A Roadtrippin' Getaway to the Beach.

Sometime last week, as I relaxed at a picnic with a couple of close friends, and the freedom feeling of Spring & school holidays & Maternity Leave sunk in; I said a simple sentence without much thought; "This weather is gorgeous!! We should go away to the beach!! Maybe up the coast!!" It was just a random, impulsive thought!

A few days later; Monica sends me a text; "Accommodation up the coast organised, do you want to go Tuesday?"

Me: "Ummmm.....hell yes!"

So, on Tuesday, we packed up the car with bags & sand toys & bed sheets & lots of {unhealthy} snacks & headed off on a 'girl's {plus 1 baby boy} getaway". 

I love last minute plans....they always seem to be the most fun, don't you think? We headed up the North Coast to the lovely Caloundra. The road-trip up, should've taken 1.5 hours.....but it took us 3! Coz we made a selection of stops on the way {We picked up Mon, then I had to pick up some prints from the printers, then send them off to clients at the Post Office, then stop in at an old friend's, then refuel our tummies & petrol tank!} It was nice....just taking our time.....no hurry, no timeline.....we just cruised!

{The view from the back deck....as the sun set!}

{The view from the front deck as the sun rose.......GORGEOUS!!! I liked those apples, I tell you!}

The days just flowed from there! We had no plans, nowhere to be!

So we dined & wined & beached & parked & shopped & lazed & swam & played & simply enjoyed being sun-kissed, sandy & in the presence of gorgeous souls. 

Above: My Beach Babe :)

{Ella & Baby London}

{We 'balanced' inside play with lots of outside time!}

{I found a pretty little Mermaid on the rocks!} {Lucky me!}

{I braved the 'springtime' water temps to swim with my girl! I guess being in a pregnant state & having a higher temp than most people helped because I actually enjoyed the chilly sting:))}

{But Ella bailed on me....she was happier on the shore in the scorching sun!}

And on the 3rd day after a morning of beach & pool & 'just being', we packed up!! Jackie headed back a couple of hours before us to allow Baby London to snooze on the car-trip. We changed bed sheets, mopped floors & lugged everything down to the garage.....to discover I had lost the car keys!!!! YEP....they were in Jackie's car....2 hours back South!! Ooooops......let's blame it on Baby Brain ok?!

We made a few frantic calls to Jackie, Chris & Tiffany!! No-one at that time could come to our rescue due to the distance!! So....ANOTHER NIGHT in paradise was to be had....life's tough :)

We lugged it all back upstairs to the apartment & settled back in for another cruisey night :) {once I forgave myself for 'being so stupid', we laughed about it & picked up right where we left off {but without access to a car!}, we walked to the local shops & restaurants, we dined & wined, we went to bed late & slept in {if you can call 7am a sleep-in?} and we beached, pooled & relaxed for another day whilst awaiting the keys in the mail {that Chris express posted!}.

As late afternoon {Friday} rolled around, we cleaned {again} and packed up {again}, we chased the postman to get the keys that he was attempting to shove in the tiny letterbox, and we eventually headed home as the sun set :)

Perfect Getaway really!!!

{The apartment had so many mirrors, perfect opportunity for a Portrait Baby Belly Shot! 35 weeks & counting!!!}

{Above: and this morning view made me smile :) It was low tide....so there was an array of sand banks all through the bay! But check out that lone fisherman on the teeny tiny sand island in the middle of nowhere......just chillin'! No idea how he got there or got back.....but he looked happy!!}

I'm already missing this morning view!! But happy to be home, with Chris & Ella, slipping back into some sort of routine & enjoying the little comforts of home!

Happy Weekend All....no matter where you are!

Week~A~Boo.......{A peek into our weekEND}

Oh.... Sunday night, you greet us again :)

I sat here tonight uploading photos from our busy weekEND & I pondered whether to do this week-a-boo post now....or wait til tomorrow morning {yahooooo.....no rushing off to work tomorrow....or for the next 2 weeks!!!!} and I decided to commit to tonight....so tomorrow morning truly can be a lazy start to the week!!! Well...I shouldn't say a lazy start....as I aim to start my Massive Spring Cleaning Mission tomorrow!! And whilst the weekend antics are still freshly in my head & on my heart....there was no better time to start typing :)

Friday Night well & truly started the weekend PERFECTLY!! My Mum had been looking after Ella at our house on Friday....and when I walked in the door at 4pm after work, I was greeted by a tidy house, all washing done & FOLDED, dinner cooked {including dessert}, the table set...complete with candles, flowers & chocolates....and a bottle of wine!!!! It was BLISS!!! The absolute perfect way to start the weekEND & my 2 week holiday!

Saturday was filled with a trip to Office Works to stock up on some supplies for a current client's order, a massive traffic jam so a long trip home, a morning tea date at the local bakery, a mini grocery shop, dinner brewing in the slow cooker all afternoon & a meeting with a client which I'll share with you in tomorrow's At My House post :)

Sunday {today} was a lovely mixture of family, adventure, new experiences & joy! Just as Sundays should be!

Chris, Ella & I piled into Chris's parents car with them and we set off on a road trip up to the Sunshine Coast {about an hour & a half drive}. 

The car trip was fun! With 3 iPad's & 4 iPhone's in use....it was like a little mini Apple Store on wheels ;o) We laughed, we chatted, we shared blog posts & pictures of art, we snacked....and we pretended to snooze in the hope to trick Ella into snoozing too {no such luck...haaa}.

The reason for the day road trip was to visit Chris's Dad's Uncle's House.....{whoa...that was a mouthful}. Chris's Nan sadly passed away last November & her brother had organised a massive family reunion for today on their mammoth cane farm property in Yandina! Before arriving at his house, we drove through the sleepy town of Yandina & I was in LOVE! This little quirky country town had me at hello.....and oh boy how much I am already dying to get back there to explore it more! It was so damn cute:

Just like Chris's Nan.....I became a CHADWICK through marriage! Her maiden name was APPS! And the family property we headed out to today was of course on Apps Road:

And the rest of the day just flowed.......with energy & joy that came mainly from the excitement & exploration of an eager 2 year old! She was in her element here......acres & acres of land to discover. A river. Chickens. A greenhouse. A vegie patch. Rows & rows of flower gardens. A fruit orchard. A house 5 times the size of ours. New faces.....oh so many new faces to take in. Many generations of family bond & love. Cake. Fizzy Drink. A pool. A dam. A view....oh the view. 

It truly was BLISS!

And of course....in true '2 year old' fashion....there had to be a moment of tantrum {or duck face as we like to call it} because we all know that life with a toddler can't always be sunshine, rainbows & cupcakes :) But this little moment of Ella's Sulking {due to not getting her way} didn't last long as there was just too much other fun to be had :) And it was then that the magic continued....

So, there you have it....and yet again, my peek was more like a novel...but that's just how I roll :) And as another week drives on in.....I look forward to having a peek into YOUR weekEND!! Please, share your link below & link it back here so your readers can also enjoy the weekend antics of other bloggers!

Have a lovely week!!