How to make 11 days go insanely fast: Part II

6) Jan 4: 

The pattern from the previous two days (how hot and humid they were) continued, yet this day topped them all so we decided to stay home and turn on the air con and/or take several dips in the swimming pool to keep cool.  John's dad also arrived this day, so that was nice to stay in and allow him time to relax after his long flight.

7) Jan 5:
We had a BBQ/party for all of the family this day.  We grilled snags and rissoles and lamp chops, and had a piñata filled with candy for the kids.

All the cousins together for a photo

Did I mention the piñata was for all the kids, young and old? :)

8) Jan 6:
Another hot day kept us cooped up at home.  Luckily it didn't get as hot as before.  We were treated to some thunderstorms that night as a cool change came through and helped cool down the weather for the rest of our visit.

9) Jan 7:
We headed back into the hinterland for a visit to Mary Cairncross park.  There we had coffee and a snack, and then took the rainforest walk.  Due to a wrong turn, we took the entire walk (it isn't that long, but still ended up longer than we planned!).  During the walk (in which most of us were in flip flops (recall we hadn't planned on too long of a walk!), several interesting things happened.  First, a bird pooped on my shoe right above my toe.  It narrowly missed my skin, just landing on the toe edge of my flip flop.  Thanks to having baby wipes I took care of that quickly enough.  Then, later in the walk, a bird landed on Louise's head!   Finally, near the end of the end of the walk, Sarah found a leach on her foot!  Bleh!  The positive sides of the walk were that we saw pademelons (a type of wallaby) and heard many birds, including one that sounds like a baby cry called the Green Catbird.  After our walk we took some photos by the overlook to the Glasshouse Mountains (although haze obscured the view) and had a picnic in the park.

First stopped for a coffee in the cafe

Walking through the rainforest

Family photo with the Glasshouse Mountains behind us (in the haze)

Three generations

Poppy and Emma

10) Jan 8: 
We had a girls day of shopping during which we got coffee and sausage rolls at a great cafe and bakery called Banjo's.  In addition to tasty sausage rolls, this cafe also happened to have the best vanilla slice that I had while I was in Australia this past trip.  I already miss the great coffee and yummy bakery treats!

11) Jan 9: 
And then, just like that, it was our last full day in Australia before we had to leave.  We spent most of the day packing, but we did take a morning trip to the beach so that Evan could get one more chance to play in the ocean, we took one last (quick) swim in the pool, and we met all of the family at a local tavern for dinner.  Unfortunately, it was quite windy at the beach that morning, so we went to the riverside beach, which didn't have waves.  It was still a fun time because Evan got to see "crabby's" (as he calls them) and play in the sand and swim.  Overall, a great way to spend our last day in summer down under.

Our morning at the beach included play time for Evan, and nap time for Emma

The last swim (left) and Nana cuddling her granddaughters at dinner (right)

We had such a great time.  It was so hard to say goodbye.  We hope to make it back again soon, but definitely want to make sure we are again able to stay for several weeks because we know firsthand just how insanely fast the time goes.

Saying goodbye at the airport