Weekend in Busselton

It was Nige's birthday on the 21st April and to celebrate it we decided to get away for the weekend and head south to Busselton. Busselton is a two and a half hour drive south from Perth in the Margaret River wine region. Busselton's claim to fame is that it has the longest jetty in the Southern hemisphere. The longest in the world is Southend pier in the UK.

The weather has cooled down as we are now officially in Autumn, but it was still warm enough to get on the beach and try some snorkeling. We stayed at a great resort called the Abbey Beach Resort and it lived up to its name being right on the beach. It also had an indoor heated pool (and spa) which was great for the time of year.

We managed to walk along Busselton jetty and go down into the underwater observatory at the end. It was great to see the reef and the fish in their natural habitat. The water is so clear and calm. Busselton boasts a shallower drop-off point than Perth and so has less sharks (a great plus), is calmer and is nice and warm. Therefore, it's better for snorkeling and swimming than our local waters.

We ventured further south and explored Geographe Bay in Dunsborough. This part of the coast line is beautiful. Very rugged and great for surfing.

Before we headed back to Perth we went and explored Ngilgi Cave in Yallingup. This cave has one entrance and exit and is just beautiful. Anna and Nige found a passageway in the cave where you had to crawl through on your hands and feet. Anna loved it and went through about four times.

It was a great weekend and is definitely top of the list for a revisit!

Anna's first horse riding lesson ...

Today I took Anna for her first horse riding lesson and whilst I thought it was going to be a little sit on a pony and a walk around the paddock on a lead rein ... it was deadly serious ...

We arrived to see a children's group lesson taking place. The instructor used a megaphone to be heard, looked and sounded very serious and "horsy". We watched for a little while and Anna announced that she didn't want "the lady" to be her teacher. I started to get a bit worried. When it was our turn, I was asked to go into the office to sign a Disclaimer and then "the lady" took Anna off to get a hat. To her credit, Anna did as she was told and followed her to the other side of the arena to try on some hats (they also wanted her to have some boots but none fitted). When I caught up with them having signed the necessary paper work and paid, Anna was already in the arena sat on a pony called Buster.

Again, Anna did as she was told and started to do some balancing exercises. A lovely young girl took this part of the lesson (phew!). The exercises involved standing up in the stirrups and taking it in turns to put your hands on your hips and point to the sky. Then "the lady" came back and the lesson began ...

Anna was taught the correct sitting position and signals, and did really well. She walked around the arena a few times and was then shown how to sit up and down for rising trot. Normally Anna hates anyone touching her or helping her, but she allowed "the lady" to put her hands on the correct part of the rains, feet in stirrups and help her sit up and down. Anna then spent the rest of the lesson learning rising trot and sitting trot ... until she fell off .... but the lady just picked her up, dusted her down, sat her back in the saddle, told her what she did wrong (sitting forward) and began again. From the side of the arena I just waited for the wail and the tears but none came. She rode past, I gave her the thumbs up and she SMILED!

Just before the lesson finished, Anna practiced some more exercises to help her balance (around the world - where you have to turn all the way around the saddle etc). Again, Anna did really, really well.

When she dismounted, her little legs turned all wobbly with the exertion and I had to help her stand. She was all talk about her "jelly" legs. When "the lady" asked if she enjoyed it, she smiled and said yes!!! I was surprised. I asked if she wanted another lesson and she said yes. Again, I am surprised. I have booked another lesson, we'll just see if nearer the time she wants to go. However, when we got home she wanted to practice on Neddy (her rocking horse) and wanted to do some of the exercises "the lady" had told her to do to strengthen her quads.

She keeps talking about her wobbly legs ... but not the fall (thank goodness).

It was quite inspired me to have a few lessons again ....

Rain Rain Rain ...

Well, all it's done today is rain. Heavy rain where you need your windscreen wipers on full to see. It's the first proper rain that we have had since we have been here. So, it's dark and a bit dismal. It has made me homesick!! Just typical, as I have used a new wash powder that has made everyone really itchy and I have five loads of re-washed clothes (in a friendly powder) to get dry. Of course, the tumble dryer is still boxed up in the spare room under a load of other boxes ...

Today, Nige flew out to Melbourne for the week with work. Anna and I went to the cinema (or "Movies" as we now have to say) to see Meet the Robinsons. It's a good film but Anna didn't get the concept of going into the future to save today. It was also a bit scary in parts. I think that the bag of sweets made up for it though.

It's still the school holidays with just a week left and I have some days out planned for the two of us. Tomorrow, Anna is going horse riding for the first time. It's just a half hour private lesson, with the option of cutting it short if she doesn't really like it. I'll take the camera.

I am also trying to get tickets to see Fairy Queen Caroline, who's putting on a show ( http://www.fairyqueencaroline.com.au). She was at the playgroup party last year and was really good. Fingers crossed that the tickets haven't sold out. There's also a get-together of the school mums in the park later in the week. Hopefully, the weather will pick up. Should keep us busy anyway!

How about you guys?

Happy Easter Everyone!

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter. Our original plan was to go away on holiday for a few days south but everyone is Perth had the same idea and we couldn't get booked in anywhere! Instead, we had some days out closer to home.

Yesterday, we went to the Forest Heritage Centre in Dwellingup. Which is in the Serpentine National Park. It's about an hour drive south of Perth and the forest is gorgeous, full of jarrah trees (the local tree). It reminded Nige and I of Northumberland. The actual visitor's centre is shaped as a leaf and there's an 11 meter high forest canopy walk. Anna loved it!

We then had lunch in Dwellingup which is a sleepy town, with a few houses, the odd cafe and an old steam train. Unfortunately, we missed the last train ride into the valley. No doubt we'll go back though!
Anna took the photo above herself ...

On a domestic note, I have just done a makeover on Anna's room. Gone are the gold swirls and dark purple walls, and in is a gentle, pale pink. I have also spent the last 2 days putting together crappy furniture from Ikea. I will scream if I see another flat-pack box! I just got the hammer out to it in the end ...

Pirate Day!

We are in the last week of the first term at school and as a special treat a Pirate Day had been planned. All the children had made pirate patches and hats and could come to school dressed up as pirates. The parents were asked to bring "a plate" for lunch (healthy options only!). Anna was very excited and had her outfit on from 6am in the morning! She had asked to use my (very expensive) scarf in her outfit and I couldn't say no as it looked great. I'll never be able to wear the scarf again though, as it's become the "pirate scarf"!

We had just had our six month property inspection. I was told that I needed to clean the air vents more often - obviously a bad tenant ...

Molly is doing well. Looks like she's allergic to wheat as well as chicken. Her seizures seem to have stopped (fingers crossed) since we upped her medication. She's as bonkers as ever though!