Now that we were back in Darwin
and we’d already seen many of the major sites, it was time for us to have a few
days of relaxing in the sun with mum before she headed back home to the cold of
Sydney. Today was another day of war
with the kids doing schoolwork and relaxing by the pool. It was over 30 degrees as usual and the
perfect day to laze about. This evening
we made our way into Mindil markets yet again and met Debbie, NC & JC there. We’d be broke if we lived in Darwin as we’d
visit here every Thursday and Sunday for dinner it is just so good. We had a chance to sit and relax tonight
while we gave the kids a bit of space on their own. Unfortunately in doing so, they conned us
into allowing them to buy a few whistles.
Whacky whistles! They came
running back after making their purchases and we regretted it the moment we
heard them…. a piece of plastic in their mouths which vibrates as they speak,
blow, breathe, etc. We sent them on
their merry way again, just so we didn’t have to listen to them. We admired the beautiful sunset from the
beach tonight and got a few lovely pictures of the four girls having fun together. It was a lovely night until home time. Back in the car Sami accidentally broke her
new whistle and cried all the way back (about half an hour away) to the caravan
park, then all the way to the amenities and throughout her shower and back to
the van again, then still going after saying goodnight to us all and as she
laid in her bed. It was torture. Fortunately, mum had a spare whistle and offered
it to Sami with a $5 price tag.
Thankfully, she took her up on the offer and immediately stopped the
crying – we were able to have a bit of peace now…… aahhh!
We had a quiet Friday morning before heading
to the largest shopping centre in the Northern Territory at Casuarina. The last time we saw a major shopping centre
was back in Cairns so the kids had been nagging for a few weeks to visit the
Big W here in Darwin. Mum had offered to
take all four young girls shopping which allowed us adults some quiet time to
wander the shops and enjoy a quiet coffee.
The girls were stoked with this arrangement and came back with items
such as clothes and fake nails and the best part, some time away from their
parents! After a fun afternoon out and
after picking up some groceries, we made our way back to the van. Josh had plans to drop in at a mates house
tonight whilst all us girls stayed in for girlie time – that is, the younger
ones in the van doing nails, hair and watching movies and us older three ladies
outside chatting watching tv and enjoying a few too many glasses of wine. We had another visit tonight from our little
resident possum that lives up a nearby tree, very sweet and very hungry. He wasn’t shy at all. It was pretty late by the time we all got to
bed but we were able to enjoy a sleep in tomorrow.
Saturday was a lazy day where the kids could
enjoy the company of their friends whilst we were all in the one place. Mum and I had a lazy day whilst Josh spent
some time doing some work on the car. He
figured that it had done us so well so far, that he should repay it. This evening Greg, Michelle, Jayden, Jazz and
Axel came around to the van, along with Debbie and the girls and we enjoyed
some pizzas whilst all the kids played together.
Our Sunday rolled around, and it was time for
mum to fly home. We had a lazy morning
at the van and mum enjoyed her last bit of heat before pulling on her jeans and
packing her bags ready to return to Sydney.
Just after lunch, mum farewelled Debbie and the girls and the rest of us
headed to the airport. It has been so
great to see her and spend lots of time with her but all good things must come
to an end. Although, mum would have
liked to stay longer, Josh was ready to drag her to the plane and say farewell –
just kidding mum (I had to explain the photo I will post). After dropping her off, we decided to stay in
the city and hang around til the evening to attend the Deckchair Cinema. We had a wander around parts of Darwin before
heading to our favourite place – yes, Mindil Markets (again). We didn’t buy any whistles this time but we
did again enjoy lots of food! Around 6pm
we headed to the Deckchair Cinema for the free airing of Mabo. It was fantastic and even the kids got into
the whole story of the movie. I can’t
believe how many interesting free things there are to do in Darwin. I wish Sydney would take a leaf from their
book!
Monday morning and we tortured the
kids again this morning with more school work.
However, we had bribed them that if they were to concentrate and get
lots done, then we would reward them and take them to the water slides along
with Debbie and the girls – so they were actually heads down today. It was a good start but they started to
slacken off so we told Debbie and the girls to go without us and we would meet
up with them. Fortunately it didn’t take
too long and we were on our way to Palmerstone.
The water park like the overflowing bucket etc was shut but luckily the
big race slides were open. The kids
raced the 88 steps to the top and they were off. Us adults joined in the races and had a lot
of fun in the sun. It was pretty tiring
continuously climbing those stairs but all worth it for the splash at the
bottom. After a couple of hours, we had
ice blocks at the car before heading across the road so we could all grab some groceries. The kids “hung out” while we walked the
aisles grabbing our stuff. The kids had
a bit of fun while here - posing with the One Direction cardboard cutout. We got back to the van just in time to put on
our last meal with the Clarke’s, a scrumptious lamb roast with yummy
graving. The left overs were very few
but we all had full tummies after dinner and then the snack chocolate for dessert.
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