Eighty Mile Beach

Even though it wasn’t a long drive from Barn Hill we decided that we would spend a couple of days at 80 Mile Beach. Eighty Mile Beach was on of those places that quiet a few people had said we must do. So do it we did.

It had been described as a beach unlike any other so we approached it with great anticipation. The description was incredibly apt. It was most certainly unlike any other beach we had ever seen before. However it was not necessarily filled with the beauty we expected from a title of unlike any other beach. That is not to say it was ugly either, it just wasn’t what we were expecting in any way.

The most disappointing factor was that the beach appeared to have a lot of similarities to a mud flat. The water was miles away from the shore line. It was at least a fifteen to twenty minute walk from hitting the sand to getting our toes wet. Which would have been a lot more enjoyable if the last half hadn't have been through a muddy slop that at times saw you sink up to your knees if you landed your foot too hard in the wrong place.

Of course it is fair to say that this is only the low tide experience of 80 Mile Beach. Sadly for us we managed to miss going down on the beach at high tide.

The real highlight of 80 Mile Beach though are the shells. 

Oh me, oh my. 

Never before have I seen anything like and it is certainly why it had been described as a must see place. There were so many shells in some places that it was physically impossible to walk without standing on them. I was tiptoeing around trying to make my footprint as small as possible because the crushing of the shells under my foot made me want to cry.

It was hard not to walk down there with a bucket or ten and bring bucket loads of shells back. Mr A made it quite clear that this was not an option. His reasoning was that it was impossible for us to carry them all around the country side. Which was a very valid point however the fact that if everyone did that there wouldn’t be any left for the next person to look at sat a lot better in my brain. Much to the girls disappointment I might add.

After spending the morning exploring the mudflats, beach and shells we headed back to camp for lunch and some quiet time. The girls played and read while Mr A studied his eyelids and I caught up on some more blog posts.

The afternoon saw us spend some more time exploring the beach area and watching the wanna be fisherman. There are a large number of people trying to catch fish but from what we saw very few were successful.

The caravan park that we stayed at was nice enough, but after the cheap prices at Barn Hill felt very expensive. The sites were all very close together and even though it was off peak season the park was relatively full. I don’t think that I would like to be there in peak season. It did have a mini mart on site though which meant we were able to restock with fresh milk and ice, which was nice.

I am glad that we stopped in and had a look but I don't think Eighty Mile Beach will make to the list of places we will go out of our way to see again.

Joining Malinda for Wanderlust

Final day in Barn Hill paradise

Our last full day at Barn Hill. I have really enjoyed being here. It has been nice to be in the one spot for so long. Though I think the girls have found it a bit boring at times. Mind you this has encouraged them to read more and try a little more school work. There are still rather large battles when it comes to doing school stuff but I remain confident that this too shall eventually pass.

Making the most of our last day we headed down to the beach not too long after breakfast. The sun yesterday was particularly harsh so we wanted to make sure we were home before things heated up too much. As it turned out, it wasn’t as hot though by about eleven the winds were starting to pick so we headed home in time for lunch.

I had told Zany that lunch was going to be a salad with some of the new leaves that we acquired the day before from Pam and Bill only I realised if we had them for lunch there wouldn’t be anything for dinner. Much to Zany’s disappointment lunch became toasted jaffle wraps and the salad postponed till dinner.

The rest of the day was pretty much a nothing kind of day. Well a reading nothing kind of day. Which is always a bit nice. Since our trip into town on Thursday where we purchased a few new books the girls have happily been devouring all the words on the pages. Something that makes my heart swell no end.

Having read the final book in the Hunger Games series when we first arrived here I am now without anything to read myself. Well there are a few Les Norton books that Mr Awesome loves laying around but they just don’t really take my fancy yet. Plus I have plenty of crocheting to keep my occupied. 

Mind you I mentioned to one of our neighbours, Marj, that I was out of books to read and shortly after she brought me over two she thought I might be interested in. The friendliness of those on the road constantly amazes me. Everywhere we go we seem to just come across the most loveliest of people.

Day 63 Sept 20

Today was meant to be our leaving day, though we decided a few days ago that we would stay on for another two nights. It is hard to not stay for longer but really there is no reason to. Other than read, walk on the beach and crochet there is not a lot to be done here. Which in many ways is the beauty of it all.

We have noticed that there are quite a few long term residents here. They arrive at the start of the season (April) and stay till the end of October. There are certainly worse places to spend six months of the year. Two of those long termers, Bill and Pam are leaving tomorrow. A few weeks earlier than what they normally would due to some ill health. We have been watching them pack and sort themselves out for the last few days. In some strange way it was all a bit sad.

What wasn’t sad though was when Pam asked me if I wanted to take her little box of lettuces with us. I had said to Mr Awesome at the start of the trip that I would like to take a little herb garden with me but he said it just wasn’t possible. Fingers crossed the dirt doesn’t fall out all through Edna the first time we move.

Late yesterday afternoon we gained some new neighbours. Rather close ones given how many empty spaces were available. It always amazes me how some people think camping is done best when sites are on top of one another. It also amazes me when people want to camp in close proximity to us, because you know, we have children and are (at least to my ears) noisy. Turns out that the new neighbours had children of their own though so perhaps that was why they thought being close would be a good thing.

Their two girls were close in age to Zany and Teapot. One was a year younger than Zany and the other a year older than Teapot. They had the most wonderful time all playing together. Children just seem to be drawn to playing at our camp. Which in many ways is very lovely but today I barely wanted my own children around let alone any extras.

I didn’t exactly sleep well the night before and woke up a tad on the grumpy side of life. To make things worse I was expecting a visit from Aunty Flo and her non arrival was making slightly anxious. As late as I am with most things in life, getting my period is not usually on the list. Unless of course there is a baby growing. Having another baby is the absolute last thing I want. My baby making days are done and dusted, I am quite happy working with the ones I have rather than starting again with new additions thankyouverymuch.

In slightly happier news though yesterday, despite it's somewhat dubious start, turned out to be a bit of a cracker of a day. Once every one else had caught up on the whole getting up thing Mr Awesome and I enjoyed our coffee together and these two little fellows decided to stop by and say hello. I really do love watching birds.

Shortly after Mr A, living up to his name realised that I was not necessarily in the mood for dealing with the trials and tribulations of children and bundled the little two up and took them down the beach. 

After enough peace and quiet, when I felt able to deal with the never-ending tirade of the cries of mum that are inevitable whenever I am in the presence of children, I mustered up the energy to walk down to the sand and investigate what they had all been up too. 

As it turned out they had been up to some pretty masterful sand castle creating. Standing there, surveying the scene before me, my heart began to swell as I was once again reminded of just how incredibly awesome Mr Awesome actually is. Something tells me there are few fathers that would spend a morning creating a sand castle masterpiece such as this.

Birthday drinks and three course meals.

Not long after we arrived yesterday a little person seemed to appear out of no where. Which is not actually anything unusual. Children have a way of just appearing at our campsite.

As it turned out her name was Jemmina and she belonged to campsite about a forty meters or so away from ours. She was four and had been on the road for a couple of weeks longer than us and was super excited to seem some children near her age.

One of the things I have loved about the trip so far is the way that children just seem to be drawn to one another and friendships formed instantly. There is a real sense of making the most of the opportunity to play.

Before long Jemmina’s mum popped on over to say hi and check that all was ok. We instantly began chatting like old friends swapping tales of where were had been and where we were going. Naturally we were going in opposite directions. It feels like almost everyone we meet that I just seem to click with is going in the opposite direction to us.

Anyway it just so happened that today was Jemmina’s Dad’s birthday. He popped on over rather early this morning making a few jokes about drinking with Territorians as the ideal way to spend his special day. Since he was the birthday boy it seemed only right that we oblige.

All the campers gathering round to enjoy one of the best
roast I have ever had the pleasure of someone
serving me.

The first beer was cracked open shortly after ten, because that is when the pubs open so it is quite a justifiable time to start drinking. And while I realise it may sound terrible to say the last drink was had around ten hours later the drinks were consumed rather slowly and it was all about pace and endurance rather than how much could be drunk.

The best bit about the day, other than having made some rather cool new buddies, was that the campground hosted a roast dinner so there was no cooking to be done on my part. A grand total of $57 for the five of us to be fed a three course roast meal makes for one of the best take out options I have had for quite some time. Sadly we had to bring all our own plates and cutlery so there were still dishes that needed doing but I guess you can’t win them all.

Goodbye Broome. Hello Barn Hill

the road to Barn Hill Station Stay

Moving day. Blerh. I know I shouldn’t feel this way but it so much work packing it all up. Made even more frustrating by the girls refusal to just buckle down and do what needs to be done. Though in all fairness to Lovely she does a relatively good job at pulling her weight it is more so the little two that drive me to distraction.

It is hard balance deciding how much energy to exert getting them to do what you ask and just doing it yourself. Oh the joys of parenting hey?

Today we say goodbye for real to Broome and make our way to Barn Hill Station. Which is on the way to Eighty Mile Beach and is really only hour out of Broome but by all accounts a fantastic place to stay. I am a bit excited to be leaving civilisation if you will. As lovely as Broome is I am glad to not be anywhere near a town.

Barn Hill is a working cattle station. The outskirts of which adjoin a rather exquisite beach. As this part of the property is not the best for housing cattle the owners have made it available for camping. There are limited power sites and plenty of room on the edges of the stunning red cliffs. As there was minimal pricing difference between powered and non powered we decided to take the powered option. It also appeared as if the powered sites were slightly more shaded.

Camp Barn Hill

We were intending to stay for four nights so it made sense to unpack everything. That way we could live in comfort. Not too long after unpacking everything we knew that we would probably be staying for a little longer than four nights as we were so instantly in love with our surroundings. Oh and it was ridiculously cheap. Like $27 a night cheap, which after the $50 per night at most van parks felt like the bargain of all bargains.

Before long Zany and Teapot had befriended a few children that were already there and Mr Awesome and I were enjoying the tranquility and simplicity of life on the road. (Read as we were sitting in our chairs under the shade of a tree having a cold cider.)

This really is the life.

The access to and from the beach

Joining in with Malinda

Day 20

This morning we woke up not too far from the edge of a creek. Spring Creek to be exact. Situated on the edge of Purnululu National Park.

The sound of birds singing as the sun began her daily rise was almost welcoming on yet another moving day. A moving day that saw us break our we will never stop for jut one night. The downside to the free camping sites is that they are generally only for twenty four hours.

Actually the other downside to this one was having to listen to a rather loud and annoying man boast about all his achievements to the campers who had gathered round his impressive fire. Though I guess the risk of such people runs everywhere.

We arrived here early yesterday afternoon, the idea being to give us a bright and early start on the long windy dirt road that leads to the Bungle Bungles. Technically we could have done it all in one day but I would much rather set up camp in the middle of the day than on dusk. After all it is not like we are on a tight schedule or rushing anywhere.

The other advantage to arriving early is that it increases the chances of being able to score a better site. From about two o’clock onwards places just seem to fill on up. By arriving with lots of time to kill we were also able to let the girls have a swim in the creek. Which worked out well because it doubled up as a bath.

We had been warned in Kununurra that the road into The Bungles was a bit on the rough side and not great for those prone to car sickness. Which made us a little weary because Zany does on occasion get a little green around the gills.

As it turned out the road was a little how you going but not nearly as bad as what we were expecting. Which was nice. Zany did feel a little unwell but nothing too severe so all was good.

Well apart from the fact when we got to the main entrance gate we discovered we were meant to book in online before arriving. Thankfully the first ten kilometres of the road in had phone coverage so we were able to sort it all out. Though the website in question was not exactly one of the most user friendly ones that I have encountered.

There were two campgrounds to choose from. One was only half the size of the first and had a generator area so that was where we decided to go. We have already learnt that generator friendly sites generally have fewer people.

As we drove around the campground we wondered if we had made the right choice. There didn’t seem to be a whole lot of shade available and all the good sites seemed to already be spoken for. Eventually however we made a decision and what looked like the best of a bad bunch actually turned out to be a fantastic spot.

The hardest factor in site choosing is working out how the shade will travel through out the day. This particular site was pretty much shaded all day long which is a kin to winning the lottery.

This really is the life

This will be our last night at Home Valley Station. I can’t begin to explain how much I have loved being here. Even though the homestead is only 5 kilometres or so away it feels incredibly remote and isolated here. I guess the incredibly bumpy and dusty road between the campsite and homestead has something to do with it. Especially since on that road there is a lot cattle to be passed.

Sadly this fella refused to turn around for his photo.

Today was pretty much a nothing day. Which only adds to the awesomeness of it all.

Mr Awesome went down to the riverbank to try his luck with the rod and reel. Apparently he has used his luck up in that department and there was no fish for dinner. He did however snap some shots of a few birds.

These tough guys just sat there all morning watching the world go by

These little finches came right up to our feet almost

My day was slightly more productive in that I hung out the washing from the day before and tried my hand at making some bread in the camp oven. 

While it may look edible,
remember that looks can be deceiving

Though really if the truth were told the bread making was just as unsuccessful as Mr Awesome’s fishing. I like to think I was at least a little successful in capturing some of the beauty in the scenery as the sun went down.

The girls spent the day creating Minecraft worlds and just being gorgeous. I know that we are meant to be disconnecting from our screens but there was something really lovely about them interacting in the way they were. I guess anything that involves not arguing is lovely though.

Having said that I must admit that there has been not nearly as much arguing as what there was at home. Of course that is not to say there have been no arguments but they have certainly been on the lower end of the scale.

They also managed to squeeze in some bike riding and card playing. Possibly even some colouring in as well. I know that textas were strewn all over the floor for a while so I assumed that some colouring in or drawing had taken place at some time.

From giggles and laughter to the ending of worlds and the catching of fish

The morning started rather chillily. Thankfully we were all snuggled up under layers of blankets and donnas so didn’t notice too much until the need for a wee became to strong to ignore. 

Mr Awesome was super excited to get a chance to wear his new beanie. Being the tropical acclimatised people that we are beanie wearing is something we rarely get the chance to do. Upon stepping outside Edna however a fellow camper walked past in nothing more than a singlet and shorts. Needless to say Mr A decided he needed to toughen up and promptly threw the beanie back inside. He did not however remove either of the long sleeve garments he was wearing.

Truth be told though Mr A wasn’t the only one excited about the cooler weather and the clothes it allowed us to wear. I too had with great excitement whipped out my R.M. Williams jacket and boots. Sadly though I discovered that initially the jacket is quite cold to wear and needs to be worn for a few minutes to warm up. A mental note to purchase a thermometer was also made so in the future we can have more of an idea as to how cold it actually is.

The two little girls accompanied me on the toilet run and then hightailed it back inside Edna. Lovely had created a warm little haven and invited them to come and join her. The laughter and giggled that ensued warmed my heart endlessly and confirmed that this trip was exactly what we needed to strengthen our bonds.

Of course all is not always perfect. 

Listening to their giggles is what prompted me to start writing. By the time I got to the part about them giggling Teapot was standing next to me telling me that Lovely was being mean to her and destroying her world. 

And by that she meant her Minecraft world on the iPad. Sadly the girls are yet to grasp the lack of electricity and that electrical devices need to be used sparingly. As much as Edna has a battery and solar panels and all the rest of it, it is not to be used for charging toys. Well at least not their toys, it could be a different story when my toys go flat.

----------

I started writing this in the morning while drinking my coffee. Ironically when I came back to add more later that evening my laptop battery had mysteriously dropped from 88% to 12%. 

The rest of the day had gone rather enjoyably.

We wandered down to the river and read about the Aboriginal creation stories for the area. Which will be covered in a post all of it's own. From there we started walking down to the boat ramp only to decide it looked like a bit of a hike. So we turned around and returned with out bikes. Twenty minutes or so later we were rather glad to have made that decision. 

Another ten minutes down the road and there was still no boat ramp (or river for that matter) to be seen. Mr Awesome turned back with the girls in tow and I powered on through to see whether or not there was actually a boat ramp. 

There was and it was another ten minutes of rather fast riding away.

The seemingly elusive boat ramp. Doesn't look like fun thing to operate.

When I finally returned back to camp Mr A had the girls lined up to do a spot of fishing down on the river. Leaving me to sit under a shady tree and crochet in peace and quiet. Which was pure and utter bliss.

This is the life I have been dreaming of

The fishing expedition was not successful enough to feed us but it did leave one young lady rather pleased with herself.

Not nearly big enough for dinner, and somewhat
camouflaged in the photo, this little beauty
was thrown back in the river to keep growing

And we are off!

After what feels like forever we are finally on our way! What started as a pipeline dream that I never really expected to come to fruition has actually began.

As I type we are heading down the Stuart Highway with Edna in tow and packed to the hilty. We have been on the road for all of an hour but that is only a minor detail. The headline is that we are actually on the road and #ouradventureofalifetime has officially begun.

The last few weeks, and especially the last few days feel like they have been an endless battle of that have seen us running round in circles chasing our tails. It just felt like despite being constantly busy we weren’t actually achieving anything. The fact that the things we had to achieve were incredibly tiresome didn’t make matters any easier.

Thankfully though that is all behind me now. There are no toilets, showers, walls and floors  that need scrubbing so they look like new. Nor are the mountains of clothes and toys that need to be culled and re-homed. Instead all that lies before me is the freedom of the open road.

Kind of.

The freedom of the open road is currently hindered by a convey of American Army vehicles that appear to be in even less of a rush than what we are.

The convey we were stuck behind for far too long

At this point we haven’t decided on where our first night will be. It was so exhausting trying to squeeze in all that we thought we needed that Mr Awesome and I have contemplated staying in a motel tonight. Especially since we didn’t finish squeezing till nearly midnight and got up before the crack of dawn to tie up all the loose ends we hadn’t got around to.

As lovely as Edna is she is not without faults. The main one being it is very much a case of unpacking everything if we want to have a sleep. If only we had of thought things through a bit more we probably wouldn’t have sold our tent the moment we got Edna.

The fact that it was nearly lunch time before we actually managed to get away doesn’t help case either. The thing about the Territory is that there is lots of nothing. Lots of long empty roads with not a town or a place to stop to be seen. 

We had hoped to get at least past Katherine on the first day. Generally about a three hour drive. Given our excessive weight and a desire to not go fast, not too mention the aforementioned traffic, it will probably take about four hours today.

For now we will just wait and see how everyone is when we get there. While we are in no rush and plan on spending a few days at every stop we have been to Katherine plenty of times before. As far as it might be from home it is still a little too close to let us really feel like we are away.

Getting Away

In a bid to have a relaxing weekend surrounded by the tranquility of our most favourite camping grounds Friday was a flurry of activity. As I mentioned in my late night ramble as I tried to unwind from it all there was much to be done before we could hit the road. 

There were last minute additions to camping gear and food to be purchased. Not to mention all the washing that needed to be done so that not only did we had clothes to take away with us but also some clean ones to return home to and the tidying up that I just knew I wouldn’t want to do up our return. I had no idea that the preparations necessary for relaxation were so intense.

Actually that is a lie. I did have, I has just selectively blocked it from my memory else we would never get away.

By all accounts Edna the Eagle (our caravan) should be fine with a bit of a rough track. While not technically an off road model her previous owners had modified the suspension and raised her higher of the ground than her factory floor sisters.  Before we actually set off on #ouradventureofalifetime though we wanted to give here a bit of a test run on some dirt that we were at least a little a familiar with.

The idea was to head out to Umbrawarra Gorge. A place that we have been to many times before that involves a rather exciting dirt track. Sure at three and a bit hours it was a bit of a drive but the thought spending some time at a place we all love so much made it seem worth the while.

apparently we weren't the only ones that thought
getting was a great idea

Given the long weekend we expected there to be lots of other like minded souls hitting the road. Though we did expect most of them to be choosing the road that led to the Barunga Festival. We were also under the misguided impression that few people knew of our destination.

After a break of day start that involved almost as much rushed and action packed movement as the previous day we were packed and ready to go only thirty minutes later than Mr Awesome’s requested departure time. Which to me feels like we basically left on time.

Ignoring Lovely’s pleas for Maccas and my desire for coffee we powered off. It was a bit of a lesson learnt for both of us. She was told to have breakfast before we left and due to me being up too late the night before I didn’t get up with enough time or energy to make coffee. Live and learn right?

After an hour on the road, which was slower than normal on account of excess traffic and pulling Edna, the cries for food from the back seat were hitting the unbearable level. The two younger ones had joined in with Lovely. It was like a strength in numbers kind of unison or something. They momentarily lapsed once we passed the final McDonalds but quickly picked it up again five minutes later.

Due to my lack of caffeine and my own rumbling tummy it wasn’t long before I quietly said to Mr A that I thought he should stop at the next roadhouse in the hope they sold egg and bacon sandwiches. I also reasoned it would be a great chance to break my fifty dollar note so as to make it easier to leave the camping fees in the honesty box that gives no change.

Apparently everyone else on the road was having the same conversation because when we arrived at said roadhouse it felt like half of Darwin was also there.

Sadly there were no egg and bacon sangas. Instead we had to make do with a couple of ham and cheese toasties plus some rather dodgy pork and cheese and beef and cheese ones. Beggars can’t be choosers and all that and at least it filled the gapping holes in our stomachs.

Little did I know though about it being a sign of things to come.

Eventually we made it to the turn off that would lead to our final destination. The highly anticipated dirt road to see just how sturdy old Edna really was. Mr A pulled over and took the stabilising sway bar thingies off and we were ready to go.

Oh my goodness and holy dooly.

For some reason the corrugation drove me insane. It went completely through me and left my poor little brain feeling like it was rattling around the empty hollows of my skull. Cue intense headache. All of which may possibly been related to the lack of caffeine for I was still without my daily hit. As luck would have it the road house coffee machine was out of order when we passed through.

To make matters even worse as we approached our beloved campsite we were greeted with the most horrid of sights.

Other people. And lots of them.

So many in fact there was no room for us!!

Cue complete and utter devastation.

After slowly trawling through the entire area it was evident that there was just no possible way we were able to squeeze ourselves in anywhere. And with that before I even had a chance to process what was going on Mr A was back on the dirt road and heading back to the highway.

“We will just go to Edith Falls” he said.

“If it is packed out here then what chance will we have at Edith?” I said. Trying to not take my disappointment out on him as deep down I knew it wasn't really his fault though I desperately wanted to hold him accountable.

All the while fielding questions from the girls as to why we have just turned around as opposed to getting out and setting up camp.

Tensions were high to say the least.

By the time we reached the highway my headache had multiplied tenfold and my patience had completely disappeared. I shut my eyes in a bid to make it all go away and save myself from having to answer any more questions or make any decisions. All this really did though was put my neck at a funny angle giving me a creak in my neck and something else to complain about.

So much for a relaxing getaway.

As we pulled into the entrance to the camping grounds at Edith Falls we couldn’t help but notice one of the gates was closed. The sign attached stated that there were no caravan spaces available only cars with tents and small vans. Mr A suggested we go in and talk to them just in case they could squeeze us in somewhere. Edna may have room for all of us but she by no means a huge space taker. Of course I shot him down in flames and stated we were not a tent nor a small van. A small van being an all in one unit that had beds on the back seat.

Given it had been nearly four hours since we left home he decided to pull over and give everyone the chance to stretch their legs and utilise the toilets. Lovely began asking for ice cream the moment she saw the kiosk. Her request quickly shot down in flames because I was just in the mood for saying no.

After relieving myself I began to feel marginally more human and when she asked again I was in a slightly better frame of mind and said why not. After all none of this was their fault and I did have some money in my pocket. The change in fact from the sandwiches earlier that was meant to be our camping fees.

I am so incredibly glad that I had a change of heart.

You see as we were paying for the ice cream another customer asked for a coffee. The attendant told her she would need to wait a few minutes till the boss, who was out seeing what sites were actually available, returned. This of course prompted me to ask if by chance there was any room for us. And would you believe it?

There was.

Hallelujah and praise the Lord. I almost instantly began writing my next Thankful Thursday post in my head.

Mind you my thankfulness was quickly on the way out when they said they had no Eftpos and it was cash only. Having just spent all my cash on ice-creams and all.

Thankfully though we were able to scrounge together enough from the bottom of my bag and Mr A’s wallet to see us through. Talk about edge of your seat though!

Of course getting to spend time hanging around here did make it all worth the while.

Check out my Snapshots of Us post for more images from the weekend and check out Essentially Jess for more great #IBOT posts

Snapshots of Us - Weeks 22 & 23

As always it has been an action packed time in the APL household.

Starting with me completing my second City 2 Surf Fun Run. Not necessarily as fast as I would have like but all things considered I am pleased to have just got to the end. Or at least I am now.

Making the most of the long weekend for the Queen's birthday we hit the road and headed to Leliyn (Edith) Falls. Which is actually part of Nitmiluk National Park.

Where Mr Awesome got his duck face on.

Ok maybe we all got our duck face on.

 Sometimes there were just good old fashion forced photo smiles.

I know I may be a little biased but oh my goodness this girl is stunner. She totally melts my heart on a regular basis. She also drives me beyond total distraction but that post is for another day.

These two are also prone to melting my heart.

And when he is not duck facing Mr Awesome likes to photobomb.

Ok, so maybe he wasn't the only photobombed either.

A thumbs up from a champion little rock climber.