Despite the hurricane that followed my parents to New Zealand they still saw a lot and had a good time! We were sure happy to have them back though, Charlie and Elly love having visitors.
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| She is the cutest! I think these next few pictures are from before they left!! |
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| These kids love picking up big rocks! |
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| So strong! |
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| A day or two after my parents come back we headed south to see Springbrook National Park - unfortunately some of the places were closed because of the hurricane that passed through, roads and bridges were washed out and everything! Luckily we still got to see some things! |
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| This trail to Purling Brook Falls was actually closed, but it didn't seem too dangerous so we hopped the fence.. |
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| Cheeky boy holding back his smile! |
 I I had to get Charlie to recreate this picture, the original is one of my favourites! He is getting so big! Original is from April 6, 2015 and the copycat is from April 10, 2017 |
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| Of course Elly wanted to get in on the fun! |
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| Purling Brook Falls |
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| Next on the list was the "Best Of All Lookouts" - it is a really neat path to the lookout, past some Antarctic Beech trees! |
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| At this point it had already been a long day! Charlie was ready for a rest |
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| The lookout - you can see the ocean and into NSW (I personally don't think it's the best of all lookouts, but it's pretty good!) |
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| There are also really great rocks to play on up there |
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| Elly is obsessed with her Teddy! |
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| Hide and Seek! I was a bit nervous he'd find a snake in here... |
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We stayed the night on the Gold Coast - Burleigh Heads - at an AirBnB.
The place had an awesome pool and hot tub which the kids went crazy for.
We didn't stay on the beach long so we could go to the pool! |
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| The next morning we kept driving to Byron Bay - man is that place so packed, I swear every time I go it's just busier and busier! And the free parking place we scored last time has been turned into paid parking! But it was full anyways so it didn't really matter. We managed to find a free spot on the other side of the lighthouse and took a fun little walk up - Charlie did awesome! |
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Grandma and Grandpa went on the lighthouse tour while we hung around.
Charlie was so upset he couldn't go up too! It's hard being little |
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| Yes, this was totally staged and Elly was not happy about it! |
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| It was super windy up at the lighthouse! |
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| Charlie got a ride on the way down! |
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| I got a lady to take a picture, but she missed the lighthouse.... |
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| So I had to take a selfie! |
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We figured we had enough time to play at the beach for a bit before leaving and the kids loved it!
We weren't planning on swimming so we didn't get out the kids swimming suits.... |
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| But they couldn't resist the water! We took over a little pool some people had left behind! |
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| It was was a great little trip and my parents got to see a bit more of this diverse country! |
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On the last day my parents had we decided to go back to Southbank and eat at Nandos!
(It was also convenient I had to go downtown to pick up my visa for China!) |
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| Charlie is a little monkey! He is such a good climber! |
And then it was over! It was so nice to have my parents come a visit, and have Charlie and Elly get to know them better. It was really hard to say goodbye since we don't know when we'll see them again. Andrew has been accepted into the Rural Generalist Pathway here in Queensland, and that means 5 more years in Australia! The last (almost) 4 years have gone pretty quick so hopefully these next ones will too.
Thanks Mom and Dad for a great time! You should come back soon!
I I had to get Charlie to recreate this picture, the original is one of my favourites! He is getting so big! Original is from April 6, 2015 and the copycat is from April 10, 2017
