Holidays

I'm always ready for school holidays after ten busy weeks at school, but at the same time I find holidays can be quite hard.  When I'm not busy or in a routine, it can be really easy to feel down and overwhelmed with grief again.  When I'm at work I'm busy all day, interacting with other adults and I feel like I have something positive to focus on.   Working has really saved me mentally the last few years, as I feel like I'm making a positive contribution, somewhere other than in my own home.  

I do enjoy school holidays and look forward to them and I also know how lucky I am to have school holidays to spend with my boys.  I enjoy sleeping in, not having to make school lunches, catching up on Netflix, and getting around to doing things in the house that I never find time to do when I'm working full time.  But the days can also be long if I don't have anything planned, or if I don't see anyone other than the boys.  Holidays can also be really lonely if I don't get out and about.  If Aaron was here at least I would have another adult around to talk to, and someone to share the load with the boys.  

Just before holidays we had a beautiful time catching up with our friends Gary and Lisa. They moved to the mainland a few years ago, and I miss them a lot.   It was like they've never been gone. 

Eden is only four months older than Kobe, but she's a giant.  Kobe wasn't keen on getting a photo together.  He hated that we teased him all weekend about how they used to be besties, and Eden used to buy him Barbie dolls for presents, and he would get so excited about it!

Over the holidays I caught up with different friends, and we had some lovely lunches together.


We have been busy having Mum's dog Josie staying with us, and Milly is loving having a friend to play with. 


It was so nice to have Jay home from Uni for 6 weeks, including the two weeks of school holidays.  He's really enjoyed Uni and has done well with the study.   We are now used to him being away, but it's always nice when the four of us are back together again.


Jay and Erin have been spending lots of time together, during the semester break.  Josie is obviously feeling very much at home!

Last week we headed to the snow.  We were so lucky and found a great spot just on the side of the road. I get too scared to drive too far into the snow, especially as our car isn't a 4WD.

There were tears!

 How lucky am I!

 We had such a fun day together.

For the rest of the holidays I spent a couple of days painting some of our ceilings (where's Aaron when I need him!?) and in between I would make sure we got out and had some fun.  I was excited to use a gift voucher that I got from a friend from work, for the Star Theatre. It was our first time there, and Kobe and I loved it.

We tried to get in lots of walks with Tim and Helene when we could.  Their daughter Ava loves walking Milly.

Kobe loved taking part of the Southern Huskies basketball clinic.  It was fun for him to participate with the players.  They played a game against them at the end, and it was hilarious seeing them against these huge guys. 

We have another Maccas worker in the family.  Harri started his training shifts over the holidays and is really enjoying it so far. 

Kobe said the second best day of the holidays was going to the snow, and the best day was when he won a competition on the radio.  They gave out clues in the morning and you had to work out where the place was, and then find the 'Optus yes woman'.  If you were the first one to find them, you won $100 cash.  For three days we tried to win it, and were lucky on the third day to be the first one to the woman. 

 

I actually figured out the clues, and found the woman but because Kobe was the one who really wanted to do it, I let him have the money, after he shouted us Maccas for tea, so we could see Harri on his first shift on counter :)  We celebrated by getting sushi (Kobe's favourite) before we went to pick up the cash from the radio station. 

I'm not looking forward to the early mornings and rush out the door every day, but I'm actually looking forward to getting back into a routine.  I cope a lot better emotionally when I'm busy and it's hard to keep really busy over the winter holidays.  Hopefully term 3 will go just as fast as the last one, because the weather will be a lot nicer next holidays and before we know it summer will be here.