Help - there's a Rebel in my coffee!!

There really is a Rebel in my coffee - a Lego one...

The rebel force attacked the Imperial mummy mountain and one fell off - kersplash! - into my coffee. I imagine he probably suffered third degree burns as the coffee had just been heated up in the microwave again, hence the coffee rings! He then went and had a nice bath in the sink and ended up going for a boat ride in the lid to daddy's mouthguard container!! Oh to have such an imagination...!

A quiet Sunday morning...?!

'Twas a quiet Sunday morning and all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse,
WHEN (said with bated breath)...

All of a sudden my eyelids were peeled back and a little voice said, "Are you awake yet Mummy?" After trying to pretend I wasn't, and a few groans from the lump next to me, we departed for the kitchen and a very early breakfast. Well that took all of 10 minutes...now what do I do with my boy?

A desire on his part to "recycle", and a desire on my part to keep the rest of the family asleep, coupled with some supplies from various cupboards , a roll of sticky tape and some stretched creativity muscles resulted in...

A rubbish man...

A recycling bin...

A rubbish truck...

A petrol station...

And a very happy six year old.

Plus a very grateful husband for a bit of a sleep-in after his first hockey game of the season the day before.

Our Shark Bay Holiday - Ocean Park Aquarium

Well, today has been cold, wet, and a real taste of winter (althought they are promising 28 degrees and sunny for Sunday), so I thought I'd look back at some warmer photos again.

This was the afternoon of Day 2. We went to visit a place called Ocean Park. I cannot speak highly enough of it. All the creatures are in open ponds and tanks that you can look in (except the stonefish!!). You join a group and go round in a circuit with a VERY knowledgeable guide, and you can go round as many times as you like.

All the creatures are captured in the local waters off the coast of the park, kept for a few months and then released - including the sharks. Check out these photos...these first ones are lemon sharks cruising just below the board walk we were on - the guide was dangling a fish head in.

This beauty below is a female tiger shark - about 3 metres long. She had been caught four days before and had not fed since. Apparently tiger sharks don't generally feed until about 10 days after capture. She had been circling the outside and then suddenly lunged for the fish head, grabbed it and shook until she snapped the fishing line!! Everyone cheered!

All the viewing tanks are open and the kids here were watching clown fish, starfish, and other local species from the reef. They even had some three year old loggerhead turtles - which you would never normally see because the stay out in the deep ocean until they come ashore to lay eggs.

A wonderful place to spend an afternoon.

Our Shark Bay Holiday - Morning of Day 1

Well Day 2 really, as Day 1 was spent driving up to Shark Bay. For those who don't know, Shark Bay is a World Heritage area, located about 800km north of Perth. About 10 hours drive including stops. This was our first holiday as a complete family since we left Tom Price a year ago.

We spent the first morning in and around the Francois Peron National Park, which includes the beautiful resort of Monkey Mia. If you get up early enough (we didn't), you can watch the feeding of the dolphins on the beachfront. The rangers feed the mothers and calves up to three times, first thing in the morning. They are wild dolphins that have been coming into the bay for years. We arrived just as the mothers were herding the calves back out to deeper water - beautiful.

So the kids jumped in for a paddle...

And watched the tour boat coming in and going out...

Relaxed on the sand...

And buried themselves - as kids do!

Followed by a lunch of cold sausages in the carpark...

Then we let the tires down and went four-wheel driving in the National Park. The first bit it easy and takes you to the old Peron Homestead - the peninsula used to be a sheep station. The whole peninsula is now fenced off with an electric fence and they are removing all the goats, sheep, foxes, feral cats and rabbits.

Then it gets into the soft sand and there are lots of tracks that take you to remote beaches and camping spots. We drove the short 10km track to Big Lagoon...

It was great to blow the dust out of the fourbie, having not used it for anything but city driving for a while. We had a wander and then drove back out. The kids had a snack...

While Dad reinflated the tires.

A wonderful morning was had by all - even if the older two weren't all that appreciative of the bumps in the tracks!!