A Romantic Getaway.

First of all I would like to send ‘big hugs’ to all the lovely people who floated past this page yesterday/today and left some love. You all helped me to feel so much better. Today, I feel stronger and happier. Today my head is clear and I feel like I can deal with the world just a little bit better. Thank you.

Now, I’m going to rewind just a little bit. To Friday night when my darling husband and I made our little ‘escape’ and managed to spend a whole night all alone........mmmmm, bliss!

We had planned to go away months in advance. So, I had researched romantic getaways on the Internet. We didn’t want to travel too far from our children so we settled on the picturesque mountain village of Springbrook.  Anyone not knowing where this is it is in the hinterland behind the Gold Coast. One of the (many) great things about living on the GC is that you can be at the beach and then 15 minutes later you can be out in the rainforest...amazing.

So, we travelled  the winding (and sometimes frightening) road up the mountain and before long we were in the beautiful little village of Springbrook. We made our way to our accommodation, which had been recommended to me via a friend.

'The Mouses House' is set amongst pristine rainforest . When we arrived we visited the friendly and accommodating owners and then made our way to our chalet; The chalets are set a good distance apart to insure complete privacy...which is oh, so important when you are on a romantic getaway!

The chalet.....

and the view outside.

To say the setting is reminiscent of a fairytale is not exaggerating. And it wasn't odd or even remotely cheesy that the chalets were named after fairytale characters. The chalet that welcomed us was very aptly named 'Bashful'

Bashful wrapped us up it's warm embrace from the moment we entered. The interior was gorgeous, inviting and very, very clean. We were at home straight away. It wasn't long before we settled in front of the fire place with a glass of champers....now, that's what I'm talking about!

Everything was beautiful and comfortable but the thing that struck me, more than anything else...was the silence.....having lived in close quarters with four children for a very long time does not give you much of a chance for contemplative thinking or long intense talks with Hubby or even a visit to the toilet uninterrupted...but we did all of these things...and more (wink, wink!)

Looking a bit craggy first thing in the morning!

We ate delicious food, went on rambling walks and generally soaked up the beauty and the atmosphere. We slept...all night long (yes, a miracle!)We talked for hours and reconnected. It was wonderful...magical.

So we've planned to return. Every year on our wedding anniversary (even though the children will probably come with us from now on) Next time we plan to stay a little longer and you know what? I can hardly wait!

The Wedding Edition!

Making the decision to elope rather than have a big extravaganza of a wedding was a fairly easy one to make. Firstly, we were broke. Secondly we had both been married before. Thirdly we wanted it to be about us and the kids....and not really anyone else. Selfish much?

I love weddings. I think they are one of the most beautiful events you can attend....I just wasn’t interested in having one myself (again).

So when we planned our massive holiday to Tassie last year we thought.....why not? Why not kill two birds with one stone? And it’s not like Tassie isn’t beautiful. We had a plethora of incredible places to choose from to have our special day.

We chose the Tamar Valley, just outside of Launceston; it was stunning.

The thing about eloping as that you tend to take a rather relaxed approach to the planning, simply because there is not really a whole lot of planning to do. Trouble is, we were a little too relaxed...and left a lot of things to the last minute......

On the morning of the big day we had our celebrant organised, our photographer and a witness. We had picked a beautiful spot in a gazebo over a lake. The children had gorgeous outfits to wear and I had bought Hubby a nice shirt and pants. I had forgotten one thing however.....myself.

We dashed into Launceston that morning to try and find me a dress. I wasn’t after a traditional dress, just something pretty and flattering. After trawling through quite a few stores I settled on a cute little purple number....that was $30 from Target.  I planned to team it with black boots, black stockings and a black woollen jacket (it was absolutely freezing in Tassie at that time of year)

After that we ‘popped’ into the jeweller to pick up a ring (yes, I’d forgotten that too!) Stopped off at the florist to grab two bunches of flowers (for $10 each) and very importantly visited the bottle shop for a yummy bottle of Verve...for our 'reception' afterwards.

We dashed back to the resort we were staying in and proceeded to get ready. I dashed around getting the children and soon to be Hubby prepared and had precisely 10 minutes to get ready myself (story of my life)

We arrived at our destination elegantly in our huge camper van; it's kind of difficult to be glamorous and lady-like when climbing out of the cab of one of those things.

It wasn't long before we were all assembled and ready to go.

Our bridal party was gorgeous;

Mr 11 was the Best Man;

Miss 8 was the Maid of Honour;

Mr 5 was the 'Ring Bear'

Miss 2 was the Flower Girl;

Our wedding ceremony began. Throughout our vows Mr 5 clutched the box containing our rings possesively. He had taken his role as ‘Ring Bear’ very seriously and hadn’t let them out of his sight. When it became time for him to hand us our rings he did so very carefully. He handed Hubby’s to me and I placed it lovingly on his finger. Then, he handed my ring to Hubby who took it, fumbled it, and then proceeded to drop it. We watched in horrified awe as it tumbled down and right through the gap between the floor boards of the gazebo...and into the lake.  Hubby and I stared at each other in absolute mortification.....and then I started to laugh. I laughed and laughed and eventually Hubby joined in too. Tears streamed down my face as we used one of my other rings to finish the ceremony. The only one not laughing was Mr 5 who was appalled that Dad had dropped Mum’s special ring....it’s something he still tells his Dad off about to this day.

Despite that mishap the ceremony finished amongst laughter and tears and we were offically married. It was a wonderful moment and one that was even more significant because we had our lovely children with us.

Hubby later went back to that freezing cold lake and swam under the gazebo to try and locate the missing ring, but no luck.

The photographer took some fun and fabulous shots and then we went back to the resort for our reception that involved champers for Hubby and I, soft drink for the kids and some crazy dancing from all of us. We took crazy photos and laughed about the ring debacle.

Later, we all went out for a wonderful dinner...it was the perfect ending to the (nearly) perfect day.

A year later, I look back on our special day with joy, pride and just a little bit of a giggle.

PS; On returning from our holiday my Grandfather presented me with my Grandmothers’ wedding ring, which meant more to me than words could ever express.

2 Adults, 4 Kids, 2 weeks....and a Camper.

On this day of September 2010 my husband and I had a plan; the plan was insane, crazy and completely irrational. Hubby and I were beside ourselves with excitement and just a little terrified at the prospect.

      Taking four children on a 2 week holiday around Tasmania in a camper van may not be everyone’s cup of tea, in fact it was possible it wasn’t ours either…but we were willing to give it a try.

With our 50 bags of luggage packed, plane tickets safely enclosed in my handbag and kids piled into the car we turned to look at their expectant little faces, they had no idea what they were in for….neither did we.

Ready for anything!

      I would like to think that we were suitably prepared for the plane trip but sometimes the best laid plans soon become unravelled. Children are unpredictable creatures and the most unpredictable of all children is definitely the restrained toddler……cue kicking, screaming, crying, and shouting. The other children did not escape unscathed either. Miss 8 was soon vomiting (apparently this one suffers from motion sickness), Mr 10 sobbed very loudly that his ears were hurting and that planes are the most boring thing “ever”. The only one having a good time was Mr 4 seated comfortably by the window, “This is awesome!” he enthused.

  Finally the toddler stopped screaming and fell asleep. Five minutes later the plane landed in Launceston. Our fellow passengers all departed with slightly dazed expressions, we apologised profusely to anyone that would listen as we tried to disembark. Hubby was struggling with a sleeping baby while I managed the two sick, whinging children and Mr Happy.

Russell Falls

The camper van we had hired was smaller, older and dirtier than the pictures we had seen of it on the Internet. I tried to hide my chagrin as we handed over an exorbitant amount of money for our two week trip.

  

Soon, everyone was strapped in and we were on our way. The trip was eventful to say the least. Lot’s of winding roads equalled a lot of vomiting from Miss 8, continuous whining from the toddler and not much interest from Mr 10 who had his head either buried in a book or was busy playing some sort of fan dangled electronic device. Mr 4 however was happy with whatever each day handed out to us. Constant stops for toilet breaks, food and for my poor, long suffering hubby to empty the chemical loo meant for a relatively slow trip. The scenery was incredible; lush, green, rolling hills surrounded by wilderness. Even the main cities; Launceston and Hobart were strikingly pretty.

Wineglass Bay....Beautiful
(Ignore the date on this one, crazy camera!)

We were amazed by the clarity of Wineglass Bay and enjoyed the walk immensely.

We made friends at all the different camping grounds along the way.

We ate the famous scallop pies and visited old-fashioned lolly shops.

Port Arthur was eerie and of unbelievable beauty. Hubby, the older children and I were enthralled by the history of the place...it was like travelling back in time. Mr 4 just loved the boat ride.

  

Snow Angels (!?)

One of the most magical moments of our experience was when it snowed while at Cradle Mountain. Not only had the children never seen snow before but at 31 years of age it was my first time too. The children were amazed at the powder like texture of the freshly fallen snow and we quickly set about throwing snowballs at each other, making snowmen and snow angels.

 It was wonderful watching our children delight in the beauty of nature, it is a memory that we will always hold dear.

   

Snow!

A night of snow and we were stuck!

Unfortunately that night the snow became heavier and when we awoke the next morning we were well and truly stuck. We needed to be in Launceston that day as we had booked some prior accommodation to get a break from the camper. We tried unsuccessfully a number of times to drive out ourselves but only succeeded in lodging the camper on top of a large log that was hidden in the snow. To our rescue came the owner of the camping grounds who had us pulled out in no time with the help of his tractor. The roads out were slippery but drivable and we made good time back to Launceston.

The next two days were spent in the comfort of a resort. There was room for the children to play, good food and most importantly a hot shower, flushable loo and comfortable beds. It is amazing how much you miss these simple things when you have to go without.

Bed hogs!

On our last morning in Tasmania the children and I sat huddled around our digital camera looking back on all the photos of our trip. We laughed at all the funny images and reflected on all the wonderful things we had seen and done.

Now, exactly one year on from the day we boarded that plane to head into the unknown; Hubby the children and I remember it as one of best things we have ever done. Mr (now) 5 asks us on a regular basis....’When are we going back to Tasmania?’

Soon buddy, soon.

 

Tiptoe through the tulips!