Weekend in the Mountains

Thredbo pump track

We are back and have had another fabulous long weekend in the mountains. Given that we will be spending the entire ski season in the caravan, Erryn and I decided to treat the family to a cabin at Kosciuszko Mountain Retreat. We have stayed here before and love the easy access to the Sawpit Walk. The boys were stoked by the waterfall and the "ginormous rocks, as big as a house!". Kai did fall into the creek but it was warm enough for him to make it home pantsless. We had plans to summit Mt. Kosciuszko but the 80 km winds were a touch discouraging. Instead we searched out a nice sheltered little bushwalk

Rainbow Lake

to Rainbow Lake. It was sunny, pretty and not windy! Erryn fell asleep at the lake and both kids fell asleep on the way back. Nice one.

Thriving With A Toddler

Thriving With A Toddler
This article made me feel really good about all the parenting stuff that I already do. It also has a few good tips. There is a light at the end of the tunnel!

Hiking with Young Kids

Erryn and I have been planning to attempt longer hikes with the boys for about 3 months now and have finally figured out the logistics. What we couldn't figure out was how two adults were going to carry two young children, ages 3 yrs and 22 months, plus food and water for everyone and nappie change supplies, on a 10km hike. So we had a look at what gear we already had and decided that two ergobaby carriers, two small backpacks and a few cheap carabiner clips should make it work.

We decided to try the beautiful walk from Charlottes Pass to Blue Lake on the Main Range track (click on the link to view the map). You can see in the photos above that we tried carrying both a child and a backpack on our backs but it was really uncomfortable. It didn't take long for us to try carrying the backpacks on our fronts which was actually pretty comfortable even if it looked a bit strange.

As you can see by the photo of Erryn and Kai enjoying the view we did make it to the lookout! We even made the return trip within the recommended amount of time which was a great surprise to both Erryn and I. Everyone had a really good time and my legs still hurt 3 days later but I think we are all keen to go again. Success!

Apple Pancakes

This is my very fast, easy and tasty version of apple pancakes. Kai and Louie both love them!

Ingredients

• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 large apple, peeled and grated
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla

Method

1. In a large bowl whisk together flour and cinnamon.
2. Add remaining ingredients and whisk until smooth.
3. Preheat a non-stick frying-pan to medium heat.
4. Drop batter by spoonfuls onto hot pan.
5. Flip pancakes when bubbles appear on top surface.
6. Serve hot.
   

 *You could also add a little bit of sugar to this recipe but we like to eat them with maple syrup so I prefer not to include the sugar. Enjoy!

Dirtbikes and Jetplanes!

I couldn't resist sharing the boys' favourite youtube video (at the moment). Who wouldn't enjoy dirtbike stunts in a jetplane graveyard!

I finally found a quick breadroll recipe! I have to admit that I haven't had time to try it yet but will let you know how it goes soon. Yum!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter Everyone! I hope nobody stuffed themselves with as much chocolate as I did. Even the boys had more self-control than me. We had a super sunny beach camping trip at Lake Tabourie and I am still recovering from my chocolate hangover. Kai is getting really good at standing up on a surfboard (on flat water) and Louie's enthusiasm for the water is finally increasing (much to Erryn's relief). A nasty fever virus tried to knock the boys flat but they pushed through and have both recovered. I think consuming copious amounts of chocolate eggs must be a cure for the common flu! I hope everybody else had a great holiday too.