A special moment

I will write a blog soon about our 24hr visit to Canberra when we reach our next destination but for now I wanted to share something very special.
Since River could talk he has been fascinated by the military but I didn't realise just how much until yesterday.
We had 45 minutes left in the day to visit the War Memorial and now I regret that we didn't arrive earlier to give ourselves more time to walk this amazing shrine to our Australian heroes.
The art gods are definitely looking after me at the moment because the memorial gallery was exhibiting Ben Quiltys Afghanistan exhibition so Ruby and I spent our 45minutes admiring his brilliant portraits.
Anthony and River walked around the museum and when we met back up Ant told me how much River was enjoying himself.
I decided we should stay for the last post after the museum closed and we joined the other few hundred people gathering at the pool of reflection.
I was talking to a man while waiting for the ceremony to begin about his grandfather whose name was on the memorial wall and I mentioned that my great grandfather fought in world war 1 and he gave my Grandfather the name of William Gabe Tepe (Gabe Tepe being one of the outlooks at Gallipolli).
River then pipes up saying 'and don't forget my Uncle Len who is a soldier'....I didn't realise he was listening to our conversation.
Ruby was being her typical 4yr old self whining and saying 'wheres poppy?' at the top of her voice as most can imagine When I mentioned how beautiful the poppies on the memorial wall were ...it would've been easier to forget the ceremony and take them home but I could see Ant was really embracing the moment and I decided to leave Ant and hush the two little ones to some steps so they could sit which gave us full view of the ceremony anyway.
Each ceremony held, a story is told about one of our brave who fought for our country and is remembered.
I must apologize but I didn't hear the soldiers name because I was settling the kids down with River eventually choosing my lap to sit but we did hear his story....he fought during world war 1 at the age of 18 and died from a gunshot wound to the back....at only 19.
The story went for a while....everyone silent (except Ruby who was fidgeting the entire service) but during one of her quieter moments I witnessed the most beautiful action.....as the soldiers story was being read out...our little boy River, all of 5yrs old very slowly but deliberately raised his hand to his brow and began to quietly salute this hero of our country whose short life our generation wouldn't even know existed if it wasnt for this service.....he didn't just do this action once but at least 4 times very slowly and quietly without anyone even noticing...I lost count through the quiet tears of pure joy and pride I had for this special little man we named River.
At that moment I reached out and touched Rubys shoulder and glanced at Ant up on the balcony above us and couldn't have been more proud of these little people we have created.
I am also proud to be an Australian and proud of these men and women like my Uncle Len and my grandparents and great grandparents who chose and still do to sacrifice thier time and many with thier lives to protect us daily without us even giving them a second thought.

We will remember them 💜

NSW South Coast

I didn't realise travelling was so tiring! or maybe travelling with kids is the reason I am in bed by 8pm most nights this week!
The last few days have seen really high temperatures so everywhere we went at least one of us was hot and bothered, we have also battled large crowds because we are on the coast at the moment in peak season and its even slow driving on the roads.
We stayed at Berry Showgrounds which is a little in from the coast and at just $12 per night including power with the kids staying for free, this has been our cheapest stay to date.
The amenities are a little smaller than other places we have stayed at but we were lucky enough to be camped right next to them so its an easier walk with the kids.
The management are really friendly and there is a laundry and a share kitchen with the local swimming pool right next door.
The town of Berry is really pretty with lots of little cottage shops on both sides of the street, shopping is a little more expensive here so we travelled to Nowra if we needed anything major.
Berry does lack a good playground but there are plenty in towns nearby.
The woodfired pizza shop however is absolutely amazing! Best pizza I have ever had hands down and the famous donut van is Ants favourite.
We had a storm hit yesterday which cooled the temperature right down, there is something special about camping in the rain inside a tent all snuggled up warm...it sure is nicer than being inside a tent on a sweltering day!
We took advantage of the cooler day today and visited the Fitzroy Falls and I am so glad we did.
The scenery is absolutely stunning, it felt like we were up in the clouds and Ruby thought the forest looked like a storybook.
We also visited Tallowa dam and Kangaroo Valley where we had lunch at the local bakery.
There were so many cliffs and caves to look at as we drove up the mountains and then down into the valleys below.....such a beautiful part of Australia X

Travelling with the kids solo

Its been a hot, hectic day.
I need to get myself more organized if we are going to travel succesfully or at the very least try to be less impulsive....a trait of my personality that is so far out of control its not funny anymore.
We had already planned that Troy was staying back a while and that I would continue South with the kids on a camping trip then I get this great idea that I would have a stall at the markets that were being held at the showgrounds we are currently camped at before we leave, afterall its only going to be a 38 degree day and after the markets we will have time to pack the car and head off right?
It was so hot, I think there were two kids at the markets and I got to proudly facepaint them....at least I made half my rent back for my efforts!
I proudly pack up my things and with the help of Troy and the kids I carry all my paints, chairs and table back to the bus, sweating and quietly thinking to myself that was a bloody waste of time...but with my pride refusing to admit defeat, I smile and start packing the car.
I think it was about 2 or 3pm that we finally drive out waving goodbye to daddy, tooting to him up the road until he was no longer in sight.
I feel sad leaving Troy behind and the realization that I am now on a camping trip with the kids alone sinks in pretty quickly.
Anthony drove for the first time through Sydney as a learner and I must say he did really well so I thought we might stop and have a look at the sea cliff bridge as a treat...
The sea cliff bridge is along Lawrence Hargreaves drive at Stanwell, heading towards Wollongong.
It really was a beautiful scenic drive and we all agreed one of the prettiest stretches we have seen so far.
We park the car and I am walking ahead of the kids in total awe of the views and I could see people looking past me at the kids..some giggling and others just staring in disbelief, so I turn around to look at them and I didn't know what to do.....when we left the showgrounds, I had given the kids a packet of textas and a scrapbook as a treat and here were my two children walking along this bridge covered head to toe in texta pen and to top it off, neither Troy or I had noticed that River was still in his pjamas!....it was at least 4pm in the afternoon.
There was no going back now....we were on the bridge!
I held my head up and we kept walking along that bridge...all four of us, afterall what were they going to say to me?....the state of my children was pretty self explanatory!
We headed back to the car and kept driving until we reached our destination with enough light left to put the tent up.
We had dinner and all fell asleep really early until Ruby woke me up for some water at 1am.
So thats the time I am writing this blog...its now 2.08am and the lesson learned is be more organised and my day probably would've been a lot less tiring....tomorrow is a new day  💚