We were all very excited waking on Saturday morning as today we were off to fly up to Buddina to see Boof & Nikki and meet baby Ella! We didn't really need to get too much ready as we prepared the night before, Marty just had to go park the van in the storage area. Mark drove us to the airport which was great of him and it saved us some cash too.
The plane rode was short and on time, the girls now getting used to their travel means (boat, car, plane, whatever goes). Marty again got to sit by himself, while l had to tend to the girls, don't know why l bothered taking the kindle on the plane! As soon as we arrived in Brisbane airport our jumpers were off! Thank god the weather is better, great leaving cold and crappy weather behind us for a while. We met Boof put front and the girls were so excited to see him. Big hugs and kisses before taking the drive to Buddina. We stopped off for lunch at a KFC, which l wouldn't normally write about but was quite funny as for the first time ever in my life l caught Marty totally checking out this chick! Was so funny seeing him not trying to get caught and when he saw that l saw, his face went so red!!! Anyway, we arrived at Boof and Nik's house and we were all so excited to get up to their apartment to meet Ella. We snuck in queitly in case she was asleep but thankfully she wasn't. I don't even think the girls saw Nikki, they were so wrapped to be meeting their new cousin, Baby Ella. She was gorgeous! Cuddles straight away as we all sat and admired her. The girls have her her Christmas pressie, the lion teddy and outfit. That arvo we had a great chill out, catching up on all the news and checking out all their renovations they had done to their apartment. Every chance Boo and Meg had they were at Ella's side checking her out, Meg was very fascinated in her.
On Sunday we took a drive to Moolooabah and had a walk by the foreshore. We checked out the surfers the girls had a ball playing on the playground. The mariner looked like there was a lot of cash sitting there in boats. Pity the water was brown stained from the recent QLD floods. Usually it's pristine blue. We settled for a refreshing ice cream before heading back to the apartment.
On Monday we had a home day, went for a run along the beach and had a swim in the pool with the girls. It was nice weather but the beach was a little stormy like with huge waves rolling in. We couldn't swim but Boof took the girls down the beach for a walk. He is so good with making time for them when we visit, l know they love being with him.
On Tuesday we decided to go check out Underwater World back at Mooloolabah. Was a little more expensive than l remember, $100 per family! It was a very overcast day and as we pulled up it started to rain down buckets!!! Great day to be inside keeping the kids amused with marine life. Boo and Meg loved checking out the huge sting rays in the walk thru aquarium. Meg especially got excited when the great white shark swam above her head. Was funny seeing Boof holding Ella and getting Nik to take photos of her near the fish. We used to do the same thing, just funny seeing someone else doing it. It's not like she'd remember being there! Again, been there done that. We then went and watched the seal show and Meg absolutely was enthralled. She didn't take her eyes off the show. She got so upset when the seal pushed the girl into the water (fully part of their show). So funny and cute. After spending a few hours, we headed back to the car. On the way out we came across these funny mirrors. You know the ones that alter you shape and figure. We all nearly wet ourselves from laughing at Boof. It made his chin look so long on this short body, belly aching laughs!!!
On our last day, we headed to the beach for Boof to so some kite surfing. Hopefully we would get a chance to see him have a go before we had to take off to the hairdressers. It was, again, another stormy day. We cooked some snags on the bbq, luckily finishing them off before we were caught in a down pour. After lunch, Nik, the girls and l went and had a quick haircut. Not badly priced, $60 for the three of us. Meg loved sitting up on the high stool looking in the mirror while getting her hair cut. Funny to see them doing normal things instead of our bush on a walk or something. Anyway, by the time we had a coffee and got back to the boys, they'd already packed up the kite surfing stuff. Pity we didn't get to see him but they said it was too windy to do much anyway. We then made our way back to Mooloolabah and again got caught in the rain as we went and checked out this new business, Yoghurt World. Lucky it was a one off special treat because after $19.00 just for Boo, Meg and l, we couldn't afford to so this everyday. The girls had a ball in this place, their eyes bulging with excitement as they got to choose different flavours of frozen yoghurt then decorate it with fruit, chocolate and lollies. I had to be mean mummy and hold them back a bit as the price was set in weight. It was yummy, glad we gave it try. After our sugar fix we went to get back into the cars to head home when another huge down pour of rain came, unfortunately setting in. Meg loved running to the car, we all got drenched, even baby Ella! We got home and dried off then had some fish and chips for dinner, again the girls loving this treat... Nikki ended the day with giving Boo, Meg and l pedicures. The girls absolutely loved being pampered, and l must admit, so did l! So nice to have a beauty therapist in the family....
On Thursday, our day of departure, we had a nice morning being treated to bacon and eggs for breaky. Boof and Nik always feed us like kings when we visit. We all tried to get as much cuddle time in with Ella as we could, five nights just isn't enough time. Before we knew it our visit was over and Boof drove us back to Brissy to catch the plane back to Adelaide. Trip too quick!!!
Thanks Boof and Nik for having us and showing us such a great time. It was so wonderful to meet your beautiful daughter, 'baby Ella'. She is absolutely gorgeous. You are both doing a fantastic job with transitioning into parent hood and we completely understand how hard it is. We were a little surprised to hear her belting out her cries so much when we arrived, been a while since we'd been around a baby. Was glad when she started to get used to us and gave us those amazing big smiles. Still cant believe she took so long to get used to her Aunty Bell. So happy for you both and can't wait to come back and see you all soon!
Bell Xxx