Off To Townsville

Boxing day was just spent packing because we were headed to Townsville the next day!  It actually turned out to be quite a blessing that Andrew got moved to Townsville, because he had more time off than he would have in Mount Isa, and we got to go on a fun holiday!

The kids were SO excited to leave, they love that they get to watch shows and eat snacks on our long drive (Although I feel like we've made things too easy for them with travelling, when I was younger we didn't get to watch shows while we drove! We had to entertain ourselves!)  It's funny, we usually leave early in the morning (4am) and the kids know they have to sleep until the first gas station, and then we set up the iPads and have breakfast - but they kept repeating this to us over and over as we were getting ready!  They're too cute.

Those cheeks!

I so wish we had a fun waterpark like this in Mount Isa!

Happy 9th anniversary!

On a walk to get gelato by the beach!

I was slightly paranoid that one of the kids was going to
fall in and get eaten by a croc!

It's so rare for Hazel to fall asleep in our arms anymore - Andrew was thrilled!
You can't really tell, but behind Andrew in the water were hundreds of turtles poking out their heads!

Party animal - New Years Eve 2018

Townsville has so many gorgeous parks all along the river and by the ocean too!
This was one of the kids favourites - Rossiter Park

It had gorgeous huge trees!  And this cool turtle to climb on

Our Own Little Christmas

This was our first Christmas alone as a family.  We've always been home for the holidays, except one year when Andrews parents came over and we all went to Perth to spend Christmas with Jills side of the family.  We were a little bit sad, but also a little bit excited to have a quiet and relaxing Christmas this year.

Charlie and Elly were quite concerned for a while that we don't have a chimney to hang our stockings on or for Santa to come down, but they were ok when I told them I never had a chimney growing up and we just put our stockings on the couch and Santa still found a way inside!

One good thing about having Christmas during the summer is all the yummy fruit in season! 

Our super "fancy" Christmas lunch

Drama Drama Drama!

So in the last week of November a group of people came in inspect the hospital, and more specifically to look at the surgery department to assess their ability to meet requirements for intern doctors.  Now everyone thought this would impact next years interns, and everyone working in surg and the previous interns who had done their rotations already gave great reviews on the Surgery department.  Everyone thought everything was ok.  BUT IT WASN'T!  Andrew got called into a head persons office on Friday morning (December 7) and was told that the accrediting body had revoked Mount Isa's surgery accreditation and that Andrew needed to start work in Townsville on Monday morning if he wanted to get all his hours/requirements for his intern year... 

So the kids and I come home from playgroup on Friday at around noon and Andrew is home - weird - shouldn't you be at work? NOPE we have to move to Townsville for the next 6 weeks.  So it was all dramatic for a few hours, with us trying to figure out what to do!  Do we all pack up and drive over tomorrow?  Do we let the hospital fly us all there and then ship our van over?  Does Andrew just go and I stay with the kids?  We had to find somewhere to say ASAP so the hospital could book it for us (And almost everything was sold out because it's school and Christmas holidays!)  

We ended up deciding that Andrew would fly out Sunday night and be there for 2 weeks, then fly home for Christmas and then we would all drive out together for the last 4 weeks - drama drama drama!  It was quite stressful for a bit but we came up with a good plan!  I was really dreading being alone with the kids for 2 weeks, but it actually went really well.  

It doesn't feel like Christmas at all!

Elly wanted to look like a princess to take daddy to the airport!

As soon as we got home Charlie built daddy's plane out of LEGO

We found a 3 class sing and grow program for the first week of holidays
that the kids just loved!  Hazel especially loved the instruments

The library hosted a Christmas craft day as well that the kids enjoyed 

We borrowed this triple arch rainbow from the toy library that the kids had so much fun with!

Hazel's first experience with corn on the cob was a success!  She LOVED it

I had decided to do "the summer of ABCs" to get Charlie more familiar with the
alphabet - first up was A and apple smiles!

My friend Joanna is getting into photography, and so we went out here one evening so she
could practise on the kids!  Charlie and Elly love being in front of the camera!

B day! 

She's too cute

Charlie dressed up as Baymax from Big Hero 6

D day we decorated ornaments!

Wise Men at Mainly Music

We built Es out of marshmallows for E day

Elly wanted a crown of bows to go pick up daddy at the airport

Making paper flowers for F day

Making and decorating sugar cookies

mmmm cafe rio beans!