 1 and 2. xoxo