Enjoying the rest of our stay in Darwin

Thursday had rolled around it seemed so fast and we started the day very slowly, even treating ourselves to a cooked breakfast.  I mean we need to eat everything out of our fridge and freezer before we leave as we are not going to have the fridge on whilst we are over in Singapore.   Then Hamish’s last on air lesson for the week and a farewell to the Lonergan's who were heading off to continue on their travels.  We have been a bit slack with the school so we wanted to focus on getting heaps done before we went out for the day but Hamish really wasn’t in the mood for any.  However we persevered and got there in the end. 

Hamish and his mate James.

Saying goodbye to the Lonergan family.

When we did head out we went straight into the city to check out the mall.  It really wasn’t big and worth the trip but there was a lovely coffee shop.  We did also manage to post all the birthday presents.  So back home we headed as I had dinner plans with my friend Nici.  I managed to give her the five second tour of our home and she treated the kids to a box full of lollypops.  You should have seen Hamish’s facial expression when he opened the box!  Thank you Nici the kids love (and will still love for ages yet) them. 

Had a small win with Kayla letting me do her hair.

Dinner out with Nici was fantastic.  It is great how you cannot see someone for nearly 3 years and you can just pick up where you left from and just chat and chat and chat.  The meal out was really nice too, but I can’t for the life of me remember the name of the place, but on Thursday nights they do two for the price of one steaks.  I got back to the caravan just after 11pm and was so hyped up I didn’t get to sleep until about midnight but I still managed to have the best night sleep.  Obviously I passed out into a deep sleep.

I can’t believe how fast our time here is going.  Already it was Friday which meant the start of Jason’s days at the Davis Cup Tennis.  So in order to keep up our good run with school we tried to get the two harder lessons done and then we headed off to drop Jason off.  At least he wasn’t going to go until the middle of the day so I would get a break beforehand.  Once we had dropped Jason off I had a list of stuff I needed to get for our trip to Singapore.  Not feeling adventurous I headed to the little shopping centre back near the caravan park.  There I pretty much struggled to find what I needed but did get a few things.

Some of Jason's tennis action shots.

They make it look so easy.

I thought buying a dressy summer boys top would be easy in Darwin.  I mean it isn’t like they get a winter here, but still there were only t-shirts and all dressy shirts were long sleeved.  So the kids and I returned to the caravan and finished school for the day before heading to the pool as a reward.  I made myself comfy on one of the chairs whilst the kids had a paddle around.  I even got myself a nice mocktail (I did have to drive to pick up Jason) however Kayla thought this was a great idea and came and sat on my lap and proceeded to drink most of it on me.

Just as I was getting the kids out Jason text to say the match was over and he was ready to be picked up.  So we rushed back to the van, got the kids out of their wet togs and headed off to pick up Jason.  He was a little disappointed as both Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios had both lost their singles matches on the first day.  From there it was pretty much back to the van to see what on earth we could cook up for dinner.  Whilst we are away, we are storing the caravan and rather than leave the fridge on gas we thought it was the opportune time to give it a good clean out and defrost it all.  That way we can turn it off whilst we are gone and not waste the gas.

So my plans to go shopping for something nice for me to wear in Singapore on Saturday did not go quite as planned.  Jason decided that he would rather see the doubles match rather than the two singles matches as it could be Lleyton Hewitt’s last match in the Davis Cup.  I thought it worked out better for us anyway as that way he would be around all day Sunday to help clean out the van and pack the bags all ready to put the caravan into storage Monday morning.  So off we went to drop Jason off again after finishing some school.  This time I decided I would be adventurous and head to the big shopping centre. 

It was an easy drive and not too far at all.  We managed to score an easy park and I think that is about where the good day ended and I turned into a harassed mother.  I can’t say Hamish and Kayla were naughty, but shopping for clothes for yourself with two kids is really something that is hard to achieve.  I would love to know how some people do it if they do.  It wasn’t helped by the fact that I was having an off day in regards to my appearance so felt like everything I was trying on just wasn’t nice on me at all.  After a while the kids and I were getting over it all so we stopped for some lunch and a bit of school.  You know because everyone does school in a shopping centre food court.

Feeling rejuvenated I decided to keep trying.  Really I shouldn’t have because I had no more success and just bought something for the sake of having something nice to wear.  So in the end I decided to get the money exchanged for the trip.  Of course I couldn’t just get the money out and the nearest bank atm for us was all the way back down the other end.  So off we went, I was determined we could get it done and thankfully the kids were still obliging.  Eventually we got the money exchanged so then a quick stop for snacks on the plane and we were out of there. 

Hamish enjoying his swim in the pool.

Kayla was keen to let Dad do all the work.

It just happened to time nicely with the end of tennis for the day so on the way home we picked up Jason.  Then it was a bit of school and a swim in the pool for the kids.  Another whipped up dinner using the last of our meat and trying to use up as many vegetables as possible before heading back into the city to the deckchair cinema.  We were off to see Paddington.  It was a little chillier than we had expected so luckily Jason could run back and grab the picnic blanket out of the back of the car.  Kayla fell asleep half way through the movie but Hamish loved it and really enjoyed it.

Kayla is pretty happy about being there.

Not a bad spot at all.

Sometimes as parents you feel like you hit the jackpot, and we certainly did when we got home as both kids were sound asleep in the car and could be transferred into bed without any dramas.  Mind you I wasn’t far behind them as I was exhausted form the last two days and knew in my head that we had a lot to get through the next day!  You would think we have had enough overseas trips now to know what we are doing, but I must admit that normally I am way more prepared then we were at that point in time. 

I can’t say we got off to a good start on Sunday.  There just seemed so much to do and we were getting nowhere fast.  I would try and pack things and then Kayla would open the suitcase and start unpacking things.  This I guess is where it is easier in a house as there would normally be a spare room where I could shut the door and also have everything laid out but of course space is limited here so I just have to make do with what I have.  Jason also finds out he needs more clothing so it looks like we are heading to the shops again and I must admit there are a few other items I found we still had to get.  I hate being this disorganised.

Just before we head to the shops Jason breaks the news to me that he wants to go to the tennis today (given that Australia were alive in the Davis Cup tie), even though the agreement was when he bought the tickets that he would only go for two of the three days.  I was really left with no choice, if I said no then I am the bad wife but if I say yes then there goes all the jobs that we needed to get done that afternoon.  Or more so jobs I needed to do but couldn’t do whilst teaching Hamish the last of the school and looking after the two of them.  So once home Jason did one more school lesson before heading out to the tennis and agreed to do a lot more once he got home that afternoon.   

I can’t say I really got anything achieved at all that afternoon.  I did manage to finish the washing and hang it out, and then fold and bring it all back in.  Then I finished Hamish’s lesson but even when my sisters called for a chat it was chaotic as Kayla kept going outside and riding her scooter on the road and Hamish kept wanting me back inside.  I have no idea how we are going to be ready by 10am tomorrow.  Okay really I do, but it means that we will be up late putting in a big night to ensure everything is all sorted and I can start this holiday relaxed.  I am thinking it is going to take me a whole week to unwind. 

Pre-match photo.

Someone looks pretty happy with the win.

Mind you when Jason got home he was all hyped from the awesome tennis and wanted to go out.  I was an exhausted mess who could only see what needs to be done around the van.  I did manage to quickly finish defrosting the freezer, a job that had taken me all day as I couldn’t fully work on it so would do a bit here and there (and the fact it was still on as we needed the fridge).  We did eventually drag ourselves out for dinner.  Well we kind of had to as we really needed something to eat and there was nothing decent at our place.

We choose a nice place that had good reviews on trip advisor.  It is called La Beach and you can just get takeaway and sit on the grass and watch the sunset.  Jason said how he felt like he was already in holiday mode, I on the other hand was not as the million jobs waiting back in the van for us were still there and still needed doing.  So after we had finished dinner we headed straight back to get a start on them.  I caught up on the blog whilst Jason put the kids to sleep.  Then it was the scanning, printing and emailing of important documents and backing up of others.

Finally we managed to double check and finish all the packing before cleaning out the fridge and actually getting to go to sleep.  I am not a person to leave things to the last minute so I have no idea how others manage to do it!  Bring on the holiday I say, this Mum needs some time to unwind and put her feet up uninterrupted.

Who can say no to a coffee from a place like this.

So Monday was a bit crazy to start with, well until we had drop off the caravan at the Coromal Dealership.  Then we decided to head into the city to do the Chinese Museum.  We had put the address in our navigator but it led us to a coffee shop instead.  So not ones to say no to a good coffee we decided to indulge.  Once back in the car we tried a different way to the Chinese Museum and we found it, only problem being though was that it wasn’t open on Mondays!  Okay then, so next on the list was to visit the Botanical Gardens and let the kids run wild there for a bit.  They had a nice big play area for them with more nature play than an actual playground.

The kids having fun in the Botanical Gardens.

Boat races down the creek.

Someone made it to the top of the tower.

Down the slide she comes.

After this we decided to go and check into the motel near the airport and just chill for a bit.  We ended up not leaving the motel.  Well Jason popped out to get dinner as we both felt like a salad and the motel restaurant didn’t do salads for dinner!  Eventually we got the kids to bed, did a last minute double check of everything and set our alarm for the very early start the next day!  Bring on holidays from holidays!