Perth {Visiting}

Hi ho, Hi ho, It's back to Perth we go!

Sometimes it feels almost like groundhog day, driving to Perth from the up north.  This time at least we have a plan, a plan to catch up with people and even better to actually leave the state.  I am sure that people think it isn't actually going to happy but I am positive that this time it will {power or positive thinking and all that}.

It was different this time in Perth as we stayed at Leah's place, Mum & Dads house has settled and it also meant the got to be close to Zoe {and who doesn't like adorable baby snuggles}.

 

 

 

We hit the ground running, as we always do with a trip to the sea container and then a catch up with Dad.  Friday saw us running around all over the place and having a great night with Ben & the kids.

Saturday was a family trip to the zoo, we went with all of Justin's family and it was great to walk around the zoo and relax with everyone. We finished with a lovely dinner with Dad {at Leah's place}.

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday we pottered around with Leah & Rus in the morning before heading the the Parky to catch up with all our friends.  It was great to catch up with everyone and although I am sure I shouldn't be, I am surprised at the number of people that showed up {after being away for this long you somethings thing you might have been forgotten}.  It was a great afternoon and the evening arrived in the blink of an eye.

Monday was our departure date, which ended up being later than planned due to the rain over night {did I mention how bloody weird the weather was in Perth the last few days?} but this meant that we got to hang out with Dad while we packed down.  I am going to miss him *sigh*.

 

We headed to Mundaring for some last minute {as in should've done it yesterday but was at the pub} shopping and off we went, just after 10am driving off into the unknown.

Perth {Home}

We are here again!

J is helping out a builder he used to work for by doing a job and well given it is school holidays it made more sense to 'hide out' in Perth.

We arrived on the Friday and spent the night with Jamie, Peta & little Sadie.  It was a great night, even if Sadie decided to have no sleep all day and a lot of the night {that is why they make babies cute},  Saturday we pottered around for the morning and then headed to Applecross for a picnic lunch, was a beautiful day.

 

Next stop was Mum & Dad's place, where we took our standard spot on the 'lawn'.

Time flew by the first few days as we caught up with a few people and Thursday I decided to take the kids to the Dinosaur Exhibition at the Museum of Western Australia.  We ended up with their cousins joining us.  I must have been crazy, four kids, just me on a train, during holidays to the city!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We all survived and the kids all loved it.

The weekend saw Easter, which meant more catching up with people we had yet to see {and trust me we still missed seeing loads of people we would have love to have caught up with}.  Easter Monday I came down with the dreaded lurgy which threw out a lot of plans for the week.

Wednesday we headed back to Bunbury as Kyla needed to go to the Dentist again, stupidly I got the appointment time wrong so we drove all that way for nothing.  Well not really nothing, we had a lovely evening at Aunty Di's place {she even cooked, with her still broken foot} and then a morning tea with Nana Pat & Pop before trekking back to Perth.

The kids had a sleep over at Alison's with the girls that same night, which they LOVED.  Friday I bummed around the house while the smalls and J where out.  And we spent ANZAC Day dinner at the Parkerville with the family.  It was hard all of us getting together for a meal and Mum not being there with us, we all felt it.

We blinked and the weekend had passed us by again, I really did feel like nothing was really achieved!

Monday Alison's girls had a pupil free day, so we decided to head to Kings Park.  Even though the weather wasn't the best {and most of us forgot jumpers} the kids all had a wonderful time.  It was nice to just hangout for the day before we all headed in our own directions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday we ran around and finalised everything we needed to do.  Including packing somethings into our newly purchased sea container {yes that means we are now the proud owners of two 20ft containers,

Then it was time to say goodbye, this time for a larger distance and an undetermined amount of time.

Perth {Home}

Hard to believe that it has been more than a month since we last visited Perth.  We had a busy week planned with visits with SIDE, J working for a few days, a little shopping and a party planned for Kyla's birthday {early but it means she could celebrate with all her friends}.

Driving up, heading to my folks place was very confronting, surreal and harder to see than I expected.  The smell at Dad's place was so strong and in your face, I wasn't expecting that at all! Our first afternoon there there was a mass off White Tailed Cockatoos which was just amazing to see.  They spent the afternoon hanging out at the horse trough which Dad continues to fill, even though Mary is having a green paddock holiday in the southwest.

 

 

We hit the ground running with Kaleb going to work with J and Kyla heading with me to SIDE to have a meeting with her teacher.  I have been very conflicted when it comes to us continuing our current lifestyle and the impact it is/isn't having on the kids schooling. Actually if I have been honest I have been conflicted on many aspects, this just happens to be the biggest 'issue' in my mind.

After our meeting with Kyla's new teacher {both kids got new teachers this year}, I am feeling 200% more confident that we can get her to where she needs to be and am thankful she took the time to listen to me and to assess Kyla. It is true what they say 'it is the teachers that make the school', before this term I saw SIDE as a means to an end in terms of it allowing us to live our current lifestyle.  I know realise that with the right teachers, I can get the support that both myself and the kids need.  AMAZING!

Friday and Saturday to be honest are a little bit of a blur.  We visited ALOT of people and managed to get a heap of other things done.  There is always something we need to do when we are in the 'city'.

Sunday we had a slow start to the morning preparing everything ready for Kyla's party in the afternoon.  We went to the fabulous park in Woodbridge again to celebrate her birthday {I know a whole month early}.  She thankfully didn't want an ice-cream cake like Kaleb but I did take the cheats way out again and we brought her a heap of lovely, amazing and sugar filled cupcakes.

We all had a wonderful afternoon catching up with everyone.  Kyla was most impressed she got to share the celebrations with her little friend, Xavia,  who had her birthday on Saturday.

Monday was packing day and then Tuesday morning we woke the small people up and it was time to head to the airport for our much needed R&R holiday {I know I know, the majority of people believe we are on a holiday already}

Goodbye Perth {Home}

It's finally time to leave Perth.

After more than two months here, it is more than time to find out next destination and time for us all to find out new normal.  It has been a very long few months, testing both emotionally and physically but also filled with new memories and experiences.

We managed to catch up with some of our friends & family while in Perth.  Had a great New Year's Eve {all be a very early one} down by the foreshore in Applecross and a great meal the day before we left.

After one of the longest pack downs we have ever had, we managed to get everything back where it came from and hooked up to the car.  Then it was time to say goodbye to Dad and hit the road {at almost lunch time}