Cold July Days

In between time indoors keeping the fire going, I've been running up klm's on my car checking out every suburb to help us decide whether we will stay 'local' long-term and where we might like to live. (We now know we want to move on from the schoolhouse when our lease ends, after ongoing issues with plumbing and water supply amongst other 'renting' frustrations - even though things are looking up now.) Oh - the properties we've seen, roads we've explored, real estate agents we've met! It's too big a discussion and decision and - getting nowhere but sleep deprived - I'm ready to give up thinking about it now. Phew (brush eyebrows).

Along the way, though, I've visited some stunning headlands and stretches of beach while Maxie has napped in the backseat, with realestate.com app open on the dashboard. The whales are traveling north presently and I think - well it's a stretch of my imagination - but I think I saw a pot of whales. One day, one day I'll get to see them up close!

This area of the NSW coast is described as 'very natural' and there really isn't much to do as far as PROVIDED children's playareas go; and when you are used to the Gold Coast and enormous parks in big supply, it's something to get used to. I'm yet to find a local playground to take the boys to. But who needs provided playgrounds, honestly. There are beachside dirt tracks to ride along, lookouts and lighthouse, quiet beaches to drive on and have a picnic, markets to discover, and shallow creeks to splash in. We are joining in on the occasional local playgroup session. And along with the big gardens at home with fruit trees for Dusty to swing from, there's more for the boys to do than they can keep up with while I chip away at my study and marketing work. 

Dusty has limitless energy these days so we are really grateful for his amazing preschool and the friends he is making there. 

Dusty's short day away gives Maxie a chance, finally, to catch some well earned ZZZ's...

Tim is already flat out with job requests for his excavating & slashing business.

So, having made the last big trip to the GC last weekend, we have no plans to drive the long distance for at least another month. It's really exhausted us driving up and down so frequently ... as much as we've wanted to catch up with friends and fam and collect stuff from m&d's, it's time for us to settle in to Valla, now. :)