A WEEKEND AWAY FOR ANZAC WEEKEND.

We decided to take the caravan away for our last long weekend until the end of the year...
It was made even more special because we were able to take Sarah and Willow with us...
It meant a whole lot more work as we had to set the annex up for the three days,  but the fun we had, and the joy we got from seeing Willow enjoy every moment of her time away more than made up for it...

We spent most of Anzac Day on the beach....  We played on the beach in the morning.  Willow is at an age now where she really enjoys fulling her bucket with water and playing in the sand...

We started the day with an early morning cuppa sitting out the front of the van... sets the scene for a very relaxing day....

Enjoying the great outdoors...

Willow was very happy to wander around us, and had fun trying to turn the handle of the wheel on the van.  It is amazing the simple things that keep children fascinated... This is what I love about having a toddler in the house...

This kept her amused for some time...

After we did the dishes and the house work (all of about 10 minutes) it was time to head to the beach...

Such an independent little miss....

When we got to the road, Steve decided to put her on his shoulders... There was no objections...
She loves her Poppy...

Heading down the track to the beach...

Perfect day in Paradise

We couldn't have asked for better weather... It was the perfect day... Lovely blue skies, gentle ocean breeze, and the temperature was just right to be on the beach.

Checking out a soldier crab

 Steve found a soldier crab in the sand, and Willow was quite fascinated by it... Not quite fascinated enough though to hold it herself....  After checking it out, it was time to build sand castles....

She is old enough now to know how to shovel sand into her bucket

 She needed her Poppy to help her and then turn it out...

A sandcastle.... what to do with a sand castle..

 Well what do you do with a sandcastle... You step on it of course... Willow loved doing this...

Fun on the beach with Mummy and Poppy

 I ended up going for a nice long walk along the beach.  I find it hard to stand in the one spot for any amount of time.... It pinches a nerve in my back and I end up in a lot of pain... As long as I keep moving, I can cope...
I did come back and I enjoyed this little play with Willow on the beach.

Playing with Willow on the beach

Building a sandcastle and making a moat

 Willow was quite happy to fill her bucket with water and bring it back to Sarah time and time again with water to fill their moat...

 Then it was time to teach Willow how to drizzle sand...
Ah the memories this bought back of our kids childhood.
We used to do this with them all the time....

Teaching Willow how to drizzle sand...

Sandcastle building...

The bucket carrier

How impressive is their castle

 She had such a lovely play on the beach that it completely tired her out...
We went home and gave her a bite to eat for lunch and it was down for a sleep.

Curled up with a book in her hand.

The poor little sweetheart, she was so tired, she just fell asleep where she was sitting and just flopped down into her cot....
After her sleep it was time to head back down to the beach again.
Meanwhile, whilst Willow was asleep Chloe and Penny arrived down and they were keen to join us on the beach.

Off to the beach we go again....

Willow got so filthy on the beach this morning that we decided we wouldn't take the bucket and spade back down to the beach, instead we would let her take her ball. 
It was beautiful down here this afternoon....

Heading back down to the beach...

So thankful that we have access to this beautiful spot..

It doesn't take much to be content... All you need to do is appreciate the beauty all around...
I feel so blessed when I look around me and see the marvelous creation.  What an awesome God that he would bless us with such beauty... Even these perfect balls on sand on the beach amaze me...  That these little crabs,  can make so many perfectly shaped balls, only to have the tide come in and wash them all away, and then come out and remake them all over again...  Never ceases to amaze me...

The kite surfers

These kite surfers kept us amused for a couple of hours also... They looked pretty spectacular  as they drifted around the afternoon sky... We watch them for ages...

Kite surfers enjoying Kinka Beach

The girls enjoyed each others company and wandered down along the beach together

Sisters enjoying time together...

We spent ages on the beach just enjoying the beauty around us...

Enjoying Kinka

Penny had a blast...
She loved being on the beach..
She loved chasing the birds, and spent a good hour or more racing up and down the sand dunes and pockets of water that lay behind the sand dunes.  she was hilarious to watch and every so dirty when she got back...

Penny having an absolute ball...

We played with Willow on the beach... she loved chasing after the ball and we were trying to teach her how to kick it like in a soccer game...  she would kick it and then chase after it to pick it up and throw it to us....

Playing ball with Willow on the beach...

Playing ball with Willow

She was fascinated by me throwing it in the air...

Willow was hilarious... She loved to watch me throw the ball up into the air... She would get the ball and hold it up above her head as if to throw it, but she just couldn't co ordinate the actually throwing it up in the air... She has managed throwing the ball to you now...
The others all went for a little walk up the beach whilst I wrote a message in the sand for Willow for her Daddy. 
I am really feeling for Colin,  I know he is missing his girls something dreadful,  they are missing him something terrible also, so we wanted to let him know that even though we are having a lovely time, he is never far from our thoughts....

Messages for Daddy

Sarah had to write a message to Colin from Penny also....

Penny misses Colin also...

 Got some more lovely shots of this kite surfer and his kite on the beach... It really was great to watch them....

Kite surfing on Kinka Beach...

 Willow and Penny loved chasing after the sea gulls also... So many of them

Sea gulls at Kinka

 The sun had gone down by the time we headed home...

Heading home...

 We were all feeling pretty relaxed and none of us felt like cooking dinner, so we ended up grabbing some fish and chips from the little take away shop just down the road from the van park...
Perfect end to the perfect day... It was great having both the girls come down... Just missed Pete, Maria and Colin....