F for .........

{Flipping heck}
It's been a long time since I last blogged, mostly for the reason that I was stuck at letter F. I am now inspired to write about F though so F is for....

{Family,Fun,Freedom,Farm Beach, Fabulous and Fresh Air}
In a nutshell we have just come back from an amazing holiday to Port Lincoln, what a gorgeous part of the country it is too! I have never been there before but it has been on our wishlist since I met the wonderful Ms Amanda a couple of years ago. We'd been reluctant to travel so far with the kids to be honest after our trip to Victor Harbour as Scar is not the most patient kid in a car and the prospect of 7-8 hours with her was a bit daunting, but full credit where it's due the kids were nothing short of awesome all the way there and it was a lovely drive despite me losing my voice on the way there.
Our holiday unit was really nice, I admit much nicer than I expected which was a pleasant surprise and had a fantastic view overlooking Porter Bay.

I woke up on the first full day there with absolutely no voice at all. I was putting so much effort into trying to talk and was getting nothing but a whisper out so we decided to head into Port Lincoln for a look around and also a chemist stop to see if they could help with my voice.
The foreshore along Pt Lincoln was spectacular, a jetty overlooking the beautiful Boston Bay along with the grain silos and a large ship docked there also just made for a lovely view with the contrasting green of the foreshore grass and big statute of the famous Makybe Diva race horse.
In the afternoon we headed to Cummins to visit with Amanda, her husband and 3 girls. I have to say I was really excited to see where Amanda lived, and it certainly did not disappoint. After getting a little stuck in the middle of Cummins with no directions to Amanda's house and no network coverage on my phone we finally arrived and I was blown away by their hospitality. We were taken on a farm tour by Amanda and her husband to see all the farm equipment, and it was an absolute blast! I learned a lot and I know G did too as he keeps telling everyone all about the stuff he learned. The kids had fun climbing all over it, and Abs was tickled to get a ride in the back of the ute. Afterwards we headed over to Tumby Bay and had a delicious meal at the pub there.
I can't even begin to express the feeling of sheer contentment I felt as I sat at our table watching our two families sharing a meal together, talking, playing and getting along so well. It was definitely a moment I will treasure for a very long time.

On Saturday morning we headed to the Glen Forest Animal Park, unfortunately it was really hot but the kids thoroughly enjoyed it especially as they were able to hand feed so many of the animals but I think the definite highlight for us all was the feeding of the birds in the aviary.

Later that afternoon we made our way up to Winter's Hill Lookout which overlooks the stunning Boston Bay, and we could see the whole of Port Lincoln up there.

The next day I think by far was the best day. We met up with Amanda and her family at Coffin Bay and drove into the Coffin Bay National Park where Greg took us to the most amazing beach I have ever seen. It was a bit of a trek down the sand dunes to get onto the beach but so worth the walk. I have never seen such pristine water at a beach before, the sand was so soft and unspoiled. The water was not good for letting the kids swim though as you could see the strong currents there and even paddling was difficult as the water had such a pull on it but there was plenty to do still as we strolled down the beach and found some great rockpools for the kids to play about in. Plenty of shells were collected and the kids had a great time exploring.

After Golden Island Beach we headed back through Coffin Bay and out to Farm Beach which was the most perfect family beach, the water was so clear and calm and perfect for the kids to have a good splash about. You could easily see the bottom of the sea and there were no rocks or anything to worry about with the kids. We stayed there for quite a while as it was so refreshing in the water. We eventually pulled ourselves out of the water and headed back to reality, and Amanda's Dad's place where we all got showered and changed before heading to Amanda's friend's house for a divine BBQ dinner. Honestly they were such nice friendly people, and put on a lovely spread for us all, they even had sliced potatoes on the BBQ just like my Dad used to make....I hadn't had any for such a long time.

The next day it was time to pack up and head home, I know none of us really wanted the fun to end and so we stopped by Amanda's one last time to say goodbye. Abbey was so upset to say goodbye to Georgia and Kelsey but we are hoping to see them all again very soon. I did understand how she felt though and as we headed out of Manda's driveway I couldn't help feeling teary. She is such a top chick with a heart of gold and I wish we could hang out more as we have so much in common and never seem to fall into awkward silences when together. I can't wait to see her again.

Drive home was great, kids behaved beautifully again and I can easily see us doing more trips away now the twins are older. All in all a brilliant little holiday which had us all relaxed and enjoying ourselves. Result!