Well it finally came around – the last day of school
holidays. I’d been dreading it so much. The kids were probably well and truly
ready to go back but back to school for me is a big dose of reality that I just
don’t look forward to each February.
With school comes lunches, morning chaos, afternoon chaos
and homework duties and all things soul destroying kick back in again.
Including appointment after never ending bloody appointment! Week 1 I can’t
breathe until Friday, Week 2 I can breathe on Monday but only because I had a
cancellation, Week 3 is looking good with two days I can breathe, but it’s
still early days. I’m sure I won’t be afforded the luxury of two consecutive
days with nothing on. Anyway, given the hectic schedule that the return to
school signifies I was keen to make the last day of holidays one to remember.
We decided a trip up to the Donnybrook Apple Park would be
fun! Kris surprised us on the morning with a detour to Gnomesville. (He really
is getting good at these surprises.) The drive up to Ferguson Valley was
beautiful. I feel so at home in the trees, especially the tall timbers of the
South West. I know of people that see red dirt, or oceans at sunset and feel
home but for me it is definitely trees. As soon as we got out of the car I was
excited!
The excitement didn’t last long… while the kids were excited
to see all the gnomes spread out through the bush I will admit to being a bit
of a gnome hater (actually a LOT of a gnome hater.) Seeing the joy in their
faces however was starting to win this gnomeaphobe over. I flicked a kick arse
bull ant off of my toe, killed a marchie and tried to suck it up until Will
pointed out that it was a lot like a cemetery and I started getting all freaked
out again! The creepy panda in the tree assured me it was definitely time to
get out of there. As we headed back to the car the kids expressed their
absolute love of gnomes and asked if we could get some for home. I heard Kris
giggling and telling them how much I love gnomes and that it would be a great
idea! Bastard! These are some that caught my eye…(made super small for my viewing pleasure.)
My favourite - turtles - I'm not a turtlephobe
Finally we were safely back in the car and heading to
Donnybrook. There is some stunning property through the bush, covered in my
all-time favourite willow trees and of course the tall timbers. I fell in love
with this dam and park bench. One day….sigh…
We arrived in Donnybrook and the park was empty so the kids
had the run of the place for a while. Soon enough, it started to fill up though.
The temperature started to soar, the breeze died away and
then….in he strode. I picked my jaw up off of the ground and decided to watch
his technique. Maybe he could teach me a thing or two about push ups? ‘He’
being the Kelly Slater look alike who forgot to wear half of his clothes to the park. What a tease – I bet he knew the park would be full of
Mums like me interested to learn the correct technique for chin ups and push ups.
Unfortunately the show was soon over and the Brazilian backpacker left on
foot. I managed to 'accidentally' capture these while snapping the kids
having fun!
Phew...show over and it was time for an ice cream to cool
off before heading home. We spent the rest of the afternoon watching movies and
had a quick dip in the pool. Oh, and I was surprised to see this when I went
outside…
Perhaps I wasn't the only one to learn a thing or two from Kelly?
