Ekka

It's Ekka week in Brisbane.

It's also our year to go - we go every second year.

But nobody wants to go - except Louisa and Max - who want to go desperately.

Some serious sidetracking was in order. So on Friday (Pine's show day) Roger cut shields out of plywood, and Louisa and Max sanded and painted.

Then we gathered the rest of the family and Lee & Joan and walked across the Goodwill bridge to the city Botanic Gardens for a picnic afternoon tea.

Jesse and Louisa made weekender biscuits, chocolate slice and puff pastry kabana thingys. We took fruit and water and Joan brought a flourless chocolate cake from Jocelyns Provisions.

We ate, we rested, we climbed trees.

Roger kicked Max's football into a tree - there were a few tense moments. But after ripping a frond off the palm tree and using it as a poker Roger got the ball down. (I am not really sure he should be allowed in Botanical Gardens.)

There was an hysterically funny but probably-should-be private moment involving Max, the toilet and a bunch of bamboo.

Late in the afternoon Thomas and Alec left to go the Elders quorum bowling activity and the rest of us walked back across the bridge and went to Lefkas for dinner.

Mission accomplished.

West

Alec said "one weekend soon I am going to drive west as far as I can, camp the night and come back the next day."

I said "great idea - let's all do it this weekend."

Peet said "I can take the day off school." (Peet can always take the day off school.)

So after a little bit of schedule re-arranging and roof rack buying we headed west.

First stop was Toowomba so Alec could put the roof on the chlorine pit that is one of the last things to do at the Gowrie land.

It's spectacular. Louisa and Max played on the swings while Peet did his maths homework - the teacher hates him and gives only him too much homework apparently!

Then we headed west.

The newsagent in St George told Roger that we could find a place to camp on the stock route on the way to the Beardon Dam. (They also laughed at us and wished him luck with the cold night predicted.) So we called in for a quick look at the Dam and a toilet visit to be completely blunt.

Then we found our spot. Beside this gorgeous river (which was actually a beautiful Australian brown.) With not another living soul in sight.

We cleared a spot for a fire

collected fire wood

and lit the fire with one match - and it burned a beauty all night till we doused it heavily since there was masses of dry grass everywhere and Louisa was nervous.

While I put a camp oven dinner of pork chops and veges together the tents got set up and chairs were put out, Alec's swag was rolled out and a teepee strapped together to hang a torch from.

Then we sat back to bathe in the moonlight (which was the closest we came to bathing) and listen to the noisy stillness - which we broke often with long laughter. (Max thought of a great game - someone jumps over the fire while he sits beside it with a water pistol full of oil - to squirt into the fire - and we all watch the jumper really jump. Roger said 'right 20 years old before you go camping with friends', some one else chimed in '35', then '50'. Max: 'you can still pull a trigger when you're 50.')

Marshmallow roasting, camp fire talking and prayers, then crawling into tents. The girls tent was a bit luxurious - we took a crisp white cotton sheet, a doona to go under the sheet and a feather doona in a white cotton cover to make up our queen size air mattress and felt a bit like princesses snuggled up there together. The boys tent was - well - not as refined. There was lots of 'Oh Peet you're disgusting' followed by raucous laughter from that tent. Alec slept in his swag - and if there will be one big winner from this camping trip it will probably be a fortunate swag maker since swags are now at the top of everyones list of wants.

I was woken up by Max singing 'tango to the toilet' and asking for help with his shoes. Bless Roger's heart - he got up very early and lit another fire. So as we straggled out of bed we could sit by the fire, eating cold cereal and following it up with hot milo - till Jesse had the bright idea of Nutella on toast - slightly burnt toast as it turned out.

It also turned out that the Nutella which had been left in the car overnight was hard as a rock - but Alec was determined. (Nutella is our car trip treat - whenever we have a long drive we buy nutella and white bread and I make truly sickly sandwiches as we drive.)

Peet slept late and we amused our small minds by loudly saying 'nutella on toast' or 'steak for breakfast' (which wasn't even true) to see if he was really asleep - he was.

A bit of exploring and rock skimming followed and when the tents were finally dry we packed up the car and started for home.

We drove home via Surat - the most interesting part of which was the airport which did double duty as the pony club, the rifle range and the rodeo grounds. Hope they have a good booking system.

Just out of Surat we drove past a sign that said 'Historical Site'.

This is me: "I wonder what that is - I wouldn't mind stopping and having a look."

This is Roger - pedal to metal and no response.

This is me: "OK maybe next time."

A couple of k's down the road this is Alec - quietly from the very back row: "Pig"

Roger - screeching to a halt and making a screaming u turn - "where?"

And within moments we were all out of car - Max didn't even have time to put his shoes back on.

But it was worth it - 2 pigs with about 12 piglets. The boar looked like he might like to have a go at Alec - and Louisa took off back to the car. But all's well that can be turned into a good story and she said later in the car 'I loved running down that pig.' I guess we'll stick with that story.

Later we saw Emu's, and kangaroos of course.

Because by now we were a bit addicted to stock routes and open fires we bough some steak and white bread for lunch and stopped on a stock route outside Glenmorgan. Further along the stock route was a botanical garden which boasted 300 species of plants - but as Louisa said 'make that 299' since Roger backed the car into one of them.

In Glenmorgan itself is a car museum - Roger managed to stop there too.

Love small towns.

And so with John Williamson* playing most of the way home and 37 hours after we left we made it home - tired - very dirty - but feeling like we'd had a week away.

* Jesse has been unerringly loyal to John Williamson ever since we went to the Ekka when she was 11 and fluked a special concert with him playing and us lying on the wooden Ekka benches watching the stars.

Dinner and a show

For my birthday Roger made a roasted, marinated venison backstrap with masses of organic roasted veges. (He even hunted and butchered the venison himself!)

Louisa and Max put on a show.

Louisa started by saying 'I will now play Happy Birthday on the cello - to the tune of Lightly Row.' (You have to work with what you have.)

Then Louisa and Max sang bawdy tunes about the family composed earlier in the bath.

"Food, food, food, I can't get enough food.' - about Peet.

'Snore, snore, snore like a tiger roar' - about Roger.

You get the idea.

There were presents too.

School holidays

Stradbroke Island - which I'll post about as soon as I collect some of the gorgeous photos - and Sunshine Beach made for a beautiful school holiday.

We left Sunshine early though for Jess - who had to have a small but emergency operation to excise an abscess. Lots of pain, general queasiness, a general anesthetic and a couple of weeks of packing the wound. She's getting better all the time - and yesterday Peet pretended he had to stay home from school to look after her. They actually went to see Harry Potter - not many people in the cinema so Jesse got to lie down across five seats to watch.

Consensus of opinion from Roger, Jesse and Peet - Harry Potter was not bad - but perhaps not up to the usual standard - they are anxiously awaiting part 7.

Pine Theatre Restaurant

The annual Pine Theatre Restaurant is - well - not for the faint of heart! Plays are written, directed, and performed completely by the kids - some as young as four - and it can be a little hard to follow. The usual process is that each kids chooses the character they want to be - then they write a play with those characters. This year Louisa chose a giant squid - that's her in the slightly KKK looking costume at the front.

And Max was an old granny - his favourite character to play at home - sometimes he can be old granny for hours - it's wearing after a while.

(The restaurant part is a pot luck dinner before the plays.)

It's a riotously fun night.

Hagues

My cousin* Natasha came to Brisbane for her husband Anthony to go through the temple for the first time. Roger and I went too - Tom had to stay home and nurse Jesse.

Here's Natasha, Anthony, Seth and Imogen** - now those are two cute little kids.

* Natasha is not actually my cousin - we just think of her that way - her dad and my dad are cousins - but there's not so many family members from that side of the family in Australia.

** Amelita stayed in Townsville for a holiday with her dad.

Sunday Afternoon

While Roger visited ward members, and while the big kids and I slept, Louisa and Max pulled out the saw, the drill, some rope and a board and made a swing.

It even worked

.