finally a fan

 
  I can honestly say I am finally a fan of winter...Australian winters that is! We tried a new beach, Currumbin Beach, after a friend recommended it. The kids were up ridiculously early on Saturday. Most be something in the air here. They can't sleep past 6:30 most days! I am the 1st person to admit I like and require a good amount of sleep. I am not a morning person.
  So on our way to the beach all 3 kiddos fell asleep. There is a park area that is inland with a beach that is sheltered from the crashing waves of the ocean. We checked it out but opted for the crashing waves. The beach was fairly quiet. Plenty of room to roam, play soccer, and search for shells. This beach had flat beautiful shells. MA loved it and quickly had a large pile of keepers. EL is always on the hunt for purple ones. I even found 2 pieces of sea glass.

  On our way home we stopped at a friend's house that Matt works with. Their house was amazing. Right on a canal. The outdoor space was spectacular. The pool, a tiki hut with great couches, & a dock complete with crab cages and fishing poles. The kids feed the ducks and enjoyed a couple lollies. Their 2 daughters were fun and the kids hit it off. The adults enjoyed the view and a couple drinks as the sun set. Before we realized it, it was dark and past dinner time. So we loaded up in the car. We are looking forward to meeting up with them again!

  We decided the kids would never stay awake on the ride home so we needed to get some dinner before we got too far. The 1st place we saw that was convenient but not fancy was McDonald's (Maccas here). Our 1st official dinner that we all were at a restaurant sitting down since moving into the house- McDs. That means it has been almost 2 months of not going out to dinner. We have grabbed lunch out a couple places. A change for the better I think.

Cant get this type of burger in the States

  Sunday started bright and early again. After lunch, Matt took MA & DB to Southbank while I hung out at home with EL. She napped, I read a book and just enjoyed the quiet. Nicole called and we chatted for a bit. Matt and the kids wandered around, did some splashing, window shopping, and snuck in an afternoon ice cream treat. We ended the weekend with steak and circle potatoes (as DB now calls them) on the grill.