Camp...Holidays...Birthday...Boat

James survived his 3 day school camp. It didn't quite meet his expectation but he had an OK time. He said the food tasted pretty good but they didn't provide enough. The kids were only able to get seconds, but there were no thirds, fourths, etc. James may have a small frame but he can eat like a horse. It is a little scary to think of how much he might eat going through the adolescent years. As for the activities at the camp, most seemed to not be physically or mentally challenging enough for him.

The kids have returned to school after having 2 weeks school holidays. Lani and the kids went for a guided nature walk through the Coombabah wetlands near where we live which Lani and Jasmine enjoyed but James wasn't too excited about it. My sister Julie and her kids visited for 5 days. Jasmine gets on really well with her cousin Rebecca and enjoyed her being here. They all went to Movie World on one day and then spent several days going to Sea World after buying yearly passes.

Jasmine turned 8 years old during the holidays and we had a small party while Julie and the kids were here but she will be having a McDonalds birthday party with her friends on the 20 Oct. She is inviting over 20 friends! Thanks to everyone who bought her a gift and phoned her. Jasmine really loved people calling to specifically talk to her.

Last week we bought a bigger boat, 5 metre aluminium runabout with a 60hp Mercury. A few months ago I asked my Uncle Ken, who is a seriously keen fisherman living on the NSW mid north coast, to keep an eye out for any bargain boat deals. We weren't planning to upgrade our boat for a couple of years but if something good came along we would grab it. He stumbled upon the boat when he saw his wealthy neighbour pull it out of his garage, where it had pretty much been in storage for the past 8 years. The guy wanted a quick sale with no hassles, so he was giving it away for $6000. The boat package is easily worth at least $10,000. My uncle took the boat for a run and had his marine mechanic mate inspect the boat, trailer and motor. The trailer needed some minor rust repairs but everything else was in very good condition. My uncle emailed some photos to us and the deal was done.

The boat trailer was out of registration and we had a lot of hassle getting it registered in Queensland so I could go down and drive it back up, but we eventually sorted out all the paperwork. I drove down to South West Rocks on Saturday and returned back home again on the same day. On Sunday I took Lani and the kids out for a ride. I was a little too keen at first to show them the power of the boat and Lani and James nearly fell out as I accelerated and turned around a channel marker. All I need now is a GPS to find some reefs off the coast and (hopefully) catch some big fish.