Weird Easter…

You know how you have those holidays throughout the year that you treasure more than others? Well, Easter is one of those holidays for me. And I think I can confidently speak for the rest of the Circus and say it’s one of their favourite holidays too. It’s not even because there is chocolate involved!

*Although that does help 😉

So, with that knowledge in hand, we thought we might have what will be our first major bout of homesickness over the weekend. The Easter long weekend. Almost a non-event in Bangkok. Well actually, pretty much a total non-event in Bangkok….

A normal Easter for us in Australia? Well, the long long weekend would usually consist of egg hunts, BBQs and catch ups galore with our friends and family, hideous amounts of chocolate consumed (Easter chocolate totally doesn’t count), fires and marshmallows, new winter flannelette pjs for the kids (and usually us adults too!), floured EB paw prints, earlier sunsets and a change into the cooler months of Autumn (my absolute favourite season). And if it isn’t all of the above, it’s four days spent camping (and doing some of the above!)…

So, you can see why we thought everyone, including Marc and I, would be feeling out of sorts and missing all our favourite people more than normal. It doesn’t help that we also have a whole of of birthdays around Easter, so the catch ups become even more special when it isn’t only about the chocolate.

Friday.  Good Friday.  All social media is filled with Easter fun and baking and people starting their holidays.  I actually had to stop looking…  It sucked.  And I started feeling sorry for myself, which isn’t a great place to be.  Thankfully, and completely by accident, Marc had an annual leave day so we got to just hang out while the Clowns were at school.  Hello $13 hour long massage and an uninterrupted coffee date…!

Saturday was ordinary and then weird.  We hit up the Ekamai Organic Farmer’s Market to bring home Ella’s weight in french breads and did all the usual Saturday things.  We didn’t even leave out a carrot for the EB.  Nor did we put out the few eggs we did manage to find for the Clowns.  They would have melted overnight!  Weird.  Really weird parenting moment.  I imagine that’s what it will feel like when we don’t do Santa presents anymore…  Hopefully that’s a long time away though!Platter dinner for Saturday night to fuel up for Uno Wars!

Sunday.  Easter Sunday.  When I had a mild panic that we didn’t wake up to three crazy excited kids who had discovered what the EB had left for them.  Ahhh nope!  It was the complete opposite actually!  They totally understood that Thai’s don’t celebrate Easter, as a gross generalisation, so it’s not a recognised holiday for them.  That’s why they didn’t see aisles and aisles of chocolates in the shops, or adverts for Easter services, or egg hunts in the park etc etc… And they really took it in their stride.  They were super happy with their two small token eggs each and they were excited that we had found some Easter activity to go to for the afternoon, and that we let them eat ginormous chocolate croissants for lunch.  Winning!

So that brings me to today.  Easter Monday.  The Clowns have gone to school and Marc has gone to work, like any normal Monday.  Today has been OK.  Productive.  Good even.

*Not counting that I may have broken the washing machine… oops!

We survived the weekend that was.  Without tantrums or whinging or sadness or homesickness.  I am chalking that up to a win for the Circus.  Marc’s only comment all weekend, funnily enough, wasn’t even about this particular weekend.  He’s already thinking months ahead and mentioned that he is very thankful that our besties (Hi Mac’s!!)  are coming to stay for Christmas and New Year, because that holiday season has the potential to turn into a homesick train wreck!

Whatsapp-ing the Mac’s to sing happy birthday to Rob!

Mx

Brag-ara 2015

We packed up and took the Circus to Bargara for a whole seven days this week just gone.  And it was THE BEST!

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Beach Clowns

We had booked and planned this break for nearly six months, with family friends who we like to go camping with on an (almost) regular basis, the Hunter’s.  So we made up a holiday group of nine – us five plus Sarah, Brett, Grace and Little O (Owen).  Plenty of people to play with and hang out with, which always seems to work well with our two families.  Camping with the Hunter clan is easy.  You know, when you have those friends that you know whatever tantrum the kids are throwing, where quiet time apart is OK and happens naturally, or whatever they want to do next, it’s all good?  Yeah, that’s the Hunter’s for us Harvey’s.  Despite the ages differences (9 down to 3), all five kids get along so well and are a pleasure to watch.  I really hope, and I’m sure they will, stay great friends.

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Owen doing some of the hard yards for the dam building project.

To say I was looking forward to this week at the beach was an understatement.

Christmas?  New Year?  Nup.  Well, yes… but nope! Bring on Bargara!

A whole week away with the beach just across the road, plenty of walking/riding paths, a skate park, the beach, a coffee shop, drinks with dinner, the beach, scootering, ice blocks on the grass, did I mention the beach?!  In a cabin this time, so we were a little more comfortable (read – no sand in beds!!!!!).  Heaven!

So we spent the week swimming, bike riding, running around, swimming again, turtle watching (that’s another post altogether), and most importantly, catching up on some decent family time that really hasn’t happened at all this year.  A week of no distractions was awesome.  And just what we all needed, I think.  Marc is back to work again today and having that week away right before going back to work hopefully means he feels a little bit rested and rejuvenated for the full on year he has ahead.

The brag-ara bit?  It was a week for firsts and random achievements for all the kids.  Which, if you follow my instagram account, you would have been spammed by all my holiday pics.  Luckily I wasn’t on a social media ban for the week!

Ella learnt how to ride with no training wheels on her bike!  And by the end of the week could start off on her own, she still needs to work on her braking though….
All three Clowns learnt how to ride the waves with boogie boards.  And loved it so much that we made a trip into Bundaberg to get them boards of their own.
Little O learnt to use his brakes, not his shoes to stop with.
And Grace, she learnt to rider her scooter more confidently!

To put each day in Owen’s words, “that was the BEST DAY EVER!!”

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I’ve never been sun burnt on my butt before! (And never will again….!)
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Reuben watching the surf.
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This face. Every time she caught a wave all the way back in. Priceless! (This is also how my butt got sun burnt…  Helping kids catch the shallower waves.  The things we do..!)  
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The boys and the kids. They built an epic structure, only to be gleefully stomped all over. I think Marc and Brett were secretly upset that all their hard work was demolished in seconds…

Now, how can we top that?!

Oh, yeah.. that’s right… by coming crashing back to reality with 637852 loads of washing and a welcoming water-logged Brisbane…!
And planning our January 2016 Hunter/Harvey trip!!

Mxo