14th - 20th July 2012 (Coral Bay)

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DAYS ON THE ROAD = 20

It's been a week since my last entry and we've been really busy this week as I've started home-schooling the kids in preparation for term 3. The girls have settled into schooling really well and it certainly takes alot of organisation on the home tutor's side, namely me.... I'm sure it will become alot easier and I will schedule everything quicker and quicker as time goes by. Lucky my middle name is Organised. Started a new list book today for schoolwork, the people who know me will have a laugh about that one, I have lists for everything....

I will give you a brief recount of the things we got up to this week and also include some great shots. Please enjoy and keep on following....

Saturday 14th July 2012

The morning was spent doing the washing which was always exciting! I think I need to teach my daughters how to recycle their clothes better, they seem to be wearing them like it's a fashion parade.

After the mountains of washing which I wash in my 2.5kg washing machine... we decide to head off down to the beach as it's yet again another glorious day in Coral Bay. Abit of sun, surf and school reading is in order. Can't say much school reading happened but the swim was great. Spent time being a child again and building sandcastles with my youngest daughter.

I know why they call Coral Bay paradise.

Sunday 15th July 2012

I woke knowing that I needed to seriously start pulling together the schoolwork for the kids first day at school and I could hear the teachers from Distance Education telling me how organised I needed to be. But as I looked at all the paperwork I wonder to myself who was actually going back to school me or the kids! I eventually gathered all the pages together and read up on the lessons to be held the next day. I even had time to set up their little classroom in the annexe.

Charles was a gem and kept us all fed with lunch and then took the girls down to the beach for the daily fish feeding. I was abit envious I couldn't make it down the beach I must say but I had to buckle down and do what I needed to do otherwise the kids would probably not settle into a new school routine if they could tell I wasn't organised.

My reward that night was to go down to the pub at the resort next door and enjoy the cheap $15 Sunday roast, and gee was it fabulous. Our plates were massive so the girls shared a plate which was ample for them. Yum yum I hadn't had a roast for such a long time it was the best and also gave me a night off cooking.

Tired after reading, reading, reading and stuffing my face full of roast I feel into a great sleep ready for that school morning alarm to wake me up!

Monday 16th July 2012

The alarm went off and I thought I had only been asleep for 5 minutes, I hate that. Up we all got girls all raring to go. Breakfast and morning jobs done, girls at their desks, pencils sharpened... Let's go. First things first we all set the classroom rules and stuck them to the side of the caravan then we're into it. Four hours later and without much fuss the girls have completed their first day’s work, I was very proud of them. Now all I have to do is mark it and get day two's work ready for the next schooling session. I will leave that until night time I think.

We have decided to go fishing down at Maud's Point with my mum and dad which is only accessible by 4WD so we're excited to be using our car again for a little off roading. I like this 4WD thing and just love my car. After letting our tyres down to head onto the soft sand, dad promptly hits a patch of extremely soft sand and digs his tyres in and gets stuck. Help is needed, but only by way of digging behind the tyres and dad letting his tyres down some more and then he's out. Bugger... I was hoping that we might have to do a recovery with our car and pull the Nissan Patrol out with my Mitsubishi Pajero!!!! LOL!!!

I've only ever fished once before so had to receive a few lessons or three from Charles and dad on how to put the bait on and cast off. Maud's Point is well known for having sharks there so after going into the water up to my thighs to cast off I quickly retreated to the beach waiting for the inevitable bite on the line and dinner.........!

I reel in the line and cast off again with more bait and again, and again, and again, but to no avail, the seagulls managed to get their dinner on my bait. I think it's a trip to the fish and chips shop tonight..... The girls tried their hand at fishing but the surf was too rough today so not so much fun for them. I think we will take them fishing off a jetty next time so at least they will get a better chance of catching something. The only one to catch a fish was my dad on the day and that was only one and he let it go. Fish and chips from the shop all round. It was fun though and I will definitely give it a go again.

Tuesday 17th July 2012

Big day today it's Charles birthday so we all wish Charles a big happy birthday and our eldest makes him breakfast in bed, Rice Bubbles..... cute. I had such a busy day planned that I didn't know where to start.... I had told Charles that I would make him a cake for his birthday but without an oven I was going to have to rely on the microwave. I also had to make a potato bake for the family bbq for Charles birthday and also home school the kids. Talk about pressure.

No point winging about it, just get into it. Potato bake done in between home-schooling the kids. Now for the cake, only had double choc muffins in the cupboard so that would have to do. Not wanting to overcook it, I got some advice from my mum who reckoned 4 minutes would do it. It actually only took 3 minutes and they were still nice and moist. To top them off I make some butter icing and they looked all great and were tasty. Schoolwork all done as well. Super mum or what if I do say so myself.

We head off to the top bbq in the caravan park and enjoyed a lovely bbq with mum and dad and were absolutely stuffed afterwards as dad had also made one his famous trifles. I could do with a nanna nap now.

That evening it was happy hour down the pub so we went down to have a few drinks for Charles birthday. We sat with a bunch of other people from the park and had a good tummy workout with great laughs.

Wednesday 18th July 2012

Home-schooling again but we're settling into a routine quite well now and I just need to streamline my processing better, but that will come with time, I hope.

Tonight is karaoke so Charles and I are really looking forward to having a sing song and drinkie poos. Charles and I have a fantastic night and I had quite a few drinks. I missed by other singing buddy that night, Heidi where were you!!!!!

Thought I was going to pay in the morning for the wine I'd drunk so I popped some painkillers and passed out into a deep sleep, much to Charlie's amusement.

Thursday 19th July 2012

Surprising I woke up without a hangover but decided to give the girls a day off school so I could catch up on housework, washing and to chill out. We headed off with mum and dad on another 4WD drive to Five Finger Bay and a spot of swimming. The water was divine and fresh so I decided just to have a quick dip. Charles took the girls in for a snorkel which they really enjoyed.

As part of a school project the students have been given a Passport of activities to try before they turn 12 so we decide to cover one of them with jumping stones on the surface of the water. I've never been very successful at doing this myself so we all head off looking for that perfect skimming stone. Both my daughters managed to skim their stones across the water much to their delight then it's my go, the pressure was on, please please don't plop in the water. Lucky I managed one stone hop, I sigh with relief. The girls also decided to do some more sandboarding down the sand dunes which they screamed about as they came roaring down . Time to head back we take a different route back and pass a massive eagle’s nest with two eagles, amazing!

Why do you always feel so sleepy after spending the day at the beach? All that fresh area.

Tomorrow is pack up day as our time at Coral Bay comes to an end. Not thinking about it too much as I will have to say farewell to the folks as we continue our trip around Australia and won't see them for another 12 or so months.

Friday 20th July 2012

Pack up day but first of all schooling. All done by mid-day and Charles and I start the task of pulling apart our home and packing it up ready for our sad farewell to the Bay tomorrow. We take our time and have it all done in time to watch the last sunset over the bay and enjoy a lovely meal with my mum and dad.

I'm looking forward to our next destination, Exmouth but not the farewell.

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